Tag Archives: indian cuisine

Indian curry paste

My jar of indian curry paste

One good reason to have a mortar and pestle around the house is to help keep you in various curry pastes.  I always have a jar of homemade Indian curry paste on hand, for example, because I find that it works better than the commercially-prepared kind.  I never make more than can fill my little 8-ounce glass canning jar so that I’m forced to make fresh batches ar regular intervals – though I do run through the stuff at a quick clip.

Here’s my recipe, in case you want to try it yourself.  You don’t need a huge mortar and pestle.

RV’s Very Basic Indian Curry Paste

6 tablespoons canola oil
1 very small onion, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves
5 teaspoons peeled/chopped ginger root
3/4 teaspoon dried ground chili peppers (buy the whole, dried ones and grind in a coffee grinder)
1-1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1)  Grind the coriander and cumin seeds into a powder (fine or coarse, as you prefer)  in the mortar and pestle
2)  Add the garlic and ginger and pound until the mass is a course paste – then set aside
3)  Heat the oil in a small pan and saute the onions until golden
4)  Add the mass from the mortar and saute for 3 minutes over medium heat
5)  Add the turmeric and chili and saute for a moment or two
6)  Transfer to a small jar and allow to cool
7)  Cover and refrigerate

Chana masala without those super-pricy spice packets

Chana masala

Chana masala

There is no reason you need to rely on those spice and spice paste packets enrobed in colorful little cardboard sleeves that have flooded the market in recent years when making Indian dishes.  These packets, produced by American companies mainly for American cooks, are often good for only one meal – and won’t even give you that, if you have a large family.  Most of the ones I have tried (and there are at least three companies that I know of) are perfectly fine in terms of results – no complaints there.  The problem is the price, which ranges from outrageous to high for what you are really getting.

If you don’t want to be bothered by mixing your own spices, or with making curry pastes, buy these items in Asian/Indian markets in quantity once you have the technique down.  There are blends produced and used in India but also packed for export, many of which have instructions in English, though asking the storekeeper for what you want is your best bet, since many shops sell spice mix in bulk.

One brand I like for chana masala is MDH, which is sold in boxes of 100 grams (3.5 ounces), which gives you enough for five batches (or three, for larger families).  Some regular supermarkets in the Bay Area carry this for about $3, which is handy.  It’s much cheaper in Indian groceries, though.  This stuff makes an excellent chana masala!

MDH spice blend for chana masala

If you want the recipe from the box, here it is:

MDH’s Chana Masala

“Soak 200g [a tad more than 7 ounces] chick peas overnight with extra water.  Strain.  In a large pan heat 50g cooking oil.  Fry 120g [1 3/4 ounces] chopped red onions till golden brown.  Add two chopped tomatoes (120g) [4 1/4 ounces]and stir.  Add 20g [a bit less than 3/4 ounce] chana masala, 1 tspn. salt, and chick peas.  Stir for 5 minutes then add 800ml [27 ounces] fresh water.  Mix [in] 1/2 tspn. baking soda.  Bring to boil & cover.  Simmer for 40 min on low heat.  Alternately pressure cook for 20 min. with 400ml [just under 14 ounces] water and 1/2 tspn. baking soda.  Read cooking instructions on chick peas pack also.”

My notes:
1)  The stovetop method may need way more cooking time than 40 minutes
2)  You must soak your own chick peas!  Do not do this with canned chick peas!
3)  Do not omit the baking soda because you think it’s odd!
4)  I have no idea what the last sentence means; I ignore it

