How To Make An Indian Meal From Scratch?

Making Indian curries and naan or rotis from scratch often feels very intimidating because we have only seen our moms do that. However, if you give it a shot, you will quickly realise that you have a natural knack for these recipes and it doesn’t take a lot to perfect them.

Start with some online grocery shopping. Order some spices and vegetable oils, if you don’t already have them. Then move on to your basic sabzis, whole wheat flour and your lentils and pulses.

And then pick out a Sunday morning to get started on your adventure!

Making curries is really easy. It contains a fair share of Indian spices which are very aromatic and increase the flavours of the said vegetables. My standard to-go sabzi is a Baingan Bharta. It’s a little more complex than the others, but it’s worth the effort. I start with cutting open a couple of eggplants and spreading some oil on them before putting them to roast in the oven.

Thereafter, I chop up some onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and a single potato. I also defrost any peas I have on hand.

I saute the onions in a pan and add water to deglaze it as and when needed. Then I add the other chopped vegetables in the order in which they are listed. I let them cook properly and add some extra water to ensure that the potatoes are well cooked and soft. I then add some salt, tumeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cinnamon powder in the pan.

By then, my eggplants are nicely roasted in the oven. I hold them with a pair of tongs and remove the inside part and put it directly into the pan. This makes for a sudden surge of aroma in the kitchen!! And usually leaves me smiling.

I proceed to mix all the ingredients in the pan and let them cook for at least 5 minutes. I usually end up trying a little bit with a small spoon to check how well it is cooked and if the spices are in the right proportions.

I cover the pan with a lid and heat it up before serving.

Moving on to the Indian breads… I make some mildly sticky dough out of a teaspoon of oil and whole wheat flour. I then clear a portion of the platform and spread some flour on it before making my rotis or naan on it. I roll the dough to make evenly shaped rotis or naans, and then fry it on the pan using a little but of clear butter. Sometimes, I add a few spices to the dough - like garlic powder or cumin seeds to give it an excellent flavour.

Voila! My Indian meal is ready!