chromedome

The Persians have a well-established system of hot and cold foods, as well, which arguably antedated and influenced the Greek (Galenic) system. Most likely, this was the rootstock of the Arab world's understanding of the system, as well. I saw quite a bit about it in various Persian cookbooks I was reviewing in November for my International Cuisine class. I'll try to dig up some of those references for you over the next week or so. If any of you have one of Najmieh Batmanlij's cookbooks, check in the back...she usually has a chart or table of hot and cold foods.

Thank you for the welcome! Between working full-time, going to school full-time, studying, freelance research, parenting, and husbanding, I don't have a whole lot of free time...but I expect you'll be seeing a lot of me in several of the forums (fora?), especially those pertaining to Indian food. I've just found this site within the last few days, and have only begun to scratch the surface of what's here. As a student at a formal (and well-regarded) culinary program, though, I'm deeply impressed by the quality of information offered here at eGCI.

For North American participants in this forum, it is well scrutinizing the all-purpose flours available in your region. I live on the Canadian prairies, the very heartland of hard (high-gluten) wheat flours. The all-purpose flour I usually buy has a protein content of 12.5%, which is very much at the high end of the scale for all-purpose. In other regions, all-purpose flour can be in the 10.5% protein range, which is much less suitable for western breads but good for Indian breads. Of course, flours are not usually labelled with their gluten percentages. To calculate the percentage of protein, look at the nutritional information located on the side of many popular brands. This table will list the nutritional values of the flour based on a standard portion size; on my bag, for example, protein accounts for 4.4 grams of a 37 gram serving size. Simple math gives the percentage I'd quoted above. What I've been using in recent months is standard-issue Canadian whole-wheat flour with the larger flakes of bran sieved out; and cut half-and-half with all-purpose flour. I'd culled that idea from one or another cookbook (probably one of Madhur Jaffrey's) and it seems to work well. For anyone who hasn't made these breads before, I'll second the emphasis on observing the resting times for the doughs. Chapatti, puri, and paratha are all breads I make regularly at home; and when I've made them in a hurry (insufficient resting time) the texture is just not the same. I've found that a conventional oven can make reasonably good naan with a bit of help from a cast-iron skillet (an improvisation in my International Cuisine lab at school). Reasoning that heat from the walls of the tandoor was just as important as the hot air (conduction *and* convection), I preheated the skillet on the stovetop; patted the naan into the skillet; and then placed it in a very hot oven. It took some trial and error to find the best temperature for the skillet, but the bread was very satisfactory. This school is a great idea. I've been a dedicated home cook for 25 years or so, and I'm soon to graduate from a more conventional culinary arts program; but I love the free-wheeling atmosphere here! I'm looking forward to exploring more of these courses.