Salads Cheatsheet

Easy Jam Cheatsheet

Granita Cheatsheet ( Frozen Italian Dessert)

Instant Sorbet Cheatsheet ( Frozen dessert)

Instant Ice Cream Cheatsheet

Fool Cheatsheet ( British Dessert)

Chammanthi Cheatsheet ( Kerala Chutney )

10 Chickpea based Indian Curries

10 fun ways to get drunk !

Trifle Cheatsheet ( No Cook British Dessert)

10 Raw Meat recipes from across the world

No cook Indian Desserts

Click the image on the left to see the cookbook listing 10 easy no-cook Indian desserts. For detailed recipes and pictures, check out my fellow bloggers below…

1.: Anjeer Laddoo A huge variety of ball shaped laddoos are cooked across India. Most use sugar syrup / hot ghee as a binder. Anjeer laddoo uses the stickiness of dates / figs to bind the laddoo

2.: Panchamirtham (Tamilnadu)

This no cook jam was invented in the temple town of Palani, Tamilnadu. Tonnes of panchamirtham is distributed as Prasad to devotees everyday. Roasted and ground millet flour (Thinai) mixed with honey is another delicacy served here.

3.: Kesar Kulfi (Punjab)

When milk is frozen it sets into a hard crunchy ice. The western world discovered that when milk is constantly stirred and mixed with air while being frozen, it sets into creamy ice cream. Indians discovered that if most of the water in milk is removed by boiling it for hours, and the thickened milk is then frozen, it sets into a thick chewy ice cream – the Kulfi.

4.: Shrihkand (Maharashtra)

Varieties of thick creamy yogurt / yogurt cheese exist across the world. Mixing in powdered sugar and flavouring agents makes it the much loved shrikhand.

5.: Sweet Poha Long before corn flakes and cereals became popular in the west, rice flakes (poha) were common in India. You can in fact look at this recipe as a muesli variant. Mixed in with milk / yogurt, this recipe can double as a breakfast cereal.

6.: Elaneer Payasam (Tamilnadu)

A Kongunadu delicacy which relies on the delicate flavours of sweet coconut water and tender coconut flesh.

7, 8, 9.: Doodh Kela, Ambyache Shikran (Maharashtra) . Mavina hannu Rasayana (Konkan)

The flesh of fruits like banana / mango is mixed in with milk and sugar to create these simple desserts. Try using condensed milk / cream in place of milk and jaggery / honey in place of sugar. Using custard apple flesh gives Mumbai Haji Ali’s famous Sitaphal cream.

10.: Aam ras (Maharashtra) Though this can be eaten as a dessert, it is usually served as a dipping sauce along with pooris.

Shrikhand ( India's sweet yogurt dessert)

Yogurt cheese also known as  hung yogurt/ chakka is just yogurt from which most of the water has been removed. It then resembles a thick, creamy paste. This paste is mixed with fruit paste, sugar and flavouring to prepare  Shrikhand, a sweet very popular in north India, especially Maharashtra and Gujarat. Though primarily a dessert, it  is also served as a ‘curry’ with pooris. Shrikhand forms a part of many North Indian wedding feasts. It is befittingly prepared to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, the divine cow herd.

Indian desserts can be split into four major classes.

1.       Desserts soaked / cooked in sugar syrup ( jalebis, katli, mysorepak, burfi, halwah,… )

2.       Desserts based on cooked down milk ( rabri, payasam, kheer, peda, kulfi,… )

3.       Desserts based on milk solids ( rasgulla, rasmalai, kalakhand, ..) and

4.       Yogurt Desserts (Shrikhand & Bengali Mishti doi).

Vary Yogurt : Though common yogurt made from cow / buffalo milk is used to make traditional shrikhand, a variety of yogurts made from goat/ other milk can be used. Flavoured yogurts or even soy yogurt can be used to make fusion shrikhand.

 

Making yogurt cheese (Chakka) : :: Line a colander/ sieve with a cloth. Pour in  2 cups( 400 ml) of yogurt. Keep colander raised so that water can drain away overnight ( or gather edges of cloth & hang the bag of yogurt to let water drain).

Making fruit puree : Skin and deseed ripe fruit. Mash them to a coarse / smooth paste as per your taste.

Making yogurt : Boil two cups of milk. Let cool till lukewarm. Stir in  a spoon of yogurt. Rest in a warm place for 3 -5 hours.

