CMers Recipes

[saman]

[half jill]

[faninor]

[saman]

[half jill]

[kyks17]

I'm confused at the 1/4 cup cheese?! We used 2.25 cups cheese (to 2 cups milk + 1/4 cup wine, and 11 oz of macaroni [not sure how many cups that is, i weighed it]) and I felt it could be cheesier. We got 6 servings out of that (as the main entree). Needless to say, the goal of that meal was not health!

Saman, and other Indian-recipe-knowing people! Will you help me increase my at home Indian recipe repertoire? I made chana masala last week - I've never had it at a restaurant or as takeout, so I have no idea how "correct" it was, but it tasted good to me. In the past I've made a Rachael Ray chicken curry....and it's really not even close, at all, to being correct.

Here is my problem. When I get Indian food, there is always an item marked simply as "chicken curry". As long as the establishment is Indian, these all seem to taste the same no matter which place I'm at. (I have ordered this at Thai and Chinese restaurants and learned that it means something else to them!) Unfortunately, it would seem that this isn't actually a particular item, since curry just means sauce...so it's really a very generic name. Kind of like if you just order chicken - well did you order fried, breaded, grilled, blackened, etc. Unless you know the specific name....good luck recreating it.

So I guess my first question is - what is the true name for this "chicken curry" that one finds at Indian food spots? Since it is consistent across establishments I would think someone, somewhere, knows the answer! Unfortunately that person has not yet told Google, so I'm hoping some nice Indian CMer might know

My 2nd question is (and it's not much of a question): my other favorite Indian items are chicken tikka masala (I know, I know, not truly Indian but Indian butchered in Britain....but to me it's Indian) and saag. What I've learned about saag is that most people, including Indian people, don't know WTF dish I'm talking about?! I kid you not, it is simply called "saag" at every buffet and on every menu I've ever been to/seen. So when people don't know that, I call it palak paneer, which everyone seems to know - even though there are definitely no chunks of cheese in the ones I've had. And the problem with saag or palak paneer is that every Indian person at work that I've asked about it, has told me it's an awful dish that anyone can whip up by just combining spinach with spices. I mean, I figured as much....unfortunately....not quite enough to go on. And why don't they like it?! It's so good! Especially with that green sauce thing. Speaking of that green sauce thing. Mint chutney? Mint coriander chutney? Hari chutni? Mirchi chutney? The internet has yielded all of these as "the one that you get at the restaurants which is green and spicy", but presumably not ALL of these are it (again...it's very consistent across establishments).

Back to that chicken tikka masala. Again, Indian coworkers tell me to throw chicken with spices and some cream and I'm done. Well, I think they just described a million recipes. I need a bit more specific info to be able to make it come out even close to restaurant quality...

But my favorite really is chicken curry. And saag. And naan. Which I now have several recipes for, so far I tried 1 and it was ok but not right, so I'll keep trying other recipes until I find a match. If I had a plate of chicken curry, saag, basmati rice, and naan, I would be pretty satisfied with my Indian cooking repertoire. Plus there's the chana masala.

That was a really long rant! Please my Indian and Indian-recipe-knowing CMers, help me shed some light on what is apparently one of the most misunderstood ethnic cuisines present in the US!

[saman]

[Kicker774]

Baursaki is a treat served with many meals in Kazakhstan and many other Central Asian countries.

It is a lot like a doughnut just way less sugar.

Ingredients

* 4 cups flour
* 2 Tablespoons yeast
* ½ cup water
* ½ cup milk
* 2 eggs
* 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1½ Tablespoons sugar
* 2 cups vegetable oil
* ½ teaspoon salt

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl to form dough.
2. Knead the dough on a floured surface, then return to mixing bowl.
3. Cover with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes. Heat oil in deep skillet over high heat.
4. Pull off Tablespoon-size pieces of the dough and roll into a ball.
5. Press down slightly, then drop carefully into oil and fry until golden brown.
6. Drain on paper towels.

[Kicker774]

Manta Recipe

Ingredients
3 cups all- purpose gluten free flour
1 cup water
1 large egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

For the Filling
250g (one-half pound) ground beef or lamb
1 large onion (chopped in very small pieces)
Salt and black pepper

Directions
In a large bowl, combine flour, water, egg, olive oil and salt. Kneading well to form a smooth, but not sticky, ball of dough. If it is too sticky, add more flour until the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand, at room temperature, for one hour.

While the dough is standing, prepare the filling: in a medium bowl, combine chopped onion, ground meat, salt and pepper until well mixed.

Lightly dust a board or countertop and rolling pin with flour. Divide the dough into four equal sections, rolling out each piece as thinly as possible without tearing.

Cut each sheet into equal squares (about 1.5" by 1.5") Put a teaspoon of filling at the center of each square until you run out of dough or filling.

To fold the dumplings: fold diagonally to form a triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal the dumplings (if necessary, use a little bit of water on the inside edge to help the pieces stick together.) Take the two corners (connected by the longest, folded side) and pull together until corners overlap - pinch together (it will look like a floppy brimmed hat -- see image here.)

In a large pot, boil the water and add a little bit salt, olive oil. Add the dumplings and stir, cooking for approximately 15 minutes, until the dumplings rise to the surface. Periodically test filling for doneness and be careful not to overcook

When the dumplings are done, drain with a slotted spoon.

OR ....

We traditionally serve Manti as a soup keeping the broth. You can add a dollop of sour cream to your bowl to sweeten up the broth a little bit.

[GreatLakes24]

[ClumsyGirl618]

[faninor]

[GreatLakes24]

[ClumsyGirl618]

[GreatLakes24]

[Carson79]

[GreatLakes24]

[ClumsyGirl618]