Cooking!

[BloodyRose3000]

My mom's part Indian, and so I know how to cook with a few Indian spices and make a couple of dishes, but I feel like it's impossible to make more than 2 or so Indian dishes because the ingredients used are always so similar. Since I'm trying to get more in touch with that side of my culture, I thought it'd be interesting to be able to make more things. So, got any recipe's :p? Usually when I cook Indian food I'll combine cumin seeds, garam marsala, tumric, tomatoes/tomato paste, peppers, all spice, salt/sugar and cinnamon. And I usually just make chicken. Any kinds of variations that would make something taste like a completely different dish?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Curry leaves. Mostly only in South India .. unique flavour.

Aum Namasivaya

[wundermonk]

My lady is a fan of these two ladies:

http://showmethecurry.com/

[Believer]

Namaste,

Here is a recipe for pan fried baby eggplants. For unique flavor, experiment with spices of your choice instead of what is in the recipe, and also use Mustard oil for pan frying to kick it up a notch (Bam! thank you Emeril Lagasse :)). I would use a mixture of salt, ground black/red peppers and dry tamarind powder for putting into the eggplant slits. This dish serves as the vegetable accompaniment to any meal, not necessarily with what the author has suggested.

http://indianfood.about.com/od/vegetarianrecipes/r/bharvaanbaingan.htm

If the final product comes out good, don't forget to share it with the hungry forum members.

And there are other tips on this website too.

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: curry leaves ... http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://webmalayalee.com/portals/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Curry_Leaves.jpg&imgrefurl=http://webmalayalee.com/portals/2012/06/21/health-benefits-of-curry-leaf/&h=480&w=640&sz=71&tbnid=Lat64glgG0NEaM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcurry%2Bleaves%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=curry+leaves&usg=__wmSOyqqz4Xi5Vy4FHtFUYsHukuo=&docid=DKQnRnMEO8ViIM&sa=X&ei=fUr3T9j4DcGLrgG5t-CLCQ&ved=0CF8Q9QEwAw&dur=433 you can freeze them as well, but best fresh.

Aum Namasivaya

[ShivaFan]

Namaste All

All these spices are wonderful, and we can sneek some Middle Eastern spice in there... BUT...

What about desert?

You cannot leave out the sweet or there may be bad karma, aren`t you going to offer to Deva?

So the question only remains... who makes the best sweets?

And the answer is -ii Bengali Sweets!

And so the war has begun.

[Believer]

Namaste,

The war ended before it began. :)
Bengali sweets are the best!
Everyone knows that.
But, don't ask me how to make any of them.

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Believer: You make me laugh in a good way. By the way, how do you make Bengali sweets? Any one at all will do.

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Namaste,

Vannakkam Believer: You make me laugh in a good way.
I guess that is better than getting you all bent out of shape.:)

..... how do you make Bengali sweets? Any one at all will do.
Sorry, but I am clueless when it comes to making sweets - any kind.

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Because I am in the mood for some seva today, and just for you, I found a nice video. Next time I'm your way, I shall expect some of this .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbzIBFaIhmk

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Namaste,

Next time I'm your way, I shall expect some of this ..
I will hire Manjula (Manjula, the sweet wife of Apu of 'The Simpsons' fame) to make some perfect 'sandesh' for you.

Pranam.

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

I have to agree with you guys; of my favourite sweets, all of them are milk-based and originate in north India.

Kalakand (http://www.indianrelish.com/main/recipe/kalakand/) is the best of them, though heck, it's hard to pick a favourite. (Speaking of sweets - Wundermonk, I am also a fan of the Show Me the Curry ladies, and the episode where they make pedas is funny. "It's really, really easy--" "Yes, actually, it's kind of embarrassing.")

Bengali cuisine also offers a masterful palette of bitter flavours. Need I mention the delicious, peerless, bitter-wonderful shukto (http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/shukto-recipe-bengali-recipe/)? BR, this dish certainly has a different flavour than that of the spices you describe.

(Believer: Isn't the 'sandesh' of EM's visit sweet enough? Ha!)

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[Believer]

(Believer: Isn't the 'sandesh' of EM's visit sweet enough? Ha!)
It sure is, but he has requested the Bengali sandesh when he visits me (see the video link in his post).

Talking about the bitter melon, we in the North, make it just the way we cook baby eggplants - make a slit in the whole Bitter melon, fill it with some masala, and pan fry it. The line from your link, 'You have the bitter taste of bitter gourd with the unique individual tastes of the different vegetables in shukto.' , just does not cut it. Once you have the bitter melon in a stew, it will mask out everything else. BTW, some of the oriental stores in the US carry the bitter melon, and also the real stuff - karela. They are two different varieties of the bitter medicine.;)

Pranam.