Vik’s Chaat in Berkeley CA

Menu board at Vik's Chaat Corner in Berkeley

Menu board at Vik's Chaat Corner in Berkeley

We wanted the antithesis of a turkey dinner today so we went to Vik’s Chaat Shop (726 Allston Way, Berkeley) for some spicy grub.  The weekend is the best time to go to Vik’s because they offer their full menu.  We shared four items:  1).  One kathi kabob.  This is an egg-covered paratha wrap with boneless chicken chunks, onions and cilantro and comes with mint chutney on the side.  Paratha is a relatively thick, flaky, buttery whole wheat flat bread.  2).  One lamb baida roti, a wrap made using a flour roti (another flat bread) and spiced ground lamb filling.  This is a very savory item and I highly recommend it!  3).  One masala dosa.  The dosa is a crepe made of ground rice and dal (lentils) that is often stuffed – in this case with spiced potatoes.  On the side you receive coconut chutney and sambar, a subtly-spicy warm lentil sauce.  This dosa is large and hangs over the plate it is served on.  4).  One bhatura cholle.  We always get this vegetarian item, basically a huge puri (puffed, fried bread made of fermented wheat) served with chick pea curry and Indian pickles,  which are pungent and hot.  The big puri is the bhatura and the chick pea curry is the cholle. 

bhatura cholle at vik's 11-28-08

Bhatura cholle at Vik's Chaat Corner

When you order an assortment to share you wind up with several breads to dip into various sauces and condiments.  For example, most of the dosa stuffing is in the middle so you can tear off plain pieces of the dosa on the ends and apply them to whatever looks good to you on other plates. 

Masala dosa at Vik's Chaat Corner

Masala dosa at Vik's Chaat Corner

I love this place, and it is an antidote to bland food.  Update on 12/5/08:  Steve had off so we went back for lunch and had four different things:   keema samosa, pastry-wrapped minced lamb and peas with mint chutney; bhel puri, a cold dish of puffed rice mixed with potatoes, onions, cilantro and various chutnies, including tamarind, so it’s on the sweet side; uttappam, a thick rice pancake topped with tomatoes, onions and cilantro that comes flat like a pizza with sauces on the side, and lunch special B, which today was chicken do-pyaza.  The lunch specials come with a small serving of the main dish, chapatti (flat whole wheat bread), papadam (thin, crisp, chick pea flour bread), some kind of dal (lentil sauce), rice, raita (cold yogurt sauce) and pickle.  Lunch specials work well when you share because one provides three dipping options for crepes or bread.  The star of the meal was the samosa.  Oh, man, so savory with a deep, rich flavor!  Vik’s has the best samosa I ever ate – and that goes for the vegetarian ones, too, which are stuffed with spiced potatoes.  They manage to get real complexity in their dishes, and each is distinctive.  The potato stuffing in the masala dosa, for example,  is different from the one in the samosa.  The bhel puri was fine, but there was too much of it for two people given its sweetness and our use of it as a condiment.  The uttappam has an interesting texture and the toppings wind up being cooked into it, so you get it dry and can use it to dip into sauce. 

Bhel puri at Vik's Chaat Corner

Bhel puri at Vik's Chaat Corner

 The average cost of an item at Vik’s is in the neighborhood of $5.50, so it’s a great place for a cheap meal, but one thing to be aware of is that almost everything has some heat to it.  This would not be a good place to take people who cannot tolerate a slow, steady, pleasant burn as they eat.  The people who work in this huge industrial space a nice, and service is quick, but they get busy during lunch.  When we arrived today at 11:00 a.m., there was already a line and they had not yet rolled up their metal door.

Keema samosa at Vik's Chaat Corner

Keema samosa at Vik's Chaat Corner

Vik’s Chaat House in Berkeley

Large poori at vik's in berkeley california

I dragged Matt to Viks Chaat House today.  He likes Indian food but never wants to go to Viks (724 Allston Way, Berkeley).  What gives with that?  The monster poori alone is reason to come here for lunch.  If you order the bhatura cholle you’ll get the pooriwith chick pea curry and onions.  By the by, if you like the pickles served at Vik’s, you can get jars of them at the grocery next door.  The one with the hard pieces of shell that you have to eat around, which is pungent slash sour in addition to being hot, is green mango.  It’s called “avakkai mango pickle” if you want to buy it.  The lime is also great.