Note: This file is not maintained anymore. For updates, see recipes/.

Recipes

Changelog (Incomplete):
2018-12-22
    Added Chaat Masala, Lebkuchen Spice, and Lebkuchen
2018-12-27
    Added Elisenlebkuchen, Whole Wheat Rye Sourdough and Bread, and Chicken Tikka
2019-01-04
    Fixed typos in Elisenlebkuchen recipe
    Modified Chicken Tikka recipe and instructions
2019-04-16
    Modified instructions for Chicken Tikka to mention frying
2019-04-28
    Modified ingredients for Chicken Tikka
    Added Peanut Butter and Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
2019-06-01
    Added Low-Carb Bread
2019-07-11
    Modified instructions for Spelt Bread
2019-07-19
    Modified instructions for German Pancakes

NOTE: THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Random Notes

• Don’t ever use pre-ground cardamom; only use cardamom pods that you grind yourself - open the pods and grind the black seeds inside
• There are different types of cardamom - green and black; the green pods are generally used for sweet dishes and the black ones for savoury dishes, but both can be opened and have seeds inside that can be crushed easily

Spice Mixes

Chaat Masala

• Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • 2 tsp black salt (kala namak)
  • 1 Tbsp mango (amchoor) powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper, preferably whole
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
  • ½ tsp ginger powder
• Instructions
  • Roast cumin, coriander, and fennel one after another in a pan until they turn slightly more brown
  • Combine roasted seeds with other spices and grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or something similar
  • Notes
    • This recipe is supposed to include asafoetida powder, but I didn’t have any, so I may update it at a later date
    • Roasting the seeds is always better, but it will work with pre-ground spices as well

Lebkuchen Spice

• Ingredients
  • 8 tsp (15g) cinnamon
  • 2 tsp (2g) cloves
  • 1 tsp (1g) allspice
  • 1 tsp (1g) coriander
  • ½ tsp (1g) cardamom (only the seeds, don’t include the shells)
  • 1 tsp (1g) ginger powder
  • ¼ tsp (1/2g) ground nutmeg (possibly increase if using pre-ground since that isn’t nearly as strong)
  • ¼ tsp (1/2g) mace powder
  • ~2 ½ pieces (2g) star anise (whole “star”, not just seeds)
  • ½ tsp (1g) dried orange zest
  • ½ tsp (1g) dried lemon zest
  • 1 tsp (1g) fennel seeds
• Instructions
  • Simply grind all spices together using a spice grinder or something similar
  • Notes
    • Everything always tastes better when whole seeds are used, but you should be able to replace the spices with pre-ground versions as well (I actually used pre-ground coriander when I made this). Pre-ground cardamom is utterly horrible, though.
    • It probably is better to just add orange and/or lemon zest when making the Lebkuchen, but it’s easier to put it directly into the spice. Honestly, this spice can be changed a lot and still called Lebkuchen spice - back in the day, everyone had their own special mixture. Just follow your heart.
    • On second thought, don’t, that’s what killed Romeo and Juliet.

Spreads

Peanut Butter

• Ingredients
  • 1kg peanuts
  • 7g (~1tsp) salt
  • 100g (~10tsp) powdered sugar
• Instructions
  • Roast the peanuts in oven at 150 degrees Celsius, frequently turning them around until brown.
  • Let the peanuts cool down.
  • Put small (~250g) portions of peanuts into blender with some of the sugar and salt
  • Blend while constantly pushing down the sides with a wooden spoon, or, preferably, something flat
    • Note: this will only work with a good quality blender - the cheap ones can burn out or simply don’t have enough power do blend the peanuts properly. It can take quite a while until the peanuts actually turn into a paste - if you don’t keep pushing the sides down, the blender won’t have anything to cut since everything will be stuck to the sides. If you’re lucky, you may have a blender where the blades don’t go all the way to the sides, so you can carefully push down on the sides while it’s running, but if that isn’t possible, you may just have to keep turning it off and on again to push everything down. It is also possible to do this with an electric coffee grinder, it just may take a very long time. When using a coffee grinder, watch out that you don’t burn out the motor.
  • Mix all the small portions of peanut butter together in a bowl so the salt and sugar are evenly spread.

Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

• Ingredients
  • 100g hazelnuts
  • 40g powdered brown sugar
  • 20g cocoa powder
  • 4tsp vegetable oil (e.g. sunflower)
• Instructions
  • Roast the hazelnuts in oven for 10 minutes at 150 degrees Celcius, turning them frequently.
  • Let the hazelnuts cool down.
  • Turn the hazelnuts into a paste like the peanuts in the recipe above.
  • Add sugar, cocoa powder, and vegetable oil to hazelnut paste and mix through well in blender.
    • Note: you can use normal white sugar as well, but it will probably make it sweeter than the brown sugar. Make sure that the sugar is powdered well, since it won’t be able to dissolve properly in the mixture as it is oil-based.

Beverages

Hot Cocoa

• Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cocoa
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 cups milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon to taste
• Instructions
  • Mix sugar, cocoa, salt, and water. Heat until boiling.
  • Boil for 2 minutes.
  • Stir in milk. Heat but do not boil.
  • Add vanilla and cinnamon.

Lemon Sirup for Tea

• Ingredients
  • Same amount of sugar and finely sliced lemons/limes (usually 1kg each)
• Instructions
  • Mix sugar and sliced lemons.
  • Leave standing for several days, shaking/mixing occasionally.
  • Separate the sirup from the lemon peels.
  • Mix with water to make tea.

Chai

• Ingredients
  • 500 mL water
  • 500 mL milk
  • 3 pods green cardamom
  • 2 tsp loose-leaf black tea
  • 6 tsp sugar
  • Pinch of salt
• Instructions
  • Boil water, tea, sugar, salt, and ground cardamon seeds.
  • Add milk after it starts boiling.
  • Heat up again and bring to a boil.
  • Strain into teapot.

Desserts

General Materials

General Notes

• All vanilla-based recipes need to be adjusted to the strength of the vanilla extract, so you just have to taste them to find the right amount
• I wrote down a lot of the recipes when my extract wasn’t very strong yet, so you may need to put in a lot less than I wrote down

Vanilla Extract

• Ingredients
  • 1-2 vanilla beans (more is better)
  • 0.7 L bottle of vodka
• Instructions
  • Slice vanilla beans in half and put into bottle
  • Leave bottle for at least one month (preferably several), shaking occasionally
  • Get drunk

Vanilla Sugar

• Ingredients
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 500 g sugar
• Instructions
  • Cut vanilla bean into small pieces
  • Place in coffee grinder together with some sugar and grind until no large pieces remain
  • Mix resulting powder with rest of sugar
  • Note: The pieces of the vanilla bean may not let themselves be ground well since they are usually moist still, so you may need to grind them as well as possible, wait for a few days so the sugar can soak up the water, filter them out with a sieve, and then grind them again

Pakistani/Indian

Barfi

• Ingredients
  • 3 L milk (preferably raw)
  • 2 pods green cardamom
  • 10-11 Tbsp sugar
• Instructions
  • Boil milk while stirring every few minutes until enough water has boiled away to turn it into a thick liquid.
  • Add ground cardamom seeds and sugar.
  • Note: only add sugar and cardamom near the very end (before it turns hard), or it will be more likely to burn.
  • Continue simmering on very low flame until it is a thick mass - stir constantly to prevent it from burning.
  • Pour into mold and let cool.
  • Cut into squares (other shapes are lame).

Ras Malai

• Ingredients
  • 2 L milk
  • 5 Tbsp sugar
  • 5 pods green cardamom
  • Juice from 1 lemon
• Instructions
  • Put 1 L milk each into two separate pots and start heating
  • Keep one simmering to boil off some of the water while curdling the other one with the lemon juice when it boils
  • Strain curdled milk through thin cloth, rinse with cold water, and try to squeeze out as much water as possible
  • Form this into ~8-10 balls - it requires a lot of kneeding to get it smooth enough to form proper balls
  • Boil these in water for ~5-10 minutes covered with a lid
  • While they are boiling, add sugar and cardamom (ground) to the other milk
  • Take the balls out of the water and add them to the sweetened milk
  • Boil for a few minutes, then leave to cool and eventually refrigerate

Kulfi

• Ingredients
  • 2 L milk
  • 5-6 pods cardamom, ground
  • 1/3 cup sugar
• Instructions
  • Boil milk until it has about 1/3 of the original volume
  • Add ground cardamom and sugar, stir well
  • Freeze mixture after cooling to room temperature

Other

Magic Fudge

• Ingredients
  • 1 can (~400 g) sweetened condensed milk
  • ~140 g biscuits - “Butterkekse”, broken into small pieces
  • 6 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 3 Tbsp butter
• Instructions
  • Heat condensed milk, butter, and cocoa powder
  • Cook for ~6 minutes, or until it becomes stringy
  • Quickly mix in broken biscuits and put into form

