Spice Up Your Life

If you love Indian food (and you know I do), it would be worth gathering up a collection of spices so you can whip up some simple dishes any night of the week. Sure, you could get them at your gourmet grocer or in a specialty spice shop, but you'll save a bundle if you find a good Indian grocer, and you'll also find an inspiring variety of frozen breads, samosas, unusual produce, spice mixes, sacks of rice, Bollywood movies, CDs, you name it.

Whole spices are what you're looking for; they'll keep for a year or longer, and freshly ground spices are far better than anything you can buy pre-ground. Some recipes call for whole spices, often fried briefly to gently cook them and infuse the oil with their essence. Often times you'll need to make a spice mix or paste, and for this you'll need either a good, heavy mortar and pestle, or a dedicated coffee grinder (unless you like spiced coffee). Here's a good essential list to start with: cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, green cardamom pods, black peppercorns, whole nutmeg and fennel seeds.

If you really get rolling with the Indian cooking, you'll probably want to include mace blades or powder, whole dried chilies, black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, amchoor (dried mango) powder, and nigella seeds. The list goes on, but these are some of the more common, subtle ingredients you'll see often.

Keep these all stored in a dry, dark place and they'll last for at least a year. Replace if they lose potency or color.

Some other things to have on hand are fresh ginger root, red onions, and garlic. With these you can make the base for many common sauces, to which you can add any vegetables or meat and have a fine curry.

So you have a big basket of spices, a pile of onions, some ginger and garlic. What now? Try these to warm your soul.

Channa Masala (Chickpeas in Spicy Sauce)

2 T oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 whole cloves
1 3" cinnamon stick, broken into a few pieces
6 green cardamom pods, cracked with the flat of a knife
6 whole peppercorns
2 large or 4 small red onions, very finely chopped
1 medium tomato, diced (optional)
2 inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T coriander seeds, ground
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 large can (23 oz) chickpeas with liquid
1/2 tsp amchoor powder or 2 T sour cream, or juice of 1/2 lemon
salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Have everything chopped, minced and ground before you begin. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet, wok, or pot. Add the cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and peppercorns and fry until the cinnamon begins to unfurl and the cumin is browned but not burnt. Add the onions and stir well to combine. Continue frying over medium heat to cook the onions through, stirring occasionally. The onions should lose most of their moisture and turn a golden brown, but do not burn them! If they begin to cook too quickly, add a tablespoon of cold water to slow the cooking.

When the onions are caramelized, add the tomato, garlic, ginger, and the rest of the spices except salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas, stir, and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (it should be tangy and spicy). Serve with rice (see below) or bread. Makes about 4 servings.

Options: Instead of chickpeas, you can add some browned chicken chunks and a little chicken stock, or experiment with different vegetables and beans.

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Chai Tea

4 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups milk
12 green cardamom pods
3 3" sticks cinnamon, broken into pieces
1 thin slice of fresh ginger (optional)
6 whole cloves
4 black peppercorns
2 T black tea
sugar to taste

Crack the cardamom pods and peppercorns with the side of a knife. Add the spices to the water and milk, and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Remove from heat, add the tea leaves and steep, covered, for five minutes. Strain into cups and sweeten to taste.

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Steamed Rice

This goes well with all kinds of curries. It takes about 30 minutes start to finish, so if you're making the channa masala above, wash the rice before you begin the dish, and start cooking it around the time the onions are finished cooking.

1 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 1/4 cups water
2 tsp oil (for less sticky rice)

Place the rice in a large saucepan and fill with cold water. Swish the rice around to wash off some of the starch and bring out any impurities. Drain and repeat another time so that the water is mostly clear. Drain again, add the 2 1/4 cups clean water and oil, and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook without stirring for 20 minutes. Make sure all the water has been absorbed, give it a stir, and serve.