Arora Family Recipes

I grew up in a middle class Indian Punjabi household in New Delhi. My parents and grand parents had migrated from Pakistan during partition and brought along with them the wealth of knowledge of the family traditions, except the family wealth. These traditions included the quintessential Punjabi cooking recipes passed on through the oral traditions. Over a period of time, education and jobs took me to Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore where we got influenced with the Gujarati, Maharashtrian, Malabari and South Indian cooking styles. Also I travelled across Africa, South and North America, Europe and East Asia. Picked a lot of different kinds of cuisines along the way. Now we are settled in the US in the Bay Area, which is a melting pot of world cultures. This space represents the type of cooking our household likes and how the other types of cuisines, apart from the Punjabi cooking has infused into our cooking. My goal is to document our cooking recipes and add more to it as our tastes evolve. Hope you will like it as much as we have loved putting together these recipes. - Sarit Arora

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Kanjirita

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An authentic Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani in a lodge Dutch oven and charcoal.

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One pot salmon, rice with spices and herbs

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Himani’s Lemon Chilli Chicken

This is my sister’s quick and delicious recipe. Its cooked in a pressure cooker which helps to preserve all the nutrients and helps to make the chicken soft and tender. 

Ingredients

Chicken- 1kg

Butter - 2 table spoons

Green chillies - 6 ( or to taste )

Lemon juice - of 3 lemons

Salt- to taste

Black pepper -  to taste

Olives - few (optional)

Method

Wash the chicken.

Keep the pressure cooker on gas ..add butter , split green chillies , salt and pepper then add chicken and saute it nicely .

Pour half cup water and close the lid.

After one whistle slow down the gas for four to five minutes.

On cooling remove the pressure cooker lid and add lemon juice .

Add salted  olives ( optional) .

Simmer it for 2-3 minutes and serve it hot with chapati , bread or rice.

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Mom’s tomato chutney

Mom’s tomato chutney goes with everything in our household. Specially with uppama, poha, idly, dosa and uttappa. Without tomato chutney the breakfast seems incomplete. So, over a period of time the tomato chutney has evolved and is always mixed with a few berries that are in season. 

Ingredients

Ripe tomatoes 5-6

Garlic cloves 4-5

Grated coconut

Half an onion

Berries - Blue or black berries of your choice. Blue berries add to the taste as well as color

Mustard seeds

Curry leaves 

Chutney powder (gun powder)

Red chilli powder

Salt to taste 

Tamarind paste (optional)

Method

Cut tomatoes, onion, grated, blue berries, coconut and garlic and wet grind them in a mixer

In a shallow pan, put some oil and add mustard seeds until they sputter

Add curry leaves and the chutney powder

Once its all mixed, add the tomato mix 

Add the sambar powder, red chilli powder and salt to taste

if you like a bit more tanginess, add a spoon of tamarind paste

Cook until its all done and the oil separates out

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Chicken Seekh Kabab

Not having access good goat meat in the US has helped us gravitate towards  minced chicken kababs. These melt into your mouth and great with kids and also in burgers. 

Ingredients 

Ginger finely chopped - 1 inch

Finely chopped onion - 1

Green Chillies - 2-3

Garlic finely chopped - 2-3 cloves

One table spoon lemon juice

2-3 table spoon of butter

Green cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Chaat masala - 2 teaspoons

Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon

Coriander leaves chopped - 4 table spoons

oil - 2-3 table spoon

Minced Chicken 

Method

Add onion, salt, chopped chillies, coriander, ginger, garlic, garam masala, cardamom powder, chaat masala, lemon and butter with the minced chicken and mix. 

Either skewer them or make it into small patties

You can bake them or pan fry them

Serve with a onion salad and mint chutney

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Chicken curry in coconut milk and tamarind

This is our evolved recipe of a chicken curry with South Indian spices. First time we ever experienced this was during our travels to Kerala and since then it has become an essential part of our household. The blend of tangy tamarind with the balance of coconut milk is just yum! 

Ingredients

Chicken cut into small cubes, preferably chicken thighs. You can also add Chicken drumsticks.

4-5 cloves

6-8 Garlic cloves

1 Cinnamon stick

1-2 star anise 

1& half cup onions

2-3 spoons cashews

Red chilli powder as per taste

Mustard seeds  - 1 tea spoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tea spoon

Curry leaves

Small Cardamom - 4-5 pieces

Coriander powder - 3 spoons

Salt as per taste 

Turmuric powder 

Tomatoes - 2 small 

Tamarind paste 

Whole black pepper - 8-10

Coconut milk ( half cup)

Coriander leaves 

Method

Wet grind 1 cup onions, cashews, garlic, coriander, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Add some salt to taste.

Use the wet grind mix as the marinade for the chicken. Marinade for 30 min

In a pan, heat the oil and add the spices in this order

Mustard seeds until they sputter

Fenugreek seeds

Curry leaves

Star anise, cinnamon and black pepper

Add dry grinded cardamom

Add the half cup finely chopped onions

Once the onions + spices are mixed together, add the marinated chicken ( with all the marinade)

Fry until all the onion gets cooked ( 12- 15 min)

Add chopped tomatoes and cover the pan ( another 10 - 12 min)

Once chicken is cooked, add couple of spoons of tamarind paste and then add half a cup of Coconut milk

Boil and cook until chicken is tender

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.