Peppertrail

Monica: I was hoping to read more about the festivals you had researched on. Hope someone will post about festival foods in Bengal, Maharastra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhara and so on.

Monica: Here are two duck recipes from Mrs. K.M. Mathew’s Modern Kerala Dishes. I think dsp stands for dessert spoon. Duck Curry with powdered masala 500 grams of duck cut into pieces 2 dsp chili powder 1 dsp coriander powder ½ tsp pepper powder ¼ tsp turmeric powder ½ cup coconut oil 1 tsp mustard 2 dsp sliced onions 1 dsp vinegar salt to taste Combine chili, turmeric, pepper and coriander powders and mix with water to make a paste. Heat oil and fry mustard seeds. Add onions. As it browns add the spice paste and stir and cook over low fire till oil separates. Add meat pieces and stir for a few minutes. Pour boiling water to cover. Add salt and vinegar. Allow the duck to cook until it is soft. Gravy may be reduced to desired consistency. Duck roast with curd 1 kilogram duck (whole) 4 dsp coconut oil 2 dsp small red onion paste 2 dsp onion paste 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp garlic paste 2 dsp ground red chili peppers ¼ tsp cumin seeds broiled and powdered ¼ cup curd 3 dsp melted ghee 3 dsp onions sliced round Cook whole duck in salted water. Heat oil and brown onion paste first and then ginger, garlic and chili pastes over medium fire. Stir in curd. Cook till water in the curd is absorbed. Add the stock from the boiled duck. Stir well and pour over the duck. Cook till oil separates and the gravy coats the duck. Heat ghee and brown onion lightly and add to the gravy. Serve hot.

The most used kitchen accessory in my kitchen is the food processor. It cuts plantains for banana chips in no time, grinds thick batters for medu vada, kneads dough for chappathi and poori, and finely chops green beans, carrots, and cabbage for thorans.

jw46: Christians of Kerala do prepare some duck dishes. I found a few recipes in Mrs. K.M.Mathew's book Modern Kerala Dishes. The recipes are for Duck roast, Duck roast with biriyani stuffing, Duck curry with powdered masala, Duck roast prepared using curd, Duck festival fry, Duck fry and Duck - crushed masala curry. I have not tried to cook any of these dishes, but if you are interested I will be happy to post them.

Thanks Behelpuri. My knowledge of Gujarathi is very very limited. Rajsuman's post says "mango ginger( Amba Haldi)". It looks like fresh ginger, but has a tangy taste.

Bhelpuri: Have you seen mango ginger at these stores?

Hello Episure, Hope you will be posting more Indian Food News. I have a recipe for fresh mango ginger chutney somewhere. I'll post it if I can find it. It uses mango ginger and coconut. I haven't tried it in a long time since mango ginger is not always available here.

Vikaram: Thanks for writing about Anthropology of Sweetmeats. Your reference and summary was so Intriguing, I ordered the book from Amazon. I find food history fascinating. I have K.T.Achaya's books. I would appreciate any other suggestions on Indian food history books. Ammini Ramachandran

Indain cooking does produce odors from spices and onions. Our cooking methods, mostly stove top cooking also add to it. As Monica said good ventilation helps. But for those of us living in big city apartments that is a problem with no kitchen windows and no venetilation hoods. Thankfully, I have a small window and I keep it open when I can. My stove has no ventilation hood and last year I bought an air purifier. Everytime I fry something I keep it on and that seems to help a lot. However, Indian food is not the only one that generate ordors. My next door neighbor cooks some kind of ham every weekend and the whole building complains about the smell.

