Peppertrail

Monica: Thalippu is basically seasoning with spices. But that made into vadagam? Haven't heard of this thing before. I can understand why people don't like its taste when it is raw. Ammini

Suman: I have one more, that makes the total 929... and counting. Ammini

Gingerpeach: For south Indian coffee some prefer coffee with chicory others without. I prefer pure coffee. I use light roast Gevalia coffee at home. Please grind the coffee very fine. Not the coarse texture used for drip coffee. My personal preference is light roast than dark roast. If you have French press, try using that first. When the coffee is very fine, it works very well. Don't forget to boil the milk first. It makes a lot of difference. Hope this helps. Ammini

When bitter gourds are young the seeds are white. When they are ripe the seeds change color to red. Ammini

My husband and I were invited to Devi last Wednesday as Suvir's guests. Since the restaurant had not officially opened, we had only a one page menu to choose from. But there was plenty to choose from. The meal began with a pastry shell filled with creamy eggplant filling served on a bed of tomato couli. For appetizer this picky vegetarian chose the trio of samosas and my husband selected the grilled tandoori shrimp. I was served only the vegetarian samosas (I believe they have one meat samosa in the menu) Samosas were just the perfect size- not too big or too small, and they were not oily at all. And there were two chutneys for dipping. The shrimp was grilled perfectly. My husband couldn't stop talking how good it was. For main course I had bangara baingan, stuffed small eggplant in a peanut sauce. The dish was very flavorful and the sauce was spiced just right. I asked for lemon rice but Suvir decided to send a trio of rices- lemon, coconut and tomato. My husband had farm raised basil chicken served over a bed of lelmon rice along with tomato chutney. The grilled chicken was moist and mildly flavored with basil. Suvir also had the kitchen send out two more vegetable side dishes - a sweet and sour squash dish and phool makhane kee sabzi - lotus seeds with chenna, peas, and fenugreek leaves. This was a very unusual dish which I had never tasted before. Squash is not one of my favorite dishes but my husband enjoyed it. Lotus seed curry was sweet, tangy and spicy all at the same time and the lotus seeds added a crunchy texture to it. For dessert we chose kulfi in citrus juice. The presentation was beautiful. A pyramid shaped kulfi was topped with a sliver of gold leaf and was placed in a pool of lightly spiced citrus juice reduction. It was a great combination, but I wish there was a little less citrus juice. Suvir was a perfect host and stopped at our table (at other tables as well) several times to ask our opinions about the food. He introduced us to Chef Hemant and was also kind enough to give me a copy of his cookbook. Ammini

Thanks Suman. What can I say - I am still "Hindi challenged" although it was my second language in college. Ammini

Cabbage kheer ?? What is pyaz ki kheer?? I have seen onion kheer. In India my Muslim neighbor used to make it for one of their holidays. I never liked it. Ammini

Would you mind sharing the ratio of water to suagar for these two kinds of syrups please. Candied rose petals? Where can you get them, or do you make your own? Ammini

I was invited to a tasting at Suvir's new restaurant yesterday. The food was delicious and the decor is very beautiful. Service was excellent and the host was of course most gracious. Suvir was kind enough to give me a copy of his book. The pictures are stunning. I haven’t had a chance to try any of his recipes yet, I look forward to trying them soon. Congratulations Suvir! Ammini

Bhasin: You are right. Most people in south India start the process of making decoction at night for the next morning. However, it does not take all night for the liquid to drip through. It is just matter of convenience. Just for making sure I am not saying this wrong, I ground coffee beans and made a batch of decoction. I added 8 tablespoons of finely ground coffee to the decoction pot and filled the top compartment with boiling water. I timed it and it took 25 minutes for one and a half cups of decoction to collect at the bottom compartment. Early in the morning when a south Indian wants his or her coffee 25 minutes or more is too long a wait. Making it overnight is more convenient. edited for typos Ammini