Sweet Milk Rice/Milchreis

• Ingredients
  • 2-3 Tbsp Sugar
  • Cinnamon - ~1/8 tsp (just sprinkle on top)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla flavoring (adjust based on strength of extract)
  • 1 cup Boiled rice
  • 1.5-2 cups Milk (depending on whether rice is fresh or already dried out)
  • Pinch salt
• Instructions
  • Boil ingredients in pot and leave simmering for at least 10 minutes, or until it turns nicely thick
  • May need to cover with lid for a while if rice is dried out
  • Note: You can do this straight away with dry rice but may need to add more milk and leave it to soak longer

Chocolate/Vanilla Pudding

• Ingredients
  • ¼ cup cocoa and 1 tsp vanilla extract OR 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 cups milk
  • 3-4 Tbsp cornstarch (3 is fine for normal eating, but you need more if you want it to be properly thick)
• Instructions
  • Mix cocoa/vanilla, sugar, cornstarch, and a bit of milk in a bowl and set aside
  • Note: mixing the sugar and cornstarch together well before adding milk helps avoid clumps
  • Heat remaining milk until it starts boiling
  • Slowly add the cocoa, sugar, and cornstarch mixture
  • Keep boiling on low or medium heat for a few minutes, until it thickens
  • Pour into bowl and leave to cool

Semolina Pudding

• Ingredients
  • 50 g semolina (Hartweizengrieß)
  • ½ L milk
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1-2 Tbsp vanilla extract (adjust based on strength of extract)
• Instructions
  • Boil milk
  • Turn down heat and add other ingredients
  • Simmer on low heat for ~5-10 minutes, stirring frequently
  • Leave to cool

Sago Pudding

• Ingredients
  • 50 g sago
  • ½ L milk
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1-2 Tbsp vanilla extract (adjust based on strength of extract)
• Instructions
  • Boil milk
  • Turn down heat and add other ingredients
  • Simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes with pot covered, stirring occasionally
  • Leave to cool

Vanilla Sauce

• Ingredients
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 cups milk
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• Instructions
  • Same as vanilla pudding, just with less cornstarch
  • Note: if you need it to cool down more quickly, cook everything with a little bit of milk to make a really thick pudding, and then stir in the cold milk quickly - it may not become as nice but it won’t be boiling hot

Main Meals

General Materials

Rice

• Ingredients
  • ~½ cup rice per person
  • Twice as much water as rice
• Instructions
  • Put rice and water into pot, but DO NOT STIR!
  • Boil without stirring
  • Cover with lid (need good lid; pointless without proper lid)
  • If using gas stove, put on very small flame
  • If using cast-iron electric stove, turn off but leave pot on hot plate (may need to take off temporarily to prevent from boiling over)
  • Leave like this for 20-30 minutes, or until all water has been absorbed by the rice
  • IMPORTANT: lid needs to cover well; never stir, or it will burn
  • Note: did I forget to mention that you shouldn’t stir it?

Chapati (Makes ~2)

• Ingredients
  • 100 g whole wheat flour
  • 60 mL water
  • Pinch salt (optional)
• Instructions
  • Mix flour, salt and water and knead for a few minutes.
  • Leave with a cloth on top for 20-30 min.
  • Separate into balls.
  • Flatten balls with a rolling pin (a lot of extra flour is needed to keep it from sticking).
  • Put uncooked chapatis into frying pan one by one; keep pushing down bubbles with a cloth and turning them around.
  • Note: The amount of water varies depending on the flour used, so add a little bit at a time

Paneer

• Ingredients
  • 1 L milk
  • Lemon juice or vinegar
• Instructions
  • Boil milk
  • Add acid and let milk curdle
  • Strain through thin cloth and wash to remove sour taste
  • Squeeze well to remove water
  • Press underneath heavy object for several hours
  • Note: Use full cream milk, preferably raw

Pakistani/Indian

General Notes

• Cover curries with a lid for a while so they cook properly, but then remove it so there isn’t too much water
• The traditional way to prepare garlic and ginger is to grind it into a paste with a mortar and pestle, but if you don’t have one, you can probably get away with just cutting them into very small pieces
• You really should get a mortar and pestle though if you want to get anything proper done…

Chicken Karahi (Serves ~3-4)

• Ingredients
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 ½ Tbsp oil
  • 1 inch ginger, minced with mortar and pestle
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced together with ginger in mortar and pestle
  • 500 g chicken cut into bitesize pieces - preferably legs because the bones can give a better taste
  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ~4 green chilies, chopped - may need more or less depending on the spicyness of the chilies
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
• Instructions
  • Heat oil in a large pan - optimally an actual karahi, but other pans will do.
  • Fry onion pieces until golden.
  • Add ginger and garlic mix, keep frying until they also are golden.
  • Add cumin, salt, turmeric and garam masala.
  • Add chicken and fry until it starts turning brown.
  • Add chopped tomatoes and green chilies.
  • Simmer on low heat for ~30 min.
  • Optionally garnish with cilantro, but shame be upon you if you actually like that.

