Toor dal or Thuvaram paruppu is the most popular and widely used lentil in India. This highly digestible South Indian staple has a thick gelatinous, meaty consistency. Toor dal looks very much like Chana dal but it is smaller. It has a mild and nutty flavour. With its skin on, it is greenish-brown in colour and without its skin, it is yellow.
Toor dal is usually sold and cooked skinned and split. Sometimes it is sold with an oily coating, which should be rinsed off before cooking. It takes a little longer to cook than masoor dal. Toor dal is often used in sambar, cooked as a side dish or ground into flour.
Lately, I have been craving for mutton briyani. Finally, found my way to cook it, after such a long time. I thought of cooking sambar to accompany the briyani. While preparing the ingredients, suddenly something struck me. Hey, why don't I cook both the briyani and sambar together as one meal???
Mutton and Toor Dal Briyani
What do we need:
2 cups basmati rice
1/2 kg mutton, cubed
1/4 cup toor dal
1 carrot
1 onion
1" ginger
1 bulb garlic
2 green chillies
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch mint leaves
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup milk
2 cups water
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp oil
1 bay leave
1 star anise
4 cloves
a pinch of saffron
2 tbsp cashew nuts, halved
2 tbsp sultanas
2 tbsp fried onion crisps
salt to taste
To grind:
2 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp fennel
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp poppy seed
1 tsp black pepper corns
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
3 cardamoms
3 dried chillies
How do we do it:
Marinade the mutton with half of the yoghurt, turmeric powder and salt. Set aside, preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
Soak the toor dal. Wash and soak the rice. Then, drain the water and set aside.
Soak the saffron strands in the milk. Set aside.
Dry fry the spices to be ground and grind them into powder form.
Thinly slice the onion. Half the chilli lengthwise. Grind the ginger and garlic into paste.
Heat the ghee. Fry the cashew nuts and sultanas. Set aside.
Add oil to the remaining ghee. Fry star anise, bay leaf and cloves. Add ginger and garlic paste. Then, onion and chilli. Sautè until aromatic. Add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes turn pulpy, put in the marinated mutton. Add the ground spices, the remaining yoghurt and lime juice. Cook until the mutton is half cooked. Then, add the soaked toor dal. Cook until the mutton is well cooked. Then, put the rice and milk in. Sprinkle the chopped mint and coriander leaves. Season with salt. Cook until rice is fluffy and does not stick together.
Finally, sprinkle the fried cashew nuts, sultanas and the onion crisps. Serve hot.
This is the end product. It was wonderful. As usual, I cooked the biryani directly in rice cooker. I made sure that the toor dal does not over cook and becomes soggy. It was crunchy and just perfect. I am submitting it to JFI-Toor Dal event.
Ginger is one of the most widespread culinary spices. It is also among the most important and valued spices. No one is sure how old ginger is but it is believed to be cultivated for more than 3000 years. Ginger seems to originate from Southern China. Today, it is cultivated all over tropic and subtropical Asia.
This noble condiment comes from a perennial creeping herbaceous plant that produces an erect stem of 30 to 100 cm in height. The stem is surrounded by the sheathing bases of the bright green lance-shaped two-ranked leaves of 15 to 20 cm long, with a prominent longitudinal rib, enclosing conical clusters of a small club-like spike of yellow-green purple-lipped flowers. The gnarled, bumpy root of the ginger plant is the source of this wonderful spice. Although often called “ginger root”, it is actually a rhizome. Rhizomes are knobby thick tuberous underground stems that have pungent and flavourful flesh. The large thick scaly ginger rhizome has a characteristic stag horn-like appearance. It branches with thick thumb-like protrusions, thus individual divisions of the rhizome are known as "hands".
Fresh ginger is available in two forms; young and mature. Young ginger, also known as spring ginger, has a pale, thin skin that does not require peeling. It is very tender and has a milder flavour than its mature form. Mature ginger has a tough tan to brown skin that has to be carefully peeled away to preserve the delicate flesh just beneath it. The flesh ranges from pale greenish yellow to ivory in colour. Ginger has a slightly biting and hot note along with peppery and slightly sweet flavour. Its aroma is rich, sweet, warm, pungent, spicy and woody. Whole raw ginger is generally referred to as fresh ginger. It provides the freshest taste. Ginger also comes in dried form. It is sold either ‘black’ with the skin left on, or ‘white’ with the skin peeled off. The dried ginger is available whole or sliced. Powdered ginger is the buff-coloured ground dried ginger. It has fiery and pungent flavour and has warm, sweet and pungent aroma.
