Rice Krispie Cookies

Rules by Heather Castro
Give your butter the respect it deserves.
Don’t cook them in the microwave.
Take your time – marshmallows need to melt slowly.
If your adding chocolate, buy Milk Chocolate chips by Guittard ( sold at Safeway or Longs)
If you cannot find this recipe, use the Rice Krispie Box recipe NOT the recipe on the marshmallow bag.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, not margarine
60 regular marshmallows, about a 16oz bag
9 cups of Rice Krispies

Directions:
Melt butter in large saucepan over LOW heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Add Rice Krispies. Stir until well coated.
Add Chocolate Chips. Stir until just barely melted. Then quickly remove Rice Krispie mix to a buttered 9x13 pan.
Press into pan with buttery hands.

Ela's Gosht Korma (Meat and Sauce/Gravy)

This dish has a mild and cinnamon-ish taste to it. Very flavorful and QUICK and EASY!

Meatballs or red beef (really you could use anything.
potatoes, cauliflower, etc. I use the Costco Roast-Meat from a can when I'm in a hurry!!!)

1 cup plain yogurt
1 med onion
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs crushed garlic
1 Tbs crushed ginger
1 Tbs garam masala
2 Tbs olive oil
1 cinamon stick or pinch of cinamon (stick is tastier!)
1-2 cups water
2 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
1 Tbs ground coriander
fresh cilantro to garnish

**Heat oil w cinnamon stick for couple minutes (don’t
burn it!) Add ginger, garlic and diced onions and saute. Add all
other ingredients except the yogurt. (Add yogurt just before serving making sure to add it SLOWLY/whisk in so it doesn’t curdle.
Also, add water if needed to get an appropriate
consistency. Simmer for 10 minutes (the longer the
better) and serve over rice or eat w toasted Naan!

Indian Food Definitions: user's guide to eating out!

Indian Eating: Definitions

Aloo: Potato

Basmati rice: Basmati rice is authentic Indian long grained white rice, which has unique nutty flavor. Basmati rice is very popular in India and all over the world.

Biryani: Elaborate dish made from spiced saffron rice cooked with pieces of lamb, chicken or vegetables.

Chappati: Unleavened Indian flat-bread made with wheat flour, water, oil and salt. Usually cooked on a "tava" or thick griddle and brushed with "ghee".

Chaat: Salty snacks served with an array of sweet and spicy chutneys. 

Chana (chole/chanay): “Chickpea”- Garbanzo beans.

Chutney: Fresh relishes made with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. 

Curry: To the Indians, the term curry means gravy or sauce, Curries are what made Indian cuisine famous all over the world, the most famous of all is the Chicken Curry. Residents of the rest of the world, however, have come to think of "curry" as simply a thick creamy yellow sauce or any dish seasoned with a curry-powder blend, whether it has a sauce or not. An authentic Indian curry is an intricate combination of a stir-fried wet masala (mixture of onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes), various spices and seasonings with which meat, poultry, vegetables or fish is prepared to produce a stew-type dish

Daal: (Dal/Dhal/Daal) the preparation of dried peas, beans, and lentils which are red, yellow orange, or pink, plus split peas and other legumes. The husks are removed and the legume is split (like split peas).

Dosa: A popular delicacy from southern India made from rice and "urad" daal. They are usually made very thin and pancake-like and sometimes filled with a spiced potato mixture. Served with chutney and "sambar".

Gosht: Meat. Usually adapted by the western world to mean “lamb”.

Gobi: cauliflower

Kheer: Essentially a rice pudding, made with rice, milk and sugar flavored with cardamom. Sometimes nuts are added. Served either hot or cold.

Koftas: Spiced meat or vegetable balls. 

Korma: Rich sauce thickned with yogurt, nuts or poppy seeds. 

Lassi : A tall cool drink made from yogurt and water and made either sweet or salty.

Masala: Spices, herbs and other seasonings ground or pounded together. When wet ingredients like water, vinegar, yogurt etc. are added to the spice mixture it is appropriately called a "wet masala". Dry spice mixtures are also called "Garam masala"

Masoor: Lentils

Mutter : Peas

Naan: Indian flat bread made from wheat and baked in a tandoor.

Palak: Spinach

Paneer: Indian Cheese made with the use of lemon and milk to separate the curds and create the cheese.

