Suvir Saran

Cucumber Pachadi ( Cucumber in a flavored Yogurt Sauce ) This is also reminiscent of Southern India 2 1/4 cups plain yogurt 1 large cucumber, shredded 2 green chilies, seeded and chopped finely 12 curry leaves 2 tsp. canola 1/2 tsp. heeng (asafoetida) 1 tsp. rai (mustard seeds) 1 tsp. urad daal (white gram beans) Salt to taste Whisk the yogurt in a bowl until smooth. Add the shredded cucumber and the green chilies into the yogurt and mix well. In a small skillet, add the canola and heat over a medium flame. When oil is hot add the mustard seeds, the heeng and then the urad daal and curry leaves. Cook until the daal is golden brown in color. Pour this tempered oil over the yogurt and mix well.

Here are some of my favorite Raitas. Pachadi ( Raita, tempered yogurt sauce ) This is a raita that makes me think of Southern India. 3 cups yogurt 1 medium red onion, chopped fine 1/2 inch ginger root, chopped fine 1 green chilli (optional) or dry red chilli 2 tbsp canola oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds) 12 curry patta leaves 3 tbsp ground coconut or dry flaked coconut, optional pinch of asafoetida 1/4 teaspoon sugar Whisk the yogurt well until light and fluffy. Add salt to taste and add a pinch or two of sugar, beat to mix well. Keep aside. Heat the oil in a small pan. Put the mustard and methi seeds into the oil and cook till they begin crackling. Add the ginger, asafoetida and the red chilli if you are using it, and cook for an additional minute. Add the curry leaves, the green chillis and onions and cook for a minute more. Remove from the fire and add the coconut. Pour this tempered onion and spice mix into the yogurt and whisk to combine all the ingredients. Serve garnished with chopped coriander and some toasted cumin seed powder if desired.

What kind of Raita do you like most? Where do you find this recipe? Do you make it at home? Where is your recipe from? What kind of yogurt do you use?

Aurora, Do you mind sharing your Grandmas rice pudding recipe with all of us? It certainly sounds wonderful.

Aurora, I will PM you the recipes. Maybe you can test them for my cookbook. I should not be posting all my recipes out here. That would make my editor very unhappy. Sarson Kaa Saag is prepared similarly to any recipe you may have for Paalak Kaa Saag or simply Saag. Saag would generally mean green. But in the Indian restaurant world it is assumed to mean Spinach most often. The spinach and potato cakes are the traditional Tikkis one can find with Street Side vendors in India. These are great as vegetable burgers. More flavor and also very moist and yet cripsy on the crust. A great dinner dish and also a snack when made small. For the Pyaaz aur Tamatar Kaa Raita (Tomato and Onion Raita), I usually chop one red onion (finely diced), 2-3 medium vine ripened tomatoes (diced finely), one jalapeno (seeded and diced finely), 1 tablespoon or more to taste dried mint leaves, 1/1 teaspoon toasted cumin seed powder, pinch of freshly ground black peppercorn, 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves, pinch of red chili powder and pinch of garam masala. I mix these and then add enough whipped yogurt to make a Raita of the consistency I like. Sometime I like a very thick Raita and at other times I like it more saucy. Depends on your menu and how you want to use it. Add salt just before serving. Chill after mixing the yogurt. Toasting whole spices in cast-iron pans is best I think. I have had good success even roasting them on cookie sheets in the oven. The pans are better as you can enure even browning and be very careful to not over brown any one side. Once you have browned the seeds to that perfect color, you must quickly put them into a cold bowl or plate to cool. And grind them into a powder only after they are back at room temperature.

Do you taste as you cook? Is the tradition of not tasting foods as you cook them just a part of Indian myth today? If you do not taste as you cook, how do you make sure your food is perfectly cooked and spiced? Is there a reason why you do or do not taste food as you cook?

Maybe Dimple would be the place to take her. You can get the Dosas and Idli at Dimple... not nearly as good as at Pongal, but then you also have the much greater addition of several other foods. Your friend could then have a much larger experience of Indian dining. Anil Da... what do you think?

