Okay so bear with me. I am learning how to cook is there any tips that you guys can give me. I am not very domesticated at all so a bit of a nightmare in the kitchen is there any recepies that you started with that anyone likes to share.
Regards
Re: Learning to Cook
Start with boiling an egg.
Re: Learning to Cook
basic stuff that you need to know for desi cooking, curry includes onions, tomatoes, lal mirch, haldi, salt, zeera and dhania powder and ginger/garlic paste. just bhoonify it all and add whatever else you want. shan masala is great for beginners.. just add a teaspoon for taste.. not very healthy though.
Hi Zash,
My mom has taught me that the basic foundation of spices is the same for many of the dishes (onion, garlic, tomatoes, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1- 1.5 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric). You can buy premade garlic and ginger paste which will save you time and also has a long shelf life.
Here's a basic chicken recipe you can try. It doesn't take long to make it...cuz you're throwing everything into the pot and letting it cook on its own. First you will put everything into the pot........and THEN put the pot on the stove to cook.
Ingredients
boneless chicken
1 medium tomato
1 medium sized onion
1 tablespoon garlic paste ( or 4-5 garlic cloves finely chopped)
3-4 green chillies (finely chopped)
1/2 cup yogurt
1 - 1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 - 1.5 tsp garam masala
Procedure:
1) Finely chop the onion and the tomato. If you don't have garlic paste (1 tablespoon)....just finely chop 4-5 garlic cloves.
2) In a pot......add about 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Then to the oil add your boneless chicken, chopped onion, chopped tomato, and garlic.
3) Next add 1 to 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 to 1/2 tsp of garam masal, 1/4 tsp turmeric.
4) And then you just put the pot on the stove........and turn the heat upto medium. The chicken and chopped veggies will start to cook on their own. Take about a 10-15 minute break....but check on the chicken occasionally and give it a good stir so it doesn't stick to the pan.
5) While the chicken is cooking....finely chop up a small piece of gingger. About a teaspoon and half. And also chop up your green chillies (3-4).
6) Check on your chicken......the chicken should look white now....a sign that it's cooked/cooking. And you'll see that oil has risen to the surface (that's a usual sign that dish is almost done). At this point go ahead......and add the chopped chillies and ginger. And also add the 1/2 cup yogurt. The yogurt will help to creat a gravy/curry.
7) Stir for about 5-10 more minutes. Once again, you should see the oil rise to the surface. And you're done. You can choose garnish with chopped dhania.
Re: Learning to Cook
Practice Practice Practice … and feed it to your husband 
Btw I think I started with rice.
Re: Learning to Cook
Here's an easy recipe for aloo tikki. You can use this potato mixture for samosay or aaloo ka paratha. It's a versatile filling.
Ingredients:
4-5 medium potatoes
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
cumin seeds aka zeera (I don't measure....just sprinkle according to taste in mixture)
corriander seeds (about 2 teaspoons.....crushed. Put seeds in zip loc bag and pound them with rolling pin)
finely chopped dhania (just take a few leaves according to taste)
3-5 green chillies, finely chopped (you can use more or less according to taste)
1 egg
oil for frying.
**
Procedure**:
1) Boil the potatoes. You can even do this in the microwave. Simply put potatoes in bowl and hit the "baked potato" setting on your microwave and that's it. Or put them in a pot of water and boil on high heat for 15-30 minutes. If they're tender enough to stick a knife in them.....they're done.
2) Let the potatoes cool. After they've cooled, chop into smaller pieces and mash them with a masher.......and also your hands. I find that using both methods helps in getting the lumps out. Then to the potatoes...add the finely chopped onions, green chillies, and coriander....continue mashing. Then add the chilli powder, garam masala, cumin seeds, crushed coriander seeds, and salt. Make sure the seasoning mixes well by mashing mixture with your hands.
3) Taste the mixture.......at this point if you feel that more salt/chili powder/or garam masala needs to be added......you can make the adjustments.
4) Grab a few spoonfuls of the mixture and shape into round patties. My mom suggests using wet hands to shape them into circles.......because the wetness of your hands helps in keeping the tikis intact so they don't fall apart while frying.
5) Beat one egg. And heat some oil in a frying pan. After you've shaped the tikis into cirlces with wet hands.........dip each tikki in the beaten egg.......and fry in the oil. Let the ticki fry on one side for about 2-3 minutes before flipping over. I use a spatula with slits. The advantage to this spatula is that when I pick up the ticki.....I look underneath the spatula through the slits.......to see if the bottom of the tikki is adequately fried before flipping it over. You can practice with frying one tikki at first.....just to get comfortable.....before frying several of them at one time.
Re: Learning to Cook
:k:, keep it coming…thanks redvelvet, am going to try the tikki’s this weekend:yummy:
RV! I don't know if you got my pm or not but my aunt tried the recipe you sent me and it turned out lovely! Thanks so much for sharing!
Here's an easy recipe for aloo tikki. You can use this potato mixture for samosay or aaloo ka paratha. It's a versatile filling.
Ingredients:
4-5 medium potatoes
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
cumin seeds aka zeera (I don't measure....just sprinkle according to taste in mixture)
corriander seeds (about 2 teaspoons.....crushed. Put seeds in zip loc bag and pound them with rolling pin)
finely chopped dhania (just take a few leaves according to taste)
3-5 green chillies, finely chopped (you can use more or less according to taste)
1 egg
oil for frying.
Procedure:
1) Boil the potatoes. You can even do this in the microwave. Simply put potatoes in bowl and hit the "baked potato" setting on your microwave and that's it. Or put them in a pot of water and boil on high heat for 15-30 minutes. If they're tender enough to stick a knife in them.....they're done.
2) Let the potatoes cool. After they've cooled, chop into smaller pieces and mash them with a masher.......and also your hands. I find that using both methods helps in getting the lumps out. Then to the potatoes...add the finely chopped onions, green chillies, and coriander....continue mashing. Then add the chilli powder, garam masala, cumin seeds, crushed coriander seeds, and salt. Make sure the seasoning mixes well by mashing mixture with your hands.
3) Taste the mixture.......at this point if you feel that more salt/chili powder/or garam masala needs to be added......you can make the adjustments.
4) Grab a few spoonfuls of the mixture and shape into round patties. My mom suggests using wet hands to shape them into circles.......because the wetness of your hands helps in keeping the tikis intact so they don't fall apart while frying.
5) Beat one egg. And heat some oil in a frying pan. After you've shaped the tikis into cirlces with wet hands.........dip each tikki in the beaten egg.......and fry in the oil. Let the ticki fry on one side for about 2-3 minutes before flipping over. I use a spatula with slits. The advantage to this spatula is that when I pick up the ticki.....I look underneath the spatula through the slits.......to see if the bottom of the tikki is adequately fried before flipping it over. You can practice with frying one tikki at first.....just to get comfortable.....before frying several of them at one time.