Jenni
-
Posts
1,040 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by Jenni
-
-
Can you take pics and post them please? Sounds fun...
-
I suppose it could easily be me and not the salt!
Just to provide all the information, in the UK we always bought crystal form sea salt or rock salt. Nothing posh, but always nice natural crystals, not iodised and finely ground table salt mixed with substances to keep it free-flowing.
But here in India the most common salt in the shop is something like Tata iodised salt. For a while I bought that, until I realised how stupid I had been and started buying sendha namak (as I mentioned above it is pure rock salt used on fasting days). The first time I opened a bag of the Tata salt, I thought something was wrong. It smelt...metal-y. But in food it was fine, unless I sprinkled some on top and forgot to mix, and then I got a little bit of a very subtle tang when I tasted it, that seemed different to me.
More than one packet (from different shops and at different times) all had that strange metal-y smell so I stopped worrying that there was something wrong with it and assumed it was just how iodised salt is. Clearly I am wrong! Anyway, I'm happy with the salt I have now, and sorry if I am incorrect that there is actually a different smell - its just seems that way to me!
-
Surely we can say one thing - iodised table salt DOES taste different from rock and sea salt. For me, even the smell of the iodised stuff is off-putting. Other than that, I am not sure if I would be able to taste fine differences between lots of different kinds of salt, mostly because I have not yet tried many. Certainly sendha namak, which is the natural rock salt sold in India that people use on fasting days (and that I use 100% of the time because I cannot get sea salt in this town - though I do have a small stash my Mum brought over - and as mentioned I hate the iodised stuff) tastes less salty to me than sea salt does.
-
its not really chocolate, ill admit that. but when I was a kid it was a great combo!
-
Chocolate can work with yoghurt, imo. I used to like nutella mixed in to Greek yoghurt...
-
It's really more purple-y than black. Strong sulfur-y smell and taste, but I don't mean that in a bad way
Ok, maybe that is a hard concept for some to digest! 
-
There's one salt that is definitely different...black salt (kala namak). In a blind taste test, you would not even need to taste, your nose alone would tell you all you needed to know! Love the stuff...
Yes indeed. Without opening the jar, from across the room. Cant agree on the love part, but then I didnt grow up with it.
Its considerably not pure NaCl, of course.It can definitely be, shall we say...unexpected, for the uninitiated. But honestly, it makes the taste in so many things. And the taste of just a little in sugarcane or fresh fruit juice, or sprinkled atop plain dahi, or used in combination with chilli and black pepper in a simple raita...so good.
-
There's one salt that is definitely different...black salt (kala namak). In a blind taste test, you would not even need to taste, your nose alone would tell you all you needed to know! Love the stuff...
-
I miss puffed rice. My grandmother used to purchase large bags of them. She'll put some in a bowl with toasted sesame, a pinch of salt, some cilantro and then add hot tea. I was a great snack. I am not sure why but I think the ones she got was cooked in sand.
This sounds interesting and I would like to try. What kind of tea? Also, can you give a rough ratio of rice to tea?
-
I don't know if there is danger in having sharp particles in you digestive system.
dcarch
Not sure, but my Mum has memories of going to watch speedway when she was younger, and seeing Hells Angels in the pub at night eating beer bottles for fun...
-
I have no qualifications that mean that anyone should listen to me, but...
...I heard that chillies were one of those things like garlic that are a great carrier of botulism spores. And as we've discussed before, you'd have to pressure can to get the chillies themselves up to high enough heat to destroy these (have I got the science right here?). So, please be careful people. Treating the chillies with acid before putting them in the oil (the oil makes an anaerobic environment that is perfect for botulism spores to get going) sounds like a good idea. When I make chilli pickle (Desi style - lots of oil), I heat the chillies up in lemon juice first. I think commercial products of many kinds often have citric acid in them to create an acidic envrionment.
I am also sure that I recall there are some places where bottles of chilli oil on the table are not allowed, for health reasons related to botulism. I may have this completely wrong though.
-
I will not use any sand.
Sand is almost like glass and may have very sharp edges. There may be many other impurities as well. Microscopic sand particles can cause cancer in your lungs (silicosis).