Chicken Curry (Serves ~3-4)

• Ingredients
  • 500 g chicken cut into bitesize pieces - bones are better like with chicken karahi
  • ~3 cups chopped tomatoes
  • ½ inch ginger, minced
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ Tbsp oil
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 2 green chilies, chopped
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
• Instructions
  • Fry onion until golden.
  • Add ginger and garlic paste; keep frying until they are brown as well.
  • Add coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric, and salt.
  • Add chicken pieces and fry until they start turning brown.
  • Add chopped tomatoes and green chilies.
  • Simmer on low heat for ~30 min.
  • Optionally garnish with cilantro, but shame be upon you if you actually like that.
  • Note: Yes, I know this is almost the same as chicken karahi.

Chicken Handi (Serves ~3-4)

• Ingredients
  • 500 g chicken cut into bitesize pieces - bones are better like with chicken karahi
  • ~1 cup chopped tomatoes
  • 2 medium or one large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger, minced
  • ½ cup yoghurt
  • ½ cup cream
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 ½ Tbsp oil
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2-4 green chilies, chopped (adjust amount depending on size and desired spicyness)
• Instructions
  • Fry onions in oil until golden
  • Add ginger and garlic paste; keep frying until they are brown as well (may only need a few seconds)
  • Add coriander, turmeric, salt, and garam masala (may need to add a bit of water to keep from burning)
  • Add chicken pieces and fry for ~15-30 seconds while constantly stirring
  • Add yoghurt, chopped tomatoes, and green chilies
  • Simmer on low heat for ~30 min - don’t cover with a lid or there will be too much sauce
  • Add cream and cook for a few more minutes
  • Optionally garnish with cilantro, but shame be upon you if you actually like that

Chicken Jalfrezi (Serves ~3-4)

• Ingredients
  • Marinade
    • 500g boneless chicken, cut into bitesize pieces
    • 1 Tbsp yoghurt
    • 1 garlic clove (~½ tsp)
    • ~¼ inch ginger (~½-1 tsp)
    • ¼ tsp turmeric
    • ¼ tsp salt
  • Other
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 cups tomatoes (~4-5 pieces), chopped
    • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
    • 2 green chilies, chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves (~1-2 tsp), ground into paste
    • ~½ inch ginger (~1-2 tsp), ground into paste
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 ½ Tbsp oil
    • 1 tsp salt
    • ½ tsp turmeric
    • 1 tsp cumin powder
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • ½ tsp garam masala
• Instructions
  • Marinate chicken in marinade for a few hours
  • Fry onions in oil until they start turning yellow
  • Add garlic and ginger paste, keep frying briefly
  • Add marinated chicken and fry until most of the red has disappeared
  • Add salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and garam masala, and stir well
  • Add tomatoes, bell pepper, and chilies and stir well
  • Cover with lid on low heat for ~20 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • Uncover and simmer for ~25 minutes so it doesn’t become too watery
  • Add lemon juice and stir well before serving

Keema Muttar (Serves ~4-6)

• Ingredients
  • 500g minced lamb (or beef)
  • 400-500g peas
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste (~3-4 tsp)
  • 2-4 green chilies, chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 4-6 tomatoes (~2 cups), chopped
  • 1 ½ Tbsp oil
  • 1 cup water (if serving with rice)
• Instructions
  • Fry onions in oil until they start turning brown
  • Add garlic and ginger paste, continue frying briefly
  • Add turmeric, cumin, garam masala, and salt and mix well
  • Add minced meat and fry well, making sure to break apart any big pieces
  • Add tomatoes, chilies, and peas
  • If serving with rice, add 1 cup of water (rice requires more sauce than chapatis)
  • Cover with lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes

Keema Karela (Serves ~4)

