Madhur Jaffrey's Instantly Indian Cookbook

CAULIFLOWER WITH CILANTRO AND GINGER
SERVES 4–5


¾ teaspoon salt


2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin


½ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon My Garam Masala (page 154)


Freshly ground black pepper, a generous grinding


1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

3 tablespoons peanut or olive oil


¼ teaspoon whole black or brown mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds


One 1¾ -pound head cauliflower, with thick central stem and leaves discarded and the head broken into florets (each floret should have a stem and be about 1½–2 inches long and about 1½ inches in diameter at its head)

1½ teaspoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

1 lightly packed cup chopped cilantro leaves

½–1 fresh hot green bird’s-eye chili, finely chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice


This may be served with a lamb or poultry dish along with rice or a flatbread. It is
light and lemony and is one of my favorite dishes for entertaining. In the summer, you may serve it cold as part of a buffet.

1. Combine the salt, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, garam masala, black pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Select the SAUTÉ setting on your Instant Pot and set to More for 30 minutes. When the screen says Hot, pour in the oil. A few seconds later, scatter in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start popping, a matter of seconds, put in all the cauliflower. Stir the cauliflower now and then for 5 minutes. Add the ginger and give a few quick stirs, then add the dry spice mixture and stir a few more times. Add the cilantro and green chilies, give a few more stirs, then put in the lemon juice and stir once. Add ¾ cup water and hit CANCEL to stop the cooking process.

3. Close and seal the lid. Set the pot to LOW PRESSURE for 1 minute. As soon as the screen says 1, hit CANCEL and quickly release all the steam manually. Open the lid, venting the remaining steam away from you. Select the SAUTÉ setting set to More and boil off most of the liquid, stirring gently from the bottom as you do so. Taste for balance of flavors. Wearing oven mitts, lift out the inner pot from the outer pot to stop the cauliflower from cooking any more.


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GOAN SHRIMP CURRY
Samar Codi
SERVES 4


½–1 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon bright red paprika


½ teaspoon ground turmeric

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed to a pulp


2 teaspoons peeled fresh ginger grated to a pulp

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin


¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons tamarind paste, or to taste (use lemon juice
to taste as a substitute)

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined


1 cup coconut milk from a well-stirred can


This is the hot “prawn curry,” as it is called here, found on the beaches of Goa. It is very simple to prepare, and is delicious eaten with rice. Normally, several teaspoons of a very red but milder chili powder would be used here. I have suggested less and used paprika to add to the color.

1. Put the chili powder, paprika, turmeric, garlic, ginger, coriander, and cumin in a bowl. Slowly add 1. cups water, mixing as you go. Pour this mixture into the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Close and seal the lid. Cook at LOW PRESSURE for 5 minutes and let the pressure drop by itself for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually. Open the lid, venting the remaining steam away from you.

2. Add the salt and tamarind or lemon juice to the sauce, balancing the flavors to your taste. The sauce will seem a bit rough at this stage. Select the SAUTÉ setting set to Normal. Add the shrimp and the coconut milk. Stir gently and cook until all the shrimp have turned opaque. Taste the sauce again for balance of flavors.


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CHICKEN IN A YOGURT SAUCE
SERVES 4–5


2 pounds boned and skinned chicken thighs, most blobs of fat removed, cut into 1½-inch pieces

Salt


Freshly ground pepper


1 teaspoon ground cumin


1 teaspoon ground coriander

¼–1 teaspoon chili powder

One 3-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, chopped


4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped


2 green bird’s-eye chilies or ½–1 jalapeño, chopped, with seeds


2 tablespoons chickpea flour

1 cup plain yogurt, the sourer, the better


¾ teaspoon ground turmeric

4 tablespoons peanut or olive oil


15–20 fresh curry leaves, if available

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon My Garam Masala (page 154)


This is an excellent dish to make if you are entertaining. Serve it with Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins (page 123). Make the chicken first and remove it from the Instant Pot (it can be reheated later in a microwave oven). Clean out the inner pot, dry it well, and then make the rice.

