#tapastree

What you need:

Gin - 1 1/2 oz gin

Lime juice - 1 1/2 oz, fresh

Mango nectar - 1 1/2 oz (I used Langer's Mango Nectar Juice)

Ginger - 1 inch

Equal parts sugar/cayenne, to rim glass

Ice

What you do:

Chill a couple of martini glasses for 10 minutes.

Rub the ginger along the rim of the glasses and rim with the cayenne/sugar mixture.

In a shaker add some ice, gin, lime juice, and the mango nectar. 

Shake, strain, and serve!

(Serves 5-6); Prep time: 20 mins; Total time: 2.5 hours

What you need:

Fresh mutton or lamb shoulder - 1.5 lbs, washed, fat-trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes.

Red wine - 1 cup (I used a nice Malbec but I think any drinking red would work fine)

Whole wheat flour/maida - 4 tbsp

2 Medium tomatoes, diced

1 Red onion, diced

Garlic - 4-5 cloves, minced

Ginger - 1 inch piece, finely chopped

Tomato paste - 1 tbsp

Chocolate chips - 1/4 cup (semi-sweet or dark)

Cumin - 1 tbsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 2ish, diced (I added 4-5)

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Garam masala - 1 tbsp

Bay leaf - 1 whole (fresh or dried)

Salt/Pepper

Oil

Cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped

What you do:

In a bowl mix together the mutton pieces, coriander powder, flour, and a dash of salt/pepper.

Heat up about 3-4 tbsp of oil in a cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pan on high/medium-high heat.

Once the oil starts smoking, add the mutton pieces one at a time.

Brown all of the mutton and transfer to a plate. Set aside.

In another large stew pot, heat up 3-4 tbsp of oil on medium heat.

Saute the onion, garlic and ginger for 4-5 mins until soft.

Add the cumin, tomato past, and garam masala and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the chocolate chips, diced tomatoes, green chillies. Stir to combine (don't let the chocolate burn!)

Now add the browned mutton pieces and fry for a minute. 

De-glaze the pan with wine for 1-2 minutes.

Add ~2 cups water until the meat is covered.

Add a tsp of salt and pepper and the bay leaf.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and a lid.

Simmer for 2 hours. Before serving, taste for seasoning and add more salt/pepper as necessary.

(Makes 4.5 cups, serves 15); Prep time: 5 mins; Total time: 30 mins

What you need:

Fresh paneer, 2 cups, crumbled (Super easy to make. All you need is milk and a lemon. Recipe here).

Chopped spinach, frozen 10 oz. box, thawed

Artichoke hearts - 1 can (14 oz.), drained and chopped

Sour cream/Indian yogurt - 2/3 cup

Cream Cheese - 1 cup

Mayonnaise - 2/3 cup

Garlic, 1 small clove, minced

Ginger - 1/4 inch piece, grated

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp

Butter - 1/2 tbsp

Salt/Pepper

What you do:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Heat the spinach in the microwave for 5 minutes and drain.

In a medium sauce pan, heat up the butter on medium-low heat. Add the ginger, garlic and red pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes, until soft (don't let them burn). 

Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Mix until smooth.

Add the spinach, artichokes and paneer and fold.

Add some salt, freshly ground pepper, and the powdered masalas (I like to also add a chopped green chilli for more kick).

Transfer dip to a casserole and bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and delicious.

(Serves 5); Prep time: 5 mins

*Honestly, you can eyeball this recipe with about 1:2 pumpkin:yogurt and some ice.

What you need:

Indian or Greek yogurt- 32 oz.

Pumpkin puree - 1.5 cups ~1 can (15 oz.)

Honey - 1/4 cup

Salt - a pinch

Ground ginger - 1/2 tsp, ground

Ice - 1 cup

Cinnamon Sticks, to garnish (optional)

Nutmeg, to garnish (optional)

Kahlua, to spike (optional)

What you do:

Put ingredients 1-6 in a blender and give them a whirl (add the kahlua too if you want to spike them).

(Makes 7-8 patties); Prep time: 10 mins; Total time: 1 hour

What you need:

For the aloo patty:

Yeast or dinner rolls, 8

2 medium Potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed.

Peas - 1/4 cup (optional, I don't like them)

Cilantro leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped

Ginger/garlic - 2 tsp, grated

Red onion - 2 tbsp, finely diced

Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/4 tbsp

Chaat masala - 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp

Ketchup - 1 tbsp

1 green chili, diced

Bread crumbs/Ritz cracker crumbs - 1/4 cup

Oil - 3-4 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

For the slaw:

Green cabbage - 1/4 head, shredded

Carrot - 1 cup, shredded

Red onion - 1/4 cup, thinly sliced

Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

Plain yogurt - 3 tbsp

Lime juice - 2 tbsp

Honey - 3 tbsp

Cider vinegar - 1 tbsp

Fresh jalapeno - 1 tbsp, diced

Scallions - 2, diced

Ginger - 1/4 inch, grated

Paprika - 1/2 tsp

Roasted cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt/Pepper - 1 tsp

What you do:

For the slaw:

In a large bowl toss the cabbage, carrot, onion, jalapeno and scallions together.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the yogurt, lime juice, honey, vinegar, grated ginger, paprika, mustard seeds, cumin powder and salt/pepper.

