Description: Super hot Indian recipes and tips for shopping for Indian recipe ingredients.

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For cooks who are heavy-handed with their spices, the bottles you buy in the supermarket might last a week, if you're lucky, and cost as much as a pair of leather boots. A cheap alternative is to buy in bulk at an Indian grocery store. For about as much as you'd pay for a one ounce bottle of spice at the supermarket, you can buy enough to fill an 8-10 ounce coffee jar at the Indian store.

Cooks from India have sharpened the art of spicy cooking to a tongue-burning edge. Their culinary masterpieces are not for the faint of heart. For those with a flare for the daring, whose adventurous palates long to romp through sweltering jungles of chilies, I submit the following authentic Indian recipes. These are generally one pot meals. For best results, all Indian dishes should be served with rice and pita bread (two entities that help soften the mighty blow of the chili pepper), also available in bulk at the Indian grocery. All recipes are guaranteed to clear your sinuses.

Dhana jeero and garam masala are powdered spices available at the Indian grocery. The chili powder used was also from the Indian grocery, and is much hotter than that available in American grocery stores. Pepper pods are dried, red chili peppers. In all recipes, this cook used about 1/8 cup of salt, and did not peel the potatoes and carrots.

These recipes are hot enough to bring tears to your eyes. For a little less heat, you might want to start out with less chili powder, fewer red pepper pods, and fewer green chili peppers. You can always go hotter the next time.

I thank Madhusudan L. Amin from Gujarat, India, for sharing his recipes with us.

BITING BEEF STEW

1 1/2 lbs. beef - cubed
1/2 cup peanuts, any kind
5 small onions - sliced thin
1/2 cup cooking oil
7 cloves fresh garlic - sliced
2 square inches fresh ginger - sliced
5 green chili peppers - sliced lengthwise
2 tomatoes - sliced splash of water
1 potato - cubed
5 tsp. dhana jeero
2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. turmeric
3 tsp. garam masala
salt to taste
3/4 cup cooking oil

Brown beef in a frying pan while preparing other ingredients. Cover bottom of a large stewpot with 1/2 cup cooking oil and place on medium-high heat. In a blender, combine 3/4 cup oil and onions. Liquefy. Add to stewpot. In same blender, combine garlic, ginger, chilies and water. Liquefy and add to stewpot. Liquefy tomatoes in blender with a splash of water. Add to stewpot. Stewpot should be boiling and sizzling. Stir often to avoid burning. Add beef to stewpot. Add all other ingredients except peanuts, stir. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add peanuts and stir. Simmer for another 30-35 minutes. Optional: You may add 3 heaping tablespoons full of yogurt about 5 minutes before stew is done. Serve over plain rice.

HAIR-SPLITTING HAMBURGER STEW

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger
3 medium onions - sliced thin
3 square inches fresh ginger - sliced
5 green chili peppers - sliced thin
1 tomato - halved and sliced
1 bell pepper - cubed
2 potatoes - quartered and sliced
1 carrot - sliced
1/2 cup cooking oil
3 heaping tablespoons full tomato paste
3 tbsp. cumin seeds
6 cloves
4 tsp. garam masala
3/4 tsp. turmeric
5 1/2 tsp. dhana jeero
4 pepper pods
2 tsp. chili powder
salt to taste
8 cloves fresh garlic - sliced

In a stewpot, combine oil and onions with heat on medium-high. Cook until onions are limp and mushy. Add ginger, chilies, garlic, and pepper pods. Cook for 5 minutes. Mixture should be sizzling. Stir in cumin, cloves, tomato, tomato paste, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, dhana jeero and salt. Add beef and bell pepper. Mix well. Mixture should be bubbling and boiling. Stir frequently while hamburger is browning. When meat is fully browned, add potatoes and carrot. Cover and simmer on low heat for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over plain rice.

FIERY BAKED CHICKEN

17 chicken legs (family-sized package)
10 green chili peppers - sliced
2 square inches fresh ginger - sliced
10 cloves fresh garlic - sliced
Small can tomato paste
1/4 cup water
6 tsp. dhana jeero
3 1/2 tsp. garam masala
2 tsp. cumin seeds
4 pepper pods
1 tsp. turmeric
10 cloves
2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup cooking oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Skin and rinse chicken and poke several times with a sharp knife. Combine all other ingredients in blender and puree into a thick paste. Cover chicken with paste and arrange in a single layer in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Serve with plain rice.

