Indian Healing Spices

A major part of understanding any culture is to experience the food and drink of that culture. India is a very diverse society, thus the food of various regions and groups is diverse. However, there is an unity in the food as in the culture. Below you will find some recipes from persons in India, Pilgrims on the and some from web sites. Your contributions are welcome. Send recipes to Recipes@nonviolentcow.org

Ingredients
Here are some ingredients Dr. Kranthi, one of the guides on the Pilgrimage Peace, recommended to purchase from an Indian Store to make vegetable curry and dal.

Ordinary rice, udaddal black gram, tuwardal (red gram), moongdal ( greengram),sunflower oil all one kg each and turmeric and mirchi (chili) powders, Rai ( mustard seed), Jeera (cumin seed)all 100gms and asafoetida.

Vegtable Curries by Dr. Kranthi

Vegetable Curry by Bob Graf
and reviewed by Dr. Kranthi

Here is a simple preparation of vegetable curry.

In a pan put one tablespoon of cooking oil. let the oil boil for half minute, then put mustard seeds, udad dal, and jeera all one fourth of teaspoon and add a pinch of haldi and let them not fry too much. They will change in color.

Add chopped onion one table spoon and fry a little. Then add the cut vegetables and add enough salt to taste and cover it with a lid and keep the fire at simmer. Once it is totally cooked add one fourth teaspoon of mirchi powder and fry it for five minutes.

All the vegetables — cabbage or cauliflower, carrot, french beans, beetroot, ladies finger, or egg plant ( brinjal), potato, bottle guard, tomato — any of these vegetables (one fourth kg) can be cooked individually or mixed.

Dal by Dr. Kranthi

Dal from Moong Beans

Put small cup of redgrams or geengram in a vessel and add three cups of water and pressure cook and allow for 6 whistles. (Rice Cooker can be used)

in another vessel put some cut tomato pieces, onion pieces and 3 cut green mirchi, little termeric and salt and boil them nicely after that add the cooked dal to it and mix thoroughly and put it in serving bowl. You should mix the tomatoes and dal thoroughly by adding little water and boil 5 more minutes.

Now in a pan take little oil and heat it. To that add one dry mirchi, half tea spoon of mustard seeds and jeera and one pinch of asafoetida and put of the fire and add cut coriander leaves, one big table spoonful, and put all these as a topping on the dal.

Lime Rice Recipe by Dr. Kranthi

Lime Rice

Two glasses of water for one cup of rice purchased in Indian stores (not the Basumathi rice)
and better to cook in electric rice cooker.

Fresh lime juice may be one squeezed and enough salt added to that.

One table spoon of oil - just heat and add mustard seeds, kaju (cashews), ground nuts (peanuts), udad dal and turmeric and little asafoeitida and also cut green mirchi and mix all these with rice after it is cooled

Potato Pakoras by Mary Stirling

makes 8
Mix together:
1 c. previously boiled potatoes, mashed
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. chickpea flour (besan), or substitute felafel mix, ground finer in a mortar & pestle
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin, ground with
3/8 tsp. salt
1/8 – 1/4 tsp. cayenne, to taste
Form flattened balls, press in amaranth or quinoa seed to coat, and fry in oil on both sides, or deep fry.

Dal by Mary Stirling

1 c. red lentils (mansoor dal)
2 – 2 ½ c. water (depending on desired consistency)
salt to taste
Pick over & rinse lentils. Bring water & salt to boil. Simmer lentils @ 20 min.
1 tsp. cumin seed
1/2 tsp. brown mustard seed
1/2 tsp. turmeric
about 1/4 tsp. cayenne, to taste
4 whole cloves
Fry in oil in a small pan until the mustard dances. Add to the dal at the end of cooking.