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  • - Do you want a bite?

  • I've added my spices.

  • - I love it.

  • - Frying these up.

  • I love the okra.

  • Oh, geez. And there it goes.

  • - It's amazing.

  • - This is what we got.

  • That's what I'm talking about.

  • You can't go wrong when you have heavy cream.

  • You add the saffron. Mmm!

  • Hi, I'm Hannah. I'm the world's okay-est mom.

  • I'm out with my chickens right now.

  • We have done a week of foods around the world,

  • but every time I'm kinda left wanting more

  • from each country.

  • So I wanna try something new.

  • So for one entire week,

  • I'm going to cook just foods from India. Wish me luck.

  • I chose India this time

  • because when I was sourcing recipes,

  • you guys came through with so many Indian recipes,

  • so many requests.

  • So really I didn't choose India, you did.

  • So the rules are, I'm gonna show one dish for each day

  • because I'm making these dishes in big quantities.

  • A lot of these recipes take a decent bit of time to cook.

  • So I'm gonna make big batches and utilize my leftovers.

  • And rule number two, go get yourself a snack,

  • because these videos all make everybody hungry.

  • You will be hungry.

  • I will link the recipes if I have them.

  • Some of them are family recipes that I can't share,

  • but if I got it off the internet,

  • you can find it in the description.

  • Now, I went with the most popularly requested recipes

  • on my Instagram,

  • but then I also tapped my friend Aniket for some help.

  • - [All] Hi!

  • - Oh, there's Henry.

  • - Hi, Henry!

  • - He works for Buzzfeed India,

  • and he knows so much about Indian food

  • because I wanted to make sure I wasn't just picking dishes

  • from a specific region in India.

  • - I think the biggest misconception the West has

  • about Indian food is that it's only butter chicken,

  • saag paneer, dahl, stuff like that,

  • which is extremely North Indian.

  • There is so much, you know, rich food and flavors

  • from the east, from the west, from the south of the country.

  • - So it's really comforting to talk

  • to someone who actually knows the food a lot better than me.

  • - That's such a cool experience to have.

  • To experience so many different cultures, right?

  • In your own kitchen. That's really good.

  • - Well, thank you so much.

  • Making something really different for me for dinner tonight.

  • - [Henry] Thank you, mama.

  • - You're welcome, sweetheart.

  • I'm making aloo bhindi tonight,

  • which is a potato, okra, tomato curry.

  • I started out cooking some potatoes.

  • This is what's out of my comfort zone.

  • I've never cooked or eaten okra.

  • Okra is a really slimy vegetable when it's raw,

  • and so you wanna make sure you're cooking it long enough

  • to get rid of all of that slime.

  • Now, this dish uses one of the most recurring seasonings

  • of the week, garam masala,

  • which is one of the most delicious flavors I've ever had

  • in my life.

  • I was nervous to serve this to the boys

  • 'cause not only is it a new recipe,

  • but it's also their first time eating okra.

  • You excited to try?

  • - Yeah.

  • - [Hannah] It's really good.

  • - Mmm. I like it.

  • - It's a very different type of vegetable,

  • but honestly, it's really fun to eat.

  • Is it good?

  • - It's fantastic.

  • - [Hannah] Have you had okra?

  • - Yeah.

  • - Do you like it? - It's been a while,

  • but yeah, it's great.

  • - The kids loved it, which was such a relief

  • because I wanted to start this week off on a good note,

  • and this really was the right recipe to kick it off

  • because it was something unique, fun, and tasty.

  • Wow, it's a really mild, delicious curry.

  • I love the okra, and I love the potatoes with this.

  • Mmm. You want a bite?

  • You can't have it. It's mine.

  • And this, for me, was my favorite dish of the week.

  • As most of you know, I don't like to eat a lot of meat,

  • and so the beauty of Indian food

  • is there are so many tasty vegetarian recipes.

  • And this one was 10 out of 10.

  • Six cups of milk.

  • Next up, I tried my hand at making saag paneer.

  • Now, saag paneer...

  • (Henry crying)

  • Henry's fine. Okay.

  • Now, saag paneer is really common

  • on Indian restaurant menus out here in California.

  • I don't know if that's the same across the states,

  • but it's a Northern Indian dish

  • that is really popularized in the US.

