South Asian food authenticity question

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Hello South Asia forum!

I've been trying some recipes for healthy cooking recently, and two dishes are supposidly south asian - one a chicken curry and another keema from Pakistan. Would any cooks with South Asian experience be willing to look at these recipes and critique them for authenticity? If they're not authentic, what changes could I make? I'd like to serve these dishes for potlucks and we do get some Indians and Pakistanis attending. I'd rather not have them laugh at my attempts.

I get my spices from Penzeys. I have the sweet curry powder and tandori seasoning, as well as their coriander, ginger, tumeric and cumin.

Chicken Curry:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

3 med onions chopped

1 can tomatoes chopped, or 2 cups fresh tomatoes chopped

4-5 chilies

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp tandoori powder

1 1/2 tsp tumeric

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup water

Add oil to large pot and cook onoins, garlic and ginger until soft and golden.

Add chilies, tomatoes and spices, simmer on low heat for approx 10 minutes.

Add chicken and water, allow to boil for approx 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked.

Serve with natural yogurt, rice and bread.

Number of Servings: 4

Keema:

1.5 lbs lean ground sirloin

1 cup chopped onions

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup diced potatoes

1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, tumeric, ginger

1 tbsp curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground sirloin in pan with onions until browned.

Add tomatoes, peas, potatoes and spices along with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 mintues.

Add water if it becomes too thick. It should have the consistency of chili.

Serve over brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

Number of Servings: 6

[chri'stina 190]

Hi rahma

I can only comment on the Chicken curry recipe since I am not familiar with keema. Hopefully others will chime in too.

The only thing I would say is to taste test it while you are cooking. I have found that some Indian recipes are watered down for western taste buds, and many times do not have enough flavor in them or spice to them.

You might need more tandoori spice in it than the recipe says. Do you have powder or something else like paste?The tandoori powder is yummy in my opinion, and has the spiciness in it that you will need. So I would taste test it after you have added everything, and then if you think it doesn't taste Indian enough, keep adding in more tandoori a little at a time and keep tasting til you think it's right. Maybe 1 1/2 tsp will be enough, but I think when we use it for dishes we put at least 1-2 tablespoons. It matters how spicy you want it. We don't like "burn your mouth off" spiciness, but it does need to have a little kick. You might need to add a little bit more salt too. It's up to your taste buds.

I am not familiar with penzeys so I don't know if their spices are like what we get in the south Asian stores.

Edited February 16, 2007 by stina&suj

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Thanks for your input! I made both these recipes this last week, and they were both a hit with my arab husband and my very german/italian family. I do think I will add more spices next time to kick it up a notch. Unfortunately, arabs (at least those who go to the mosque we go to, lol) are notoriously anti-spice. The first time my husband had Indian/Pakistani food a year ago, he had been fasting for ramadan and filled up his plate. Even though the desis made it "arab spicey" ie much less than usual, it was still too much for him. Poor guy was sick for hours afterwards.

Is there a store online that you buy indian spices from? I like Penzeys, but don't have much to compare it to. I'm definately getting a bigger jar of the curry powder and tandori seasoning next time I go.

[chri'stina 190]

If you live near a big city(I think you do...not sure hehe)...then you should be able to find an Indian/South Asian grocery store that has the spices we buy. That way you don't have to pay shipping. I don't buy from online, though I have once ordered online and had it delivered to a friend as a gift.

There are certain brands we buy like MDH, or Badshah, or Shan and a few others.

Here's a few sites I found that sell online

India Spice House

Ethnic Grocer

Quality Spices

For a small box of spice, which lasts awhile, it should be between $1-$3

Good luck!

Edited February 16, 2007 by stina&suj

[deathbydalbhat 0]

My Tiger would probably like it, he's the only desi I've met who doesn't like food as spicy as I do... We joke I'll have to cook for him first and then add the spice to my food, or I'll go through a jar of extra-spicy mango pickle in a week... It doesn't help that I'm veg and he isn't - his mom is Bahun(Brahmin-veg) and his Dad is Chhetri(non-veg) so dad and son are used to going out to eat meat - I guess we'll deal with it when the time comes - after paying for AOS etc. we'll probably be too poor for meat anyway....

It may be technically not Indian, but I use a lot of Shriracha paste in my cooking - the chili paste in the jar with the rooster on it - gives it extra kick and most folks I have cooked for go back for seconds

[chri'stina 190]

My Tiger would probably like it, he's the only desi I've met who doesn't like food as spicy as I do... We joke I'll have to cook for him first and then add the spice to my food, or I'll go through a jar of extra-spicy mango pickle in a week... It doesn't help that I'm veg and he isn't - his mom is Bahun(Brahmin-veg) and his Dad is Chhetri(non-veg) so dad and son are used to going out to eat meat - I guess we'll deal with it when the time comes - after paying for AOS etc. we'll probably be too poor for meat anyway....

It may be technically not Indian, but I use a lot of Shriracha paste in my cooking - the chili paste in the jar with the rooster on it - gives it extra kick and most folks I have cooked for go back for seconds

I love mango pickle. We ran out last week! The nearest Indian stores are an hour away so it's not so convenient to get it. But Sujeet works in Tampa and sometimes can stop on his way home from work to get Indian food supplies that we need.

I didn't like mango pickle right away though. The first few times I tried it I hated it. Then I acquired the taste for it I guess! I also love dipping different things into it like pizza & tuna fish sandwiches,yum! lol I already liked putting crushed red pepper on my pizza so it's not soooo different than that!

Sujeet is a vegetarian, and I'm not. I cook vegetarian dinners only, and during the day for lunch I eat non-veg stuff if I want to. We only eat Indian food 2-3 times a week, and sometimes I have to find new vegetarian recipes so we don't get sick of the same things.

Edited February 16, 2007 by stina&suj

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I'm making the chicken curry again today, and will add more of the tandori seasoning, maybe a little of my curry powder and potatos.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

All depends on how they make the spices. You can have a perfectly authentic recipe with americanized spices. It'll taste like #######. The best spices are found in Indian/Pakistani groceries.

[deathbydalbhat 0]

Yes, I totally agree. Never, EVER get the 'curry powder' that is sold in American supermarkets.

Woohoo!!! Just Googled and found out that Patel Brothers right here in Flushing does mail order - great news for if my Tiger and I have to move to Oklahoma or somewhere else where you can't get garam masala...

Edited February 18, 2007 by deathbydalbhat