A Passage to India..A Punjabi Celebration Meal

India is a huge and diverse country with a land area of 1.2million square miles (that’s 13 times the size of the UK) and a population of over 1.2 billion.(18 times the size of the UK).

It’s the World’s largest democracy and only became an independent country on August 15th 1947.

Though a single country, the peoples of India are made up of people from different racial groups, people of many faiths and beliefs who speak many many different languages and have a huge range of traditions, cultures and heritages.

Needless to say that there is no such thing as an “Indian Cuisine”.

The food of India is as varied as its peoples, its geography and its history.

The typical food found in Indian restaurants and take-aways in Britain bears very little resemblance to food that is cooked and eaten in homes in India. Dishes like “Chicken Tikka Masala” and “Balti” were all created in Britain for British tastes.

The word “curry” a word synominus in Britain with Indian food is thought to be an Anglicised word for “gravy” and again if you were in India and asked for a “Chicken Curry” you might get a blank look in return!

The vast majority of Indian people are vegetarian or live on a mainly vegetarian diet. Eating meat is often for special occasions. A lot of the Indian diet is governed by peoples’ religious beliefs e.g. Hindu’s and Sikh’s will not eat beef and Muslim’s, pork.

Our session “A Passage to India” will take us to Punjab, in North West India, often referred to the bread basket of India. It is a green lush area that has all year round agriculture that is watered by the five rivers (Punjab means 5 rivers) that bring down waters from the Himalayas to the fertile plains below.

Punjabi cuisine has many influences, in particular the Moguls who brought a taste of Persia when they invaded India starting in the 13th century.

The food of Punjab is flavoured by subtle mixtures of different herbs and spices.

Interestingly any one dish made in a home in Punjab will not taste exactly like another. Punjabis love their food and closely guard their culinary secrets in a friendly rivalry to see who can produce the very tastiest food….and woe betide a dinner guest who doesn’t comment that “this is the best…. I have ever tasted!”

Preparing, sharing and eating food is a huge social occasion. Punjabi people are very generous and outgoing people and will always enjoy sharing food with family, friends and guests and will willingly give a meal to a hungry stranger.

So here we go…

A Punjabi Celebration Meal

A fun little starter “Alloo Tikka” (Spicy potato cakes”)

Punjabi Style Chicken with Basmati Rice

Ingredients are approx. for 4-6 people

The herbs, spices etc can be adjusted to taste.

So the starter…

“Alloo Tikka” (Spicy potato cakes”)

• You need 4 medium sized potatoes peeled and cut into pieces.
• Large Onion, salt pepper, garam masala (mixed ground spices) and a little fresh chilli or chilli powder and some fresh chopped coriander.

1. Boil the potatoes until soft.
2. At the same time chop the onion and fry in a little oil with the seasoning and spices until golden brown.
3. Drain the potatoes and mash with a splash of milk and a knob of butter to make “mashed potato”..dont worry about having a few small lumps.
4. Add in the fried onions and chopped coriander and mix well.
5. When the mix has cooled enough to be able to handle make the potato into balls between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball, and then flatten them on a floured tray into round potato cake shapes, pressing the potato so it doesn’t fall apart.
6. Cover in flour and deep fry, or fry in a frying pan until golden brown.

They can be eaten on their own or dipped into a sauce or chutney…yummy!

And now the main course…

Punjabi Style Chicken with Basmati Rice

Ingredients

• One chicken drum stick per person or equivalent of chicken breast or 250gm of veggie chicken style pieces
• Tin of tomatoes
• Tomato puree
• Large Onion…..Ginger…..Garlic…a fresh chilli (or chilli powder).
• Basmati rice
• Sal and pepper
• Olive oil
• Spices …Turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala(ground mixed spices) chilli powder.(or use the fresh chilli)
• Fresh coriander
• Optional Extra..one third of a tin of coconut milk.

Method

1. First we are going to create a basic Indian style base sauce.
2. Finely chop the onion, 2 cloves of garlic and a piece of fresh ginger (about 2 inches long) and one finely chopped chilli (remember to take out the seeds!)
3. Pour in olive oil in to a pan and heat, add in the onions garlic ginger and chilli.
4. Cook on a gentle heat until the onions start to brown.
5. Add in the spices ..about half a teaspoon of each (or to taste) pour in the tinned tomatoes and about 250ml of water. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. This can be cooled and stored as a “ready meal” sauce to which you can add meat, vegetables, prawns or pieces of fish.
7. Add in the chicken and slow cook for at least 45 minutes longer if possible. The longer the cooking time the more chance the flavours have to infuse into to meat.
8. Add the chopped coriander as a garnish.

The Rice

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add in salt.
2. For each person add about half a cup of basmati rice. Cook in boiling water until the grains are soft. Drain the rice
   …To keep the grains separate and fluffy pour over boiling water to wash away the excess starch.
3. Serve the rice with the chicken. A little chutney (mango etc) is a fun accompaniment.