When buying fresh ginger, look for mature plump rhizomes with smooth skin that are not wrinkled. Wrinkled skin indicates that the root is dry and past its prime. It should have a fresh and spicy fragrance. Tightly wrapped fresh unpeeled ginger could be refrigerated in the crisper for up to 3 weeks and frozen for up to 6 months. Dried and powdered ginger must be stored in airtight containers.
Ginger is truly a world domestic remedy. It is most commonly known for its effectiveness as a digestive aid. Ginger has been used in Asia for thousands of years for relief from arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscle spasms, catarrh, congestion, coughs, sinusitis, sore throats, diarrhea, colic, cramps, indigestion, loss of appetite, motion sickness, fever, flu, chills, and infectious disease. Its therapeutic properties effectively stimulate circulation of the blood, removing toxins from the body, cleansing the bowels and kidneys, and nourishing the skin. Ginger is also used to treat nausea related to both motion sickness and morning sickness. Other uses for ginger include the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems by loosening and expelling phlegm from the lungs.
Ginger is extremely versatile. It could be used in any type of food. Ginger is used as a spice throughout the world. In Asian cooking, ginger is almost always used fresh. In savoury dishes, it pairs beautifully with garlic. Dried ginger should be ‘bruised’ by beating it to open the fibres, and then infused in the cooking.
Ginger is my staple spice without which I can never even imagine of cooking. As my entry for the Think Spice Event, I have made one of my favourite Malaysian desserts. This dessert is apt for the climate as it is now continuously snowing in Bern. Originaly this dessert does not call for ginger but I have incorporated it to enhance the taste. I have used both fresh and dried ginger. Actually, both have noticeably different flavours. Therefore, I have used them together in the same dish for a layered flavour.
Gingery Mung Bean Dessert
What do we need:
1/2 cup mung beans
2 cups water
1 cup milk or coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar (or more if desired)
1/4 cup sago
1/2 inch knob ginger, sliced
1/2 tsp ginger powder
2 screw pine leaves, knotted
salt
How do we do it:
Soak the mung beans for about 2 hours and drain.
Combine mung beans, knotted screw pine leaves, ginger and water. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes. Gradually stir in the sago and cook until it is transparent.
Add sugar, salt, ginger powder and milk. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until the beans are soft and the liquid has reduced to half. Remove from heat.
Serve Gingery Mung Bean Dessert warm. The ginger gives a delicate warm flavour to it.
Also check out an amazingly aromatic Ginger Rice.
Wishing Hindus Throughout The World A Very Happy & Prosperous Deepavali
Saffron, the world's most precious spice, has been treasured from the remotest times. It is native to Near East and believed to be first appeared in Crete. Saffron has been cultivated for thousands of years.
The small fall-flowering crocus grows well in warm climates. It has thin long leaves and ornamental fragrant deep lavender, purple-veined flowers These flowers bloom for only two or three weeks in autumn. The flower contains three precious protruding yellow-orange to scarlet stigmas and adjacent part of the style yield the saffron. The intensive colour is caused by pigments of carotenoid type. These must be carefully hand-picked and then dried. Saffron is strongly perfumed, with very intensive earthy fragrant, reminiscent to iodoform but much more pleasant honey aroma. It has a unique pungent, slightly bitter-honey taste.
When I was pregnant, I used to drink milk with saffron. Its just incredible how only a tiny little pinch of saffron could transform the milk into a heavenly tasting beverage. I thought why not turn this concoction from something that I could drink to something that I could eat. Thus, came up with this.......
Saffron Milk Jelly
What do we need:
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp agar-agar powder
a generous pinch of saffron
How do we do it:
Mix saffron and milk. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the saffron to steep.
Combine agar-agar powder, sugar and water and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolve. Pour in milk together with the saffron strands. Bring to a boil.
Pour the jelly mixture into a mould or little moulds. Chill the jelly until well set.
To ease unmoulding of the jelly, ensure that the moulds are wet before pouring the jelly mixture.
The Saffron Milk Jelly was lovely. Hubby′s verdict: "Sehr gut!", which means "very good". This is what I am going to submit for the Think Spice event at Sunita′s World.
Peaches have been grown since prehistoric times. Native to China, peaches are considered a symbol of long life and immortality. They are found in paintings, the decoration of porcelain, and poetry. Peach seeds were carried all over the world. As they grow best in warm temperate and subtropical regions, they were grown in Persia before being transported to Europe, hence its ancient appellation, Persian apple. The Romans thought that they originated from Persia and gave the botanical name prunus persica.
