My Favorite Recipes 

Chickpea Curry
Ingredients:
Chickpeas 1 cup
Cooking oil 2-3 tablespoons
Red onions 2-3 med size
Garlic 5-6 cloves
Ginger 1 inch
Chillies to taste
Ripe tomatoes 5-6 medium size
Chana Masala 2 tspf heaped (or termaric, garam masala, cumin powder and coriander powder)
Tamarind Juice half cup

Method:
  1. Soak chickpeas overnight
  2. Boil with salt and a teaspoon of baking soda (Pressure cook or boil until easily mashed between fingers)
  3. Once cooked, separate a small amount of chickpeas and mash them in a separate bowl
  4. In a pot fry chopped onions in oil until golden brown (half way through frying add crushed garlic, ginger and chillies)
  5. When golden brown add Chana masala mix for 15-20 seconds (don’t let masala burn)
  6. Add chopped tomatoes and continue frying with constant stirring until oil separates
  7. Add chick peas to the mixture and stir well add a cup of water (or more) and cook for few minutes and add the rest of mashed chickpeas
  8. Add tamarind water and cook until thickish gravy is formed and check if more salt is required
  9. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves before stopping the fire
  10. Enjoy with puree, roti or boiled rice

Puree (Puri)
Ingredients
  1. Wheat flour 2/3
  2. White flour 1/3
  3. Salt to taste
  4. Yogurt one cup (an option)
  5. Oil of your choice 1/3 cup
Method:
  1. Take flour in a bowl
  2. Add salt and mix
  3. Add oil and yogurt. Mix dough with water (keep adding water till dough is formed - keep dough slightly tight)
  4. Rest for 10-15 minutes
  5. Roll into small chappaties/pancakes with dry flour
  6. Deep fat fry in very hot oil – whilst frying gently spin the purees. They will start ballooning. Turn over a couple of times. As they balloon gently press it against oil with a broad flat spoon. They will become a ball.
  7. When nicely brown on both sides take it out and put it on a paper towel on a plate.  
  8. Eat with chickpeas, fish or meat curry, or Jam and peanut butter. Plane purees are also tasty to eat as it is!
(Chickpea recipe above)

MEAT CURRY INDIAN STYLE
(Applies to Chicken, Pork, Sheep/Mutton or Beef)

Ingredients: 
1 Medium sized onion – Finely Chopped
5 clove of Garlic – Finely chopped
2 Green Chillies
½ inch finely chopped ginger
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Turmeric
0.5 kilo Tomatoes
0.5 meat chopped
 
Method
  1. Fry chopped onion in 30 ml of oil until golden brown.
  2. Just before they are golden brown add finely chopped garlic, fry for a minute
  3. Add ginger and chillies and mix
  4. Add turmeric and mix and add garam masala
  5. Add finally chopped tomatoes
  6. Let it simmer until tomatoes are cooked (turned into smooth sauce) with lid on.
  7. Add half a kilo meat mix and let it cook with lid on.  Keep adding water if the sauce become dry. (Cooking time approximately 30-45 minutes)
  8. Serve 4-5 when cooked to desired tenderness.
1-4 high heat
5 start with high and move to medium heat
6-7 Medium heat 

Ladies' Finger or Okra (Hindi-Bhindi) 
Tasty and healthy veg. Requires careful cooking (best results with tender and young pods)

1. Wash thoroughly whole Okra and dry well (ideally individual pod should be dried) 
2. Cut the tip and the base of the pod and keep aside
3. Chop 2-3 onions and fry in a wok with 2-3 table spoon full of oil 
4. When golden brown add one tea spoon full each of Coriander and Cumin powder and stir for a few seconds
5. Add Okra to the fried onions into the wok - salt and chilies to taste (green or red powder)
6. Keep stirring and after a 2-3 minutes when it starts to slightly burn add 2-3 table spoons of water, mix and put the lid on
7. Cook on slow heat for five minutes. Put off the heat and keep the lid on for another 10-15 minutes before serving.

Salted Meats
(Courtesy Dr Harveen Das)
Salt Meat Pork
Pork meat                            1kg
Brown sugar                        2tbsps
Qbeb (Java Pepper)           1tsp
Pepper whole                      1tsp
Salt Petra                            1tsp
Salt                                        ¼ Cup
Coriander seeds                 1tsp
Water                                   3 cups
 
Boil above (all together) in water for 5 minutes and cool
Place in a dish so that most of the meat is soaked and leave it in the fridge for 7 days (patience required)
Take out and throw the water away
Boil in 3-4 cups of fresh water for 1-1½  hours. See that water does not dry up – add more if required (if water dries up the pork will be too salty – in that case add some more water and boil – speaking from experience!
Throw away the water and cool
Enjoy the salted pork!!!
 
Salt Meat -  any red meat
Meat                                    1Kg
Cinnamon                           3-4 sticks
Peppar ground                   1tsp
Salt Petre                            1tsp
Salt                                       ¼ Cup
Garlic                                   5-10 cloves
Coriander seeds                1tsp
Water                                  3-4 cups

Soak all together and keep in fridge for 7 days
Wash meat and pressure cook for one hour with 3-4 cups of water
Throw away the water and cool
Store in fridge
Enjoy the salted meat