• Ingredients
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, ground into paste
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
  • 250 g minced beef
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes (~4 tomatoes)
  • 2 green chilies, chopped
  • 1 kg Karela
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2-3 Tbsp oil
• Instructions
  • Remove seeds from karela and cut into small pieces
  • Fry karela pieces with 1-2 Tbsp oil until brown, set aside
  • Fry onions with 1 Tbsp oil until brown
  • Add ginger and garlic paste
  • Add cumin, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and salt
  • Add minced beef and fry well
  • Add fried karela pieces, tomatoes, and green chilies
  • Simmer with lid on pot for ~15 minutes
  • Remove lid and keep cooking until mixture is fairly dry

Kofta Curry

• Ingredients
  • Meatballs
    • 1 tsp ginger paste
    • 1 pod black cardamom (the seeds ground in a mortar & pestle)
    • 1 tsp coriander
    • 2 cloves, ground
    • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
    • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
    • ½ tsp red chili powder
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp ground cumin
    • 500 g ground beef
    • Several boiled eggs (optional)
    • 1 Tbsp oil
  • Sauce
    • 1 onion, cut into rings or chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic, ground into paste
    • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
    • 1 green chili
    • 2 tsp ground coriander
    • 6 tomatoes, chopped (~3 cups)
    • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
    • ½ cup yoghurt
    • ½ tsp garam masala
    • 1 black cardamom
    • 1 Tbsp oil
• Instructions
  • Mix all meatball ingredients except for boiled eggs and oil together
  • Either form small meatballs or cut eggs in half and form meatballs around them
  • Fry meatballs in oil, set aside
  • Fry onions in oil until light brown
  • Add garlic and ginger paste
  • Add coriander, salt, and garam masala
  • Add tomatoes, green chili, and yoghurt, simmer for 15 minutes with lid on pot
  • Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 15 more minutes with pot uncovered so water can evaporate

Talihui Murghi/Spicy Fried Chicken (Serves ~4)

• Ingredients
  • 500 g chicken breast, cut into bitesize pieces
  • Juice from one lemon (several tablespoons)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 Tbst oil
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
  • 2 garlic cloves, ground into paste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp chili powder
• Instructions
  • Marinate chicken pieces in lemon juice for 1 hour
  • Fry onion in oil until slightly golden
  • Add ginger and garlic paste and fry briefly
  • Add chicken pieces (drain leftover lemon juice first) and fry for 10-15 minutes on medium heat
  • Add all spices and continue frying for 10 minutes
  • Serve with chapatis

Shami Kebab (Serves ~4)

• Ingredients
  • 500 g minced beef/lamb
  • 2 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • Pinch cinnamon
  • 1 pod black cardamom, ground (just the seeds inside)
  • 2 cloves, ground
  • 1 Tbsp gram flour
  • 1-2 tsp salt
  • ½ cup yoghurt (optional - adds a lot of liquid, so you may need to cook it longer or add more gram flour)
  • Oil - for frying, use as much as you need
  • 1 onion, chopped into very small pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • ½ inch ginger, ground into paste
  • Squirt of lemon juice
• Instructions
  • Mix meat, all spices, and yoghurt (if you want yoghurt)
  • Fry onions until light brown, add ginger and garlic paste, keep frying briefly
  • Mix meat mixture with fried onione, garlic, and ginger, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until most liquid has evaporated
  • Let mixture cool, add squirt of lemon juice, and knead well
  • Form into small balls and fry by pressing balls into thin, round patties in the frying pan
  • Notes
    • I heard the patties can be coated with egg and bread crumbs before frying, but mine fell apart way too easily
    • If there is too much liquid left in the mixture, the patties will fall apart too easily

Mombai Biryani

• Ingredients
  • 2 - 2 ½ cups rice
  • 400 g beef or chicken in small pieces (“Geschnetzeltes”)
  • ~250 g potatoes (2-3 pieces), cut into thin slices
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
  • ½ cup yoghurt
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1-2 green chilies, cut into small pieces
  • 2 Tbsp oil
• Instructions
  • Fry onion until golden in 1 Tbsp of oil
  • Add garlic and ginger paste, keep frying briefly
  • Add salt and garam masala, stir, and add meat pieces
  • Fry meat well and then add yoghurt and chilies
  • If using beef, add extra water and cook with lid on for ~30 minutes in order to tenderize it
  • Cook until most water has evaporated (it should just be a sort of paste), set aside
  • Fry potato slices in remaining Tbsp of oil until slightly brown (use low heat for this so they don’t burn)
  • Make rice, but don’t leave it too long because it might get too mushy later
  • Layer the rice, meat mixture, and potato slices (keep adding layers until you run out)
  • Leave on extremely low heat for ~5 minutes without stirring
  • Remove from heat and leave to steam for 15 minutes
  • Notes
    • Other vegetables can be added (e.g. peas)
    • The layering isn’t too important, but apparently that’s how it’s done traditionally
    • The meat mixture can also be pressure cooked in order to tenderize the meat