The three major festivals of Kerala Hindus are Vishu, Thiruvonam, and Tiruvathira. We celebrate Tiruvathira festival in the month Dhanu which falls between mid December and mid January. In Kerala Tiruvathira is essentially a women's festival - it is a celebration of devotion, beauty, divine love and dance. On the day before Tiruvathira a special dish, Ettangadi, is prepared as an offering to goddess Parvathi. Eight different kinds of root vegetables and plantains are roasted over burning wooden logs and combined with ripe plantains, roasted and cooked red beans, sesame seeds, and fresh coconut and folded into a thick jaggery syrup. Certain special dishes—both sweet and sour Koova (arrowroot) Varattiyathu, Koova Paayasam and Tiruvathira Puzukku - are also prepared to celebrate Tiruvathira. Giving a gift of rice is a part of the Tiruvathira ceremonies in some parts of Kerala. Two days before Tiruvathira it is customary to send rice packets to relatives living in the same town or village. A rice packet consists of cooked long grain rice mixed with yogurt, milk, and butter and seasoned with fresh ginger and curry leaves. This rice is packed in fresh banana leaves, placed in stainless steel or brass containers with lids, and delivered along with deep fried, sun-dried vegetables. In Tamilnadu this festival is called Ardra Darsanam, and they invoke the dancing aspect of Siva as Nataraja or the dancing Siva, a celebration that lasts for ten days. The special food offering at this festival is called kali, a sweet dish prepared with fried rice powder and jaggery. More about the traditions and recipes of Tiruvathira on my web site.

Anil: India's festival foods and feasts. What a good idea. You mentioned Onam of Kerala- that falls on August 28th in 2004. As Vikram described Malayalis celebrated Vishu last wednesday. I have a short piece on the myths and traditions and a few recipes of Vishu (as it is observed in my hometown) on my website. http://www.peppertrail.com/php/displayCont...9&parent_link=3

Suman: I found the recipe you were looking for. My Andhra friends call it Booralu. It can be made with both channa and mung dal. The only difference is with channa I use dark brown sugar or jaggery and with mung I use white sugar. Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it. Ammini Ramachandran Booralu 1 cup of mung dal 1 ½ cups of water 1 ¼ cup sugar 1 teaspoon of crushed cardamom ¼ teaspoon saffron 3 tablespoons of urad flour 10 tablespoons of rice flour water for batter 5 cups of oil (I prefer canola) for frying Wash and cook mung dal with 1 ½ cups of water over medium heat. Allow almost all of the water to evaporate. If using a pressure cooker it will take about ten minutes. Combine the cooked dal with sugar and mash thoroughly. Cook it for ten to twelve minutes at high power in a microwave oven (time will vary depending on the power of the oven). At this point it should be very thick in consistency. If cooking on stove top, stir continuously so that the dal will not stick to the skillet. Sprinkle cardamom and saffron on top and stir well. At this point the mixture will be soft. As it cools down it will thicken. Let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for cooling faster. After it has cooled down, shape into small balls. One cup of dal cooked with sugar should yield approximately 16 to 18 balls. In a heavy bottomed skillet heat the oil to approximately 325° F. In a bowl, combine the urad flour and rice flour with just enough water to make a batter. The batter should have the consistency of pancake batter so that it will leave a coating on the dal balls. Slightly flatten the balls with your fingers, dip them in the batter and deep fry till they are golden brown and crunchy. Drain on paper towels and serve hot. If you like ghee, a nice way to serve is to make small hole in the center of booralu with a spoon and fill it with ½ teaspoon hot ghee.

As muich as I am a fan of coconuts and coconut oil, I think that Indian sweets made with ghee taste better. Coconut oil will not add the same flavor of ghee.

Freshly grated and frozen coconut is available now at Indian grocers in the U.S. I guess most probably in Canada too. Once it is thawed to room temperature it makes real good coconut chutney.

