Chili Pickles Mankind has been eating chilies for over 10,000 years. Domesticated in South America, they were brought to The logic is simple. Chilies are slit / chopped / crushed / blended and mixed with a variety of spice powders & salt. They are then steeped in an acid (lemon juice / vinegar / tamarind pulp / yogurt) and left in sun for a few days. The acid prevents spoilage and sunning the pickle kills microorganisms. So all these pickles last easily for months and last much longer refrigerated. Feel free to change the quantity of spice powders / salt to suit your taste. Tips: 1. Water kills pickles. Ensure chilies are wiped dry before pickling. 2. Keep bottles and spoons completely dry. 3. A tiny pinch of citric acid / sodium benzoate can be mixed with the pickle to make it long much longer. 4. Refrigerating pickles to make them last much longer. |
Monday, November 30, 2009
10 Simple Chili Pickles
Friday, November 27, 2009
Bengali Kitchen Virgin Survival Manual
This cookbook focuses on greatly simplified Bengali recipes you can cook up on the very first try. (
Step 3 : Master kneading dough and you can cook up Luchi , kochuri, roti and parathas.
Step 4 : Learn easy to cook dishes like Chirer Pulao & Panta Bhat.
That's it. You are all set to survive in a Bengali household !
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Traditional Bengali Recipes
Bengali Cuisine – A Primer :
Key Starches : Rice, wheat ( eaten as deep fried refined wheat flatbreads called luchis).
Typical breakfast Luchi / Roti served with potato curry / dal.. Pantabhat is preferred in summer (cooked rice soaked overnight in water eaten mixed with salt, chopped onions, green chilies and a dash of lemon juice / yogurt). Pressed rice or puffed rice is also eaten raw / soaked in milk / cooked with spices.
Lunch : Rice served with 5-6 curries in a particular order listed on the left. Khichuri ( rice and lentil porridge) served with fries is popular during monsoons.
Key Flavourings: Mustard, Cumin, Nigella, Fennel, Fenugreek. Equal quantities of these are mixed together and called Panch Phoran. Turmeric, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds, leaves Garam masala ( a readymade powdered mix of roasted cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise and coriander seeds) are also common.
Curry Bases : Mustard paste, Poppy seed paste ( soak equal quantities of mustard seeds and poppy seeds in water for 2 hours. Blend to a paste), tomato puree.
Preferred fats : Mustard oil, Ghee, Peanut oil.
Protein Source: Lentils ( Masoor dal, Mung dal, Channa Dal), Freshwater fishes (especially Hilsa), Chicken, Mutton & eggs. Beef is consumed in East Bengal (
Common Vegetables: Eggplant, Potato, Squash, Ridge gourd, Drumstick, Spinach, Sweet potato, String beans, Pumpkin, Radish, Bitter gourd.
Building blocks: Rice, Wheat Vegetables, Lentils, Freshwater fish.
Souring agents : Green mangoes, dried mango powder.
Desserts : Bengalis learnt the art of curdling milk to separate milk solids (chena), probably from Portuguese. This is used as a base for a wide variety of sweets – (Rasagolla, Rasamalai etc)
This cookbook lists 10 traditional Bengali recipes , greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them. The following recipes are listed in this cookbook. Click the links for detailed recipes with photos from my fellow bloggers
1.: Pora (Grilled and mashed starter) (Begun Pora).
2.: Shukto (Bitter, mixed vegetable curry )
3.: Dal (Flavoured Lentils )
4.: Bhaja (Fries) ( Begun Bhaja)
5.: Shaak ( Leafy Greens curry) Mulo Shaak
6.: Charchari (Mixed vegetable dry curry) ( Panchmishali Charchari)
7.: Jhol (Thin, spicy gravy) (Macher jol)
8.: Ambol ( Sweet and sour dish ) Kancha Aamer Ambol
9.: Ghonto (Stir fried) Lau Ghonto
10.: Bhapa (Steamed ) Bhapa Ilish
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
No cook Indian Desserts
Food Consultancy / Licensing / Crash Courses
Customised one page cookbooks now available for pressure cooker / microwave / mixie / masala & other cooking product manufacturers. Replace bulky recipe books with easy to refer One page cookbooks and watch your sales soar !
Twecipies
Cooking is fun - Duplication is a pain !
About Me
- Ramki
- Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
- Okay, let me start from the very beginning. 1500 crore years ago, with a Big Bang, the Universe is born. It expands dramatically. Hydrogen forms, contracts under gravity and lights up, forming stars. Some stars explode, dusting space with the building blocks of life. These condense into planets, one of which is Earth. Over time, self replicating molecules appear, multiply and become more complex. They create elaborate survival machines (cells, plants, animals). A variety of lifeforms evolve. Soon, humans arise, discover fire, invent language, agriculture and religion. Civilisations rise and fall. Alexander marches into India. Moguls establish an empire. Britain follows. Independence. Partition. Bloodshed. The license raj is in full sway. I'm born. India struggles to find its place. Liberalisation. The Internet arrives! I move from Tirupur to Chennai. Start a company. Expand into Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East. Poof! Dot com bust. Funding dries up. Struggle. Retire. Discover the joy of cooking, giving, friendships and the pleasures of a simple life. Life seems less complicated. Pizza Republic, Pita Bite and Bhojan Express bloom !