Scrambled Egg Curry (Serves 3-4)

• Ingredients
  • 1 large or 2-3 small onions, chopped into small pieces
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes (~4 pieces)
  • 2 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
  • 1-2 green chilies, chopped
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 1 Tbsp oil
• Instructions
  • Fry onions in oil until soft
  • Add garlic and ginger paste and keep frying briefly
  • Add green chilies, tomatoes, and all spices
  • Simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes with closed lid
  • Remove lid and keep simmering until excess water has evaporated
  • Mix eggs together in bowl and add to pot
  • Keep cooking/frying until eggs are well done (the mixture should be fairly dry)
  • Serve with chapatis

Muttar Paneer (Serves 3)

• Ingredients
  • 1 large or 2-3 small onions, chopped
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes (~4 pieces)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
  • ~200 g paneer (from 1-2 liters milk), cut into 1-2 cm cubes
  • 1-2 green chilies, chopped
  • 250 g peas
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garam masala
• Instructions
  • Fry onions in oil until golden
  • Add garlic and ginger paste, fry briefly
  • Add all spices, tomatoes, chilies, peas, and water
  • Simmer with closed lid for 10-15 minutes
  • Add paneer cubes and keep simmering for 10 minutes
  • Remove lid and keep simmering for 5-10 minutes
  • Notes
    • If serving with chapati, add less water and simmer longer with lid open
    • The paneer cubes can be fried/deep-fried as well, but I’ve never tried it

Achar Gosht (Serves 3)

• Ingredients
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • 1 inch ginger, ground into paste
  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 1 cup yoghurt
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes (~2 large pieces)
  • 1-2 green chilies, chopped
  • 500 g beef, cut into bitesize pieces
  • 1 tsp nigella seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 2 pods black cardamom
  • 2 cloves, ground
  • 1 stick cinnamon (a few inches)
• Instructions
  • Fry onions in oil until golden
  • Add garlic and ginger paste and keep frying briefly
  • Add all spices and meat and fry until meat is brown
  • Add tomatoes, chilies, and yoghurt
  • Simmer with lid closed until meat is tender (the longer the better)
  • Simmer with lid open until the mixture isn’t too watery anymore

Chicken Tikka Pizza (Serves 2-3)

• Ingredients
  • Pizza Dough
    • 2 cups plain flour
    • 2 tsp yeast
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 Tbsp olive oil
    • ~¾ cups warm water
  • Tomato Sauce
    • 2 cups chopped tomatoes (~4 large tomatoes)
    • 3 cloves garlic, ground into paste
    • 1 medium onion, chopped
    • 1 tsp paprika powder
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 1 tsp basil
    • 1 tsp salt
    • ½ tsp sugar
    • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • Chicken
    • 200 g boneless chicken, cut into bitesize pieces
    • ¼-½ inch ginger, ground into paste
    • 2 cloves garlic, ground into paste
    • 1 green chili, ground into paste (together with ginger and garlic)
    • 2 Tbsp yoghurt
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 Tbsp tandoori masala
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • Other
    • 100-150 g grated cheese (I used Emmentaler, but do whatever you want)
    • Butter for greasing pan
    • Other toppings, e.g. mushrooms (optional)
• Instructions
  • Chicken
    • Marinate chicken for 1 hour in all ingredients except for oil
    • Fry in oil for 10-15 minutes, until the liquid from the marinade has evaporated
    • Note: If you want to do this properly, you should grill the chicken, but this is easier to do in a normal home…
  • Pizza Dough
    • Put flour into bowl
    • Create mould in the middle and add sugar, yeast, and enough warm water to fill the mould
    • Leave for 10 minutes, until the water starts bubbling
    • Add salt, olive oil, and the rest of the water and knead well (you may need to adjust the amount of water or add more flour)
    • Leave to rise for 30-60 minutes
  • Tomato Sauce
    • Fry onions in oil until golden
    • Add garlic paste and fry briefly
    • Add tomatoes and other ingredients
    • Simmer for ~30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes fairly thick
    • Note: You may want to either blanche the tomatoes or blend them so you don’t have pieces of skin in the sauce, although I personally don’t mind too much
  • Combined
    • Grease pan (about 13x9 in. or something like that - my first one was about 12.5x10.5…; I guess a 6 in. round pan would work too) and shape dough to fit into it
    • Add tomato sauce on top and spread until the dough is completely covered
    • Add chicken pieces (and optionally other toppings)
    • Sprinkle grated cheese on top
    • Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees celsius

