Masala Cruise Food:

I went on a 3 night Masala Cruise to the Bahamas.  Lets start with the food on the cruise ship – it was fabulous, much better food than on a normal cruise.  The Indian cuisine was authentic, some spicy foods, some less spicy foods, and a good variety of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Masala Cruise Activities:

As far as the activities on the Masala Cruise, they were fabulous.  It was great to be with out Indian people on a cruise, especially people who loved Bollywood and Desi style entertainment.  If you love Dandia, Garba or Bhangra, you will have lots of fun.  Most of the people on the cruise were Desis!  The entertainment, dancers, musicians, and comedians  were very talented.

Masala Cruise Locations:

Masala Cruises go to many locations including Alaska from Vancouver, Hawaii from Honolulu, Mexico / Cozumel and Progresso from Houston and the Bahamas from Miami.  The length of the cruise goes from 3 days to a week.  You can even organize a convention or wedding on a Masala Cruise, like someone did on the cruise I went on!  I think that all Masala Cruises are on the Carnival cruise line, the Norwegian cruise line or the Royal Caribbean cruise line.  From my personal experience, I would pick a Royal Caribbean cruise over a Carnival cruise.  I have not yet gone on a Norwegian cruise, so if you have, please leave a comment below and let everyone know how it compared to your experience with other cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean or Carnival.  Apparently there is a Dhamaal Vacation with a Laughter Challenge with the famous comedian Sunil Thakkar.  I am very tempted and might just have to go on another Masala Cruise soon!  Overall, my experience was amazing and I would highly recommend going on any of their cruises.

UPDATE: One of my friends recently went on one of the Maharaja cruises and had a horrible experience.  She said the food was very bad and basically like eating frozen Indian food or tv dinners.  She went on a Carnival cruise, so maybe these are just worse.  If you do decide to go on one of their cruises, definitely stick to Royal Caribbean cruises instead – the activities and entertainment are definitely better.

Potato Pakora

Ingredients:
- 1 cup Chickpea Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Coriander
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 3/4 cup Water
- 1/2 head cauliflower OR a few parboiled potatoes OR another vegetable of your choice

Directions:
1.  Mix in a large bowl the chickpea flour, salt, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, garlic and chili powder.
2.  Form a little pit in the middle of the large bowl of flour and spices.
3.  Pour the water into the pit that you formed and mix until it is well blended.
4.  Heat a pan of oil to 375 degrees.
5.  Dip the cauliflower, potatoes or other vegetable into the batter mix and fry in the pan of oil for 5 minutes until brown like in the photo above.

Potato Bhaji

Ingredients:
- 1 Potato
- 1 Red Onion, chopped
- 1 TB Mustard Seed
- 1 Chili Pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 TB Coriander
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- Salt / Pepper, to taste
- Tomato (optional)
- Curry Leaves (Optional)
- Oil

Directions:
1.  Cook the mustard seeds in a pan over medium heat until the seeds pop. 
2.  Add the chili pepper, onion, tomato (optional) and curry leaves (optional).
3.  Once the onions are translucent, add the salt and turmeric.
4.  Cook the potatoes in boiling water.
5.  Remove the potatoes skin and dice the potatoes.
6.  Sprinkle with the coriander.

Ingredients:
- 8 cups Lentil Flour
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Water
- Oil

Directions:
1.  Mix together the flour, cumin, salt and pepper.
2.  Add half of the water and knead the dough.
3.  Continue adding water if needed until the dough comes together.
4.  Make 15 balls out of the dough and roll out each ball until it is very thin and round.
5.  Cook the papadum for an hour at 200 degrees F.
6.  Fry the papadum in a pan of oil until they are crispy and crunchy.
7.  Sprinkle with salt or pepper to taste.

Ingredients:
- 3 Green Mangoes
- 2 tsp Salt
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1″ Ginger Root, peeled and diced
- 1.5 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 cup Raisins (or Golden Raisins), optional

Directions:
1.  Peel and slice the mangoes.  You can dice the mangoes instead of slicing if you prefer.
2.  Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of salt over the mangoes. 
3. Let the mangoes stand for a few days (if you can let them stand in the sun, this will give your mango chutney the most amazing flavor).
4.  Pulse the garlic and ginger in your food processor.
5.  Add apple cider vinegar to your garlic / ginger until a paste is formed.
6.  Cook over medium heat the remainder of the apple cider vinegar, sugar, raisins (if desired), cayenne pepper, turmeric and 1 tsp salt to your ginger and garlic paste.
7.  Cook for 15 minutes until the mango chutney has slightly thickened.
8.  Mix in the mango pieces and simmer for another 25 minutes.  The mango should be translucent and the mango chutney will be a bit thicker (your mango chutney will thicken MUCH more as it cools, so it won’t appear super thick at this point).
9.  Pour your mango chutney into a glass jar. 

Enjoy your mango chutney as soon as it cools off, or wait a few days for the flavors to marry in your mango chutney recipe!

Ingredients:
2 TB Cumin Seeds
2 TB Cardamom Seeds
2 TB Coriander Seeds
2 TB Peppercorns
1 stick Cinnamon
1 tsp Cloves
1 tsp Nutmeg, grated
1/2 tsp Saffron

Directions:
1. In a cast iron pan, toast the cumin, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon, coriander and cloves.  Keep the heat around medium so that the spices do not burn!  Continue toasting these Indian spices until they are a bit darker in color and have a rich aroma (roughly 10-15 minutes).
2. Let the spices cool entirely.
3. Put the Indian spices through a coffee grinder to create a powder.
4. Mix in the saffron and nutmeg.

Your Garam Masala can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

chana masala recipe

Ingredients:
- 1-2 TB butter
- 3/4 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 can chickpeas (15 ounces – rinse and drain thoroughly)
- 1/2 lemon (for juice)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced with the seeds removed

Spices:
- 1/2 TB coriander (powder form)
- 1 tsp cumin (also in powder form)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat.

2. Cook the onions for 7-10 minutes (until a very light brown)

3. Mix in the garlic.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.

4. Mix in the first four spices (coriander, cumin, cayenne and turmeric). Stir well.

5. Add the tomatoes and let them cook for 5 minutes.

6. Mix in the chickpeas and water.  Mix well and increase the heat.

7. Once the pan has come to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer.

8. Mix in the lemon juice, paprika, garama masala and salt (to taste).

9. Put a lid on the pan and continue to let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

10. Add the ginger and jalapeno pepper about a minute before the end.

Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

Ingredients:

Marinade Ingredients:
- 3 Chicken Breasts, cut into cubes
- 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 TB Fresh Ginger, finely minced
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 TB Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt (make sure not to accidentally use vanilla yogurt)
- Salt / Pepper, as desired
- 4 Skewers

Sauce Ingredients:
- handful of Fresh Cilantro, chopped (to garnish)
- 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 ounces)
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper, finely diced
- 2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1-2 TB Butter
- Salt / Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix together all of the marinade ingredients (except for the chicken and skewers).  Add in the chicken making sure it is completely covered.

2. Refrigerate the  marinade and chicken for at least one – two hours.

3. Fire up your grill on high heat.

4. String the marinaded chicken pieces onto the skewers.

5. Cook the chicken skewers for about 5-7 minutes per side.

6. Melt 1-2 TB of butter in a pan.

7. Cook the jalapeno pepper and garlic for a minute or so.

8. Add the paprika, cumin and salt.

9. Add the cream and tomato sauce to the pan.

10. Simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

11. Serve and sprinkle with cilantro.