With regards to my father, thanks for your kind wishes. I feel melancholic and yet hopeful. It is not easy to see a man in his fifties be told he has only months to live. Indians and for that matter Hindus are immensely hopeful. And I see that part of each of my family members come to play at this crucial time. We have realized how hope can keep us dignified and help us find some sense in lifes yearning for it's own course, and in that goal, inflicting what seems painful to our nuclear family. In realizing that, each of my siblings and my mother have found some meaning for what could only be looked at as a tragedy and could kill any happiness we can share with my father as he struggles in his hope for more time with those he loves. I realize my father and my attachment to him is very limited in the larger reality of life. His happiness, suffering, life or death are insignificant in the much larger and more dynamic world. We all are reduced to nothing when we realize how grand the larger scheme of this world is. And in doing so, we also can find great hope. For then, our miseries are not great anymore. They are minute and insignificant. Maybe you can start the thread in the Indian forum. We can have others visit and put a link to it from the general board. That could work very well. It will ensure the participation of those that are intrinsically curious about India and spices, and yet be open to those that want to learn more. Being a small forum, it will not get lost quickly. In the Indian forum, your new thread will find a place of prominence, not to say that it makes the thread any lesser or better if it were placed elsewhere. Yvonne, I have stories about spices and their uses and I learned poems and riddles about spices and vegetables that I would love to share. Maybe someday I will write a book about them. They are so common to Indian homes, that friends laugh when I recite them as an adult. They are taken back to their childhood memories. We laugh as we realize that so many years later, these nursery rhymes, tales from grandma we heard as kids have so much more meaning than we would have ever ascribed to them. I look forward to your thread. I am sure we will all learn a lot from what there is available as studies on the mysterious yet meaningful world of spices and produce.

You are making the right case in my book Frankj. Indians love cooking chicken with bone in. The reason is as you suggest the cooking over a long slow fire. This helps meld the flavors and also bring out the flavor from the bones into the sauce. Testing recipes last Friday in Guilford, CT, we realized how true this is. The chicken will get over cooked in most Indian recipes. But if you try just to ensure the perfect cooking temperature for the chicken, you lose on the larger magic the dish gets from a perfect cooking of meat with sauce with time and heat. That marriage of the 4 factors makes the simple chicken curry that much more complex and subtle and sublime. Also, I remember in amazement even today how so many family members and friends would enjoy eating bones. They would eat them clean. And then our friend Michael Whiteman, he eats the bones to oblivion. So, not only do the bones add a great deal to the curry, they also add a great textural quality to a dish. In Indian cooking chefs take great pride in ensuring that every meal has many different dishes that bring to use the many different tactile qualities of human tasting. Lick, bite, rub, probe, scrape, chew, swallow, tickle, smell, knead, agitate, and regurgitate. Even today, in many Indian homes banquets are prepared to make sure one can enjoy all those possibilities. Some people enjoy tickling a food with their tongue, for that you have those mango pickles with the pith. In these piths, you often have the most finely ground spice mix stuck. With some tickling with your tongue, you can bring it out and enjoy t he most wonderful taste of a pickled spice oil. To others it is more important to be able to knead something with their tongue as they probe for finding flavor. For these people, there is guramba ( a mango chutney made with green mangoes, ripe mangoes and mango seed in the whole). These people enjoy knead the seed with their tongue and extrapolate every bit of spice and sauce that may be contained in and around the small seeds. Some like to lick and for those we have bones. They can lick and bite and savor the flavors. And so, yes bones are very critical in a good curry. Many restaurants and even most cook-books including mine that is yet to be published, have a larger repertoire of boneless recipes. That is only a matter of adaptation to an American need for that. In Indian homes, bones are loved and craved for. I am sure like with any scenario, there must be many that hate bones, but a larger group loves them and craves them.

