Tastes of India tweaked for American palate

Recipes altered slightly to fit individual tastes

A few months ago I was shopping when I saw a woman with what looked like 10 pounds of ginger roots piled in her cart. Of course, I struck up a conversation. The woman, Zeba Faroogui, told me she made her own ginger-garlic paste at home in large batches, then froze it. She then invited me over to cook some authentic Indian food with her.

What an opportunity. Of all the regional and ethnic cuisines out there, Indian is the most intricate, utilizing a plethora of spices prepared in various ways, and complicated, many-step techniques.

Faroogui, who is a biomedical engineer, was born and raised in the Chicago area. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from Hyderabad, India, and all of their large, Muslim family now lives in the states. Faroogui learned to cook in her home kitchen with her mother and grandmother.

I joined her as she prepared three of her favorite dishes: chicken korma, basmati rice with vegetables and a cranberry chutney.

A korma is a creamy main dish thickened with yogurt that is a nice change change from the bright red "curries" usually associated with Indian food.

Basmati is a special variety of rice grown in India, with very long, delicate grains that cook into a fluffy, dry texture, never sticky.

Chutneys are a flavoring condiment meant to be eaten in small quantities alongside a main dish and rice. They can be made from nearly anything but are strongly flavored, usually tangy and quite spicy.

"You can spice korma up however you want," Faroogui said. "In northern India, they are milder. We like to put red chili in ours, and fresh green chilies. We don't want it really spicy but we do want a little heat, so we'll put one green chili in it with the stem on. If you want it hotter, you can cut it up. I use it whole, then if someone wants it hot they can cut up the chili and eat part of it."

Indian cuisine relies on long-cooked vegetables and sometimes ground nuts for thickening.

Many Indian stews incorporate yogurt as part of the sauce, and one of the biggest mistakes Americans make is breaking the yogurt when they add it.

"If you just plop it in there out of the refrigerator, it will curdle," Faroogui said. "Let it come to room temperature first, and stir it really well before you add it to break it up and make it more liquid. Then stir it into the dish really well."

Finally, when cooking Indian stews, make sure to use a really big, heavy pot. A too-small pot won't have enough surface area and the food won't saute or reduce the way it should.

Chicken Korma

Source: Zeba Faroogui

Serves 4-6


¾ cup yogurt

1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces, or an equivalent amount of pieces of your choice, skin on or off

2 heaping tablespoons ginger garlic paste (or ¾ heaping teaspoon finely minced ginger AND scant ½ teaspoon finely minced garlic)

¼-¹/ ³ cup canola oil or less, enough to generously coat pot bottom

3-4 whole cloves

¼ broken cinnamon stick (use the softer Mexican Canela sticks, not the normal hard cassia sticks)

3-4 whole green cardamom pods

1 heaping teaspoon shah zeera, or cumin, or caraway

1 heaping teaspoon ginger garlic paste or ¾ heaping teaspoon finely minced ginger and scant ½ teaspoon finely minced garlic

1 large Spanish onion, sliced

½ teaspoon ground garam masala

¾ teaspoon red chili powder, or less to taste

¾ teaspoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 flat teaspoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ bunch cilantro, about 1 cup chopped, divided

1 medium tomato, diced

1 small-sized can Chakoh coconut milk

¼ cup raw cashews or toasted almonds, ground

1 hot green chili

½ -¾ cups water (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves


1 Remove the yogurt from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Mix the chicken with the 2 tablespoons ginger and garlic paste and refrigerate while you're getting the rest of your items ready.

2 In a large, heavy Dutch oven, heat the canola oil. When it is hot and rippling, add the cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamom, and shah zeera. Stir into the hot oil until the spices become fragrant. Add the teaspoon of ginger garlic paste and stir rapidly until it starts to color.

3 Add the onion and continue to fry over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden and very soft.

4 Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and mix it well with the garam masala, red chili powder, paprika, salt, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander and lemon juice. When the onion is ready, add the chicken to the pot and sear over medium-high heat, turning often, until the meat is opaque and beginning to brown in places, about 10-15 minutes.

5 Add the cilantro and tomato and continue to cook and stir until the tomato has melted into the dish.

6 Add the coconut milk, cashews and whole green chili and mix well. Let the mixture simmer, uncovered, until the coconut milk has reduced somewhat and the flavors have cooked together.

7 In the meantime, stir the room-temperature yogurt well to liquefy it. Add it to the chicken and stir well to incorporate it. Cold yogurt or yogurt that has not been stirred well can curdle and ruin the dish.

8 Permit the chicken to cook uncovered until the yogurt has reduced and the sauce is clingy. Add a little water, cover the pot, and simmer until the chicken is very tender, about 30-45 minutes.

Vegetable Rice

Source: Zeba Faroogui

Serves 6-8


3 cups basmati rice

4 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 thumbnail-sized pieces broken cinnamon stick (use the softer Mexican Canela sticks, not the normal hard cassia sticks)

3-4 whole cloves

4-5 whole green cardamom pods

½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds

2-3 black peppercorns

1 heaping teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or ¾ heaping teaspoon finely minced ginger and ½ teaspoon finely minced garlic)

½ large Spanish onion, sliced

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

2 tablespoons yogurt

4½ cups water

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon butter


1 In a large bowl, rinse the basmati rice in three changes of water, then cover with water and soak while continuing with preparation. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil until hot and rippling. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, cumin seeds and peppercorns, and stir until the spices are fragrant. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir until it begins to color.

2 Add the onion and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. The darker the onion, the darker the color of the finished rice.

3 Add the mixed vegetables and cook, stirring, until they are hot. Add the yogurt and stir until everything is well-incorporated, about 3-4 minutes.

4 Remove about ¾ of the vegetables and set aside. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Drain the rice, add it, stir once, and cook, uncovered, until nearly dry. Add the reserved vegetables and cover for about 6 minutes to finish the cooking.

5 Stir rice with a fork and finish with a teaspoon of butter for shine.

Fresh Cranberry Chutney

Source: Zeba Faroogui

Makes about 1½ cups


1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

½ cup water

¼ teaspoon ground red chili


¹/ 8 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

¹/ 8 teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ bunch cilantro, leaves

¼ cup canola oil

2 whole dried red chilis

3 curry leaves (fresh if you can get them)

¼ teaspoon whole cumin

¼ teaspoon black mustard seed or more to taste


1 Place cranberries in a bowl of warm water to wash. Discard any that float.

2 Place cranberries and ½ cup water into a saucepan and cook until the cranberries soften and start to pop. Add the chili, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, cumin, coriander, black pepper and cilantro. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until the berries are very soft. You may need to add more water if the mixture starts to stick.

3 Using a pestle or the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher, mash the berries into a somewhat smooth paste.

4 In a separate pan, heat the oil until very hot. Add the chilies and let them begin to color. Drop in the curry leaves and let then sizzle, then add the caraway and finally the mustard. Stir, and when the mustard starts to pop almost immediately, pour the oil over the cranberry mixture. Stir in.

5 Serve the chutney cool. Store refrigerated in glass containers.

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