Making flavoured yogurt : Boil two cups of milk. Let cool till lukewarm. Stir in  a spoon of yogurt. Mix in a pinch of cardamom / cinnamon / nutmeg / mace / dry ginger powder or mix in a drop of your favourite essence. Rest in a warm place for 3 -5 hours.

Making Mishti Doi ( sweet yogurt) : Bring four cups of milk to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer on low flame  till milk is reduced by half. Mix in a cup ( or less, to taste) of powdered jaggery. Let cool till lukewarm. Mix in two spoons of yogurt. Rest covered for 3 - 5 hours in a warm place.

Using Yogurt cheese : In middle east yogurt cheese is popular as labneh and is served as small balls steeped in olive oil. Yogurt cheese is mixed with chopped garlic, cucumbers & olive oil to make the Greek dip Tzatziki. It can be used as a dip / spread / cake icing / in parfaits.  Yogurt cheese made from fat free / low fat milk is  a low fat substitute for cream cheese. It has a rich taste and a creamy mouth feel without being laden with calories. It is also a good source of calcium. 

For detailed recipes and great pictures, check out the model recipes from fellow bloggers below : 

Kesar Shrikhand

Berry Shrikhand

Mango Shrikhand

Kesar Pista Shrikhand

10 Simple no-cook Kiwi recipes

Click the image on the left to see the cookbook. This cookbook lists 10 simple no cook Kiwi recipes listed below : 

1.:  Kiwi fruit salad 

2.:  Kiwi Raita

3.:  Kiwi Parfait

4.:  Kiwi Smoothie

5.:  Kiwi Chutney

6.:  Kiwi Pickle  

7.:  Kiwi Lassi

8.:. Kiwi Milkshake   

9.:  Kiwi Salsa 

10.:Kiwi Adult Popsicle

Yang tao ( Chinese : sunny peach) - the kiwifruit, or kiwi, is a berry of a vine native to China.   There are more than 400 different varieties of kiwi fruit in China where they have been used for over 700 years.The kiwis, which have now gained world acceptance are as large as an hen’s egg, with a fuzzy brown skin and green / pale yellow flesh with tiny edible seeds. Kiwi has a sweet/tart flavour, a combination of gooseberry with a hint of strawberry. No wonder it was called the Chinese Gooseberry. Missionaries took the seeds to New Zealand early this century. Newzealand realised its potential, exported it to US and renamed this berry as Kiwi, to appeal better to US consumers.  In just 25 years,  the sales went from almost nothing to over 35 million pounds in US alone. Current world production is around 1 million ton, produced mostly by New Zealand and Italy. California is America’s largest Kiwi producer.  

Kiwi has actinidin,  the protein-dissolving enzyme. If you use kiwi in milk / yogurt  preparations, serve them immediately or the enzyme will start digesting milk proeteins. Even in salads, Kiwi would turn other fruits mushy when stored for long.  This is why kiwifruit could also be used as a natural meat tenderizer. Chopped kiwi can be mixed with meat and in about 15 - 30 minutes it would have tenderised the meat.

Kiwifruit also serves as a natural blood thinner and is believed to reduce the risk of stroke. The skin is edible and so kiwis can be eaten unpeeled. The skin is rich in fiber and peeling results in the loss of many vitamins stored directly beneath the skin. 

100 gms of Kiwis have around 50 calories.  This is the amount you’ll burn up by walking for 15 minutes.

 Buying & storing Kiwis :

1. Ripe Kiwis are firm but should yield when you press them gently.

2. Kiwis can be stored for over two weeks refrigerated

3. Unripe kiwis ripen at room temperature in 3-5 days.Or stored in a paper bag with an apple, they ripen even faster.

4. Choose a fruit that is plump, has no wrinkles or bruises and intact skin. Size does not matter.

5. Kiwi slices freeze and thaw well.

6. Kiwi can also be sun dried into fruit leather.

Simple Paruppu Thogayal Varieties

Click the image to view and print the cookbook. This cookbook lists variations of the following Paruppu Thogayals ( roasted and ground lentil - chili paste)  from Tamil cuisine 

0.: Ver Kadalai Thogayal

1.: Pattani Kadalai Thogayal

2.: Uppu Kadalai Thogayal

3.: Paasi paruppu Thogayal

4.: Kadalai paruppu Thogayal

5.: Tuvaram paruppu Thogayal

6.: Kollu Thogayal

7.: Ulutham paruppu Thogayal

8.: Mysore Paruppu Thogayal

 Paruppu Thogayal :
When roasted lentils are ground into a powder with dry red chilies , we get a podi. When they are ground to a paste with water, we get paruppu thogayal. Mung dal, Tuvar dal and Chana Dal are most commonly used for traditional paruppu thogayals. But a variety of other paruppu can be used to cook up delicious thogayals. Unlike a podi, a paruppu thogayal cannot be stored for long. Refrigerated, they last for a week. They can be eaten mixed with rice and ghee / sesame oil. They also serve as an excellent side dish for Milagu rasam / Milagu kulambu / Vatral Kulambu / Kaara Kulambu  & kootu. Rasam, Parupu Thogayal and sutta appalam is a very popular combination. 

