Radhuni

[Edward]

It appears as though there are a few Bengali cooks on here. I recently got a fresh batch of radhuni seeds and am looking for new ideas for their use. Besides their use in panch phoron and maybe in a dish like lau shokto what do you do with them? Any vegetable you think they go especially well with. What about ground radhuni?

[mongo_jones]

no idea. i've never seen them as a separate spice and it isn't used as such in my family. but that means little. it is related to and tastes like ajwain so probably you could use it as you would ajwain.

v.gautam would probably be your best bet for more specific information. but he hasn't been around for a while.

[bong]

I have never heard or seen it being used in ground form. I have only seen it used as part of some variants of paanch-phoron and then used for cooking as you've mentioned.

[Edward]

I have never heard or seen it being used in ground form. I have only seen it used as part of some variants of paanch-phoron and then used for cooking as you've mentioned.

I think I read somewhere, I can't remember where, that Bangaladeshis use it in a ground form with a certain fish and refer to the ground paste as chandani because it supposedly smells and looks like chandan paste. Who knows?

[bague25]

What is Radhuni? Can you give a link or an English name please? Thanks

[Edward]

What is Radhuni? Can you give a link or an English name please? Thanks

Radhuni really has no English name. It is a variety of celery seed, but not the same as the usual celery seed grown in the Punjab for export worldwide and known in Hindi as ajmud. I think it's Latin name is apium graveoleons dulce.

It's like a cross between celery seed and ajwain. It has a celery flavor, but also an herbal thyme -like quality. It is slightly bitter and slightly sweet.

[v. gautam]

Concur with Mongo and Bong: only time I have come across radhuni is in panch phoron. However, roasted and ground panch phoron is the indispensable final touch in both West Bengal shukto and "chutney". If you like, i could send you or post [be warned!! smile] a general outline of what "chutney' means in Bengali foodways; interesting and quite distinct from other indian foodways, it signals the end of a meal and is a prelude to dessert.

Regards.

[Edward]

I'm pretty clear on the meaning and order of serving the chatni in Bengali cooking, but would not mind hearing more. Some recipes would be great too.

One thing that I have never been totally clear on though is the differences between chatni and ambal in respect to their preparation and order of serving. Can you elaborate? Would love it. Thanks

Edited February 14, 2004 by Edward (log)

[bong]

One thing that I have never been totally clear on though is the differences between chatni and ambal in respect to their preparation and order of serving. Can you elaborate? Would love it.

One difference is chatni is almost always made with fruits. Whereas ambal can be made with other stuff, usually fish or sometimes "bora" (deep fried lentil paste balls). Ambal is also not as tart or as sweet as a chatni.

As far as the serving order goes, as far as I know, ambal is served more towards the begining of the meal. I guess the purpose would be to cleanse your palate.

Speaking of ambal, I have never actually made it myself. I should probably try it one of these days...

Anyway, to get back to Radhuni -- I should mention that here in the USA, I have actually never seen radhuni available in an Indian Store -- the paanch-phoron like thing you get here usually has fenugreek instead of Radhuni.

[Edward]

I buy my radhuni at Meghna, a Bangladeshi market in NY. It's in Jackson Heights. Some of the other Bengali stores there also have it sometimes, but Meghna always does. It is of very good quality and always fresh. A dear friend's mother has brought some from Kolkata for me on occasion, but it is usually not as nice as what I get when I go to NY.

Thanks for the info on ambal.

Edited February 25, 2004 by Edward (log)

[v. gautam]

Edward Feb13, 2004 : “I'm pretty clear on the meaning and order of serving the chatni in Bengali cooking, but would not mind hearing more. Some recipes would be great too.

One thing that I have never been totally clear on though is the differences between chatni and ambal in respect to their preparation and order of serving. Can you elaborate? Would love it.”

Edward,

As mentioned in the post on cold soups, green mango and dry zizyphus ambal are generally served at the end of a meal in the families I know. An ambal is much thinner than a chatni, and is not finished off with the roasted, powdered panchphoron/cumin, as far as I know, and they are not generally served with papads, nor at formal meals such as weddings or feasts where a chatni is a must, before dessert.

