The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals (13 page)

There are several different ways to cook the pappadums. A common way is to deep-fry them by sliding them one at a time into a skillet filled with hot oil. They will instantly start to expand and change color. With a pair of metal tongs, try to hold each one under the surface of the oil until the whole disk has cooked, a process that should take no more than 5–7 seconds. Remove from the fryer, drain the excess oil, and stack them to cool and become crisp. Another cooking method is to hold each pappadum over the flame of a gas burner or a grill for about 1 minute, quickly exposing all sides and edges to the heat. They crinkle up into beautiful shapes almost at once and become very crisp as they cool. But while they are still warm, they can be shaped into pockets, rolls, or other desired shapes. Cooked pappadums can be stuffed or topped with toasted coconut, chopped herbs, spice mixtures, minced meats, and nuts. Here is a quick recipe for stuffed pappadums. I describe filling them with fresh shrimps, but you can be creative and use any stuffing you like. Spiced mashed potatoes, minced meat, or mixed vegetables will work well. Serve this with a dipping sauce or chutney. Try the Spiced Pear Chutney (page
26
) as it goes with it very well.

Serves
4

Prep time:
15 minutes

Cook time:
15 minutes

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion (about 8 oz/250 g), minced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ lb (250 g) fresh, medium-size shrimp (about 15–18), peeled, deveined, and chopped

1 small potato, about 5 oz (150 g) boiled, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

8 plain or spicy
papads
(uncooked pappadums)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Oil, to deep-fry

To make the stuffing, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and black pepper and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the ground coriander, turmeric, and chopped shrimp. Sauté for 3–4 minutes and then add the cooked potatoes, lemon juice, and salt. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, soak the papad disks in warm water for 5–8 minutes to soften and then drain. In a small bowl, mix the flour with a few drops of water to form a paste. This will act as glue. Spoon the shrimp mixture on to one side of the papads, then roll up, folding in the sides and sealing the edges with the flour paste, to form a roll.

Heat 2 inches (5 cm) of oil in a
kadhai,
small wok, or large saucepan over medium heat to 325°F (160°C) on a deep-fry or candy thermometer. To gauge the temperature of the oil without a thermometer, drop a piece of bread about 1-in (2.5-cm) square into the oil, turning the piece of bread often as the oil heats up. When the oil reaches 325°F (160°C), the bread will begin to brown quickly and turn golden brown all over—like a crouton—in about 40 seconds. Deep-fry the stuffed papads in batches, turning frequently for 2–3 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

Chopped Vegetable Salad
Khachumbar Salaad

In India, or in Indian cuisine, salads are usually served as a relish and an accompaniment rather than in the traditional way a Western meal would feature a salad. However, I have made this salad with the thought in mind that Americans usually treat salad as a proper course by itself. Add as many vegetables as you want—this can be made into a whole meal. Or, if you intend to serve it as part of a meal, serve small portions, as this salad can be quite filling. I have used unconventional greens—baby spinach instead of lettuce. The salad also has the goodness of honey, as an alternative sweetening agent.

Serves
4

Prep time:
20 minutes

2 cucumbers (about 1 lb/500 g), peeled, cut in half lengthwise and diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 red onion (about 5 oz/150 g) diced

1 cup (150 g) cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cup (25 gm) fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels

2 cups (100 g) packed fresh baby spinach leaves, washed

LEMON HONEY DRESSING

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and coarsely ground

Whisk together the ingredients for the Lemon Honey Dressing in a small bowl until well blended. Set aside.

Mix together the cucumbers, carrot, onion, tomatoes, corn, and baby spinach in a large mixing bowl.

Pour on the Lemon Honey Dressing and toss gently. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve chilled.

Sweet Potato and Sprout Salad

The idea for this recipe struck me once when I had a lot of roasted sweet potatoes left over from a family Thanksgiving dinner. I conveniently used the surplus to make a salad the next day. Very soon, this became a habit! I use
chaat
masala in this salad to bring out the flavors of the cooked sweet potato. You can also use dried raw mango powder and black or sea salt to do the same and bring out the uniqueness of Indian flavor. During winter in India, sweet potato
chaat
is sold by street-side vendors and is a very popular evening snack.

Serves
4

Prep time:
10 minutes

Cook time:
30 minutes

2 large (about 1 lb/500 g) sweet potatoes

3 tablespoons oil

1 cup (100 g) bean sprouts

1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

2 cups (125 g) diced romaine or iceberg lettuce

LEMON MINT DRESSING

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoons honey

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Mint Chutney (page
27
)

2 tablespoons minced coriander leaves (cilantro)

2 teaspoons Chaat Masala (page
22
, optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Apply one tablespoon of oil to the sweet potatoes. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 20–30 minutes until soft. Peel and dice. Set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, whisk together the ingredients for the Lemon Mint Dressing in a small bowl until well blended. Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a small nonstick pan over medium-high heat and fry the sweet potatoes until light golden brown. Set aside in a large mixing bowl. (Frying is optional, as you can use baked sweet potato as is.) To serve, toss the sweet potatoes with the bean sprouts, apples, lettuce and Lemon Mint Dressing. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve chilled.

Chickpea, Mango and Watercress Salad

This recipe contains shredded raw mango. If you find it is a challenge to find fresh mangoes, you can easily substitute any other crunchy vegetable like radish or jicama. Also, this recipe uses olive oil, which is not a very traditional ingredient in Indian cuisine. This salad has partially been inspired by the very popular Thai raw mango and papaya salad, but selected Indian spices and grains add an interesting twist. The bitterness of watercress works well to balance the sourness of the mangoes.

Serves
4

Prep time:
20 minutes

Cook time:10 minutes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 teaspoons split black gram (urad dal)

5–6 fresh curry leaves, minced

1 fresh green chili pepper, minced

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

1 can chickpeas 15½-oz (439-g), drained and rinsed well

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons shredded coconut, fresh or frozen

1 green mango (about 8 oz/250 g) peeled and cut into thin strips

Watercress

1 apple, cored and cut into thin strips (optional)

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and black gram and sauté for 30 seconds until the mixture splutters. Then add the curry leaves, green chili, and red chili flakes and sauté for another minute. Add the cooked chickpeas and salt and sauté for another minute or 2 and then remove from the heat.

Let it cool for 5–10 minutes. Add the coconut, mango, watercress, apple (if using), and lemon zest and juice. Toss to mix all the salad ingredients together and check the seasoning.

Potato and Pea Samosas
Aloo Aur Matar Samosae

At Café Spice we make more than 10,000 handmade samosas a day! The samosa is a quintessential Indian snack and is probably the most common snack served when you have unexpected visitors. Every neighborhood in India has at least one vendor selling these delicious triangular fritters. Although the standard stuffing for samosas is potato, you can be very innovative and use ingredients like leftover lentils, vegetables, or even minced meat for the filling. The preparation is simple—if you can consistently form triangle shapes, you can make samosas. Various machines and equipment have been tried to form the perfect swollen triangle from the dough, but to date, the best samosas are still made by hand. At the Café Spice kitchen, we have a dedicated samosa room and employ skilled “samosa girls” who have mastered the art of consistently churning out these perfect triangle shapes.