  • Basically, I curdled some hot milk with vinegar,

  • and that turns the milk into curds and whey,

  • which I did not-

  • I've never made my own cheese.

  • I've heard curds and whey in songs,

  • and I thought they were fake.

  • Like, I didn't know this was a thing.

  • But basically, the curds are the white chunkies

  • and the whey is the clearish water.

  • Okay, you see how it's starting to turn clear here?

  • That's the whey.

  • So you want the curds and whey to separate,

  • but you want the whey to be clear, not milky like this.

  • And that's when you know it has finished.

  • After separating the curds from the whey,

  • I used a cheese cloth to strain everything out.

  • And then I had to hang it for several hours

  • to make sure all the whey dripped out of those curds.

  • All right, really doesn't seem like the most secure,

  • but this is what we got.

  • Once all the whey was out,

  • it was time for me to form this cheese

  • into the flat shape of paneer.

  • Paneer is usually sliced into chunks, like, cubes.

  • So I needed to flatten it out so it wasn't in a ball.

  • And so I weighted the cheese down and hoped for the best.

  • Oh, there we go.

  • And put something heavy. Oh my goodness.

  • We do what we can here. We make it work. We improvise.

  • Okay, this has been pressed for over three hours.

  • Oh, what?

  • Oh my gosh. Wait.

  • This is like cheese.

  • Okay. Wow. That's a legit cube of paneer.

  • The paneer is supposed to marinate in some spices and oil

  • while I prep the rest.

  • Frying these up.

  • I've got onions and minced ginger cooking.

  • I've added my spices and a little bit of water,

  • and I'm gonna cook these for about four minutes.

  • Almost forgot to make rice.

  • Gonna put a lid on this.

  • Got my spinach. Ooh, steamy.

  • My spinach in here.

  • This looks super, super fresh.

  • Finished product. Grownup plate. Little kid plate.

  • I bought naan,

  • and I can already tell this isn't gonna cut it.

  • So you know what that means tomorrow?

  • Yeah, I'm making naan.

  • How's it going, Jackson?

  • - It's amazing.

  • - Have you tried your food?

  • - Yeah.

  • - How is it?

  • - Good. - Good.

  • Okay, this is the true test, though.

  • - Oh, yeah.

  • - [Hannah] Seeing if Matt likes it.

  • - Mmm.

  • That's good. I like it.

  • It's much more, like, has more spinach. Seems healthier.

  • It's more big pieces of spinach.

  • - Oh, it was heavenly. It was so good.

  • And really making the paneer made it so worth it.

  • This is super good.

  • So after making the paneer myself,

  • I decided to make my own naan

  • Okay, there's my flour, my yogurt, oil, a little salt,

  • and then I'm going to pour my foamy yeast water.

  • Oh, geez. And there it goes.

  • That's what happens when I try to film. Let's try...

  • Oh, geez. Stop spilling out.

  • This is where I feel like I'm in over my head with this.

  • Try two hands.

  • Probably should've put my hair up before I started this,

  • but here we are.

  • Okay, this isn't looking...

  • Ugh. It's super hard. I don't know if I did this wrong.

  • Ugh. I am not a seasoned Indian cook.

  • My arm muscles are weak, puny, pathetic excuses of arms.

  • And so I was really struggling with kneading this dough.

  • This looks pretty good. About eight inches.

  • It's really thin, so I'm gonna throw this on a hot skillet.

  • I don't know if you can tell, but she is puffing up.

  • This looks like naan. Let's see if it's burning, though.

  • It's supposed to be kind of charred. Not quite.

  • Definitely didn't give this one enough time.

  • Put some ghee on this.

  • So ghee is clarified butter,

  • and you'll see it a lot in Indian cuisine.

  • Okay, that's what I'm talking about.

  • Look at all those dark spots. Little sample.

  • Naan. Dahl. Brown rice.

  • And you can eat with your hands if you'd like.

  • How's the naan?

  • - Amazing.

  • - [Hannah] What do you think?

  • Let's see the other side of your naan.

  • It got really crispy. Wow. - Oh, perfect.

  • That's how I love it.

  • - Everyone was so happy with it.

  • Even Wyatt loved the dahl,

  • and he's kind of my anti-vegetable guy, as you know.

  • And he's not the most receptive to new things,

  • but the key really is educating him

  • about the different countries where the food comes from.