Would like to venture a recipe for a Bengali tomato chutney, that provides the basic outlines of chutneys from West Bengal Rarhi and DaksinatyaVaidika foodways.

The proportions are vague, because I feel embarrassed to include the amount of sweeteners used in this sugar-sweet cuisine. Note too that a chutney is a bit of a luxury food, not an everyday item, and is meant to be eaten almost as dessert at the end of a meal along with some toasted /fried plain papads, plus a good squeeze of lime juice.

[a note on mustard oil: I use Korean + Indian mustard oils sold n the US. The latter possess the requisite viscosity and mouth feel; the Korean adds flavor/pungency. Or, use vegetable oil, and after it has heated up, put in about a teaspoonful or two of the Korean and immediately throw in the panch phoron. The bitter quality afforded by the inclusion of Fenugreek seeds is very much a part of the taste. Also note that panch phoron is allowed to sizzle/temper very briefly, in order to avoid burning.]

Ingredients:

Tomatoes washed and quartered if of modest size, coarsely chopped if very large: 4-6lbs; [the large varieties may sometimes be seedy, and low in solids and acids: average 4-5% solids; grape/plum/cherry tomatoes 6-9%.]

[other ingredients can be added to the tomatoes, but do that the next time if you should like the flavors of this style of cooking: amsattva or aam papad [mango leather], dried sour plum[alu bukhara, not dried prunes], dried apricots, dates etc.]

Fresh ginger, grated very coarsely or julienned, 1-2 Tb, or according to taste; place on tomatoes

a) Phoron: initial whole spices to be sizzled in hot oil: 1tsp panch phoron + 1 dry red left whole [the medium-long sort from India]

b) Plus 2tsp panch phoron gently toasted & powdered for the last touch

Salt to taste : ½ tsp? Or more to taste

Sugar 2-3+ cups; use your own discretion; the aim is to create a runny syrup relatively quickly, within 1/2hr-45 min, before the tomatoes/ginger begin to smell overcooked—herein lies the delicate art of Bengali cooking, this is something which requires a light touch and mindfulness so as to give the correct taste/texture. Sadly, the smell/textures/visual cues cannot be adequately conveyed through writing]

Lime: 1-2

Method:

In a heavy-bottomed non-reactive pot, add 1tb vegetable oil; heat till it shimmers; tilt so that oil pools and spices can ‘swim’ to best release their flavor [a heavy-bottomed non-reactive wok is ideal, as it minimizes the amount of oil needed for the spices to take their ‘swim’in] add 1-2 tsp Korean mustard oil, followed by dry chili pepper; as soon as it puffs up and begins to turn brown add 1tsp whole panch phoron , fry 10-20 seconds until just fragrant, add tomatoes, ginger and salt; stir, cover briefly, cook on moderately high heat, until juice begins to exude,

Uncover, stir, breaking up tomatoes. Add sugar, cook at low/moderate boil until the thin juice changes to a thin, fairly transparent, red tomatoey syrup [note that it will thicken a bit on cooling but remain relatively runny, much thinner than ketchup, a little thinner than maple syrup]; the skins will have come off and curled into little twirls.

Add more sugar at your discretion, depending on what else has been added to tomatoes: e.g. dates, mango leather, apricots [Chutney should be a bit over-sweetened because the the finishing touch of lime juice will balance out the taste]. Should finish cooking in about an hour-regulate your heat/sugar accordingly; do not cook too long: although the tomatoes should disintegrate, lumpy masses will remain.These and the skin provide a textural element.

Let cool, but while still warm stir in toasted powdered panch phoron starting with ½ tsp, and going up according to your taste. Then add the juice of a fresh squeezed lime, mix well. These two provide the essential ‘Bengali’ touch, and will temper the sweetness. You could also adjust salt according to your taste.

Serve at room temperature, chilled, or slightly warm. [With plain papads!!!!, toasted or fried]

Will keep 5 days in refrigerator.

Same method for:

green mangoes, sliced with skin on, no ginger

pineapple, preferably no ginger

papaya, green, using amada or mango-ginger, Curcuma amada.

Peaches, fresh or canned [use ginger if you wish]

Canned fruit cocktail, an innovation that is a boon to hosts in the US!!!