5 Of The Easiest Indian Dishes To Make At Home

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Indian cuisine is one that’s sometimes considered elaborate for the average home cook. There are plenty of dishes that are relatively easy to create at home and dishes that’ll take days on days to prepare. Once you learn how to make Indian food on your own, your takeout bill will become way more affordable. With the right spices, you’ll be whipping up chutneys and pilafs before you know it. Here are five of the easiest Indian dishes to make at home.

1. Tandoori Chicken

As long as you have access to a grill or a grill pan, you can easily make your own tandoori chicken at home. You might recognize tandoori chicken — chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted — for its bright red color, although food coloring is the culprit there. When you make tandoori chicken at home, you can leave the food coloring out. It won’t affect the flavor at all.

You’ll want to use bone-in thighs and legs, which have enough fat to stay moist during the grilling process, and make slits in the meat to absorb all of the seasonings. This simple recipe for tandoori chicken gets marinated in yogurt (adding to the juiciness factor) onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin and paprika. Make sure to grill the outside until you start to see serious browning on all sides.

2. Mango Chutney

With a few ripe mangoes on hand, you’re ready for some tangy chutney. One of the best things about chutney is that it’ll taste way better the next day. A chutney is either a sauce or a dry base used in Indian cooking. Sometimes vinegar and sugar are added to help preserve it over a longer period of time.

A chutney could be anything from a tomato relish to a yogurt dip to a peanut garnish. Try this mango chutney at home with red onion, raisins, sugar, garlic, ginger, white wine vinegar, salt and red pepper flakes. Use the mango chutney to top off a piece of meat, add a sweet and tangy component to a sandwich or served it alongside your favorite curry.

3. Basmati Rice Pilaf

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Rice pilaf is one of the easiest Indian dishes to make. An Indian-style basmati rice pilaf has ingredients like onion, butter, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, salt, pepper, dried fruit and almonds. Here’s a recipe for a pilaf that can be made in one pot. You’ll cook the onion and the spices, add the rice, cover with water and seasonings, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The dried fruit and nuts get sprinkled on top at the end. This is an awesome side dish to serve as a bed for any kind of protein or veggie dish.

4. Aloo Gobi

A vegetarian Indian dish that’ll be a fan favorite is aloo gobi. The dish usually has potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, onion, coriander, peas, cumin and tomato. This Aloo Gobi recipe calls for dry mango powder, red chili powder and garam masala powder. If you don’t have mango powder, add fresh mangoes for a juicy addition. Sprinkle a little bit of cilantro on top and you’ll have a bold and colorful main dish for any of your vegan or vegetarian friends.

5. Rice Kheer

For an Indian version of rice pudding, give rice kheer a try. The sweet pudding is flavored with cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios and almonds. Here’s a recipe for rice kheer that’s made with basmati rice, warm milk (use coconut milk if you prefer) ghee, cloves, chopped nuts, cardamom and rose water. Expect a floral and more aromatic version of your favorite rice pudding with a thinner consistency than the extra creamy version you might be used to.

With these five dishes under your belt, you’ll end up saving some money that you’d spend on your usual takeout habits in the process. Don’t be intimidated, you got this!

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