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

It sure is, but he has requested the Bengali sandesh when he visits me (see the video link in his post).
I know; I just couldn't resist the effort at a bad pun. :p

Talking about the bitter melon, we in the North, make it just the way we cook baby eggplants - make a slit in the whole Bitter melon, fill it with some masala, and pan fry it.
I have baby eggplants in my fridge right now, and that sounds delicious. Tell me of this masala that "we" use, hmm?

The line from your link, 'You have the bitter taste of bitter gourd with the unique individual tastes of the different vegetables in shukto.' , just does not cut it. Once you have the bitter melon in a stew, it will mask out everything else.
Fair enough! I chose that link because the author used Yamuna Devi's recipe, from her wonderful book; I didn't even read most of the writing around it.

BTW, some of the oriental stores in the US carry the bitter melon, and also the real stuff - karela. They are two different varieties of the bitter medicine.;)
We're lucky to have a store here that carries both. There is karela on the cutting board right now, awaiting chopping and cooking...I just use some olive and mustard oils, a bit of salt, and chili powder.

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[Believer]

Namaste,

I have baby eggplants in my fridge right now, and that sounds delicious. Tell me of this masala that "we" use, hmm?
Masaalaa is a mixture of the spices that you like or prefer. At its simplest, it could be just salt and some crushed red or ground black peppers. One could add tamarind powder or dried mango powder to make it a bit tangy; or add cumin seed powder; or dried onion/garlic powder or the ubiquitous garam masala, or whatever else pleases you. I don't really have my grandma's secret recipe, :) I just use whatever appeals to my palette on a given day. One of the secrets of filling baby eggplants is to make a small opening at the top and twist the knife a bit inside of it to make a bigger cavity deep inside, so as to keep the masaalaa down and stop it from spilling out when pan frying it.

Pranam.

[BloodyRose3000]

Hi

Thanks for all the posts and ideas. I still have to look in more stores for Curry leaves and they seem to be hard to find in NY. I did pick up some mustard seeds, some ghee, a different type of masala, and I used some fresh basil/cilantro, and it completely changed the flavor of what I made... it was delicious :D! And for dessert I just put whipped together some yogurt, honey, cinnamon and fresh mint, and it was delicious :).

Thank you

[Believer]

Namaste,

I did pick up some mustard seeds, some ghee, a different type of masala, and I used some fresh basil/cilantro, and it completely changed the flavor of what I made... it was delicious :D! And for dessert I just put whipped together some yogurt, honey, cinnamon and fresh mint, and it was delicious :).
And you did not share any of it with us? :)

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: I'm hungry. (And I just ate... prasadam and a meal at a temple in Edmonton I didn't even know existed. So called expert on temples here is embarrassed.)

Aum Namasivaya

[BloodyRose3000]

Hi

LMAO. It was too good to share ;).

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

I've secured my friend's rasam recipe to share. It's absolutely worth all of the effort - incredibly delicious.

For rasam powder:
1 cup coriander seeds
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon asafoetida
2 tablespoons red chili powder
2 tablespoons curry leaves
Dry roast all the items separately on low flame except turmeric, asafoetida, and red chili powder.
Grind together in a spice mill with turmeric, chili powder, and asafoetida to a fine powder.

For the rasam:
1 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
10 cups water
8 tomatoes, rough chopped
5 tablespoons of the above rasam powder (or a store-bought rasam powder).
½ cup cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate or 4 teaspoons of tamarind paste
1 teaspoon sugar

For tadka/popu/tempering:
2 tablespoon ghee or oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 dry red chilis (broken into pieces)
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
6 curry leaves

Preparation:
Wash toor dal. Boil dal in 3 cups of water until creamy and soft. Mash into a paste.
Add 8 cups water in a large pot with chopped tomatoes, rasam powder, coriander, salt, and turmeric.
Bring to a boil, then cook for 5 minutes.
Add cooked dal, tamarind paste, and sugar. Continue to simmer till tomatoes are completely soft and pulpy, about 10 minutes.
For tadka, heat oil or ghee in a small pan.
Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and red chilis.
Fry for 30 seconds, or until the seeds start to splutter.
Add asafoetida and curry leaves.
Fry for a few seconds more.
Carefully add the tadka to the rasam.
Serve.

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Well, looks like it rasam again today for lunch. I have a cold coming on. We have coriander in the garden. I bought tomatoes yesterday. It all fits together. :) My intuition is being overrun by some desire in the stomach. Nandri, Indraneela.

Aum Namasivaya

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

Is there a Tamil equivalent to 'you're welcome'?

Two more things that are excellent for colds-coming-on:

For sore throat and/or cough, ajwain and turmeric milk (http://www.tarladalal.com/Ajwain-and-Turmeric-Milk-4231r).
For general soothing and healing, kashayam (http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/kashayam/).

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Yes there is apparently, http://wikitravel.org/en/Tamil_phrasebook but I never hear it. The conversations usually end at Nandri. But a funny thing happened to me the other day at the temple here. I guess its an indicator of how 'Tamilised' I am. A friend started some long explanation about something to me, but stayed in Tamil mode ... for about a minute. She was so excited in her explanations I didn't have the heart to interrupt. Finally another friend came by, and just gave us both a really odd look, and then she was embarrassed at how long she'd gone on, and started the explanation all over in English. It was a fun moment.

