Cilantro/Coriander leaves/Dhaniya in Indian Cooking

[Suvir Saran]

What role do they play in your Indian kitchen?

Do you use it in other dishes you prepare? Maybe even outside of the Indian food realm.

Do you find it easy to find Cilantro?

What parts of cilantro do you use?

How do you keep it fresh?

[rozrapp]

While I do not do any Indian cooking, I always have cilantro in my fridge. I know there are many people who detest the taste of cilantro -- I have heard them say that it tastes "soapy" -- but I really love it. On my palate, it has a unique flavor, fresh and zingy. I use it in any number of dishes; for example, I incorporate it into certain bean salads; I sprinkle it on chili; and I use it as a garnish for baba ghanoush. I mainly use the leaves. While there may have been a time when it was difficult to find in my area of NJ, and only one specialty food market -- Delicious Orchards -- carried it, now it is in just about every supermarket. But I still prefer to buy it at DO because it is always freshest and cheapest there. I keep it wrapped in plastic in the fridge.

[Suvir Saran]

I incorporate it into certain bean salads; I sprinkle it on chili; and I use it as a garnish for baba ghanoush.  I mainly use the leaves.

I do the same... it really adds great zing to these dishes.

[nerissa]

For indian dishes, I throw it in the end. I love the leaves and coriander seeds. My mother went through a phrase in the 80s of serving it in her tomato sauce for pasta.

To keep it fresh, you can wash it and put in in an empty yogurt container/jar in the fridge under a plastic bag--sort of maintains a biosphere. I have found to keep any herb fresh, its best to wash it and then make sure it is dry.

[Simon Majumdar]

As leaves they are best kept to the end of cooking as they lose their flavour quickly.

In Non indian cooking ( Moroccan is a good eg, )I like to saute them with lemon rind and pour over a Tagine like a tarka

They also make an interesting tea with ginger root

S

Edited March 2, 2003 by Simon Majumdar (log)

[Suvir Saran]

As leaves they are best kept to the end of cooking as they lose their flavour quickly.

In Non indian cooking ( Moroccan is a good eg, )I like to saute them with lemon rind and pour over a Tagine like a tarka

They also make an interesting tea with ginger root

S

How do you make this tea?

[prasad2]

I like my cilantro in chutneys, some kababs and as perfect garnish as a whole sprig or fine chopped and throw it around the rim of the plate. In think their tender stem has more flavor and taste than the actual leaf.

P2

[indiagirl]

For the longest time, I fought a terrible battle against wanting to garnish everything I cooked with fresh cilantro. With the exception of some Italian pasta sauces (very few) and dessert, I could not think of anything that would not be improved by the addition of cilantro.

Now, I have grown and matured, and developed some restraint!

:)

I use it now in typical Indian ways, in tarkas, chutneys and as a garnish. On Thai food, on cheese and crackers with a wee bit of tamarind sauce, on mexican food, in empanadas. I sometimes sprinkle it on my potato chips which I use in lieu of papads, especially with bisi beli bhaath.

:)

The seeds I used to flavor rasams and dals, sometimes pilafs.

I wash the stems when I buy the bunch and then I leave the roots on and put the whole bunch in a big coffee mug filled with water. Mostly, I just toss it in the chiller drawer because I go through it faster than it perishes.

I use the stems and leaves, like p2

[birder53]

I love cilantro! I've never cooked any Indian dishes, but use it with Mexican/soutwestern and Thai dishes. "Hot Barbeque", our favorite summer grill bible uses it in most of their recipes. I use the leaves and the stems.