·   After roasting lentils, soak in water for 10 minutes for a softer thogayal.  

·   Heat a spoon of oil. Add two pinches of mustard and 3 curry leaves. Mix in with thogayal for an extra burst of flavour.

·   Ver Kadalai / Uppu Kadalai / Pattani are available in shops  selling puffed rice. These are already roasted and so can be used to create instant thogayals.

·   If you make paruppu thogayal without coconut / tamarind / garlic / other strong flavourings, it becomes a pathiya thogayal, and can be served  to  invalids.

·   Instead of roasting lentils, you can also stir fry them with a bit   of oil to create thogayals with a different taste. Fried mung dal / Chana dal / Peanuts are available as snacks and you can use them to make instant thogayals.

Check out detailed recipes and great pictures from fellow bloggers.....

1. Rajeswari's Tuvaram Paruppu Thogayal

2. Vibass' Tuvaram paruppu Milagu Thogayal

3. Kribha's Poondu Paruppu Thogayal

4. Vidhya's Kadalai paruppu Thogayal

5. Ulutham paruppu Thogayal

6. Komala's Pasi paruppu thogayal

Since Paruppu thogayals are built on red chiles & lentils, the chili part of them take them to  Kitchen Chronicles' "Think Spice- Red Chilies", an  event  started by Sunita Bhuyan, and the lentils take them to Mosoon spice's MLLA, an event started by Susan.

Indian Sour Fruit Pickle Varieties

This cookbook lists variations of sour fruit pickles listed below. The technique is greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily prepare them. These are the simplest pickles of them all. Just mix in salt, turmeric powder with sour fruits, add flavouring, mix in additives and your pickle is ready in a few days! 

0.: Chopped raw mango pickle.
1.: Lemon pickle ( Elumichai Oorugai)
2.: Large Citron Pickle (Narthangai oorugai).  
3.: Small Gooseberry Pickle ( Aru nellikai Oorgai)
4.: Baby mango pickle ( vadu manga).
5.: Avakkai Pickle
6.: Grated mango pickle ( Manga Thokku)
7.: Large Gooseberry Pickle ( Peru nellikkai oorugai)
8.: Karanda Pickle (Kilakkai Oorguai)
9.: Fusion Pickles 

Core Logic: Salt sour fruits to draw out their natural acid. Mx in spice powders. Let soak and use. 

Pickling Basics: Pickles were invented as a way to preserve vegetables without refrigeration.  Enzymes within food / Microorganisms from outside spoil food.  So, the goal of all pickling is to retard the microbial/ enzyme actions.

Pickling in an acid (vinegar / wine) arose in the west. History records that these pickles were eaten by Roman soldiers and even by Cleopatra.

An interesting preservation technique is to let the food ferment, so that lactic acid bacteria can create an acid, which acts as a preservative. This process is similar to turning milk into yogurt, but a lot slower. Such pickling by fermentation arose in the east. Benign lactic acid bacteria digest plant sugar, produce lactic acid, carbon di oxide and alcohol. These inhibit the growth of other harmful bacteria. Unlike vinegar / wine, which just preserve food, fermentation can actually enrich foodstuffs by making them more digestible, more flavourful and packed with vitamins. Kimchi, Sauerkraut and a huge variety of Japanese pickles are all fermented pickles. Yogurt, cheese, wine, bread, sausages - are all products of fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. India never learnt fermentation because the tropical temperature was too high for proper fermentation. This is why none of fermented products - leavened breads, cheese, wine or sausages are native to Indian cuisine.

