Mohan Singh loves to talk about Indian food.
The local restaurateur spent the better part of 20 minutes discussing garam masala, a mixture of ground spices used abundantly in Indian cuisine to flavor meats and vegetables.
The spice mixture is a principal ingredient in many of the dishes that Singh serves at Haveli, Punjabi Dhaba and India Pavilion, his three Cambridge restaurants. Central Square’s India Pavilion, Singh’s first restaurant, celebrated its 30th anniversary in March.
Three decades ago in Cambridge, Singh said, ethnic food was scarce and Indian food was nonexistent.
“Those days, there were mostly Chinese (restaurants) around,” he said. “Many people were not familiar with Indian food, so India Pavilion made a taste for Cambridge. After that, it’s like fashion for Indian restaurants.”
India Pavilion certainly filled a need. During its infancy, many customers traveled from as far as New Hampshire and Vermont to enjoy traditional Northern Indian dishes, based on Singh’s family recipes.
Today, India Pavilion is much the same as when it opened. Guests enjoy signature specialties such as spicy lamb vindaloo and mattar paneer, fresh peas cooked with house-made whole milk cheese.
Singh’s favorite is the chicken tikka masala, chicken breast cooked in a tomato cream sauce with fenugreek. “It’s a rich dish, but elegant with a lot of aromas,” he said.
Back in 1979, fenugreek was difficult to obtain locally, so Singh had to buy it from a New York company. In 1984, he opened India Food & Spices, a gourmet market stocked with Indian spices, fresh vegetables, hard-to-find ingredients and Indian confections.
Singh’s son and partner, Harinder, said such attention to detail sets the family’s restaurants apart.
“Other restaurants, they buy in their samosas; they buy in their cheese; they buy in so many different things, because everything is available now,” he said.
“Our taste is an original taste,” his father said. “We make everything from scratch. We make our own spices, and then we grind them. We make our own garam masala.”
“That’s the heart of Indian cuisine,” said Harinder, “the spices.”
The Singh family operates Cambridge-based Royal Bharat Catering, India Pavilion, Haveli, Punjabi Dhabaand India Food & Spices; royalbharatinc.com.
INDIA PAVILION’S LAMB OR BEEF VINDALOO
Singh’s garam masala for meat:
6 pods of green cardamom
4 whole cloves
3 whole bay leaves
3 whole nutmeg nuts
2 T. cumin seed
2 T. coriander seed
2 t. black peppercorn
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. ginger powder
1 2-inch cinnamon stick 1 dried red chili pepper 1 T. paprika
Dry roast all ingredients in a frying pan on medium-low for five minutes.
Let the mixture cool, then grind it in a coffee grinder for best results. You can also use a food processor or a blender, but the resulting grind will be a bit coarser.
Store in an airtight container for up to six months.
Yield: ½ c. garam masala.
Lamb/beef vindaloo:
1 large onion, chopped
3 T. vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, diced
3 T. Singh’s garam masala for meat
½ t. turmeric powder
½ t. red chili powder
2 lbs. lamb or beef, cubed
Salt to taste
1 T. white vinegar
3 c. hot water
lb. potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 sprig cilantro, chopped for garnish
Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat and brown onions. Add tomatoes, garam masala, turmeric and chili powder, and cook until the tomatoes have mashed.
Add the meat, salt and vinegar and stir-fry for five minutes.
Add hot water, bring to a boil and then lower to simmer, cover the pot and cook for five minutes. Add the potatoes and continue cooking in the covered pan until the potatoes are tender and the meat is cooked through.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with naan bread or boiled basmati rice.
Serves 2-3.
PUNJABI DHABA’S VEGETARIAN MALAI KOFTA
Singh’s garam masala for vegetables:
1 T. turmeric powder
2 T. cumin seed
2 T. coriander seed
2 t. black peppercorn
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. ginger powder
1 dried red chili pepper
Dry roast all ingredients in a frying pan on medium-low for five minutes.
Let the mixture cool, then grind it in a coffee grinder for best results. You can also use a food processor or a blender, but the resulting grind will be a bit coarser.
Store in an airtight container for up to six months.
Yield: ½ c. garam masala.
Kofta croquettes:
2 lb. whole potatoes
3 T. gram (chickpea) flour
1 Thai chili, chopped
4 oz. grated paneer cheese
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. cashew nuts, ground
2 T. raisins, ground
1 T. Singh’s garam masala for vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
In a large pot, boil potatoes. Let them cool slightly and then peel them. Grate potatoes into a large bowl, and then add chickpea flour, Thai chili, grated paneer, vegetable oil, cashew nuts, raisins, garam masala, salt and pepper, and mix well.
Form the mixture into small balls (two tablespoons in size, each). If the mixture is too dry, add two tablespoons of water to help it bind.
Heat vegetable oil in an average-size frying pan over medium heat. Deep fry the balls a few at a time until golden brown, and set aside.
Curry sauce:
2 T. vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
½ c. tomato puree
1 Thai chili, chopped
½ c. light cream
2 T. Singh’s garam masala for vegetables
1 t. dried fenugreek
Salt to taste
½ c. water
1 sprig cilantro for garnish
Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Keep at medium heat and brown the onions. Add tomato puree, chopped Thai chili, light cream, garam masala, fenugreek and salt to the pan, and cook for five minutes.
Add water and bring to a boil. Then add the kofta balls to the curry sauce in the pan, cover it and lower the heat to simmer for five minutes.
Garnish with cilantro sprig and serve with chapati bread or boiled basmati rice.
Serves 2-3.
From Boston Herald
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/food/view.bg?articleid=1183479&format=text
