Indian Spices

Okay the reason why our food taste soooo good is because we use a lot of spices to make it tasty. We have LOADS of secret ingredients. These are some of the few I use in my cooking.

1. Ginger-Garlic Paste
This paste helps a lot in bringing out the taste of each and every one of the ingredients you put in your meal.
This mixture sparks once it hits the wok so be careful not to get hit in your eye. Stir this as soon as you put it in.

How to make it: One large ginger, peeled clean. 2 large bulbs of garlic peeled clean as well. Put BOTH of them in a blender, add 3 cups of water and well...blend.
Blend it till becomes a thick yellow paste. You may make enough to fill a normal-sixed tupperwear. This mixture can be refrigerated for one month.

2. Dried Chili Paste
This is the culprit that makes Indian food deliciously spicy. Take 3 handfuls of dried chilli and soak them in warm water. Add 1 tsp of ground turmeric. The idea is to make the chillis soft and turmeric acts as germ-killer. Dried chili may sometimes have small bugs in them so soaking them in warm water kills them off. For hygenic purposes. ^^
After the chilis have become soft, drain the chilis and put them in the blender. Add 3 cups of water and blend till they become a paste. After blending, remove the blender lid and let the paste 'breathe'. Blended chili paste makes the eyes watery. Hence, let it breathe for 2 minutes. You can make enough to fill a normal-sized tupperwear. This paste can be refrigerated for one month.

3. Before cooking chicken and fish, marinate them in 1tbspn of turmeric, fennel and cumin powder. This gives taste to the chicken and fish.

4. Always use cinnamon, cloves and star anise after heating oil. This is to bring out nutrition in the food.

5. Curry leaves are great with 'dry' foods like fried rice and noodles.

6. You can use butter as oil.

7. Coconut milk makes curries thick.

8. After eating a spicy dish, always take yoghurt afterwards.

Oyster Chicken with Turmeric Rice(sprinkled with parsley)

Having nothing to do at home while waiting for my final exam(dont you need to study?), I have taken up cooking to fill my free time. You see, it makes sense, I stay at home all day so might as well do something. Besides, I can feed my lazy-ass sister as well so it works out.

First you cook the rice. While the rice is cooking you can make preparations for the chicken dish.

Rice Recipe

Pour 2-3 cups of rice into rice cooker and wash them. After washing, cut turmeric plant(yes, the actual thing that looks like a baby yellow ginger) into first thin slices(about 10 slices) then cut those slices into quadrants. Mix them well as you want the whole rice pot to be covered in turmeric, add 4 cups of water and sprinkle parsley. Close lid and cook the rice. You get your turmeric rice. This is my own creation. Even mum likes it.

Chicken Recipe

Ingredients: Ginger-garlic paste, 4 chicken drumsticks, curry leaves, sliced cabbage/carrot, 2 medium-sized onions, 2 medium potatoes, 2 large cinnamon sticks, 3 star anise, 3 cloves, thick soy sauce ,oyster sauce, 2 cups of water, one green chili.

1. Marinate chicken in 2 tsp of fennel, 2 tsp ground turmeric, 2 tbspn chicken curry powder and salt over night. The next afternoon when you want to cook take them out and cut them into small pieces.

2. Peel a large ginger and 2 large garlics and put them into blender. Add a cup of water and blend them till they become a paste. Add more water if necessary. You can make more of these and keep them in a tupperwear because almost all Indian food use this ginger-garlic paste. That's why Indian food taste great. =)

3. Cut onion into large rings.

4. Cut potatoes into rings as well.

5. Slice the amount of cabbage or carrot that you want.

6. Slice the green chili.


Now for the real deal.

1. Heat oil in wok.

2. Add the cinnamon sticks, star anises and cloves. Stir them till they are fragrant. Make sure the cinnamon sticks are heated enough till they open.

3.  Add onion, curry leaves, sliced green chili and 2 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste. Watch out this mixture sparks! Stir them till fragrant.

4. Add the marinated chicken and stir the mixture till the chicken is covered with the ingredients in no.3.

5. Close the wok with it's lid and leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes. You should have a nice fragrance wafting in the kitchen. Stir the mixture in intervals to prevent the chicken from overcooking.

6. After letting it simmer for 5-7 minutes your chicken should be partially cooked. Add the 2 cups of water and mix them well.

7. Add 2 tablespoons of thick soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce. Mix them well.

8. Add the potatoes and cabbages now. Mix them well for 2 minutes. Sprinkle very little salt and stir again.

9. You should close the wok with it's lid and let the now gravy-like chicken to simmer. At intervals, lift the lid and stir the mixture. Do this from time to time for 20 - 30 minutes.

10. At the end you should get a thick gravy chicken paste.

It should look something like this:

That black chili(sometimes called pepper) is just additional. It's very spicy but I love it.

Try it and you will love it. I know I did.