Achari Chicken Pizza (Serves 2-3)

• Ingredients
  • Pizza Dough
    • Same as chicken tikka pizza
  • Achari Chicken
    • 200 g chicken, cut into bitesize pieces
    • ¼ inch ginger, ground into paste
    • 2 cloves garlic, ground into paste
    • 1 small onion, chopped finely
    • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
    • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
    • ¼ tsp nigella seeds
    • ¼ tsp fennel seeds
    • ½ cup chopped tomatoes (~1 large tomato)
    • 1/3 cup yoghurt
    • ½-1 green chili, chopped
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp sugar
    • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • Other
    • 150-200 g grated cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella and emmentaler)
    • Butter for greasing pan
• Instructions
  • Pizza Dough
    • Same as chicken tikka pizza
  • Achari Chicken
    • Heat oil and sputter the seeds
    • Note: Due to a freak accident of nature, I didn’t manage to sputter the seeds when I tried it, and I’m not sure it’s really that important - you could probably even use ground spices instead of the whole seeds if that’s all you have
    • Add chopped onion and fry until golden
    • Add ginger and garlic paste and keep frying briefly
    • Add salt, sugar, and chicken pieces and fry until chicken is brown
    • Add chopped tomatoes, chili, yoghurt, and lemon juice
    • Simmer on medium heat with lid closed for 10 minutes
    • Remove lid and keep simmering until remaining liquid is fairly thick
  • Combined
    • Grease pan (12x8 inches will do, but you can also go slightly bigger - you can also take a larger pan and just roll the dough up a bit at the sides instead of getting the perfect size of pan) and shape dough to fit it
    • Spread chicken over dough
    • Sprinkle grated cheese on top
    • Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees celsius

Chicken Tikka (Serves ~1-2)

• Ingredients
  • 2 chicken leg quarters
  • 2 Tbsp yoghurt
  • ~1 inch ginger, ground into paste (1 Tbsp ground)
  • 2 cloves garlic, ground into paste
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp chaat masala
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
• Instructions
  • Mix all ingredients and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour (ideally overnight)
  • Grill chicken for ~20-30 minutes or bake at 200 C for 40-50 minutes until crispy
    • Note: if baking, bake in pan first for 20-30 minutes so it gets cooked through well, then fry until the marinade has dried.
  • Serve with chapati
  • Notes
    • It needs to be grilled for it to be authentic, but the baked version still tastes okay
    • It really needs to be properly done and crispy for it to be good

Other

German Pancakes (Serves ~2)

• Ingredients
  • 250g flour - can use maybe ¼ or so whole wheat flour for making it healthier
  • 2 eggs
  • ~1 tsp (or maybe a bit less) salt
  • ~½ cup milk
  • Oil for frying
• Instructions
  • Mix flour and salt together in a bowl
  • Mix in milk slowly, taking care to avoid clumping
  • Mix in eggs (it may help to mix them separately and break the egg yolks first)
  • Make pancakes…

Baked Stuff

Spelt (Dinkel) Bread

• Ingredients
  • 500 g whole grain spelt/dinkel flour
  • 1 pack/cube yeast (a bit less than 1 Tbsp dry yeast)
  • ~400 mL lukewarm water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup sesame seeds, ground
  • 1/3 cup linseeds (leinsamen), ground
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
• Instructions
  • Put flour in bowl, create mould in the middle, and put yeast into the mould
  • Add just enough water to fill the mould and wait until the yeast starts bubbling (~10 min)
  • Add salt, all seeds, and the rest of the water, and knead well for 5-10 minutes
  • Let it sit for 60 minutes, covered with a towel or something of that sort
  • Knead dough again, put it into bread baking form, and let it sit for about 30 minutes
  • Optionally use water to smooth the outside of the loaf
  • Put into oven and bake at 200 C for 60 minutes
  • Take bread out of form and bake for another 10 minutes
  • Note: it is possible to make the bread a bit softer by placing a small metal bowl filled with water in the bottom of the oven while the bread is baking