Indian pickles rely on salting and use lemon juice / vinegar or natural acids of sour fruits as a preservation medium. The foodstuff is salted (even sunned and salted), mixed with antibacterial spices and covered with oil to seal the surface against the entry of other microorganisms. In sour fruit pickles, the preservative medium is the naturally acidic juice. Salting the fruit draws out the natural juices, reducing enzyme action. The sour juice acts as a natural preservative, preventing the growth of micro organisms.  Thus, these pickles easily last for months. Other fruit / vegetables, which do not have acidic juices (garlic, chilies, ginger etc) can be pickled the same way, but need to have an acid (vinegar / lemon juice) mixed in. By following a few simple rules listed below, you can easily prepare fool-proof pickles

. 1. Use fresh, unblemished sour fruits. The sourer the fruit, the stronger the acid and better the pickle.
2. Wash and completely dry fruits, bottles and spoons.
3. Never use a wet spoon or your bare hands to touch the pickle.
4. Aluminum, plastic or brass vessels react with the acid in pickles and should be avoided. Use glass / stainless steel / porcelain jars.
5. Salt always has moisture in it. So dry roast it / dry it in sun for a day before adding it to the pickle.
6. Sterilize the bottles before filling them with pickles. ( See below)
7. Fill the bottles almost to the top to reduce the amount of air sealed in.
8. Once pickles are ready, cover them with a layer of oil and refrigerate them to make them last much longer.
9. Optionally, mix in a tiny pinch of sodium benzoate, a preservative.
10. Optionally mix in half a handful of dried chickpeas / a spoon of fenugreek seeds / 4-5 garlic cloves with these pickles. These taste delicious when pickled in the sour juice.
11. If the fruits are not sour enough, mix in a spoon or two of vinegar.

The more rules you break, the less time your pickles will last. Follow all of them and your pickle will easily last for a year or more. .

South Indian Pickling powder:  Take a handful of mustard seeds, half a handful of fenugreek, two handfuls of red chilies. (Optionally add in a spoon of dhania / cumin). Dry the mixture in the sun for a day.( Or microwave for a minute at the highest setting). Let cool and grind to a powder.

 

North Indian Pickling powder Take a handful of red chilies. Add two pinches each of onion seeds ( kalonji), fenugreek, cumin, peppercorns and  four pinches of mango powder.. Let dry in the sun for a day (or microwave at the highest setting for a minute). Let cool and grind to a coarse powder.

For south Indian pickles use sesame oil and for north Indian pickles use mustard oil. If you do not like the raw oil taste, heat the oil till it smokes, let it cool and then add to the pickle.

Sterilising bottles Fill a pan with cold water. Immerse the bottles and bring water to a boil. Boil for five minutes, remove bottles and keep them inverted in the sun till they are completely dry.

You can use this technique to pickle any sour fruit from across the world.  

1001 Muesli Recipes

This cookbook lists 1000 Budget friendly Muesli recipes . Click the image to view and print the cookbook.

This One pager for Anu, whose idea resulted in this cookbook. 

Muesli is a breakfast cereal usually made from rolled oats, fruit and nuts, eaten mixed with yogurt or milk. Introduced by a Swiss physician in 1900, it soon became a popular breakfast cereal in the west. Filled with fruit, whole grains and nuts, muesli is a healthy way to start the day.

The original Bircher - Benner Muesli recipe: A spoon of rolled oats, a spoon of lemon juice, a spoon of sweet cream, a spoon of crushed nuts (hazelnuts / almonds) and a grated sour apple - all mixed together.

Cereal flakes are made by steaming and flattening cereals. This process partially cooks the cereal. Though corn flakes are the most popular, all cereals can be flaked/ rolled. All of these can be mixed in with muesli.

Toasting cereals : Heat a pan. Add a handful of rolled/ flaked cereals. Stir and toast 5 minutes on medium heat.

                               

Probably because most consumers do not realize how simple it is to make Muesli, manufacturers make a killing on it. A kg of packaged Muesli  nearly 10 times the cost of the ingredients.

With dry fruits / nuts, rice flakes, corn flakes and oat flakes being available at dirt cheap rates, all you need to do is to mix them up to have your own muesli. Muesli lasts for months and needs no refrigeration. So you can easily mix up a big batch on a lazy Sunday and live off it for months. If you mix in some powdered milk while mixing muesli, all you need to do is to add water while eating. This then becomes an ideal travel / camping food and an emergency meal. Have a small pack in your office / car / briefcase and you have food security! Just three handfuls of muesli can power your body for a full day!

Fresh fruits can really liven up muesli. Use loads of fresh, seasonal fruits with muesli and you’ll never go back to oily / heavy breakfasts again!

