Naan (centre), Paneer Tikka (left), Kashmir rice and mango lassi at the InterContinental Hotel’s Bhandini Restaurant. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA
Going by the number of Indian restaurants in Nairobi, there is no doubt that Kenyans’ appetite for Asian cuisine is increasing.
InterContinental Hotel’s Indian cuisine Chef Jitendra Prasad Mamgai or J.P as he is popularly known, said their Bhandini Restaurant which opens for lunch and dinner serves many and the Indian Food Festival held last week attracted more than just his regular diners.
The festival focused on cuisine from the coastal state of Kerala in south India. Southern Indian cuisine is distinct because of its use of coconut in almost all meals.
Northern Indian cuisine, which is what most restaurants within the city serve, is more flexible with ingredients to suit one’s tastes.
From Nadan chicken curry cooked in coconut milk, Neichoru rice that is made with ghee, fried onion and aromatic spices, there are many Indian foods that you can make at home. For timid eaters, the menu goes beyond hot and spicy.
Lentils delicacy
“There is a perception that Indian foods is too hot and spicy, which is not true,” the chef said. Also, Indian cuisine is not all vegetarian as it incorporates chicken, lamb and mutton and sea food.
Once in a while, gather around your family and friends for a home-made Indian cuisine. You can opt for lentils and serve it with spinach known as Palak. You could have it with peas, potatoes or paneer (cheese) in addition to serving it either with chicken, mutton or fish.
Most Indian dishes take between 15 and 30 minutes to prepare once you have all the ingredients and readied them, though there are some meals like dum biryani that require slow cooking which might take a few hours.
Add yoghurt
“It {dum biryani} can be quite a tricky meal to make for first timers but you can make the biryani with chicken, fish, prawns, eggs and mutton,” JP said.
The method of cooking varies. You can cook the rice and meat in separate pots before layering them together or cook the meat halfway before adding the rice to the same pot. For best results, cook the rice until it is about 25 per cent ready before adding the raw meat or seafood to the pot.
“You have to marinate the meat with yoghurt and spices for about an hour so that it becomes tender and with 30 or 40 minutes of cooking you get the best biryani,” he said.
Mango Lassi
Interestingly also, many of the desserts like the Ras Malai dumplings and some drinks require use of either milk or yoghurt. Take the Mango Lassi, for instance, which you can make for your family and guests instead of doing the basic mango juice.
Making the Lassi requires either chopped mango pieces or juicy mango pulp, some thick plain yoghurt, ice cubes along with a few strands of Saffron which gives the additional yellow colour and taste.
While Saffron is locally available, the chef said the kind they use at their restaurant which has more colour than the local variety is imported from Spain and retails at about Sh25,000 for a 60 gramme packet. It can also be used in the cooking other dishes including chicken curry and biryani instead of using artificial food colour.
Add cardamon powder for additional flavouring or some milk to ensure that the mixture is not too thick when blended.
Naan bread
If you are looking for a variety to eating chapati in your home, make either naan bread or Roti, though the chef places a disclaimer that it might not be quite as tasty as the one you enjoy at your favourite restaurant which is cooked in the tandoori charcoal oven.
“The main difference between them is with the kind of flour used, roti is made from brown whole flour while naan is made from white flour, the ingredients also vary,” he said.
Roti is similar to the Kenyan chapati made from flour which is then mixed with oil, salt and water to make dough with the option of adding ghee.
One then makes balls and rather than using a rolling pin they use their hands to flatten them. You can put the roti in an oven for a few minutes or use the ordinary griddle used in making chapatis.
Naan is made from the white wheat flour and mixed with milk, baking powder and water with an option of adding eggs depending on one’s preference.
If you are using eggs, the chef recommends an egg for each kilo of flour and half a litre of milk for every two kilos then adding water thereafter to soften the dough. The method of preparation and cooking that follows is similar to that for roti.
‘‘Just remember to leave the balls you make for a while before flattening them to ensure the dough is soft and when you do this cover with a wet cloth so that they do not dry up,” he said.
You can serve both naan and roti to be eaten at the same meal because similar accompaniments of either chicken, mutton, fish or even lentil curry can be used.
Paneer bitings
When hosting guests, having them bite on something small while they have some chatter before the meal is important. Rather than making fritters and cheese sticks with your mozzarella or cheddar, spice things up the Indian way with Paneer recipes.
“Paneer which is cottage cheese does not melt when put in the heat unlike mozzarella or cheddar because it is made from milk. It also does not take too much time to cook,” he explained.
Paneer can be used with the Palak (spinach), to make thick paneer Makhani gravy using tomatoes cream and spices as well as the paneer butter masala soup. You could also have some Paneer Tikka.
Cut the cottage cheese into large cubes, marinate it with some yoghurt, garlic and spices putting as much chili as one is comfortable with for about an hour along with the vegetables like you would for Mshikaki. To add colour, use all green, yellow and red bell peppers, onions and tomatoes.
Put these on skewers and grill them in an oven of 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes or an open charcoal grill until all sides are cooked for the perfect appetizers.
Kashmiri pilau
If you are tired of eating ordinary rice, borrow a thing or two from India’s Kashmir region to appease your taste buds with sweet aromatic flavours.
Cook plain Kashmiri rice or Kashmiri Pilau which can have fruits and a variety of nuts. Use dried fruits with raisins or fresh ones like pineapples and promegranate mixed with almonds, walnuts, pistachios and cashew nuts.
You could also use saffron strands to add some yellow colour to the food instead of turmeric or food colouring.
For best results, use long grain rice and soak it for about 10 to 15 minutes before cooking, then add fried onions, fruits and nuts once you are done.
