Cut costs with homemade kanda substitutes

As the wholesale prices of the root vegetable continue to fluctuate in India, two city chefs suggest less-pricey and homemade alternatives for the Indian kitchen staple

Thickness is key
Reshma Mane, founder, homechef, Every Aroma

I have made dishes where onions can be omitted or substituted. This happened especially when the prices of onions had sky-rocketed earlier as well. As a home chef, I had to find substitutes to maintain our costs and taste and texture. We are talking about red onions here, the most common ones used in Indian cooking. 

Onions have a pungent, tad spicy [depending on how fresh they are] and sweet taste. I have learnt over time that onions chopped and used in Indian food, give the body to the dish. The thick curry you see is the frying of onions — lots of it that gets you there. Hence, the substitute has to do just that.

You can use nut paste, cashews, almonds, walnuts, watermelon seeds, balanced and blended to a smooth paste. This will give the curry the desired thickness and sweetness. It is said the final colour of the dish depends on how well you fry your onions. But in the absence of that and for the same result, the frying of our spice powders [red chilli powder, regional spice powder] with ginger-garlic paste [more quantity than usual] can get you there. A little sugar can be added to enhance the taste of the overall masala.

There is a Lucknow dish called Lucknowi chicken, which I make. For it, onions are used only in the form of birista — fried brown onions, which give it that darkish colour. But if not used, we just fry the masala, as mentioned earlier, a little more to give that dark colour. 

A mix of desiccated coconut, cashews, poppy seeds and charoli can also give a perfect substitute to onions. In recent times, I have come across soya granules, which I have been told is used to give the curry thickness and body. Combine this with the above and voila, I don’t think you will miss onions. Also, note that these are substitutes. Hence, the taste cannot be exactly replicated as when onions are used.

Hirwa chicken (serves 2)

INGREDIENTS
>> 1/2 kg chicken
>> 1 bunch spinach
>> 2 green chillies
>> 2 to 3 sprigs mint
>> 2 to 3 sprigs coriander
>> 1/2 cup yogurt
>> 2 to 3 green cardamom
>> 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
>> 1/4 cup poppy seeds
>> 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
>> 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
>> 2 tsp garam masala powder
>> Salt to taste
>> Oil for frying

METHOD
Marinate the chicken with yogurt and salt. Keep aside for at least 30 minutes. Boil the poppy seeds for about 10 minutes, drain the water and in a blender along with the coconut, blend to a smooth paste. Add water as needed. Boil spinach for a few minutes, drain the water and blend it with green chili, mint and coriander.

In a kadai, add oil once hot, add the cardamom and cinnamon stick. Add ginger garlic paste and fry well. Next, add the marinated chicken, with the marination and cover. Cook till the chicken is done. Add the blended spinach, poppy seeds paste and let it simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add garam masala powder and adjust the salt. Semi thick curry is what we are looking for. Serve hot.

Focus on the umami
Riya Chandrakant Gala, chef and founder, @the.brown.kitchen

I am Jain, so naturally, I have tried making many dishes before that do not include onions. The taste of onion is umami. You can use ready mixes like garam masala or Jain pav bhaji masala to substitute it, and add a similar flavour to your gravy. Ingredients that can be used as an alternative include cashews, green bell pepper, and cabbage. They will help thicken the gravy. For a more enhanced taste, add some soaked Kashmiri chillies with tomato puree.

Kashmiri chilli and tomato puree

In dishes like biryani, a good substitute for the root vegetable can be carrots and French beans. But in a burrito bowl, for instance, add jalapenos to do the trick. You can also opt for an onion/garlic paste, but minus the onions. For this, add capsicum, tomato, red chilli [Kashmiri chilli] and ginger. Make a paste of all these ingredients, and you have the best substitute for the paste.

Burrito bowl

INGREDIENTS
>> 2 cups cooked rice
>> 3 bell peppers finely chopped
>> 1 zucchini (optional)
>> 1 tbsp oregano
>> 1 tbsp chilli flakes
>> Salt as per taste

For rajma (red kidney beans):
>> 1 cup cooked rajma beans
>> 2 to 3 chopped tomatoes and soaked Kashmiri chilli puree
>> 1 tbsp oil
>> 1/4 tsp turmeric
>> 1 tbsp dhaniya jeera powder
>> 1 tsp rajma masala (Jain)

For salsa:
>> 1 green bell pepper
>> 1 tomato
>> 9 to 10 finely chopped jalapeños
>> Freshly chopped coriander
>> Mixed herbs
>> 1 tsp lemon juice
>> Pink salt as per taste

METHOD

For rice: Pour oil, add your vegetables to it, and sauté until they are cooked. Add herbs and salt as per taste, and the cooked rice.

For rajma: Pour oil, add the tomato puree, and the masalas mentioned above, followed by cooked rajma beans. Let it cook until the rajma is softened.

For salsa: Take a bowl, add all the ingredients for salsa and mix well. Finally, take a bowl and first add a layer of rice. Spread some mayonnaise, followed by a layer of rajma, and a layer of salsa. Grate cheese according to your taste and crushed nachos before serving. 

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