Meh. It's a pretty traditional method that has been used for quite a while now. If it was hugely contributing to cancer, then I would have thought there would be high levels of lung cancer that someone might look into and find the link? I could easily be wrong, I am no scientist. And traditional does not equal automatically good for you, it is true.
And of course, everyone is welcome to consume what they wish, so it's up to you if you'd like to use a different method. I was merely sharing about how puffing is done here
-
No beach near me! The tela-wale who sell this particular snack probably nick it from a building site or something
-
Honestly, save yourself some oil and try the sand method! Actually this is a genuine request as I have always wanted to have a go at it but don't know where to get the sand...
-
Here I think the rice is puffed raw. Certainly it looks raw.
-
Here in India rice is puffed by putting it in a karahi with very hot sand. It is stirred around until it puffs and is then strained. On the street you can get freshly puffed mixtures of peas and grains of all kinds. It is weighed out according to how much you want to spend, then puffed. Afterwards a common dressing is with some chopped onion, chopped chilli and chopped coriander, plus some spices, salt and mustard oil. Really delicious.
-
Oops, sorry, the thread fell off the recent threads pages!
The polenta I have eaten was either solid enough to cut and fry or soft and moist. I would say that the soft and moist kind of polenta I have eaten is looser than mor kali. It may help you to see some pics here. See, it's kind of moist but dense.
-
It looks a bit coarser than how I usually do mine but I have seen this coarseness before. All the above recipes would work fine. I feel uncertain how well it would work for dosa and idli in terms of getting an end result that would be to my taste, but that is purely because I have never made idli and dosa from rava - only from whole rice.
Anyway, inspired by this thread I made mor kali today for the first time in ages. I took 1 cup rice (I used sona masoori), washed it, dried it off and ground it in my mixie to a rawa consistency that was finer than in your picture but not like flour. Then I mixed it with buttermilk and salt to taste. I admit to buying buttermilk because I did not have enough cream collected yet to churn butter today. I don't know if you can buy buttermilk where you are. If not, then dilute yoghurt with water. I bought a 500ml pack of buttermilk and then I also added a little homemade yoghurt mixed with water as it didn't quite seem enough. Then I heated sesame oil (the non toasted kind - available in South Asian stores)in a pan. To this I added a teaspoon each of channa and urad dal. After a few moments when they started to colour I added 1 tsp black mustard seeds, 2 torn up curd chillies (green chillies that are soaked in salted yoghurt for several days and then sun dried - they are amazing) and some hing. When the seeds popped I added a few curry leaves, followed by 5 minced green chillies and about 1 tsp minced ginger. I do not always add the latter two and I think that there use is perhaps not completely traditional. I just like the taste
After a few moments of stirring I added the rawa-buttermilk mixture. I stirred constantly as it came to a simmer, then let it cook, stirring often until it thickened considerably into a mass and was cooked. You can tell because it sort of changes colour and looks...er...cooked! Then I threw in some chopped fresh coriander because I like that, but again I'm not sure it's totally traditionally. You can either spread it in a tray, cool it and cut into squares or spoon it out straight away and eat it hot/warm as you would upma. I love it with lime or mango pickle.I really like this dish as it is very low effort and has a tangy taste and comforting texture. However, I don't make it that often as, especially the way I like to eat it just with pickle on the side, it is kind of a less nutritious brekkie/snack than other items I usually make as it has no veg in it at all. Still, really tasty!
-
Hi Mjx, there are many things you can make from idli rava. Actually I have never bought the stuff, preferring to grind it at home in the mixie if I should need it. And for idli, I prefer the traditional way from whole rice soaked overnight and wet ground - I feel it has a different texture. Also, if you do decide to make idli please know that it is steamed and your æbleskiver pan will not be helpful. However, with that pan you can make these and they are awesome so you should look in to that
One simple thing you can try is arisi upma. This is upma made from rice rava rather than the normal semolina. The version of this I usually make is from raw rice and also some toor dal which you grind into rawa yourself, but I see no reason you could not just make the ordinary upma and proceed as normal. I would suggest you google upma and you will find lots of recipes.