10 No cook Mango Recipes

Click the image on the left to see the cookbook. This cookbook goes to cooking for all season's Mango Mela &  Srivalli’s Mango Mela and  lists 10 simple no cook Mango recipes listed below  :

 1.:  Mango fruit salad 

2.:  Mango Raita

3.: Thick Mango Juice

4.:  Mango Muesli

5.:  Green Mango Chutney

6.:  Mango Smoothie  

7.:   Mango Lassi

8.:.  Mango Milkshake   

9.:   Green mango pickle 

10.: Mango Shrikhand

Off this goes to Cooking 4 all season's Mango Mela &  Srivalli’s Mango Mela

Simple Thayir Pachadis ( Tamil Raw yogurt curries)

Click the image to view and print the cookbook. This cookbook lists variations of the following Thayir Pachadis :

0.: Easy Thayir Pachadi 

1.: Dangar Pachadi 

2.: Malli Thayir pachadi

3.: Thenga Thayir Pachadi

4.: Milagu Thayir Pachadi

5.: Manga Thayir Pachadi

6.: Nelli Thayir Pachadi 

7.: Arachu Kalakki

8.: Thick Thayir Pachadi

Anything edible mixed with yogurt would taste good seems to be the logic behind the Tamil Thayir Pachadis. They can be prepared in a snap and can used as curry, sauce or dip.

Salad veggies like onion, carrot, cucumber, onion etc are chopped fine and mixed with yogurt to make basic thayir pachadis. Vegetables that can't be eaten raw are boiled / grilled/ fried and mixed with yogurt.  In fact, almost anything edible can be and usually is mixed with yogurt to make an endless number of recipes. Omit ‘south Indian stuff’ from above recipes (coconut, vadumanga, urad flour etc) and they become north Indian Raitas. Omit ‘Indian stuff’ ( Mustard, asafetida, gooseberry, yam etc) these recipes become international. They can be safely served to anyone across the world. The raita / Thayir pachadi thus transforms into  a yogurt dip, popular across the world.

Though most raitas / pachadis use plain yogurt, our access to world cuisine and advances in food processing have now expanded our choice of the type of yogurt used. You can use all yogurt varieties to make these recipes.

Making Yogurt:  Heat a cup of milk and bring it to a boil. Let cool till it is lukewarm. Mix in a spoon of yogurt. Let rest for 3-6 hours in a warm place.

 
International 'Thayir pachadis / Raitas'

#  Mix in grated garlic , chopped mint, olive oil and lemon juice with yogurt and chopped cucumber and you have the Greek Tzatziki.

# Mix in grated garlic, black pepper and chopped mint with yogurt and you have the Mint- yogurt dip popular in Middle east and Central Asia.

# Mix in grated garlic, lemon juice and chopped mint with yogurt and you have the Lebanese Yogurt dip.

# Mix in grated garlic, olive oil, crumbled feta cheese and chopped onions with yogurt and you have Turkey's Feta Yogurt dip.

# Mix in grated garlic, lemon juice, tahini ( sesame – olive oil paste) and salt to yogurt and you have the famous African dip Zanaadi Bil - Tahin.

Simple Salad Dressings

This cookbook lists 1000 no-cook salad dressings by combining 10 bases with 10 flavouring techniques and 10 additives. 

Salad Dressing – A Primer : Salad dressings are Salad Sauces, which make a salad taste extra delicious. Oil / lemon juice / vinegar / Soya sauce & Salt were some of the earliest salad dressings.  Later, a variety of spices were mixed into these basic dressings. Sesame seed paste ( tahini) is used as a dressing and dip across the Middle east,  Soy sauce is used across the far east and soy sauce mixed with mayonnaise is popular in Japan. Lemon Juice is India’s favourite salad dressing.    Emulsions (like Mayo, vinaigrette) were perfected in France and have become the most popular dressings in the western world. Buttermilk based Ranch dressings, Vinaigrette based Italian and French dressings, & Mayonnaise based Thousand Island dressing, are some of the most popular salad dressings. Salad dressings need not be limited to vegetables, but can also be used as dips or spreads.   

Emulsion is a mixture of liquids, which normally do not mix - like oil and vinegar. They can be temporarily mixed by whisking them together - but they soon separate. If whisked together using a 'glue' like egg yolk, mustard powder, agar gum etc, they remain 'stuck' as a creamy emulsion. Mayonnaise and vinaigrette are emulsions.   

Mayonnaise Variations :
Local oils / vinegars / additives are used across the world to produce variations of mayonnaise. Rice vinegar & soy sauce is added to mayo in Japan, safflower oil in Russia, sugar in Australia, ketchup in Argentina, garlic and olive oil in Europe etc., See 1001 Mayo cookbook for more.

Tips :
1. Mix in dressing just before serving as most dressings make salads wilt .
2. If you plan to store the salad, do so without dressing.