  • And then he's a lot more willing and excited to try.

  • So he was totally open-minded

  • about the lentils and loved them.

  • Mmm. This naan is pretty good for our first try.

  • I also just need to add

  • that this is my first time making these dishes.

  • I am not the expert in Indian cuisine.

  • I am the one seeking help,

  • so don't watch what I'm doing and think,

  • "Wow. That's all real Indian food."

  • No. It's my first attempt at making Indian food.

  • Can you tell I just woke up from a two hour nap.

  • I don't feel good today. But that's okay.

  • I'm gonna power through and keep cooking.

  • Tonight I'm gonna try to make butter chicken.

  • Do you wanna see what I'm cooking?

  • Look, this is yogurt.

  • No, no, no, no, no. Oh my gosh.

  • Now butter chicken is a tomato and cream-based sauce

  • with a marinated chicken.

  • If you've had butter chicken before, it is a real treat.

  • It's really tasty.

  • And I don't eat a lot of meat, and specifically chicken,

  • but I will eat chicken when it comes

  • to trying some of these dishes from other countries.

  • So the chicken marinates in yogurt and spices.

  • It makes sense to me

  • because it is such a tangy, creamy texture.

  • I actually remembered to start my rice. Progress.

  • I usually forget 'til last minute.

  • This is getting lots of nice brown bits

  • at the bottom of the pan.

  • - I'm farting!

  • - You farting? - Yeah!

  • Okay.

  • Chicken is slightly browned. Now I'm making the sauce.

  • It was really, really good.

  • I mean, you can't go wrong when you have heavy cream.

  • Like, it is so delicious.

  • Wow. That looks amazing.

  • You want a fork, honey?

  • - Yeah.

  • - [Hannah] You don't wanna eat with your hands?

  • Here's the thing, guys.

  • You can eat with your hands if you'd like,

  • or you can eat with a fork.

  • - Hand?

  • - This is one of their favorite recipes of the week.

  • It's a classic dish. It's a fan favorite.

  • There's a reason why it's one

  • of the most popular recipes out here.

  • Now, Matt is really the one who we need

  • to see how he likes it. - Mmmm.

  • - [Wyatt] It's so good!

  • - Oh, this is amazing.

  • Delicious. - Mm. So amazing.

  • - [Hannah] Henry, what do you think?

  • Thumbs up?

  • Yeah. What do you think, guys?

  • - It's good. I love it.

  • - Can I have another kiss?

  • I'm making something I have never heard of this morning.

  • I'd never heard about it until Aniket told me about it.

  • And then I did get- I got the poha.

  • - Okay, perfect. You got the thin poha.

  • Thin poha is the best.

  • - Oh, good! Oh, I literally didn't know what I was doing.

  • Like a rice flake. Flattened rice.

  • Kinda like if you took a grain of rice

  • and rolled it out and then dried it.

  • And it's a breakfast that can be paired with chai.

  • Something I bought for this, specifically, is mustard seed.

  • I've never cooked with this before,

  • so I'm really excited to see how this tastes

  • I soaked my poha a little.

  • I rinsed it, and I tossed it in salt and sugar.

  • What do you need?

  • (Henry babbles)

  • I toasted mustard seed and cumin

  • and waited until they were popping.

  • It was like a little popcorn on the pan.

  • And then I added my onions, my potato.

  • This dish used turmeric

  • to turn it a really delicious, golden color.

  • Once that was cooked, I finally added my poha.

  • And let's get the chai started before I forget.

  • So chai is actually pretty simple to make yourself.

  • It's black tea, cinnamon, peppercorn, cardamom, and cloves.

  • And you can find all of those spices pretty easily.

  • And then you can either grind them up,

  • or I chose to boil a lot of them whole with the black tea.

  • And it's just a mixture of hot water and hot milk.

  • You boil it with sugar until it's the color you like,

  • depending on how strong you like it.

  • And then you strain it all out.

  • Look how the cardamom pods opened while boiling.

  • Looks pretty dang good.

  • Did you put makeup on your face?

  • - Yeah. - Yeah.

  • I think the boys first thought

  • it was scrambled eggs when they looked at it

  • because it looks so much like a scramble,

  • but it's nothing they've ever had before.