A peach tree may grow up to 30 feet tall and can live for 40 years. Belonging to the rose family, it is a low spreading freely branching tree that has lanceolate leaves and sessile pink flowers. The fruit is a delicately fragrant edible drupe. On one side of the fruit is a distinctive vertical indentation. The thin, velvety, fuzzy skin of the peach can range from pink-blushed creamy-white to red-blushed yellow. Beneath is a pulpy pinkish-white to yellow-gold flesh that is juicy with acidic tang coupled with sweetness. In the centre of the fruit is a hard stone that is covered with a fleshy substance that is juicy, melting, and of fine flavour when matured and mellowed.
There are hundreds of varieties that vary greatly in colour and flavour. The nectarine, which looks very much similar to the peach, is actually a variety of peach. The texture of the skin is the one that differentiates them. Peach has fuzzy and dull skin, while nectarine is smooth and shiny. Generally, peach is classified into two major types; freestone and clingstone. The pit or stone of the freestone peach separates easily away from the flesh. This type is more commonly found in markets. The pit in the clingstone peach adheres firmly to the fruit. This type of peach has firmer flesh and is widely used for commercial purposes such as tinned peaches. There is also some semi-freestone peach which is in between the other two types.
Though peach is available almost year-round, it is best and cheapest in the summer while the peach season is at its peak from June until the end of September. Peach is harvested when it is firm, mature, and have just enough sweetness. As it ripens, it becomes sweet, juicy and delicious with a sweet fragrance. Choose for intensely fragrant fruit that gives slightly to palm pressure. Select for peach that is colourful. Peach should be thoroughly perused for soft spots as it bruises easily. Also avoid those with signs of greening. To ripen unripe peach, simply place it in a pierced brown bag at room temperature for a day or so until it becomes softer. Adding an apple to the bag will speed up the ripening process. Ripe peaches could be refrigerated in a plastic bag for up to five to six days. Bring to room temperature before consuming.
After harvest, commercially grown peaches are mechanically brushed to de-fuzz the skin. This is because most people do not like it. It is also the reason why the skin is often peeled before eating. To do this, just blanch it in boiling water for a few seconds, then plunge into cold water until it is cool enough to handle. The skin will slip right off. The pit can be easily removed by slicing from top to bottom and giving a slight twist.
The peach is a good source of both vitamins A and C. It is fat-free, sodium-free and cholesterol-free. It can be used in various ways. Peaches are tinned in sugar syrup as slices or halves, poached, dried, cooked, baked, frozen, juiced, made into jam or eaten as it is. It could also be distilled in brandy and liqueurs. The Chinese preserve peaches. As an entry for A Fruit A Month event, I have used peach as a main ingredient to marinade chicken.
Peach Chicken
What do we need:
4 chicken thighs
2 skinned fresh peaches or 4 pieces tinned peach halves
1 inch knob ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp chilli powder (or more)
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp tomatoe paste
1 tbsp honey (omit if using tinned peaches)
1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
salt
How do we do it:
Wash and pat dry the chicken thighs with paper towels. Make 2 or 3 slits lengthwise on them. Place the thighs in a zip-loc bag.
Peach based marinade
In a food processor, process all the marinade ingredients until fine. Pour marinade into the zip-loc bag, over the chicken. Shake well to coat the chicken. Refrigerate for several hours or preferably overnight.
Line a baking tray with aluminium foil to ease washing process. Arrange the chicken thighs on it. Roast in preheated oven at 250°C for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over halfway through the cooking time and baste with some marinade. Turn the chicken back to its original position, baste again with some marinade if necessary and continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until evenly browned.
Serve immediately while it is still hot.
While roasting, the sweet aroma of peach was lingering throughout my kitchen. The chicken tastes very fruity.
Also check out a lovely Peach Butter Cake that also uses peach as main ingredient.
It is my sister’s birthday today. Though Suganthi is her name, I call her Chikie and she calls me Chumie. Well, the story behind these nicknames goes back to about more than 25 years ago. There was this Malay language puppet show on television called Chumie dan Chikie, which means Chumie and Chikie. We both were fans of this show. Hence, our father said that I am Chumie and my sister is Chikie. Since then, those names stuck. It’s just the both of us who call ourselves by those names. The rest of the family does not.
I thought of baking something for her. After a lot of thinking, I decided to bake mango cake. I have never baked this cake before but then, it turned out to be very soft, light and moist with a mild mango flavour. For the aroma, I have added mango essence. The reason is because the aroma of mango comes solely from the skin. The flesh does not have any aroma.
Mango Cake
What do we need:
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup mango purée
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp mango essence
How do we do it:
Sift the flour, bicarbonate soda, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Stir in the mango purée, lemon juice and the essence. Add in the sifted flour mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
Pour the mixture into a greased and flour or paper lined pan. Bake at 175° C for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven and leave the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIKIE
Banana, the world's most popular and eaten tropical fruit is available at anytime of the year. It has been grown for over 1 million years; probably one of the first plants to be cultivated. Native to Malaysia, banana is also suspected to be the earth's first fruit.
