Red lentils with kale

Ingredients:
For Dal:
2 c split red lentils, rinsed
3 c water
1 t salt

For vegetables:
4 T oil and butter
2 t cumin seeds
4 t black mustard seeds

2 hot red chilis or red pepper flakes to taste
2 t ginger paste
2 t garlic paste
1 t turmeric
1 t ground coriander (optional)
1/2 t ground cumin (optional)

1 onion, diced (optional - it's good even without)
1 large bunch kale, washed and chopped
1 tomato, diced (optional)
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped (optional)
salt to taste

1. Simmer dal, salt, and water for roughly 10 minutes, on low once it comes to a boil. Skim off foam near beginning

2. While this simmers, in a nonstick pan, fry butter, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds till they begin to pop. Add chilis through turmeric for a few seconds till aromatic.

3. Add onion and cook till soft.

4. Add kale and tomato and cook till reduced.

5. Once dal is cooked, combine spinach mixture, garnish with cilantro and serve over rice.

Source: amalgam of a Madhur Jaffrey, Cook's Illustrated, and an eCurry recipe.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

• 2T Butter
• 2C Onion Paste (about two or three blended)
• 2T Ginger Paste (about 1.5in blended)
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 2t Whole Cumin seeds
• 2t Whole Coriander seeds
• 2 Whole red chilies
• 2in Whole cinnamon (1t ground)
• 2t Turmeric (ground)
• 1/4t Cayenne Pepper (ground)
• 2t Garam Masala (ground)
• 1t Salt
• 15oz Diced Tomatoes (canned)
• 1lb Spinach 
• 4-6T Yogurt or Sour Cream
• 1t Lemon Juice
• 16oz Panner (cut into 1/2in cubes)

Directions:

1. In parallel:
   • Blend onions, ginger, garlic into a paste. 
   • Very finely blend spinach into not-quite-paste. 
   • Grind whole spices and set aside.
   • Cut panner into chunks.
2. Heat butter and cook paste mixture until soft (about 10 minutes)
3. Add add all spices. 
4. Add tomatoes and panner. Simmer 10 minutes. 
5. Add spinach, sour cream, and lemon juice. Cook for additional 5 to 10 minutes. 
6. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or bread. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. 

Okra with Onions (Sel Bhindi)

Serves 3 to 4 as side dish, serves 2 as light main dish with rice.

Ingredients:
Blend in spice grinder:
2 t whole coriander seeds
1 whole hot dried red chili, seeds removed (will be too spicy with seeds)

3 T vegetable oil
12 oz fresh okra, topped and tailed, then sliced in half lengthwise
1 small onion, sliced into fine half-rings
3/4 t salt
1/2 t ground turmeric
2 T chopped cilantro (optional garnish)

Directions:
1. heat oil in large dutch oven (or nonstick pan) over medium heat
2. stir fry okra for 10 min or until lightly browned on all sides
3. add the onions. stir and cook for another 5 minutes and onions begin to brown
4. add the coriander-chili mix, salt, and turmeric. reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes.
5. add garnish and serve with rice.

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's "From Curries to Kebabs."
2.

Chickpea, Cauliflower, and Cabbage Curry

Adapted from Maddhur Jaffrey's recipe in "From Curries to Kebabs"

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/8 of a congo pepper (scotch bonnet, habero), without seeds, or 3 bird's-eye chilies, chopped

4 T olive oil

1 T hot curry powder (Bolst's)

1 tsp roasted and ground cumin seeds

3 medium cauliflower (or potatoes, peeled), cut into 3/4 in dice

1.5 tsp salt

4 cups green cabbage, cut into 1/2 in squares

2 cups vegetable broth

Directions

1. Put the onion, garlic, peppers, and 4 T of water into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Pout the oil into a heavy, lidded pan and set over medium-high heat. Put in the paste from the blender. Stir and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, removing the lid to stir frequently. Add the curry powder and roasted cumin. Stir once and put in the chickpeas cauliflower, salt, and about 2 cups vegetable broth and an additional 1 cup of water. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the cabbage has just softened.

Serves 4-6

Salmon Curry

From Mahdur Jaffrey's "From Curries to Kebabs"

Serves 6

Ingredients

For marinating the fish:

2 lbs skinless salmon fillet, preferably center-cut

1/3 tsp salt

1.3 tsp cayenne pepper

1.3 tsp ground turmeric

For the poaching sauce:

3 tsp whole brown mustard seeds

1.5 T ground coriander (best if ground fresh)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp curry powder (Bolst's Hot Curry Powder is best)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp salt

1 can drained diced tomatoes (or 1 cup fresh diced tomatoes)

2 T olive oil

1 T mustard oil (if possible, more olive oil fine too)

1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds (optional)

15 to 20 fresh curry leaves (these are critical to the dish!)