Lime or lemon pickles have been used for a very long time in Indian food for curing stomach and other digestive ailments. Even nausea. They have the properties of citrus that help and in addition several other spices that are believed to heal- carom seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, ginger and many times several others. If you go to my web-site and study the spice section, you will find at least a few medicinal properties of spices shared there. I am in no way endorsing these as being true or scientific. On the contrary, I always tell people that they should try medicine as we know it today before trying these holistic approaches. I feel for these holistic ways to work in medical situations today, we need to have great faith and belief in their system. Or else nothing much can take place. I for one have never believed in these as more than just old wives tales. But as my family and I come to grips with my fathers poor health lately and his having to deal with mortality at a very young age due to medical reasons, I see in him a man who was so not into this way of thinking, but is now willing to listen to those he once thought of as "psychofants or even mad men". But as he deals daily with the failure of medicine in correcting what happened to him due to modern day medicine, he now is willing to give holistic approach to life and medicine a try. But as he says himself, he has little faith and may be way far in the realm of being sick to find any miracle or cure there. My reason to share this personal tragedy that I deal with daily, is to share with you how I am not endorsing anything that one has believed for millenia to be a medicinal property of a spice. But also to share with you that many do believe in it and have found reasonable strength from it. Am I a believer? Nope. But am I also simply dismissing the magic that may exist in these old tales? No! "Somewhere in the middle of each of our understanding of life, life really exists and thrives. Those that try and conform life to their own narrow paths will only find failure and anger. We are too small in the larger realm of the world. Our own miseries and worries are too trivial in the larger picture. Life has its own course to live. We can either decide to live it as it moves along or fight it and obsess endlessly about what was in the past or kill the present as we maim the future. It is our call. I choose to educate myself about the past, accept, learn, forgive and move on. Or else, I fear like many others, I would be left behind from most of lives unexpected but ample magic." And that is why, I always tell friends that are suffering or sick that they should be open to any and all forms of healing available to them. I only caution them to not be fanatic about any. I do feel medicine as a science has far greater strength than what herbs and spices may offer today. If only for one reason, that we have lost much of the wisdom that existed about these natural cures to maladies in our very science driven world today. Thus, our decisions today need to be based on reality. I put in quotation marks above that which I had written as a private note to someone. It resonated with me and has shared with me what I really believe in. It works well in this dialogue so I share it here. Suvir's Spice Page There are other far more detailed sources available for those that care to study spices in detail. My notes are only what I have learned through my conversations with elders. It is a part of the great Indian lore. But as in any culture of such ancient history, lores are often woven intricately with myth. But an Indian myth that was also used in Ancient Greece was the use of Asafoetida as a contraceptive and also for performing abortive procedures in early stages. And not only have I heard of this from Indian grandmas and midwives but also from doctors and cultural historians around the world as I travel.

What brand do you use? Do you ever make it from dessicated coconut? What recipes do you use it in? Where are these recipes from?

Oliva, How do you make your tandoori spiced roast chicken??

You are on target about the other recipes being heavier. They are made for special occasions. The recipe you gave first is what I have found used in many homes with some changes to showcase individual tastes. I love using Cornish Hens and use only Kosher or Halal meat as well. The meat is much better I feel. And yes had very little of that strong flavor that American chicken can have. I also find the Kosher chicken smaller and closer to the size we would cook in India. Do you feel the same way?