Suman: Jangiri is not exactly like boori. I know I have a recipe for boori somewhere in my collection of recipes. I will look for it and post it in a day or two. I make it with sweet mung dal balls. Most of these sweets can be made with either channa or mung dal. In the meantime here is a recipe for jangiri. I hope you like it Jangiri Urad Dal Pretzels In Rose Flavored Sugar Syrup Sweet jangiri flavored with the essence of fragrant rose petals is the favorite sweet in my family. What is amazing about this sweet is the fact that its basic ingredient is urad dal, the same old small, greyish white beans that make salty idlis and crispy dosas and add a nutty crunch to dishes when it is toasted in oil and added as a garnish. 2 cup urad dal 1/4 cup long grain rice 2 ½ cups of sugar A few drops of orange food coloring or saffron A few drops of rose essence 4 cups of ghee or butter flavored vegetable shortening for deep frying Soak the rice and dal for an hour and grind into a very soft thick batter. In a heavy bottomed skillet combine the sugar with one cup of water and the food coloring and cook it over medium heat to one-string consistency syrup (230 to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer). Add the saffron/food coloring and rose essence and reduce the heat to very low and keep the syrup warm. In another heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat setting melt the shortening to approximately 325° F. Fill the batter in a large squeeze bottle or a pastry bag fitted with a 3/16th inch diameter plain tube. When the shortening is hot, slowly squeeze the batter into two layers of small rounds (similar to jilebi). Each jangiri should be about 2 to 3 inches wide. Fry them till they are golden brown, remove from the oil, drain, and transfer directly into the syrup. Turn the jangiri with a tong to coat evenly with the syrup. Remove from the syrup after two or three minutes and place in a platter. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Always soak hot jangiri in warm syrup for good absorption. Recipe Copyright © 2004 Ammini Ramachandran

Scott 123: A very good point. I do not know much about lactose. I checked with a food and nutrition consultant and her response was the following. I had no idea about ghee made from vegetables that she mentions. "I have macronutrient data on both buffalo milk and cow's milk ghee. Neither have any measurable carbohydrate, so there is no lactose. And of course, some ghee is made from vegetable oil (I have data on that too) which never contained any lactose".

Monica: This recipe is from my collection of old recipes from Kerala, which I hope to put together in a cookbook. Following is a recipe for channa dal pudding with coconut milk. My website www.peppertrail.com has a recipe for Mango pudding with coconut milk Kadala Pradhaman Channa Dal Pudding with Brown Sugar And Coconut Milk This rich and flavorful coconut milk paayasam is thickened with cooked channa dal. Ghee-toasted cashews and coconut pieces provide a mild crunch to this creamy pudding. 1 cup of channa dal 2 cups of jaggery or dark brown sugar 6 cups of fresh coconut milk 1 teaspoon crushed cardamom 3 tablespoons of ghee 1/4 cup of cashew nuts broken into pieces 1/4 cup of thin coconut pieces 1-tablespoon raisins Clean and cook the dal with about 1 ½ cup of water till it is just done. Most of the water must be absorbed by now. Add the jaggery/brown sugar to the dal and cook over medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes. Keep stirring gently so that the dal is not mashed. Pour in the coconut milk and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes so that the coconut milk only simmers. Stir the contents every five minutes or so until the coconut milk has thickened. Do not let the coconut milk to come to a rolling boil. Remove from the stove and sprinkle cardamom powder on top. Heat the ghee and roast the cashew nuts, raisins and coconut pieces till they are golden brown and add to the Pradhaman. Serve hot or cold. Makes 6 to 8 Servings Recipe Copyright © 2004 Ammini Ramachandran.

halva made with whole wheat flour, jangiri with urad dal batter, neypaayasam with rice, brown sugar, cardamom, raisins, cahsews and ghee and different rice and/or dal based paysams with coconut milk and jaggery.

Asparagus Pakoda Serves 4 as Appetizer. 20 asparagus spears each cut into 4 inch pieces 1/4 c besan or chick pea flour 1/4 c unbleached all purpose flour Salt to taste cold water, as required 1/2 tsp pa-fried and crused cumin seeds 4 c vegetable, corn or canola oil for frying Combine besan flour, all purpose flour, cumin and salt in a large mixing bowl and add water slowly while beating with a whisk. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter so that it will leave a thin coating on asparagus. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan or wok to 350° F (180°C). Dip the asparagus pieces in the batter, slide into hot oil and deep fry till they are golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with spicy chutney and/or salsa. Or serve over mixed baby greens tossed with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and fresh grated ginger. Keywords: Appetizer, Vegetables ( RG985 )