  • So I truly didn't know how they were gonna react at all

  • 'cause it's something completely new and unfamiliar.

  • - I'm gonna try chai.

  • - [Hannah] Try the chai.

  • - Mmm. It's really good.

  • - [Hannah] What do you think, Henry?

  • (Henry babbles)

  • - [Hannah] Poha.

  • - Let's try poha.

  • - [Hannah] It's called poha.

  • - This poha is good.

  • - [Hannah] Let's see.

  • - Mmm.

  • - [Hannah] How does it go with the chai?

  • - Yummy.

  • - [Hannah] Oh, thumbs up?

  • - Yeah.

  • - And to my absolute shock,

  • they started shoveling this in.

  • Like, Henry shoveled this in, and he's pretty picky.

  • And he absolutely loved this.

  • Are you trying it?

  • - This is so good.

  • - Did you try the chai?

  • So it's a breakfast served with chai.

  • Oh, you ate the cilantro again.

  • I'm not surprised everybody likes this.

  • Mmm. Oh my gosh. This chai is so good.

  • Aniket told me, once I make that chai myself,

  • I'm never gonna wanna buy it again.

  • And he was so spot-on right because it was really easy.

  • It made a nice big batch.

  • It was so tasty and just the real spice that you're supposed

  • to taste when you're drinking chai.

  • I will never buy it again.

  • It's dessert time.

  • I'm making kheer, which is kinda like a rice pudding.

  • And I'm very, very excited to make this myself.

  • I'm gonna start by rinsing this rice,

  • and then I'm gonna soak it.

  • I decided to just use almonds in my kheer

  • instead of cashews and pistachios

  • because I really wanted the flavor

  • of the rice and the milk to be in the forefront.

  • And the other thing I did was omit the raisins

  • because I hate raisins.

  • If there is one food

  • that I think should be illegal, it's raisins.

  • I started by heating my milk,

  • and then I poured it over some saffron.

  • The cool part about this though is the saffron is red.

  • And then when you pour the warm milk on it,

  • the milk turns a really, really bright yellow color.

  • You basically heat rice and milk together,

  • add some cardamom, sugar, and nuts of your choice,

  • and raisins if you want.

  • And then you just keep stirring it until it's thickened.

  • And then at the very end you add the saffron

  • and the soaked milk back in.

  • This looks about the correct consistency.

  • This is kheer.

  • - Mmm.

  • It's kind of sweet, but savory.

  • - [Hannah] It's a rice pudding.

  • It's cardamom you're tasting.

  • - Oh my gosh.

  • This is really good.

  • I love this.

  • - [Hannah] It's really good.

  • - That's good.

  • - This is why I wanna live in India.

  • - [Hannah] You wanna live in India?

  • - Yeah.

  • - [Hannah] Well, I think we certainly should visit, right?

  • - Yeah, I'm going to India.

  • - Bye!

  • This is definitely one of our favorite desserts of all time.

  • It is so good.

  • It's not like any rice pudding you've ever had before.

  • My only thing I would change

  • is I'm gonna make a bigger batch.

  • So at the end of a week of cooking Indian food,

  • I am a little bit tired.

  • I think that this week really highlighted how lazy

  • I've gotten when it comes to cooking food.

  • So really forcing myself to put in all that extra effort

  • and really make so many things

  • from scratch kind of reinvigorated me

  • to take my time with meals.

  • I also really thought that we would end the week feeling

  • like we had a full picture of what Indian food is like.

  • And again, this is just leaving me wanting to try more.

  • So I wanna send a huge thank you

  • to everyone who sent me a recipe,

  • to Aniket, who helped me through this process.

  • Really, it wouldn't be possible

  • for me to teach my kids in this way

  • or for them to have these experiences without your help.

  • So I really, really appreciate it.

  • So that's all for now.

  • I'm Hannah, and if you liked this

  • and you want us to see us try foods

  • for a week from your country,

  • message me on Instagram and give me some recipe suggestions.

  • And if you have any more Indian recipe ideas

  • or any tips or tricks about the food

  • that I did try to make,

  • message me that on Instagram, as well.

  • Now, if you'll please, excuse me,

  • I'm gonna nap for a hundred years

  • because I truly feel like garbage sewer rat.

  • Until next time.

  • (light upbeat music)

- Do you want a bite?

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