Directions

1. Cut the salmon into manageable serving pieces, about 2x3 inches. Dust both sides with the salt, cayenne pepper, and turmeric and rub into the fish. Place the fish in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 to 6 hrs.

2. Grind 2.5 tsp of the mustard seeds in a spice grinder. Put in a bowl. Add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne pepper, salt, tomato, and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and set aside.

3. Pour the two oils into a large pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the remaining 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop, a matter of seconds, add the fennel seeds. Stir once and put in the curry paste, as well as another 1 cup of water and the curry leaves. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. (This sauce can be refrigerated for several hours.)

4. Reheat the sauce in the pan and lay the fish pieces in it in a single layer. Simmer on a low heat until the bottom of the fish pieces appear to be done, about 5 minutes. Carefully turn the fish pieces over and cook for a further 4 to 5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through.

Chicken Biryani

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's Goat Biryani recipe in "From Curries to Kebabs"

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1/2 tsp saffron threads

1/2 cup warm milk

2 cups basmati rice (or jasmine rice - see directions)

3/4 vegetable oil (or for somewhat lighter recipe, enough to coat bottom of pan, and ignore direction #4)

3 medium onions, sliced into fine half-rings

1/2 in piece of ginger (or about 1.5 tsp fresh ginger paste)

4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 pods cardamom, lightly crushed but left whole

1 3-in stick of cinnamon

2 black cardamoms (these are large and quite distinct flavor from the small green kind)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp whole cloves

1/2 tsp whole peppercorns

Either use a spice grinder for previous 6 spices (our preferred), or tie in a square of cheesecloth and remove later (Madhur Jaffrey's suggestion).

1-2.5 lbs chicken thighs (bone-in and skin-on)

1.5 tsp plus 2.5 tsp salk

1.5 tsp cayenne pepper (or spicier and redder chili pepper)

1 can drained diced tomatoes

1.5 T tomato paste

Directions

1. Put the saffron threads in the warm milk. Cover and set aside.

2. If using jasmine rice, cook almost all the way (if cooked all the way, biryani will be somewhat soggy, but that's better than crunchy rice). If using basmati rice, wash the rice in several changes of water, then drain and leave to soak in water that covers in generously for at least 30 minutes but no longer than 3 hours, then drain and cook.

3. Pour the oil into a large, wide, ovenproof, lidded pan and set over medium-high heat. Add half the sliced onions and fry, stirring, turning the heat down as needed, until the onions are both a rich medium reddish-brown color and crisp. Remove all the onions with a slotted spoon or mesh spatula and spread out on a tray lined with paper towels.

4. (If using a lot of oil) Carefully remove about 1/4 cup of the hot oil and set aside near the saffron milk.

5. Add the remaining sliced onions to the remaining oil. Also put in the ginger, garlic, cardamom, cinnamon, black cardamom, bay leaves, and the cheesecloth bundle. Stir and fry until the onions turn golden with hints of brown. Add the chicken thighs, 2.5 tsp of the salt, and the cayenne pepper, and stir and cook for 10 minutes.

6. Add 3/4 cup water and continue to stir and cook for a further 10 minutes. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring now and then.

7. Remove the lid and stir in the tomatoes. Add the tomato paste and keep stirring for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, relace the lid, and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until the meat is tender, stirring occassionally and adding a little water if needed.

8. Preheat the oven to 300 F.

9. When the meat is tender and the sauce very reduced and thick, remove the spice bundle. Put the whole covered pan in the over to keep it warm.

10. Once the rice is about 3/4 done and drained, work quickly to do the following: Put a T of the reserved oil into the rice pan. Cover with a third of the rice. Cover this with a little less than half of the meat and juices. Sprinkle a third of the browned onions over the top. Cover all this with another third of the rice, then a tsp of oil (if using, not necessary), then most of the remaining meat, a then a third of the onions. Cover with the final layer of rice, the last of the oil, meat and juices, the onions, and finally all the saffron milk.

11. Cover, first with foil, and then with a lid. Put the pan briefly over medium-high heat so the oil at the bottom heats up, and then put the pan in the oven for 25 minutes. Stir gently before serving.