Raita will help cool things down. Easy to make.
All About Indian Food Home Edition
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When I cook at home by definition it is Indian food 
. I have become quite lazy and don’t cook often any more. When I cooked frequently I was an excellent cook, but I have lost a lot of that skill, since I don’t practice any more.
1. To OP - Coconut oil is used only in 1 state of India (Kerala) so it is extremely regional Indian oil, but if you like it, go for it! Ghee is is good choice but premium. For a more regular oil you can use Canola or Olive Oil
2. Restaurants in USA in general produce exceptionally bad Indian food. I can give an easy tip to cook it better than them! If you are preparing any common restaurant recipe … first marinate the chicken in either a white sauce (Rashmi Kebab) or a red sauce (Tikka Kebab). Then grill it in the skewers to produce a bit of a Maillard reaction. Then follow the rest of the recipe. Using Kebabs make the recipe at least ten times delicious even if you screw up the gravy. Indian restaurants in India always follow this method, but I have no idea why Indian restaurants in US don’t - possibly for the double labor
I can recommend a few Indian restaurants which are better
1. Rasika in Washington DC has the best Indian food overall (What I tasted)
2. I used to like Utsav in midtown Manhattan - Not visited there for many years
3. Jackson Heights in Queens have Bangladeshi groceries with small food counters. Those food counters serve quite authentic food if you can tolerate it.
4. In middlesex county in NJ has a lot of Indian and Pakistani restaurants- Some better than others. I can recommend Gulberg Bistro (Excellent Pakistani food), Rose (Newly opened - Indian Chinese food). However there are many, and a lot of them somewhat authentic
. I have become quite lazy and don’t cook often any more. When I cooked frequently I was an excellent cook, but I have lost a lot of that skill, since I don’t practice any more.1. To OP - Coconut oil is used only in 1 state of India (Kerala) so it is extremely regional Indian oil, but if you like it, go for it! Ghee is is good choice but premium. For a more regular oil you can use Canola or Olive Oil
2. Restaurants in USA in general produce exceptionally bad Indian food. I can give an easy tip to cook it better than them! If you are preparing any common restaurant recipe … first marinate the chicken in either a white sauce (Rashmi Kebab) or a red sauce (Tikka Kebab). Then grill it in the skewers to produce a bit of a Maillard reaction. Then follow the rest of the recipe. Using Kebabs make the recipe at least ten times delicious even if you screw up the gravy. Indian restaurants in India always follow this method, but I have no idea why Indian restaurants in US don’t - possibly for the double labor
I can recommend a few Indian restaurants which are better
1. Rasika in Washington DC has the best Indian food overall (What I tasted)
2. I used to like Utsav in midtown Manhattan - Not visited there for many years
3. Jackson Heights in Queens have Bangladeshi groceries with small food counters. Those food counters serve quite authentic food if you can tolerate it.
4. In middlesex county in NJ has a lot of Indian and Pakistani restaurants- Some better than others. I can recommend Gulberg Bistro (Excellent Pakistani food), Rose (Newly opened - Indian Chinese food). However there are many, and a lot of them somewhat authentic
While it is considered cheating, the local grocery stores have bottled Indian sauces, like butter chicken, masala, tikka, and a few others. They also tend to sell naan.
For a quick weeknight meal, I boil rice, shred a rotisserie chicken, possibly add frozen vegetables, and dump in the sauce to simmer. I usually sprinkle with curry or masala powder.
If fancy, i serve with lemon or lime wedges, fresh cilantro, chutney, and yogurt. Not the best, but quick and it hits the spot.
For a quick weeknight meal, I boil rice, shred a rotisserie chicken, possibly add frozen vegetables, and dump in the sauce to simmer. I usually sprinkle with curry or masala powder.
If fancy, i serve with lemon or lime wedges, fresh cilantro, chutney, and yogurt. Not the best, but quick and it hits the spot.
Wife just recently tried to make Daal, for the first time. It turned out really well, and I think the three keys are:
1) A good coconut cream
2) A good garam masala blend
3) Butter butter butter!
This all came about by receiving some red lentils at a family gathering and having no idea whatsoever what to do with them. They go perfectly in this dish. We get our coconut cream at Sprouts, and although Trader Joe's has a pre-made garam masala blend, we just do it ourselves. The cardamom is essential, as is the salted Kerrygold butter for onion sauteing (have to have the right amount of salt too). Served over steamed rice...it's bliss. And a squeeze of lemon in there just prior to simmering seems to make it all the more authentic.
Next up to try? Probably chana masala or aloo gobi. Those seem a little easier than the other two I have my eye on, bangan bharta and palak paneer. Best to start with the easier stuff and work our way up, right?
1) A good coconut cream
2) A good garam masala blend
3) Butter butter butter!
This all came about by receiving some red lentils at a family gathering and having no idea whatsoever what to do with them. They go perfectly in this dish. We get our coconut cream at Sprouts, and although Trader Joe's has a pre-made garam masala blend, we just do it ourselves. The cardamom is essential, as is the salted Kerrygold butter for onion sauteing (have to have the right amount of salt too). Served over steamed rice...it's bliss. And a squeeze of lemon in there just prior to simmering seems to make it all the more authentic.
Next up to try? Probably chana masala or aloo gobi. Those seem a little easier than the other two I have my eye on, bangan bharta and palak paneer. Best to start with the easier stuff and work our way up, right?
I thought tandoori needed a clay oven. Luckily, we have a restaurant in Anchorage with a tandoori oven and Indian cooks using only proper spices and such. It's a once a month excursion.
Growing up in Malaysia, I love good Indian/Sri Lankan cuisine.
Thankfully there are a few very good Indian restaurants in Sydney, Oz.
A good friend who is a bit of a foodie, and Indian, is a fellow ex-Malaysian.
He gets roped in when I get a hankering for a curry.
When I am in Malaysia or Singapore, a visit to a "banana leaf" curry house (where food is served on a banana leaf, and hands, not cutlery, are used) is a given.
Unfortunately matching hot, spicey cuisine with wine is difficult.
Beer/ale goes well. As does a fine cider or perry (pear cider)
Thankfully there are a few very good Indian restaurants in Sydney, Oz.
A good friend who is a bit of a foodie, and Indian, is a fellow ex-Malaysian.
He gets roped in when I get a hankering for a curry.
When I am in Malaysia or Singapore, a visit to a "banana leaf" curry house (where food is served on a banana leaf, and hands, not cutlery, are used) is a given.
Unfortunately matching hot, spicey cuisine with wine is difficult.
Beer/ale goes well. As does a fine cider or perry (pear cider)
we cook Indian food all the time. Almost always as good or better than restaurants. Lamb, chicken, shrimp, veggie stuff, etc. They key is always fresh ground spices.