New business owners Ravi and Hema Talreja have a love of cooking amazing, healthy Indian dishes.
It's great news for Wodonga, with the couple having opened Wodonga Indian Grocery and Snacks store this month in Tower Place on High St.
Tucked away in the corner of the throughfare, the grocery store hosts an amazing array of rices, spices, traditional South Asian foods as well Indian treasures.
Hema, who enjoys cooking, wants to share her experience of basic Indian cooking, which fills the tummy and warms the heart.
"The basic Indian cooking recipe is oil, cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, onion, tomato and green chilli, which is optional," she said.
"After that you put in any spice mix and it becomes a flavoured dish.
"So if you add Tandoori Masla mix, it makes Tandoori chicken. Tikki spice mix makes chicken tikka and karahi mix makes chicken karaki.
"It's very simple."
Hema's basic Indian cooking recipe
1. Put oil in a pan.
2. Use two tablespoons of cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
3. Add three tablespoons of ginger garlic paste and add two green chillies, if you like spicy.
4. Put sliced onions. One onion per adult is the ratio. A family of four with two kids, will only need three onions.
5. Caramalise it nicely to get dark brown and pink color.
6. Then, add tomatoes. One tomato per person is the ratio as well. Three tomatoes for the family of four with two kids. Stir it nicely.
7. Now add any spice mix masala. Example half packet of shan butter chicken masala to make butter chicken curry.
8. Stir to boil until you see a little oil and spice mix coming to the top. That means the butter chicken paste is ready.
9. Add 1kg of chicken thigh fillets. Do not add in water as yet as the chicken releases water.
10. Wait until the chicken has a white colour, that means it's right on track.
11. Add two glasses of water.
12. Now put the pan on the slowest heat and let it sit for 30 minutes.
13. At last, add some fresh cream on top and stir in for another 5 minutes
It's now ready to be served with garlic/tandoori Naan, any parathas or rice.
For more recipes visit the Wodonga Indian Grocery and Snacks.