Aum Namasivaya

[Seeker]

Namaste.


Spiced Rice Krispy:

Rice Krispy - 2 cups
olive oil or peanut oil or sesame oil - 1tsp
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
chili powder - 1/8 tsp
1 curry leave petal - chopped into small bits
1/4 cup of spanish peanuts

1. mix oil & spice to a paste
2- add rice krispy to the paste and mix it will
3 - add peanuts & microwave for 15 seconds on high


Coconut Burfi:

2- cup thawed coconut flake
1/2 cup sugar
little cardamom powder

1- heat a pan & drop the coconut flakes. Saute it until this becomes light brown.
2- empty the pan onto a plate
3- add 1 cup water to the pan and heat it
4- add sugar & cardamom to water and stir
5- when water turns to become stringy add the coconut flakes
6- stir unit it becomes pasty
7- stop the heat and let it cool

You can scoop it and eat it

Diluted yogurt

2 tables spoons of yogurt
1/4 tsp of salt
2 curry leaves
1 thai chili pepper , if you you dont have it , you can add 1/8th of jalepeno
1/4 ounce of ginger (you can skip this too)
6 cups of water

1- add everything except water to a blender
2- add 1/ cup water to the above and blend it until all the ingredients gets mixed up well
3- add rest of water and blend

This is a very cool summer time drink

Steamed peanuts:

2 cups of raw peanuts
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chili powder

1. add the ingredients to a vessel , add water to immerse them
2- pressure cook until one pressure whistle
3- cool it , strain the water & eat it.

You can sun dry this and store it also.

[Believer]

Namaste,

A friend started some long explanation about something to me, but stayed in Tamil mode ... for about a minute. She was so excited in her explanations I didn't have the heart to interrupt. Finally another friend came by, and just gave us both a really odd look, and then she was embarrassed at how long she'd gone on, and started the explanation all over in English.
You got to quit patronizing those tanning salons EM! ;)

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste,

You got to quit patronizing those tanning salons EM! ;)

Pranam.

Vannakkam B: Isn't it weird? White people want to be darker, and dark people want to be lighter. The 'grass is greener on the other side of the fence' syndrome afflicts in so many ways. :)

Aum Namasivaya

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste,

You got to quit patronizing those tanning salons EM! ;)

Pranam.

Vannakkam: Hey, at least I'm SERIOUS about fitting in. I should die my grey hair black too? (You decide.)

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Namaste,

If you like my creation, let me know and I will cook some for you too!

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2085/bhindi1.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/337/bhindi1.jpg/)

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/6042/bhindi2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/bhindi2.jpg/)

Pranam.

[ShivaFan]

DEEVALI KARANJI!


On the occasion of Diwali people all over the country prepare best dishes at their home. There are so many varieties of Diwali dishes that it is difficult of decide what to make and what not! However, the salty and yummy Dahi-bhalle and the sweet and scrumptious Karanji are the two special dishes that do not have a substitute on Diwali. Karanji, also known as Gujiya and pirikiya is a dish that is famous all over the country especially in north India. Though preparation of Karanji requires little time and effort, the taste is worth all the patience. One major advantage of Karanji is that it can be stored for weeks and used as dessert as well as snacks. Incase, you have still not tasted Karanji, this Diwali give it a try. Here is the recipe.

Karanji Recipe

Ingredients

For Stuffing:
1 cup grated dry coconut
1 cup powdered sugar
1 pinch nutmeg powder
1 pinch dry ginger powder
4 elaichi
2 tsp maida
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp mixed dry fruit pieces
For Dough:
1 cup maida
1 tsp ghee (butter)
salt (pinch)
warm milk (for doughing)
Method
In order to prepare Karanji, you will have to first prepare dough and then prepare the stuffing. Once you are done with both of them, you simply need to fill the stuffing and deep fry the Karanji.

Dough Preparation:
Mix 1 cup maida, 1 tbsp ghee, a pinch of salt and warm milk to prepare the dough, try to keep the dough a little hard.

Stuffing Preparation:
1. Roast dry coconut.
2. Roast maida in ghee.
3. Roast poppy seeds.
4. Mix all the above ingredients and mill them finely.

Karanji Preparation:
1. Roll small oval shaped puris from the hard dough.
2. Now place the prepared stuffing in the middle of it.
3. Stick both the corners of the puri by applying some water or milk so that it will seal properly. Remember not to apply too much of water as it will not seal properly.
4. Deep fry it till it becomes brownish color.
5. Serve it hot or cold as you wish.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Yes, Believer, I'd eat that. The kids used to have a difficult time with the 'slime' okra makes. Some fun times in raising kids and food ... one son cherished munching on green chillies, and sharing them with friends, who were ... well ... shocked.

Aum Namasivaya