South Indian Coffee Traditional South Indian coffee is made with finely ground coffee beans. There are two types of it – with or without chicory. I prefer pure coffee. In my humble opinion light roast makes better south Indian coffee than dark roast. It does not require any special equipment to prepare it. It is almost like Italian Latte, with sugar already added. The caramelized taste of our coffee comes from boiled milk mixed with sugar. Spicy Madras (or South Indian) coffee served at some Indian restaurants is something unheard of in South India. It is something like the generic "curry powder" which is not used in authentic Indian cooking. 8 teaspoons of very finely ground coffee 2 cups of boiling water 2 cups of whole milk 4 to 5 teaspoons of sugar (according to taste) The authentic equipment for preparing this coffee is called decoction pot. But you don't have to run out get a decoction pot to make this coffee. A French coffee press is one alternative. Otherwise one can use a regular filter coffee pot. The decoction pot is a cylindrical pot with two compartments. The bottom part is to collect the drip coffee. It is about the size of a 6 or 8 ounce glass. The second part that fits tightly over it has several tiny holes at the bottom. The third piece is a perforated disc with a metal handle attached at the center. To make decoction coffee place the upper compartment over the bottom one. Fill the top compartment with coffee powder and place the perforated disc on top. Push down slightly and tightly pack the coffee. Pour boiling water over the disc until the top compartment is full. Cover and set aside. Since the grind is very fine, it will take several minutes for the water to drip down. The coffee collected at the bottom half will be strong and flavorful. After all the water has dripped down, remove the top half and proceed as follows. If using a regular filter coffee pot, place coffee filter over the pot and fill it with finely ground coffee. With the back of a spoon press it down so that it is packed as tightly as possible. Pour one cup of boiling water and let it drip. Repeat with the remaining cup of hot water. By pouring only one cup at a time, the water drips slowly and absorbs the full flavor of the coffee. While the coffee is dripping place milk in a heavy bottomed pot and bring it to a boil. Remove from the stove when it starts bubbling and rises to the top. Stir in sugar. Pour dripped coffee over hot milk and stir. Your coffee is ready to enjoy. If you like a foamy top, hold the pot about a foot above the coffee cup and pour it slowly into the cup. Ammini

I just added two to my collection- The new Tastes of India by Das Sreedharan and Purba: Feasts from the East by Laxmi Parida. Ammini

In The Oxford companion to Food Alan Davidson writes -" Mango, one of the finest and most popular fruits, has been cultivated in India since 2000 B.C. ...From south India the mango was spread by the Portuguese, who took it to Africa in the 16th century. It reached Brazil and the West Indies in the 18th century and Hawaii, Florida and Mexico in the 19th century." Ammini

Congratulations Monica! Ammini

I think it should be fine to grind whole pods if a recipe does not specify. After all the amount of cardamom used compared to the amount of other ingredients used in a recipe is minimal. I hope this helps Gypsy Boy. Ammini

Gypsy Boy: I use green cardamom, and I crush it using a mortar and pestle. Most south Indian recipes that I prepare use only the seeds, not the pods. Even then I first crush the whole pods in a mortar, remove the skins, and powder or coarsely grind the seeds. As you said the pod itself is fibrous. The fragrance of cardamom is essentially in the seeds not in pods. Ammini

The brownish black seeds of cardamom are enclosed inside 1/4”-3/4” long oval shaped pods. The larger variety known as black cardamom is really brown in color, and the smaller variety is called green cardamom. Green pods have excellent fragrance compared to white bleached ones. Cardamom seeds are often crushed coarsely or powdered fine before using. If you want only the seeds crushed and not pods, but don't want to peel individual pods, it is better to use a mortar and pestle rather than a grinder or blender. It will be easy to remove the pods. A grinder or blender would pulverize the pods. Ammini

Irish, Italian and Mexican cuisines all have their own versions of rice pudding. But Chinese rice pudding? My understanding of Chinese cuisine is limited, however, as far as I know one distinct feature of authentic Chinese cuisine is that it doesn't use any dairy products. Probably in Indian-Chinese restaurants they serve rice pudding. Then again, most ethnic restaurants operating in countries other than their own tend to incorporate local favorites in their menu. And rice pudding is a salient feature of Indian restarant menus. Ammini

I use only seeds of cardamom. Often crushed. Ammini

Traveling from Cochin to Palghat took only a few hours but we always looked forward to eating thin rava dosas and uzunnu (medu) vadas with coconut chutney at Trissur railway station. Those dosas were always thin and crispy at the edge, and were spiced with plenty of fresh coriander leaves, curry leaves and hot green peppers. And the vadas were crispy on the outside and moist in the center. Hi w@w: Please do tell us about the food saga after you return.

