I am very fortunate to have a good friend who often has me over for delicious, homemade Indian food. I am even more fortunate that she offered to teach me how to prepare a few dishes myself!
We started with a few basics. I learned that Masala simply means spice and does not refer to a particular seasoning. The masala blend varies from dish to dish.
We made saffron rice. The link is not to the specific recipe we used, but it is similar. We also made Dal, which is a lentil dish and staple of Indian cooking. There are many variations and recipes. It is the dish that no one can get just the way their mother made it.
Cauliflower is known as Gobi. Using fresh cauliflower, we cut the florets and prepared to saute them with the seasonings. We heated two tablespons of olive oil with thinly sliced white onions, garlic and mustard seeds. Be careful not to let the onions brown too much. We then added the cauliflower with a pinch of tumeric, salt and red chili powder. You can toss in some sliced jalepenos as well if you like it spicy. Add a few drops of water, cover and let simmer over a low to medium flame. Just before the cauliflower is cooked fully, toss in largely cut squares of plum tomato. Sprinkle with cilantro. This recipe also works well with shredded cabbage. We made everything by memory, but this is the closest recipe I could find online.
We then made Masala Stuffed Eggplants and this is the link to the recipe we used. The hardest part of this recipe is finding a store with the proper type of eggplant. Being in NYC, that is not an issue. We sliced the eggplants so they opened like a flower, rubbed in the seasoning and sauteed. The final result is beautiful, unique and delicious. And it is one of those great dishes to wow without a lot of effort.