3 Delicious Indian Dinner Recipes

Have your midweek meals started looking a bit the same these days? Spice them up with these 3 delicious Indian dinner recipes. From indulgent curries served with tandoori rotis to mop all the delectable sauce to fragrant biryanis, there’s something for everyone!

1. Butter Chicken

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Also known as Murgh Makhani, it’s one of the most popular Indian curries in the world. Yet, it happens to be one of the easiest! The chicken is juicy and tender and the sauce is so flavorful that you’ll want it on a tap!

Serves: 3
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
For the curry:
1 ¼ tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
1 cup thickened/heavy cream
1 cup tomato puree
30 g butter

For the marinade:
750 g chicken thigh fillets, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper powder or chili powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp lemon juice
½ cup full-fat plain yogurt
To garnish:
Coriander leaves, chopped

To serve:
White rice/basmati rice/tandoori roti/butter naan

Directions:

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Use your fingers to apply the marinade on the chicken pieces until evenly coated. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
2. Heat butter in a large pan over high heat. Add all the chicken pieces without removing/shaking off the marinade (but don’t pour the leftover marinade into the pan).
3. Cook the chicken pieces for 3 minutes or until they’re all white in color.
4. Stir in the tomato puree, salt, sugar, and cream. Add the remaining marinade from the bowl into the pan. Reduce the flame to low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately with white rice/basmati rice/tandoori roti/butter naan.

2. Kashmiri Mutton Gosht Biryani

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Kashmiri Mutton Gosht Biryani is an aromatic biryani that makes for a comforting and filling weekend meal.

Serves: 3
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Salt, to taste
12 tsp ghee
½ tsp saffron mixed with 3 tsp milk
¼ nutmeg, ground
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp chili powder
3 tsp cashew nuts
2 tsp shahi jeera
4 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
½ kg mutton, cubed
2 green cardamom
2 black cardamom
½ cup yogurt
½ kg rice
1 cup coriander and mint leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Mix salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, and curd in a bowl. Use your fingers to apply the marinade to the meat until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least for 3 hours.
2. Cook the basmati rice until half done. Drain the water and keep it aside.
3. Heat ghee in a large pan over high heat. Add shahi jeera, bay leaf, cinnamon, green and black cardamoms, garam masala, and ground nutmeg.
4. Stir in the marinated meat and fry until the curd is well-absorbed and the mix has turned brown.
5. Add water to cook the meat. Continue to cook until the meat turns tender. Remove from fire and keep aside.
6. Divide the rice into two equal portions. Add the saffron milk to one portion, half the meat, and half the mint and coriander leaves at the bottom of the pot. Mix well.
7. Cover it with the remaining meat and rice.
8. Sprinkle the remaining mint and coriander leaves and cashews on top.
9. Shut the pot tightly and cook on low heat for 40-45 minutes.
10. Serve with raita and pickle of your choice.

3. Aloo Gobhi

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Serves: 3
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup potatoes, washed, cubed, and immersed in water
180 g cauliflower florets, lightly boiled
6 tsp oil
½ tsp salt
5 tsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 green chili, slit lengthwise
3 tsp ginger-garlic paste
½ cup tomatoes, finely chopped
¾ cup onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried fenugreek seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
¾ tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin seeds

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and add cumin seeds. Add ginger-garlic paste once they start sizzling and saute for half a minute.
2. Add onions and cook until they’re transparent.
3. Toss in the green chili and potatoes. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until they’re half done.
4. Give it a good stir before adding the cauliflower florets. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the spices and stir again. Cover and cook until tender.
5. Mix in the salt and continue to cook covered on low heat until the potatoes turn soft and are fully cooked.
6. The vegetables will start releasing moisture and cook quickly at this stage. Be careful as you want to keep the florets crunchy and not mushy.
7. Add the dried fenugreek seeds and tomatoes. Cook on a medium-high flame for 3-4 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked.
8. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately with rice or roti.

Featured Image Credits: Pixabay