Lebkuchen

• Ingredients
  • 250g honey
  • 250g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 500g flour
  • ~1 ½ tsp (5g) “Hirschhornsalz” (Baker’s ammonia/Ammonium carbonate)
  • 2 Tbsp Lebkuchen Spice
  • Chocolate or other glazing
• Instructions
  • Heat honey in small pot
  • Add sugar and keep heating until it has dissolved
  • Leave to cool
  • Combine with 375g flour, eggs, and spice
  • Leave to rest for one day
  • Add remaining 125g of flour and Hirschhornsalz
  • Spread fairly thin on greased baking tray (<1cm thick, maybe around 0.5cm)
  • Bake at 180 C until it has turned nicely brown (~10-20 min)
  • Leave to cool, then add whatever glazing you want
  • Notes
    • Add the honey-sugar mixture to the flour before it has cooled completely, or it will be almost impossible to get out of the pot
    • Apparently, it also works with other leavening agents, but I used Hirschhornsalz since that’s what’s usually used
    • If the glazing is not chocolate but some sort of sugar mixture, add it when the Lebkuchen is still hot so it dries
    • You can also add nuts to it. Let your imagination run free, at least within bounds.

Elisenlebkuchen

• Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 50g sugar
  • 125g honey
  • 4-5 tsp Lebkuchen spice
  • 200g ground almonds
  • 200g ground hazelnuts
  • 50g candied lemon peel
  • 50g candied orange peel
  • 3/8 tsp Hirschhornsalz
  • ¼ tsp salt
• Instructions
  • Mix almonds, hazelnuts, spice, and Hirschhornsalz together and set aside
  • Beat eggs, sugar, and salt until the mixture is fluffy
  • Add honey, candied lemon peel, and candied orange peel and mix well
    • Note: you’re not supposed to mix it too much to preserve the fluff, but sometimes it’s quite difficult to get the honey and candied peels mixed properly otherwise
  • Mix in nut mixture
  • Create patties about 7cm in diameter and 0.5-1cm thick on a tray
    • Note: it is easiest to form them properly with wet fingers
  • Leave on tray for at least 1 hour (ideally overnight)
  • Bake at 150 C for 20-25 minutes, until they are light brown
    • Warning: watch them carefully, they burn quite easily
  • Glaze with chocolate or other glazing
  • Notes
    • Usually, these are made on top of “Backoblaten” (thin wafer papers for baking), but I am not a huge fan of those

Whole Wheat Rye Sourdough (Initial Creation)

• Ingredients
  • 500g whole wheat rye flour
  • 500mL water
• Instructions
  • Mix 100g flour with 100mL lukewarm water
  • Leave for 12 hours in a warm place
  • Stir well
  • Leave for another 12 hours in a warm place
  • Add 100g flour and 100mL lukewarm water and repeat the other steps
  • Repeat this 3-5 times, the dough should then be ready to use
  • Notes
    • The sour/fermented smell is normal, but make sure that the dough doesn’t turn green or some other weird color because that means something went wrong

Whole Wheat Rye Sourdough (With Sourdough Starter)

• Ingredients
  • 250g whole wheat rye flour
  • 250mL lukewarm water
  • Several tablespoons sourdough starter
• Instructions
  • Mix all ingredients well
  • Cover loosely with lid and leave to rest in a warm place for 12 hours

Whole Wheat Rye Bread

• Ingredients
  • 500g sourdough
  • 500g whole wheat rye flour
  • ~250mL lukewarm water
  • 2 tsp salt
• Instructions
  • Mix all ingredients and knead well
  • Fill into bread baking form and leave in a warm place for 12 hours, covered with a cloth
    • Note: it is best to smoothe the top using wet fingers
  • Place a small bowl of water in the oven to create steam
  • Bake at 250 C for 10 minutes
  • Bake at 200 C for 40 minutes
  • Remove from form and continue baking for 5-10 minutes
  • Notes
    • Always remember to keep a few tablespoons of sourdough for the next time

Low-Carb Bread

• Ingredients
  • 150g yoghurt
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g linseeds or linseed flour
  • 50g sesame seeds or flour
  • 50g sunflower seeds
  • 50g almonds or almond flour
  • 1 pack (16g) baking powder
  • ½-¾ tsp salt
• Instructions
  • If using whole linseeds, sesame seeds, or almonds, turn them into flour first with e.g. a coffee grinder
  • Beat eggs in a bowl
  • Add other ingredients and mix well
  • Bake for 50 minutes at 150 C
  • Remove from form and leave on grate in oven with oven door slightly open, until it has cooled (this helps the other sides dry a bit)