Naan bread

Ingredients:

yeast

• 6 cups of flour (3 cups all purpose flour & 3 cups Durum Atta)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast with 4 tablespoons water
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

In a bowl, put the yeast, water and sprinkle the sugar on top (do not mix anything). Leave it aside.

In a big bowl put in the flour, egg, oil, and salt. Mix everything with your hands until everything is combined.

Then pour the bowl of yeast into the big flour bowl. Start pouring in the 3 cups of water with one hand, and with the other hand start needing the dough. In the end, the dough should become medium soft (not too hard nor too soft).

Preheat oven to 125 Degrees, once it reaches that temperature turn it off. Then cover the dough bowl with a plate or its lid, and place in the oven. In 2-3 hours, the dough will double in size.

Then put the dough bowl in the fridge for a few hour.

Take out the dough after a few hours, and make medium sized balls. Approximately 17 balls will be made.

Place the flat pan on the stove on medium heat and turn on the oven to high broil (the rack should be second from the top, above the middle section) and place a oven safe flat pan.

Take 1 ball, and spread it with a rolling pin, then place on the flat pan. Beat 1 egg, and glaze the naan bread with a brush. At this point you can also sprinkle kalonji seeds on the naan when it is on the stove top or sprinkle sesame seeds.

Plain naan

Sprinkled with  kalonji seeds

After less than a minute, the bottom side will be cooked. Then take the naan and put it into the oven (facing the same way, do not flip it), broil will cook the top side of the naan. Each naan basically takes a minute to cook. Repeat this process for all naans.

Naan in the oven

Cooked naan with kalonji seeds

Cooked plain naan

You can enjoy with kebabs or any type of curry or simply eat it by itself with butter on top.

Tandoori Chicken (Thighs & Legs) & Roasted Potatoes

Servings: 8-10 people

 Ingredients:

• 11 whole chicken legs (each cut into 2 pieces: thigh and drumstick)
• 3 tablespoons yogourt
• 3 tablespoons tandoori chicken masala
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (or according to your taste)
• For sprinkling need an extra 2 teaspoons tandoori chicken masala

Directions:

Place BBQ cuts into each piece of chicken and place into a big bowl.

Mix all the spices and yogourt in a separate bowl. Then pour this mixture into the bowl with the chicken, and cover each piece of chicken with this mixture, with hands. Then place in the fridge overnight or leave in there for at least 6 hours.







Take a deep big baking tray (so that no piece is over lapping others, all are on the same level). Sprinkle the tandoori chicken masala on all the pieces and cover it in foil, and bake at 350 degrees in the oven (on the middle rack) for 1 hour. Then loosen the foil and cook for another 15-30 minutes.

In another baking tray (or same one if theres room), cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces, mix the following spices salt, black pepper, red chili powder and cumin powder. As well as olive oil. Cook this alongside the chicken.

When they are done and you see water in the tray, then take out all the chicken in a serving dish, and warm the baking dish on the stove and dry out the water, you will be left with a thick sauce, so pour this onto the chicken.

If you do not want the sauce, then you can increase the temperature to 400 and dry the water.

Note: If you would like to warm it again for serving, then cover the baking tray with foil and put in the oven at 200 degrees for 25 minutes.

Ready to serve.

Note: If you want to BBQ them instead, place the chicken pieces on the grill on low heat and close the lid of the BBQ for 10 minutes, then flip all the pieces and cover again for 10-15 minutes, do this process for 1 hour. Then put all the pieces into a baking dish and put this baking dish into the oven at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. (If the chicken looks dry after taking them off the BBQ, then cover the baking dish with foil before putting in oven). And your delicious BBQ chicken is ready to serve.

Channa (Chickpeas Curry)

Servings: up to 15 people

 Ingredients:

• 1 kg chickpeas
• 3 tablespoons baking soda
• 3-4 small tomatoes OR 2 and 1/2 tablespoon crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons ground fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons ground fresh ginger
• 1 medium onion (thin slices)
• 1/2 cup oil

Spices:

• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/5 teaspoon clove powder
  
  

Directions:

Soak the chickpeas for 6 hours.

After 6 hours, separate the water from the chickpeas (we will use the this water later on).

Take the baking soda and sprinkle on the chickpeas, and gently mix the baking soda into the chickpeas with hands (10-15 seconds).

In a pot, put the sliced onion and oil, on medium-high heat. When the onions have become transparent, add in the ground garlic. 

After 1 minute, add in the spices, and after another minute add in the tomatoes (peeled) and the ground ginger.

After 30 minutes of the chickpeas being mixed with baking soda, wash them 4-5 times to get rid of the baking soda, and then drain out the water.

Put this chickpeas into the pot. Gently mix a few times over the next 10 minutes.

Take the chickpeas water and boil it in a saucepan.

When you see the oil in the pot, then add in the boiled chickpea water along with 1 cup of more (regular) water.

Added in the boiled chickpeas water

When the water in the pot starts boiling, lower the heat on to medium-low. 

Let it cook for 1 hour, it will be done when the chickpeas are soft/tender, and is ready to serve with puri or paratha or with white rice. This can also be used as a side dish in big dinners.
Note: You can also freeze it, and on a day of a party, you can unfreeze and warm thoroughly and serve as a side dish.

Ready to serve

Basic Tea Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 and 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 and 1/4 cup orange juice
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 tablespoon salt (I used sea salt, if using table salt, then you use very little salt)
• 1/4 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Note: You can also add 1/4 cup of flax-seed as well.

Directions:

Mix the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon powder in a bowl. (Add in the optional flax-seed as well here). This is your dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, add in the sugar, orange juice. Mash the bananas in another bowl then add them into this bowl along with oil. Mix well. This is your wet ingredients.

Slowly, start adding in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix in the clockwise direction. If the batter is too stiff, just add in more orange juice and mix well. Leave it for 20 minutes.

Grease a baking dish with oil, and add in the batter. Sprinkle the chopped almond on top as well. Leave in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until knife comes out clean.

Ready to serve