Prasad 2: Congratulations on the opening of Thali 2. Your brunch menu looks fantastic. That is indeed a lot to choose from. Look forward to visitng your restaurant soon. Ammini

Edward: Here is my recipe for aviyal. There are several variations of this traditional Kerala dish. In some parts of Kerala they substitute tamarind for yogurt. Hope you enjoy it. Ammini Aviyal Aviyal is a medley of vegetables. Traditionally, ash gourd, green plantains, string beans telinga potatoes (suran), and drumsticks (moringa oleifea, not chicken!) are used in the preparation of aviyal. Green plantains are available in Latin American grocery stores and sometimes even at American supermarkets. Long string beans, ash gourd, drumsticks and telinga potatoes (fresh, frozen and canned) are available in Indian food stores and ash gourd (with light green skin and white flesh) is readily available at Chinese markets. Although not traditional, zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, green beans and potatoes also may be used in this curry. The idea is to use as many vegetables as possible. This is one dish that definitely needs curry leaves and fresh coconut. Curry leaves and coconut basically gives aviyal its authentic flavor. 1 medium sized potato 2 medium sized carrots 8 pieces of drum sticks * 1 cup of telinga potato pieces * 1/4th of a pound of green beans or string beans 1 green plantain 1 Zucchini 1 cup of ash gourd pieces ½ teaspoon turmeric powder Salt to taste 1 ½ cups of plain yogurt 3 cups of grated fresh coconut 4 to 5 hot green chilies (reduce for milder taste) 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds For seasoning and garnish: ½ cup coconut oil A few springs of fresh curry leaves Peel and cut plantains, carrots, zucchini, potato, ash gourd, drum stick and telinga potato into 2 ½ to 3 inch length pieces (approximately the size of thick french fries), Cut green beans or string beans also to three inch pieces. Place the vegetables in a colander and wash them under running water and drain. Using very little water cook the potatoes, carrots, drum sticks, telinga potato and beans along with salt and turmeric in a heavy bottomed pan. These vegetables take slightly longer time to cook than squashes. When they are partly cooked, add the remaining vegetable pieces and combine well. Cook for a few more minutes till the vegetables are just cooked. Stir the yogurt with a spoon and add to the vegetables. Simmer for three to five minutes. Grind the coconut, green chilies and cumin seeds to a coarse thick puree, again using just enough water. Remove the puree from the blender and combine with the cooked vegetables. Simmer gently for two to three minutes over low heat to prevent the yogurt from curdling. Remove from the stove and pour coconut oil on top. Garnish with fresh curry leaves. *Both frozen and canned drumsticks and telinga potatoes (Suran) are available at Indian grocery stores. If using the canned vegetables, first drain them and wash under running water and drain. After cooking the fresh vegetables add them along with the ground coconut paste and mix. Makes 6 to 8 servings Recipe Copyright © 2004 Ammini Ramachandran

Edward: Yes, zuccini is very similar to some of the squashes found in India. I use it for preparing Aviyal and pachadi, two traditional south Indian dishes. I also make stuffed zuccini with corn and Indian spices, a variation Mexican stuffed zuccini. Ammini

FoodMan: Here is my recipe for Parippu Vada. http://www.peppertrail.com/php/displayCont...&parent_link=85 Ammini

Scott 123, Yes I am adding the right amount water now after several trials and errors. Initially I used put the wheat flour and salt (and oil, if I am using oil) in the food processor, start the machine, and then pour water in a thin stram until the dough has the right consistency. I agreee. I use the processor to make dough only occassionally. But I use it to make thick batters for some south Indian dishes regularly.