1. Sprinkle the chicken pieces evenly on both sides with 1 teaspoon salt, lots of black pepper, the cumin, coriander, and chili powder. Mix well, put in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight if you have the time, or for as little as an hour.

2. Put the ginger, garlic, green chilies, and about 6 tablespoons water into a blender and blend to a paste, pushing down with a rubber spatula as needed. Scrape out the paste and put in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Put the chickpea flour in another bowl. Slowly add 1 cup water, a teaspoon at a time, mixing with a whisk until you have a very smooth, lumpless paste. Now whisk in the yogurt, turmeric, and - teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Select the SAUTÉ setting on your Instant Pot and set to More. When the screen says Hot, swirl in the oil. Wait a few seconds and put in the curry leaves. They will splatter, so stand back. Immediately add the ginger-garlic paste. Turn heat to Normal. Stir and sauté for 2–3 minutes, sprinkling a little water into the pot if seasonings start to stick. Add the chicken. Keep stirring for another 2 minutes, again sprinkling in a little water if anything seems to catch. Now add 1 cup water, the cilantro, and the garam masala. Stir to mix.

4. Hit CANCEL to reset the cooking program. Close and seal the lid and cook on LOW PRESSURE for 1 minute. Release the pressure manually. Take off the lid carefully, venting the remaining steam away from you. Select the SAUTÉ setting and set to More. Stir the yogurt mixture and pour it in. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring now and then, or until the sauce thickens. Turn the Instant Pot OFF or set to KEEP WARM as needed.


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EGGS IN A TOMATO-TAMARIND HYDERABADI SAUCE
Timatar Kut
SERVES 3–4


FOR THE SAUCE

2 cups tomato puree (or strained tomatoes or passata)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

4–5 teaspoons tamarind paste, or to taste (you can use 1 tablespoon lemon juice as a substitute)

2 teaspoons peeled fresh ginger grated to a pulp

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed to a pulp

¼–½teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped


1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds (page 152)

1¼ teaspoons salt, or to taste


YOU WILL ALSO NEED

2 teaspoons chickpea flour

¼ teaspoon whole black mustard seeds


¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds


¼ teaspoon nigella (kalonji in Indian stores)


 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds


2 dried hot red chilies


1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into quarters lengthways


2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil

10 fresh curry leaves, if available

6 hard-boiled eggs (page 74), peeled and cut into halves lengthways


This recipe is a specialty of the Hyderabad region of southern India, where conquering Muslim rulers from the north soon succumbed to the Hindu spicing traditions of their subjects. Their royal food became a glorious blend of the Delhi Mughal court and local dishes.

Here hard-boiled eggs are served in a tomato sauce seasoned with tamarind, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and fenugreek seeds, the seasonings all very much a part of the South Indian, Hindu culinary tradition. Of course, tomatoes originated in the New World and were brought into India by the Portuguese—but that is another story!

Serve with rice or flatbreads. You may serve these eggs at all meals, from breakfast to dinner.

1. Put the tomato puree in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Taste for balance of flavors and make adjustments, if needed.

2. Put a small cast-iron skillet on medium heat. When hot, put in the chickpea flour. Stir it around until it turns a shade darker, a matter of minutes, and remove to a small bowl. Slowly add 2 tablespoons water, first making a smooth paste with just a little water and then adding the rest. Set aside.

3. Put the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella, fenugreek, red chilies, and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.

4. Select the SAUTÉ setting on your Instant Pot and set to More for 30 minutes. When the screen says Hot, add oil, put in all the spices from the small bowl. Stir until the garlic turns golden. Add the curry leaves. They will splatter, so stand back. Stir once and then pour in all the tomato mixture. Stir once and hit CANCEL to reset the cooking program.

5. Close and seal the lid. Cook at LOW PRESSURE for 1 minute. Release the pressure manually. Open the lid, venting the remaining steam
away from you. Stir the sauce. Select the SAUTÉ setting and set to Normal. Stir the chickpea flour mixture and pour it in. Stir gently until the sauce thickens a bit, 2–3 minutes. Hit CANCEL. Wearing oven mitts, lift out the inner pot to stop the cooking. Taste for salt.

To serve, put the sauce in a shallow serving dish, arranging the egg halves on top.