FEISTY FRIED RICE

4 cups cooked white rice - cooled
1 bell pepper - cubed
1 onion - sliced thin
1 carrot - sliced thick
1 tomato - sliced thick
3 green chili peppers
4 pepper pods
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin seeds
5 tsp. mustard seeds
salt to taste
1/2 cup cooking oil

Heat oil in stewpot on medium-high heat. Test oil's heat by throwing in a few mustard seeds. Oil is ready when mustard seeds pop. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chilies and pepper pods. Once the seeds have popped, add onion, bell pepper, carrot, and tomato. Stir for three minutes. Add turmeric and chili powder. Stir, cover and simmer on medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Ingredients should be limp and mushy. Add rice and salt. Mix well. Cook, uncovered, stirring constantly, until rice heated through.

PUNCHY POTATOES

6 potatoes - cubed and rinsed
3 bell peppers - cubed
2 tomatoes - sliced thick
4 pepper pods
2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 cup cooking oil
3 tsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. fennel seeds
4 tsp. chili powder
3 1/2 tsp. garam masala
6 tsp. dhana jeero
splash of water
salt to taste

Heat oil in stewpot on medium-high heat. Oil is hot enough when mustard seeds pop. Test a few to gauge readiness. Once mustard seeds have popped, add fennel seeds, pepper pods, and spices. Mix well. Add potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes. Cook covered on medium heat for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. If mixture appears to be drying out, sprinkle water over it.

FRIED ONIONS

4 bell peppers - sliced thick
2 onions - sliced thick
1/4 cup cooking oil
ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in frying pan on high heat. Add onions and peppers. Sprinkle with ground pepper. Fry until onions are golden brown and mushy.

SNAPPY CHICK PEAS

19 oz. can chick peas
1 onion - sliced
2 potatoes - diced
2 tomatoes - sliced
3 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 square inch fresh ginger - sliced
1/4 - 1/2 cup cooking oil
1 tbsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric
4 tsp. dhana jeero
3 tsp. garam masala
2 tsp. chili powder
6 pepper pods
salt to taste
splash of water

In a stewpot, combine cooking oil and onions. Cook on high heat until onions are soggy, browned and shrunken. Add all other ingredients except chick peas. Mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat for 12 minutes. Add chick peas and a splash of water. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Serve over plain rice.

BLISTERING EGGPLANT

1/2 an eggplant - cubed and rinsed
3 potatoes - cubed and rinsed
5 pepper pods
3 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. garam masala
1/4 - 1/2 cup cooking oil
2 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. cumin seeds
4 tsp. dhana jeero
1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
5 tsp. sugar
salt to taste
splash of water

Heat cooking oil in stewpot. Oil is ready when mustard seeds pop. Test a few to gauge readiness. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and pepper pods. When all have popped, add eggplant, potatoes, and all other ingredients except sugar. Mix well. Cook covered on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add sugar and stir well. Cover and simmer on low heat for an additional 20 minutes. Serve over plain rice.

LUSTY LENTIL SOUP

2 cups dried lentils - rinsed
2 onions - sliced thin then halved
2 tomatoes - sliced thin then halved
9 cloves fresh garlic - sliced thin
5 green chili peppers - sliced thin
5 pepper pods
8 whole cloves
1 1/2 cups water
5 tsp. dhana jeero
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. turmeric
3 tsp. garam masala
2 tsp. mustard seeds
3 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. asafetida powder
salt to taste
dollop cooking oil

In stewpot, combine lentils, onions, chilies, tomatoes, water, dhana jeero, chili powder, turmeric, garam masala and salt. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes, or until steaming hot. Cover and cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Mixture should be boiling. Stir, cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

In a small frying pan, heat cooking oil. Oil is ready when seeds pop. Test for readiness with a few mustard seeds. Add garlic, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, pepper pods, whole cloves, and asafetida. Fry until garlic is golden brown. Add to stewpot. Cook covered on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Serve over plain rice.

Shari Coxford is a freelance writer and founder of the All Free Spot freebies web site: Tons of Free Stuff!

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