Paratha: Whole-wheat unleavened flatbread. It is sometimes filled with cooked ground meat or a vegetable mixture. Slightly larger than a Chappati and shallow fried to perfection

Rogan Josh: Rich lamb curry.

Roti: is Bread in Hindi. "Tandoori roti" is bread that is baked in a tandoor, "Rumali Roti" or literally meaning handkerchief bread is a kind of a thin and flaky partha made up of many layers. 

Saag Curry: Aromatic curried dish made from greens (like spinach or mustard leaves).

Samosas: Deep-fried pastry appetizers filled with vegetable or meat mixtures.

Tandoor: The traditional Indian clay oven is called the "Tandoor". A Tandoor is a clay pot usually sunken neck deep in the ground. Charcoal is put on the flat bottom of the pot.  The heat generated by the hot charcoal in and on the sides of the clay pot is used for cooking. Long iron rods, long enough to reach the bottom of the pot, are used in the cooking process.  It is probably the most versatile kitchen equipment in the Indian kitchen. Barbecues, breads, daal, gravies made in them acquire a unique taste, very different from the food cooked on the regular kitchen oven. 

Tikka: Skewered boneless meat cubes cooked in a tandoor.  

Vindaloo: Meat usually pork is used to make this very spicy and flavorful dish. Cooked in vinegar and typically served 2 to 3 days after it is made. A great dish to make when entertaining as it can be made ahead of time.    

Aloo Gobi

Ingredients :

1 Tbsp. Oil

1  Cauliflower, cut & separated into florets

4  yukon gold Potatoes, cut into 1/2" - 1" cubes

1  Onion, chopped lengthwise

1 tsp.  Ginger (in the jar)

1 tsp.  Garlic (in the jar)

1/2 c.  Water

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp.  Tumeric

2 tsp.  Cumin Powder

2 tsp.  Coriander Powder

2 tsp.  Red Chilli Powder (Substitute: Ancho Chili powder for a mild flavor - I used Ancho Chili Powder on our cooking group night)

1 tsp.  Garam Masala      
1 Tsp.  Cilantro- Few sprigs for Garnishing.

Method :

Seperate the florets from Cauliflower. Wash & drain.
Cut Potatoes into Chunks.

Heat Oil in a Pan , add Onions & fry till translucent.
Add ginger & garlic -  stir.  Mix in Potatoes and water , cover to cook.

When the Potatoes are half done (about 15 minutes), add the florets,
tumeric & salt. Cover to Cook (another 15 minutes). Open afer a few minutes,
add all the dry powders & mix. (At this point you might need to cook longer if potatoes aren't done.)
Garnish with Cilantro leaves.
Serve hot with Breads, Rice, Rotis or as a side dish.

Submitted by Kathryn C.

Naan Bread

I had this recipe in oz/g and have tried to convert ... hopefully it works. This recipe isn't completely authentic, but it tastes pretty good.

Ingredients:
14oz/397g (3 1/8 Cups) all purpose flour
1/3oz/9g (3 tsp) instant dry yeast
6 fluid oz/180ml (3/4 C) water
2 fluid oz/60 ml clarified butter, plus more as needed (there is a good tutorial for clarifying butter here: http://allrecipes.com/howto/clarifying-butter/detail.aspx)
2 oz/57g (a little less than 1/4 C) plain yogurt
1 egg
1 oz/ 28g (2 heaping Tbs) sugar
1 1/2 tsp /7.50g salt
2 Tbs/ 12 g poppy seeds or black onion seeds

1. Combine flour and yeast. Add the water, butter, yogurt, egg, sugar and salt and mix on low speed for 4 minutes. Dough should be elastic, but still wet.
2. Let rise till doubled, about an hour.
3. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Pre-shape into rounds. Let the dough rest, covered for 15-20 minutes.
4. Gently stretch each piece of dough into a round 7inches in diameter, so that the center is 1/4 inch thick and the border is a little thicker. Pull one edge out to elongate each round slightly, creating a teardrop shape.
5. Place the breads on parchment -lined baking sheets (air-bake sheets work very well), brush them with butter and sprinkle with seeds on top.
6. Bake the naan in a 425 degree oven until golden brown and puffed, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on racks.  If you are baking on a regular baking sheet, you may need to reduce the temperature or turn the bread halfway through baking so that one side of the bread doesn't turn out too dark.