From arisi upma you can also make upma kozhukattai. The upma is prepared up to the point that the rawa mixture is partially cooked and sort of in a solid mass. Then you form balls or slightly cylindrical shapes and steam. Pidi kozhukattai is a very similar dish. Another similar dish is undi.
Then there's mor kali, which is kind of like a moister upma made with buttermilk (the Indian kind made when cream is churned into butter - you can sub diluted yoghurt). This is really good.
Another thing you could try is rice rawa pongal. Pongal is a dish of rice and dal with lots of ghee, it is very tasty. A variation of this is rawa pongal which is made from semolina instead of rice and is also good. So you could take it full circle and make rawa pongal, but with rice rawa instead of the normal kind!
Also I know some people make dosa from idli rawa. Personally, I have not and feel unsure if the texture would be quite right and would prefer to start off with the whole rice. But still, enough people do it successfully that I guess it works ok.
Of course, all this relies on you being ok with South Indian recipes! As for other cuisines, I am sure there are many uses that people will come up with for you. Out of curiousity, how coarse is your rawa?
-
Can you talk more about the veg on offer. Are any Caribbean and South Asian vegetables offered? Would be interested to know as the Tescos close to my family in the UK used to do an ok range but has gone down hill and it is now a pain to go and get such things from way into town.
-
Oh btw, a good reason to test yeast: A few weeks ago my friend finally searched out some yeast from a local shop and tried making donuts. Well, the yeast was very much dead and the donuts were flat and horrible! It was her first time making them and she was really disappointed. I think if she had a bit more knowledge she would have seen signs that something was wrong, but she is not an experienced cook so she kept on making them thinking that they might work. It was bad for all of her friends too as we had to politely nibble on one each to show willing to support her!
-
Like I say, I have only been once. I wouldn't want people to take my experience as the absolute final word. I will also note that I have persistantly been disappointed with higher end Indian restaurants in India. The service and setting are usually fabulous, but the food often leaves something to be desired. It's like they very subtly alter traditional recipes in some way. Maybe it's just a "style" that comes with the high end territory.
-
Weinoo, so you don't need to do it to fresh yeast? My Dad uses fresh yeast and dried yeast, and I'm pretty sure he proofs both. Maybe just habit though.
No, definitely not - according to the same source. Also, according to KA, it doesn't last more than a week or two in the fridge.
Thanks for that - I think I must have missed when he is using fresh and when he is using dried. And yes, he buys it and uses it very quickly as it doesn't last too long.
-
I look forward to hearing what dishes you had.
My one and only meal at Quilon was a great disappointment. We went for my birthday at great expense (train tickets, hotel, not to mention the meal itself) because I spent a few months in Kerala and really love the food from that part of the country. The service was excellent, the setting beautiful, but the food left a lot to be desired. For me it was nothing like the food I ate in Kerala, or the Keralite food I prepare at home. Some of the dishes seemed more like bland versions of standard North Indian takeaway food. The worst bit was the payasam (like rice pudding) at the end, which they had chucked a tonne of cold raw fruit on top of! Also, the filter coffee which was so limp as to make any sensible South Indian weep.
However, I fully appreciate that we may just have been unlucky, as the place certainly has a lot of fans. In addition, we only had vegetarian food and I have heard a lot of people talk about the seafood, so the non-veg preps may be better. I will give it to them that their appams were rather good.
Making mozzarella @ home
in Cooking
Posted · Edited by Jenni (log)
Steven, my internet connection is very slow today so i cannot watch the vid. Did you press the curds under weight? When paneer is made, the curds are separated from the whey and then if a firm cheese is required, it is tied up in cloth and pressed under a weight for a while (from 20 minutes to several hours). This presses the liquid out.
I'm also intrigued - why did you add water to the citric acid? When I curdle milk for cheese I simply bring the milk to the boil, turn the heat down to ultra low and then add lemon juice, or actually more commonly I add slightly soured yoghurt. In addition, if you are using an acid, why is rennet also required? This is just a question out of curiousity, I do not claim to know anything at all! I have never made mozzarella but this looks very interesting.