Asafetida (Heeng) A little known spice outside India, asafetida is a dried, resin like substance obtained from the rhizomes of the giant fennel. Asafetida seems to have been a much prized Roman cooking ingredient. It was imported from Persia and the juice of both stem and root was used. Has a smell like that of pickled garlic, which is caused by the sulfur compounds in the volatile oil. The taste is bitter and acrid. When fried in oil it takes the flavor of onion. It has antispasmodic properties. Used to treat hysteria, often as a sedative or in treatment of bronchitis and flatulence. I react like your husband to Asafoetida. But once in food, it makes me smile in happiness. It lends to dishes a complexity that one will never find in many foods people argue about. Spices in Indian foods are used in a manner that most cultures have never begun to experience just yet. The seeds have been sown, in centuries to follow, more chefs in the west, will come to a point where they have mastered the play of spices. It is already being tested by many chefs, and it will reach a point of worthy discussion when the testing process has moved to one of sustained understanding of the many subtle nuances of every spice that a chef has to understand. Just as for the Indian in me, I fail to grasp what is so special about a gratin, even though I love eating it every so often. Asafoetida is one such spice or ingredient. One could live without it, but to be exposed to it and understand it, elevates one to a level one would not know without correct exposure. It is one of those ingredients that make any cuisine unique and a triumph. But many would never know of these ingredients. Since they are also underexposed in cultures where they come from. Asafoetida gives dishes a complex flavoring that would go without notice to those that have not enjoyed its subtle but bold essence. It gives to dishes a garlic-onion aroma and flavor. It was used in India by vegetarians that did not eat any root vegetables to add a savory taste to foods where garlic and onions were missing. Asafoetida in a resin form has little if any smell, but when ground from that, it will make the entire kitchen get a sulphrous odor. It is supposed to have the smell of rotten eggs or fried garlic. It is thus used in very small amounts and kept in sealed containers and some like me put those containers in zip-loc bags. I use it in many of my vegetable stir-fries, it is an absolute must in most of my lentil and bean Daal recipes. I also use it for several other Indian recipes. Sometimes in larger amounts and at other times just a very small pinch. When I temper Daals I always add a pinch into the oil just as I am getting ready to finish frying the other spices. The sizzling asafoetida powder imparts a great aroma into the oil and is a perfect way of finising lentils and beans and it's medicinal properties help us in digesting beans and lentils. I reccomend using it for any and all Daal preparations you might make. It is also great used in tiny pinches with many vegetable dishes. In fact in India we make a lentil and rice preparation in which Asafoetida plays a crucial role. It is called Khitcheree. Some people add it to the tamarind and date sauce you eat in most restaurants as also in several of the street food recipes. It is also a key ingredient in many pickles and chutneys.

In the recipe for the butter chicken above, you can add a tablespoon or two of very finely chopped tender cilantro stems. You shoudl make sure you use only the very tender part of the stem, closest to the leaves. Chop these stems as finely as possible. In this recipe we use to cilantro. It is more for aesthetic reasons than anything else. But cilantro stems have a great flavor. More intense than the leaves. If you want your dish to be even more flavorful than it will already be, you can add a pinch of mace and nutmeg into the sauce as you add the cooked chicken breasts.

There are a few chicken curries I prepare on a regular basis. One is what Oliva posted already. It is the classic one prepared in many homes in the North. I only marinade the chicken for at least a half hour but other than that make it the same way. I also make an Achaari Chicken (Chicken curry made with pickling spices), a Haree Taree Waali Murghi ( Chicken cooked in a cilantro and mint sauce), a Methi Murgh ( Chicken with fenugreek leaves), Taree Waalee Bharwaan Murghi ( Stuffed Chicken Breasts in a creamy sauce), Kaju Murgh ( Chicken in a cashewnut sauce), Murgh Zaafraani (Chicken in a saffron sauce), Badaami Murgh ( Chicken in an Almond sauce), Saag waalee murghi (Chicken in a spinach sauce), Khoobani aur Aloo Bukhare Kee Murghi ( Chicken cooked in sweet and spicy curry of apricots and plums), Khade Masale Kee Murghi ( Chicken curry made with whole garam masala), Kozi Varta Chettinad (Chicken cooked Chettinad style in black peppercorns), Curry Patte Waalee Murghee ( Chicken in a coconut sauce spiced with curry leaves) and of course Butter chicken ( Chicken Tikka Masala). Then there are preparations that I make for special banquets and feasts. These are more involved and cumbersome and have very intricate steps of preparation. The recipe below is my version of the classic preparation. It is relatively easy to prepare and will win you many admirers. People seem to love this preparation and can never have enough of this dish. I also have served this sauce with boiled eggs instead of chicken and also baby new potatoes. BUTTER CHICKEN (Chicken Tikka Masala) Serves 4 MARINADE 4 garlic cloves 2 inches fresh ginger, coarsely chopped 1 small onion, coarsely chopped 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon garam masala 1/4 cup yogurt 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), cut crosswise into thirds 1 large red onion, cut into large chunks 2 1/2 to 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and cut into large chunks 4 garlic cloves 1/3 cup canola oil 1 inch cinnamon stick 1 1/2 pounds tomato, pureed in a food processor 1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 inch fresh ginger, julienned 1. For the marinade, combine the garlic, ginger, onion, cayenne and cream in a food processor and process to a puree. Toss with the chicken in a bowl and let marinate at least 1 hour, 3 to 4 hours or overnight, if you can. 2. Grind the onion with the ginger and garlic in a food processor to a puree. 3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole over medium-high heat. Add the cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the cinnamon unfurls, about 1 minute. Add the onion puree and cook, stirring, until it turns a light golden brown color, about 20 minutes. Keep a measuring cup of water by the stove etc. 4. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne and cook, stirring, 1 minute. 5. Add the tomato, give it a stir, and simmer until the oil separates, about 10 minutes. Add the cream and salt, bring it to a simmer and take the sauce off the heat. 6. Heat the oven to 350?F. Lift the chicken out of the marinade, put them in a single layer on a foil lined drip tray, cover with aluminum foil and bake until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. 7. Drop the grilled chicken into the cream sauce, bring to a simmer and serve garnished with ginger juliennes.