Contributed by Tess Douglas

Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped mango (peeled and stone removed)
4 teaspoons sugar, to taste
A dash of ground cardamom (optional)

Method

Put mango, yogurt, milk, sugar and cardamom into a blender and blend for 2 minutes, then pour into individual glasses, and serve. Can sprinkle with a little cardamom.
The lassi can be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
Makes about 2 cups.

submitted by Andrea A.

Ela's Gosht Korma

Meatballs or red beef (really you could use anything.
potatoes, cauliflower, etc.)
1 med yellow onion
1 cup plain yogurt
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs crushed garlic
1 Tbs crushed ginger
1 Tbs garam masala
2 Tbs olive oil
1 cinamon stick or pinch of cinamon (stick is tastier!)
1-2 cups water
2 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
1 Tbs ground coriander
fresh cilantro

**Heat oil w cinnamon stick for couple minutes (don’t
burn it!) Add chopped onion, ginger and garlic and saute. Remove cinnamon sticks,
blend rest of cooked stuff in blender, then return to pan and add cinnamon back to pan. (ok
to add water to make it easier to blend.)
Add all other ingredients, making sure to add the yogurt at the
end and SLOWLY/whisk in so it doesn’t curddle.
Also, add the water last to get an appropriate
consistancy.  Simmer for 10 minutes (the longer the
better) and serve over rice or eat w toasted Naan!

Ela's Chicken Tikka Masala

Quick and Easy Tikka Paste:
1 Tbs Coriander
1 Tbs Cumin powder
1/8 Cup (or 1/4 if you like more) ginger/garlic paste
1 tsp red chili powder (more or less for your own preference of heat)
1 Tbs cumin seeds
1/2-1 tsp tumeric powder (for color)
1 tsp garam masala (may add more if you like it spicey- I add 1 Tbs!)
1 T nuts ground or slivered (almonds or cashews) **optional
1 tsp Fenugreck Powder
Salt (to taste)
Lemon juice (about a Tbs)

Make a paste by mixing white wine vinegar with the
dry ingredients.  Heat olive oil, and add paste to pan.
Cook till oil rises to surface. Then add all the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 10 more minutes on low. (May add bit of water as needed to keep from burning spices.)

1) Take half of this paste and mix it w/ some plain yogurt. Marinate your
meat in this mixture for at least an hour.
2) The other half will be added to the sauce!


Chicken:
Cut into desired sizes of pieces.  After marinating for at least an hour in the tikka paste and yogurt (FYI when marinating meat- you can NOT use the dry spices without making it into a paste first.  if you try this your chicken will not soak in the flavor and you will taste all the spices separate- they won't blend.  Making the paste is essential) , put on skewers and grill on your grill.  You can also use a stone-ware pan and bake it uncovered in your oven.  Set aside.

Tikka Sauce:
1 med onion (yellow is fine)
grn chilies
red or green peppers (just a few slices) **optional
Tikka paste

1 Tbs sugar (only needed if you add the peppers)
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce.


Heat olive oil in pan- enough to fry your onion.
Dice the onion and put in pan. Add a few grn chilies
(to your spicy-delight). You can also add some red or
green peppers, but if you do then also add 1 Tbs sugar
to take away pungency.  Cook till onions are brown.
Add the rest of the Tikka paste.  Add 1 can tomato sauce- then
blend in blender till smooth (about 20 seconds). Return to stove.
Add 1 can diced tomatoes.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat to med and slowly stir in 1/2-1 cup plain
yogurt or cream.  Let cook on med until it tastes
good :)  (about 15 mins). Lastly- add the grilled chicken :)

 Just before serving, add handful of chopped
fresh cilantro, and top dish w/ dollop of plain yogurt!

****Note:  IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE ALL THIS TIME THEN HERE'S THE SHORTENED VERSION- although not as authentic and not as tasty, it is still wonderful and is a LOT faster.  Here's what you do:

Make the tikka sauce as directed AND OMIT MAKING THE PASTE.  You will still use the ingredients, but you will not be marinating the meat- so you don't really need to make the paste.
Add the ginger/garlic paste when you fry your onion. when the onion is browned, add ALL the other spices listed in the "Tikka Paste" recipe, and also the rest of the "Tikka Sauce" ingredients, omitting the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Fry the spices till oil rises to the surface (maybe 5 minutes?). Add tomato sauce, blend, then add diced tomatoes and cook the rest for about 15 minutes.  Buy pre-cooked chicken (I use the Costco Rotisserie Chicken they roast over a spit!) and throw it in anytime.