Banana is actually the world’s largest plant without a woody stem. In other words, it is not a tree, rather a giant herb of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. The stalks grow up to 25 feet high. The stem is made of tightly wrapped leaves and has a terminal crown of large, entire leaves and a hanging cluster or a bunch of fruits containing anywhere from 50 to 150 bananas. Individual fruits are tiered, also known as "hands", with up to 20 bananas or "fingers".
The banana fruit is elongated, pronouncedly 3-angled, curved, hornlike, oblong, cylindrical, blunt and/or crescent-shaped. Also referred as nature's fast food, it comes prepackaged in its own biodegradable protective jackets or outer layer that is commonly called as a peel or skin. Unripe skin turns from deep-green to yellow or red when ripened. The inner portion is ivory-white to yellow or salmon-yellow firm, astringent, creamy edible flesh. It has gummy latex when unripe and turns tender and slippery, or soft and mellow or rather dry and mealy or starchy when ripe. The banana has numerous strings known as phloem bundles which run between the skin and the flesh. They are usually removed individually after the skin is removed. The commonly cultivated bananas are generally seedless with just vestiges of ovules visible as brown specks in the slightly hollow or faintly pithy centre, especially when the fruit is overripe. Wild bananas may be nearly filled with black, hard, rounded or angled seeds and have scant flesh. Sometimes, a black dead flower remains at the end of the fruit.
Bananas
Banana is wonderfully sweet, mild, sub acid with a distinct apple tone. Even for local consumption, banana is harvested green as it is the only fruit that never develops its best flavour if left to ripen on the plant. After they are picked, the sugar content increases from 2% to 20% because as banana ripe, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar. Therefore, the riper the banana the sweeter it will taste.
Choose plump, evenly coloured yellow bananas flecked with tiny brown specks, which is a sign of ripeness. Avoid those with blemishes that usually indicate bruising. Once exposed to air, a peeled banana will begin to darken. To avoid discolouration, brush with lemon juice. To keep ripe bananas from getting softy and mushy, just refrigerate it. Though the peel will darken, the fruit remains unchanged.
A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minutes workout. Banana is a rich source of potassium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and dietary fiber. Being low in protein and fats, banana contains more digestible carbohydrates than any other fruit. This enables the body to burn off calories from carbohydrates more quickly and easily than calories from protein or fat. Banana is definitely a natural remedy for many ills. The inside of a banana skin could be rubbed onto mosquito bites. The juice extract prepared from the tender core of the banana stem is used to treat kidney stones.
In Southeast Asia and India, banana flowers and stems are eaten. The Caribbean and Southeast Asians use the leaves for wrapping and packing food. In Mexico, Central and South America, the leaves are used in cooking. The Indians serve their food on the banana leaves. In Eastern Africa, beer is brewed from bananas. Banana is such a versatile fruit that could be used in any form of cooking and baking. I am a great fan of banana. I just love the aroma of banana being cooked or baked. I have used it in beverages, baking and some Malaysian desserts. This time I have tried banana in pancake that I am submitting for this month's Jihvā for Ingredients event.
Banana Pancake
What do we need:
1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large banana, mashed
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tsp butter
How do we do it:
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
Mix the mashed banana, egg, coconut milk, sugar and the melted butter together. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Combine the banana mixture with the flour mixture. Gradually stir in the grated coconut. Cover and leave the batter to meld for about 30 minutes.
Lightly grease pan with a touch of butter. Drop a tablespoonful of batter. When the pancake is full of bubbles, flip over and cook for another 30 seconds.
Serve Banana Pancake warm with a drizzle of palm sugar syrup.
Also check out my other entries using banana as a main ingredient:
Energy boosters- Strawberry Smoothie and Banana Chocolate Milk
Baked goods- Banana Bread Pudding and my ever famous Banana Butter Cake
I had some extra cooked macaroni from last night's dinner. As I highly value food, I did not have the heart to throw it away. I am a person who eats until my plate is clean. Hence, the pasta went to the fridge.
This morning, I opened the fridge and wondered of what to do with the pasta. My thinking bell rang and I came up with a super simple breakfast.
Macaroni Frittata
What do we need:
1/4 cup cooked macaroni
1/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tap oil
freshly milled black pepper
salt
How do we do it:
Beat the eggs with milk and garam masala.
On a non stick frying pan, heat the oil and pour the egg mixture. Sprinkle the pasta and mixed vegetables onto the egg. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat to prevent burning. When the top is almost cooked, very carefully flip it over and cook for another 30 seconds.
Serve Macaroni Frittata hot with dash of ketchup or chilli sauce. Along with a glass of orange juice, it makes a great breakfast.
