Want to travel to India? What about tomorrow night? What if I told you that you didn’t need to buy a plane ticket but just take a trip to the grocery store?

You don’t need to travel far to experience another culture. In fact, you can do it in the comfort of your own home. In the above video, I share 3 of my favourite Indian dishes that will have your tastebuds doing backflips. With just one bite of any of these dishes, your senses will guide you to the exotic India without even needing to leave the kitchen.

So, press play and learn how you can send your tastebuds on an Indian adventure. I’ve also included the recipes below for those of you that would prefer to read. Enjoy!

Welcome to India Aloo Gobi

This dish was one of the first that I ever tried during my first trip to India. It still remains one of my favourites. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

• 1/2 Head of Cauliflower

• 2 Potatoes

• 1 Onion

• 1 Tomato

• 1/2 Cup Cilantro

• 1 Green Chili

• 3 Cloves of Garlic

• 1 Inch Piece of Ginger

• 2 1/2 Tsp Cumin

• 1/2 Tsp Turmeric

• 1 Tsp Chili Powder

• 1 Tsp Coraniader Powder

• 1/2 Tsp Garam Masala

• 1/4 Tsp of Mango Powder (Amchoor)

• Coconut or Sunflower Oil

Step-by-step

Step 1: Dice the onion and tomato. Once you’re done, set them aside separately.

Step 2: Chop up the potatoes and cauliflower into bite size pieces. Fry them up together in some oil until they are a little brown on the outside and then set aside.

Step 3: Grind the garlic, ginger and chilis (with a slash of water) until you get a thick paste. Use as much water as you need to get a thick paste but also don’t overdue it and make it too watery.

Step 4: Heat some oil in a frying pan along with ½ teaspoon of cumin. Once that’s heated up for about a minute, add your garlic-ginger-chili paste to the pan and sauté for a minute.

Step 5: Add your chopped onions and fry them up until they turn a nice golden brown. Then add your chopped tomatoes in with the onions and mix that up until the tomatoes are soft.

Step 6: In a bowl, mix your turmeric, coriander, rest of your cumin, chili powder and garam masala with a dash of water. Just enough so when you mix it all up you get a nice thick paste.

Step 7: Add this paste to your pan and sauté on medium heat for 2 minutes while mixing the ingredients.

Step 8: Add half of the cilantro leaves, mango powder and salt to taste to the mix. Mix that up for a minute, then add your fried potatoes and cauliflower. Mix it all up well. Once it’s all mixed up, add 1/3 cup of water to the mix and bring it to a boil. Cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Made With Love Tikka Masala

Ingredients

MARINADE:

• 1 cup yogurt

• 1 Tbsp Lemon juice

• 2 Tsp Ground Cumin

• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

• ¼ Tsp Cayenne Pepper

• 1 Tsp Ground Pepper

• 1 Tbsp Ginger Powder

• 1 Tsp Salt

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 4 long skewers

• 1 Tbsp Butter

• 1 Clove Garlic

• 2 Tsp Ground Cumin

• 2 Tsp Paprika

• 1 Tsp Salt

• 1 8oz Can Tomato Sauce

• 1 cup half and half cream

Step-by-step for the Marinade

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine your yogurt, lemon juice, 2 tsp cumin, cayenne, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and about a tsp salt. Mix it all up well.

Step 2: Cut up your chicken into bite size pieces.

Step 3: Stir your chicken pieces into the marinade mix then cover and let it sit in the fridge for 45 min to an hour.

Step 4: Once your chicken as marinated, slide the pieces onto skewers. Once you’ve done that, put them up on a grill until cooked fully.

Step-by-step for the Sauce

Step 1: Melt your butter on a pan and sauté the garlic until it starts to golden.

Step 2: Add 2 tsp of cumin, paprika and 1 tsp salt to the garlic. Sauté for about 30 seconds and then stir in the tomato sauce and cream. Cover and let it simmer for 10-15 until the sauce thickens.

Step 3: Once the sauce thickens, mix the marinated chicken to the sauce, cover and let sit for another 15 minutes.

Finger Licking Stuffed Okra

Ingredients

SPICE MIX:

• 1/2 Tsp Coconut or Sunflower Oil

• 1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

• 1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds

• 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds or Cumin Powder

• 1 Tsp Fennel Seeds

STUFFING:

• 1/2 Small Red Onion

• 1 Clove Garlic

• Coconut or Sunflower oil

• 1/4 Tsp Turmeric

• Salt to Taste

• 25-30 Okra Pods

Step-by-step for the Spice Mix

Step 1: Heat some oil in a small skillet over low heat until it shimmers.

Step 2: Add all the spices into a pan and fry until the spices turn slightly darker. I didn’t have cumin seeds so I used cumin powder which is fine. Sauté the spices until they let off a nice aroma and then transfer the spices to a plate and let them cool. Once they do, grind your spice mix into a fine powder in a grinder. I used my magic bullet. 

Step-by-step for the Stuffing

Step 1: Fry the onion and garlic in the oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and golden.

Step 2: Add in the spice mix, turmeric and salt into the onions.

Step 3: Wash the okra and cut off the stem end. Using a sharp knife, make an incision in the okra, starting at the stem end and stopping just before the point.

Step 4: Start stuffing your okra with your spicy stuffing!

Step 5: Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat and add the stuffed okra side by side, stuffed side facing up. Cook until the bottoms of the okra pods are brown.

Step 6: Reduce heat to low and cover the frying pan, venting a little. Cook for about 10 minutes until the okra are tender.

All that’s left to do is cook up some rice and buy some naan from your grocery store to eat with these 2 delicious meals.

There you have it! A delicious indian meal, and you didn’t even need a plane ticket!

Now that I’ve shared 3 of my favourite Indian dishes, I want to know one of yours. Share your dish below!

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