Chicken Tikka Masala has cream in it. And the boneless chicken fillets are first grilled in the tandoor and then immersed in the tomato-cream sauce. Maybe Vivin a frequent poster on the site can give us some feedback on this dish. His families restaurant in Delhi is considered by many to be the birthplace of butter chicken which is where Chicken Tikka Masala as we know it comes from. Or at least what chefs tell me in the US. I made some on Friday. People around the world seem to love that preparation.

Oliva thanks for the recipe. It is the quintessential chicken curry one would find in North-Indian homes and those in Pakistan. What I like especially about your version is the relative lack of spices. And also that you call for only a few tablespoons of oil. I had a similar chicken curry last week at a friend's house on the Upper West Side in NYC. They are visiting from India. Each year they spend the summer here and maintain a house for the duration. The cook prepared it and did so in your style. It was great. They love extra curry and enjoy eating it with rice. And I enjoyed doing that as well. I often will marinate the chicken in some red chili powder, salt and black peppercorn for an hour or so before adding it to the pan. But when I do not have the luxury of time, I skip this step. The marinating makes a very subtle but definite change in the end result. It adds a very subtle but apparent taste to the meat. It makes the meat even more flavorful. Maybe you should give that a try sometime and see if it works the same way for you. Are you of Pakistani lineage? I think I read you mentioning somewhere that you are from the Sub-Continent. It would be a treat for us all to learn more from you about the Pakistani preparations of meats. I firmly believe that meats are best cooked in Moslem homes. And actually my Pakistani friends have served me great meat preparations. They are infinitely more evolved in their taste. Maybe it is the people's love for meat? Maybe a long tradition of eating meats? Maybe something else? But they sure have taken the cooking of meats in the Indian tradition to a level not seen easily in other parts of India. I always yearn to learn more from people from that region. They have much to share with all of us. Are there any other curries you have enjoyed from that part of the region? Any special tricks that one should know about cooking Chicken? What type of chicken do you look for? Do you use Cornish hens at all? And again, thanks for the recipe. I will prepare it this coming week. I cannot wait to try your version. It seems wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Is there a favorite Indian Chicken Curry you have? What makes is special for you? Where do you find it? Do you cook it at home ever? Where did you get the recipe from?

It was Tokay Pinot Gris and it really is a great match with most foods I make in my parties. I need to go get more.

Hard Lemonade is a great drink to serve with Indian food. Also one that several Indian friends of mine love. The younger crowd for the most part is happy with it.

At Pondicherry we served Vouvray and it was great with Indian food. Alsacian wines are excellent with Indian food. I have misplaced my notes on this one wine that I really liked paired with Indian food. It was some kind of a Tokay ??? Maybe someone else would know what I am speaking about. It was excellent. I will see if I can get my notes and give you the name. Beachfans list sounds promising. I have never heard friends complain about wine and Indian food these days. I think the trick is to suggest those that pair well. You will be happy to know even wine-snobs friends of mine are excited with a successful pairing.

Johns wine recommendations sounds good. Beer is always excellent. I am not a beer drinker but Love Belgian Beers.

I meant different regions of India. I wrote world. Sorry!

Vivin ask for Sanjay Bhatnagar when you call and make a reservation. Tell him I mentioned the Thali he served me this last Sunday. Do tell him you would love a meal that has different dishes from different parts of the world. I think he made the Thali for me and my guest. But he would do that for you if you ask. And yes I am curious to know the London option. Would make for a nice trip.