Ancient Indian Food Recipes

If you want to obtain ancient Indian food recipes you are in trouble, almost nothing is preserved. Today most recipes include tomatoes, chilis and bell pepper - all native to the Americas and late imports. The recipes on this page are my own adaptations and based upon what was available in ancient India, as such they are not genuine. If you want to read more about Ancient Indian Food just click this link , on that page you have a general analysis of what Indians used to eat in ancient times.

Ancient Indian Food Recipes - Bread

Chapatti
(4-6 breads)
- 500 ml wheat flour
- water
Put flour on a baking board, make a hole in the middle and add some water and blend in - keep adding water and kneading until dough is soft, neither sticky nor dry. Leave for half an hour. Make 5 cm balls that you with a baking roller make as thin as possible, this on a floured surface. Heat a non stick frying pan and on medium to high temperature fry - turn when starting to dry, they are ready when the topside starts to get colour. Serve hot. Excellent to scoop up one of those tasty Indian dishes with!

Ancient Indian Food Recipes - Main Courses

Lentil Stew - Daal
(Serves 4)
- 1 cup dried lentils
- 1500 ml water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 clove finely chopped garlic
Soak lentils for 4 hours, rinse and drain. In a large cooking pot, boil 750 ml of water and salt. Add lentils, put on lid and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, stir occassionally. Add black pepper, turmeric, cumin and coriander, simmer without lid stirring from time to time. Heat oil in frying pan to low temperature and add mustard seeds and garlic, after about 2 minutes pour oil mixture into the lentil mix. Put on lid and simmer for about 5 minutes. Take off lid, if still watery just simmer without lid as long as necessary, it should be like a pea soup. Dal is the main protein source for most Indian vegetarians, many times eaten with rice and bread.

Chicken Korma
(Serves 4)
- 1 kg chicken in pieces
- 500 ml yoghurt
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- 2 chopped onions
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp chooped fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp peanut oil
- 2 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 bayleaf
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
In a large bowl marinate chicken pieces in yoghurt, 1 clove of garlic, ginger, half a chopped onion, salt and black pepper - leave for at least 3 hours. Heat oil in large stew pot, sauté the rest of the garlic and onions then add ground coriander seeds, cumin, cardamom, poppy seeds, turmeric and bayleaf, fry for a minute. Add chicken with yoghurt marinade. Cook for about 45 minutes until done. Sprinkle fresh coriander over dish and serve with rice and bread.

Grilled Fish
(Serves 4)
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp fresh finely chopped ginger
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 150 ml rice vinegar
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 kg white fish fillets cut in 5 cm pieces
Blend oil, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, black pepper, ground coriander, cumin and salt in a blender to a smooth paste (put the oil in first). Marinate the fish in paste for 4 hours, covered in a refridgerator. Preheat oven to 250 °C on grill, put the fish on a greased baking tray and broil each side for 5-8 minutes depending on thickness. You need to have an electrical oven for this, alternatively you can barbeque the fish instead. Ready to serve. Good with rice, boiled vegetables and bread.

Ancient Indian Food Recipes - Beverages

Spiced Chai
(Two cups)
1 stick cinnamon
4 cardamom seeds
4 cloves
600 ml water
1 cup full fat milk
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp strong black tea
Put cinnamon, cardamom seeds and cloves in water and bring to a boil, let simmer lightly for 5 minutes. Add milk, honey, black tea and bring to a boil again. Tradtionally this tea is very sweet, you can of course cut down on the honey if you want to.