Add the dressing to the larger bowl and mix together.

Taste it to make sure the salt and spices are balanced. Add a little olive oil if it looks too dry.

Cover with some plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For the aloo patty:

*Note: some people just throw all the ingredients into a bowl and make the patties without cooking it all first, but I think that ends up making the patty taste raw and too potato-ey.

Boil, peel and mash the potatoes well. 

In a nonstick pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and heat on medium.

When the oil is hot, add the ginger/garlic, turmeric, green chilli, and cumin seeds (don't let them burn!)

Add the onion and ketchup and stir. 

Add the mashed potatoes, salt, garam masala, chaat masala and peas.

Cook this on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn.

Taste it, add if anything is missing.

Let the dough cool for 10-15 mins.

Now add the bread crumbs and cilantro leaves and knead well.

Divide the dough into balls and shape into patties.

Heat up ~3 tbsp of oil in a shallow pan and fry the patties for 2-3 minutes on each side on medium heat until golden brown on each side. 

Take the patties out of the pan and put them on a paper-towel before serving.

(Prep time: 15 mins, Cook time: 25 mins, Serves 5-6 as an appetizer)

What you need for the fried chicken:

**Alternatively you can bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Fresh chicken breast - 1 lb, cut into 1-inch pieces.

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp

Ginger/garlic paste - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Corn starch or plain flour - 1 tbsp

Egg - 1, beaten

White pepper - 1 tsp, freshly ground

Kosher salt - 1 tsp

Lime juice - 1 tbsp

Canola oil- enough to deep fry in a large pot. 

Red onion - 1 small, thinly sliced

What you need for the seasoning oil:

Mustard/regular oil - 2 tbsp

Greek yogurt, plain - 3-4 tbsp

Red chilli paste - 1 tbsp

Jeera (cumin) - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Dried red chillies - a handful

What you do:

Mix ingredients #1-9 in a medium bowl. 

Heat up oil on medium-high heat. Test oil heat with the back of a wooden spoon, if you see little bubbles it means it's ready to go. 

Fry the marinated chicken pieces until golden brown (approx 3-4 minutes per batch).

Make sure the oil heats up between batches.

Once all the chicken is fried, in a medium pan/wok heat up the oil for the seasoning on medium-low heat. 

Meanwhile, mix in a small bowl, the yogurt and red chilli paste with a dash of salt.

Add the jeera and mustard seeds until they start to pop.

Add the chillies until they start to blister a little.

Turn the heat up to medium high and add the yogurt mixture, and quickly stir so the yogurt doesn't curdle.

After 1-2 minutes, toss the chicken for a couple of minutes until the yogurt is absorbed.

Serves: 4

What you need:

Loose-leaf tea powder - Found at any Indian store. My favorite is Brooke Bond 3 Roses or the one with the Taj Mahal on the front.

Cardamon - 1 clove

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, grated

Milk - 2% or whole milk (skim milk is not the way to go for this. Live a little). 

*I absolutely hate cinnamon in tea, but I know there are some die hard fans out there, so you can add it to the list if you want.

What you do:

First you want to pour 3 cups of water and 1 cup of milk in a stainless steel pot.

Heat on medium heat until it starts boiling (you want to keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over).

Turn the heat down to medium-low.

Grind the cardamon or just crush it under a knife and add to the pot.

Add the ginger.

Add the tea powder and let it all simmer for a couple of minutes until golden-brown. Good chai is the color of caramel, but you can add a little more milk or tea powder as necessary.

Strain and serve with sugar cubes or honey.

What you need:

7 hard boiled eggs - Put the eggs in cold water and let them come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and boil for 10-11 minutes. Allow them to cool in iced water.

Chilli powder - 2 tbsp (roast up 1-2 dried red chillies, 1 tbsp jeera (cumin), 1 tsp coriander seeds and grind until fine along with 1 tbsp each of paprika, chipotle powder and 1/2 tsp of turmeric) - The fresh chilli powder will make a world of a difference.

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Greek/Indian Yogurt - 1/4 cup

Cilantro/Mint - 1 tbsp, finely chopped. 

Green chillies - 1, finely chopped

Lime, 1 whole

What you do:

Cut the cold eggs in half length-wise and take out the yolks.

Mash up the yolks, chilli powder, salt, mayonnaise, cilantro, and green chillies. (Make sure to take a taste at this point for salt/spice)

You can put this mixture directly into the eggs using a piping bag or you can put it into a Ziploc bag, cut the edge and use it to pipe.

If not serving immediately, just pop them into the fridge.