Asparagus Pakoda Serves 4 as Appetizer. 20 asparagus spears each cut into 4 inch pieces 1/4 c besan or chick pea flour 1/4 c unbleached all purpose flour Salt to taste cold water, as required 1/2 tsp pa-fried and crused cumin seeds 4 c vegetable, corn or canola oil for frying Combine besan flour, all purpose flour, cumin and salt in a large mixing bowl and add water slowly while beating with a whisk. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter so that it will leave a thin coating on asparagus. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan or wok to 350° F (180°C). Dip the asparagus pieces in the batter, slide into hot oil and deep fry till they are golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with spicy chutney and/or salsa. Or serve over mixed baby greens tossed with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and fresh grated ginger. Keywords: Appetizer, Vegetables ( RG985 )

I remember some older women in my village do the same as your husband’s grandmother. They will hold seven (I don’t know the significance of seven) dried red chilies and a teaspoon of mustard seeds in their hands and then wave it over children’s heads seven times to ward off evil eyes. They always did this just before sunset. Then they would throw it all into a wood burning stove. They say that when the mustard seeds splutter, instead of their nutty aroma, they will produce a foul smell - the smell of burning evil eyes.

There are many of Indian grocery stores in the Lone Star State. The following link lists several of them. I lived in Dallas for several years (can’t wait to get back there) and Taj Mahal Imports in Richardson was my favorite store. I hear from friends that this store is still a very good source for Indian groceries. I loved shopping on weekends at the Dallas Farmer’s Market. Several vegetables used in Indian cooking – eggplant, okra, black eyed peas, chili peppers, and cilantro were always available at the farmers market. I have also found several ingredients at HEB and Fiesta Markets in Austin. http://www.thokalath.com/texas/grocery_stores.php

Thanks Vikram. Mongo_Jones tells me that you are the one to thank for letting others know that there is no such word as "keralese"--you can say keralite, but the more accurate term would be "malayali". And Monica, thanks for making me feel so welcome. I enjoy reading and am learning a lot from egullet posts.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer- prize winning book Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of Nine Stories. The Second Story - When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dine - revolves around Mr. Pirzada who comes to dine and gets to know an Indian Family living in Boston. He develops a special relationship with a little girl in the house - thereby trying to overcome the pangs of missing his family back in Bangladesh. I don’t remember if the other stories mention food, but they all are worth reading. In Bengali cooking: Seasons and Festivals by Chitrita Banerji, Bengal through the seasons come to life on every page. Her other book The Hour of the Goddess weaves a warm, evocative story of food, ritual and women's lives in Bengal. Monsoon diary by Sobha Narayan is a fascinating food narrative that combines Indian recipes with tales from her life in south India and the US and musings about Indian culture. Chitra Benerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of spices is the story of an immigrant from India who runs a spice shop in California.

Monica- I have heard since late nineties that Indian food is going to be the next hot cuisine. I agree that it is going to take a much longer time for Indian food to become a mass phenomenon. First of all there is no one “Indian cuisine”. How I wish Jason Perlow’s prediction - once people realize that India has so much more variety to offer, there will be a watershed of interest - will come true. Yes, today there are more Indian restaurants that feature regional cuisines of India and major grocery chains are carrying Indian spices and frozen dinners in NYC. I think (I hope I am wrong) it will take more time for the varied cuisines of India to get full recognition. The Italians were here long before we Indian arrived. Still, in several parts of the US Italian food means – Italian American food. At best may be northern or southern Italian. But Sicilian, Umbrian, Tuscan, Puglian, Venitian or Calabrian all still remain unknown to many. p.s. Many thanks from this Malayali to Mango_Jones for identifying the cuisine of Kerala as Malayali. Keralite is certainly acceptable. Doesn’t that how long will it take for Malayali cuisine to hit the culinary radar screen?