Anyone interacting with the peripatetic Indian businessmen, who hail predominantly from the western Indian states of Gujarat or Rajasthan, thinks Indians to be primarily vegetarians. Once in India, they are then justifiably shocked to find a flourishing omnivorous tradition.

Some attribute this to the influence of rulers who came from Turkey, Persia or any of the Central Asian States like Uzbekistan. This is evident from the very popular body of dishes that goes around under the banner of Mughlai cuisine.

Certainly much of the baking tradition, especially using tandoors (earthen ovens) would have come from these regions. But barbeque, I’m not so sure that it is not as ancient as the discovery of fire and roasting of the hunt-of-the-day thereon.

And what would you say to the South Indian and in fact the entire Coastal Indian tradition of cooking their meats and fishes with coconut, curry leaves and Rai (black mustard seeds)? And the Eastern Indian tradition of using Pachphoran? Original and quite unparalleled? Yes absolutely, because no West Asian or East Asian nation cooks like the South, West and East Indians do.

That leaves the North Indian cuisine which prima facie looks “influenced”. I’ve, however, scoured the lanes of Samarkand and Bukhara for any Mughlai dish and failed. I couldn’t even get a simple curry anywhere. There was no trace of Dal Bukhara (or any lentil dish) even in the priciest of restaurants in Bukhara. Yes, I could have Rice Pilaf, but they were sweet and made in cotton seed oil. These tasted so different from any Indian Pulao or Biryani that I am not sure whether the Central Asians inspired us or whether we taught them a trick or two. The kebabs contained NO spices. The desserts didn’t use milk or milk products. I could go on and on…

Made me wonder if we are being too self-deprecatory and too generous in giving credit to “foreign” influences?

Before I spark off a major controversy, let me stop here and focus on my “Home Style” Chicken curry.

This is the Basic North Indian Chicken Curry that once mastered can be easily adapted into a number of variations simply by adding or deleting some ingredients.

Ingredients

Whole chicken -1 (cut into 8 pieces)

Chopped Onion-3 large

Chopped Ginger-2 inch piece

Chopped Garlic-8 Cloves

Tomatoes-3

Coriander powder-2 teaspoon

Turmeric-1 teaspoon

Garam Masala-1 teaspoon

Tip: If you can’t get ready-made garam masala mixture from a nearby Indian store, you can make yours by using 1 black cardamom, 3 green cardamoms, 4 cloves, and 1 inch cinnamon-all ground together for this dish.

Red chilli powder-1/4 teaspoon (enough only to add flavour and not to make it hot)

Cumin seeds-1/2 teaspoon

Tomato Ketchup-2 tablespoon

Cooking Oil-2 tablespoon

Ghee (Clarified butter)-1 tablespoon

Water-3 cups

Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker, add the oil and the put it on your heat source.

As the oil turns hot, add the cumin seeds and let it splutter.

Immediately add the chopped onion. 

Stir well till the onions become translucent.

Now, add the chopped ginger and garlic and stir till it starts giving off a nice aroma. 

Add the chicken and the ghee (clarified butter).

 Stir well.

Add the coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala and red chilli powder.

Stir and cook the chicken till all the water evaporates and the chicken becomes almost dry.  This process ensures that all the raw flavours of chicken, onions, etc. are removed.

Add now the tomatoes and the ketchup.

Stir well again and add the salt. 

Let the tomatoes cook well.

Now, add the water, and close the lid of the pressure cooker with weight.

Let it come to full pressure (i.e. when the weight lifts and there is a whistling sound).

Immediately reduce the heat (to SIM on a gas stove) and let the chicken cook for 5 more minutes before turning off the heat source.

Let the cooker cool down on its own.

Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use a wok. Every step remains the same except for the last stage where cooking the chicken may take about 25-30 minutes (instead of 5 minutes in a pressure cooker) or till the chicken becomes tender.

Your basic chicken curry is now ready.

Prep time: 7 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes with pressure cooker; 25-30 minutes with wok

Total time: 17 minutes with pressure cooker; 32-37 minutes with wok

(Excerpts from my second JIFFY Book “Home Style Indian Cooking In A Jiffy”)

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