Treading Gingerly

The rains bring their share of health problems. When a stomach ailment, or that dreadful feeling in the throat that tells me a virulent cold is on its way troubles me, I turn to an old friend from my kitchen for help. The little ingredients battles all germs with its sweet, if pungent, flavour. And miraculously, for me at least, the monsters retreat sheepishly.

I am, of course, talking about ginger, which is there in almost every kitchen in every Indian home. It’s a root that I am greatly fond of ---- and not only because its helps brave indigestion and colds. I like it more for what it does to food.

Ginger is traditionally been seen as an also- ran in the hierarchy of kitchen ingredients. But I have always believed that you can do wonder with ginger. I often cook something like chicken or mutton mainly with ginger. And I find that it’s a flavour you just can’t go with wrong.

I think I first learn the importance of ginger; it has all kinds of beneficial qualities. Ginger, many believe, helps tackle headaches, sore throats, sniffles, pains and stomach problems.

After every meal, or whenever I felt a bit heavy, I would go and eat a bit of ginger. I use to finely slice some ginger and keep it in cool place. In medicine, it is used as carminative and stimulant. It has wider applications in indigenous medicines. The ginger oil is used as food flavourant in soft drinks.

The other good thing about ginger is its piquant flavour. You can prepare all kinds of dishes with ginger as the main flavouring agent. Ginger is often used in Indian dishes along with onions and garlic, which have more overwhelming flavours and tend to suppress the taste of ginger.But there are great many recipes that rely primarily on ginger for its taste and flavour. You can cook chicken with ginger in different styles ------- Continental, Chinese, Southeast Asia or Indian.Actually, ginger can be used innovatively in all kinds of drinks and dishes.

Rajasthan is Famous for its Unique Cuisine

Rajasthan has an unusual diversity in its entire forms- peoples culture, costumes, music, manners, dialects, cuisine and physiography. The Rajasthani cuisine no doubt fulfils your palate leaving you to demand more and more. The mouthwatering, heavy and nutritious diet taken by Rajasthanis are world famous. Like the state itself, its inhabitants and their rich culture, Rajasthani cuisine is a splendid array of colorful, spicy and unique dishes.



Each region in India has its own traditional dishes and specialties. In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan food was very serious business and rose to the level of an art form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately palaces and kept their recipes a closely guarded secret. Some recipes were passed on to their sons and the rest were lost for ever. It became a matter of great prestige to serve extraordinary dishes to guests and the royal cooks were encouraged to experiment.


Rajasthan Cuisine:

Cuisines of Rajasthan have been greatly influenced by the climate of the state as well as the war conditions, which were quite frequent. Because of inadequate water, lack of green vegetables and other problems associated with the climate, Rajasthani cuisine developed a style of its own, to suit the conditions. Long lasting food, not requiring any heating, evolved because of the frequent wars fought by the state. Rajasthani cuisine is a splendid array of colorful, spicy and unique dishes. Rajasthan Food is an experience to be cherished.

Referred to as 'the land of Kings', Rajasthan boasts of many a fine kitchen - both within the palaces and outside. Princely kitchens have produced many an incomparable and exotic delicacy of shikar (game) meat. The smoked Rajasthani kebab - sule - is bare-be-cued in about a dozen different ways. At the other extreme is Maheshwari Cuisine or the vegetarian cuisine of the Maheshwars of the Marwar or the Jodhpur area. All this forms the Culture of Rajasthan.

Main Dishes:

Gram flour is a major ingredient here and is used to make some of the delicacies like Khata, Gatte Ki Sabzi and Pakodi. Powdered lentils are used for Mangodi and Papad. Bajra and corn are used all over the state for preparations of Rabdi, Khichdi and Rotis.
A soup of legumes, flavoured with red chilli peppers, yoghurt or milk and sometimes a vegetable such as Okra, Jackfruit, Eggplant, Mustard or Fenugreek leaf. The wealthy can afford to eat meat regularly, but many abstain for religious reasons. Though the Rajasthani kitchen was able to create much from little, it had also to cater to different communities with their own ritual observances.

Desserts:

Delectable Desserts
Besides spicy flavours, each region is distinguished by its popular sweets. Most people from Rajasthan have a natural liking for sweets or 'Mithai' as it is locally called. People residing in Rajasthan prefer 'Jalebis' and 'Fafda' with a large glass of hot milk in the morning. Each region has its own specialty. Laddoos from Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, Malpuas from Pushkar, Jalebies from most big cities, Rasogullas from Bikaner, Dil Jani from Udaipur, Mishri Mawa and Ghevar from Jaipur, Mawa Katchori from Jodhpur, Sohan Halwa from Ajmer, Mawa from Alwar, the list is unending.

Chutneys Galore:

Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic. Perhaps the best-known Rajasthani food is the combination of dalbati and churma but for the adventurous traveller, willing to experiment, there is a lot of variety available.

Royal Repast

A long time ago, a friend got me a wonderful liqueur from Rajasthan. It was made out of rose petals for and by one of the royal families of the state. The liqueur was hard to get and was exorbitantly priced even in those relatively inexpensive days. But it was sublime. It had a wonder fragrance, was fiery, but as smooth as good single malt.

Rajasthan is full of all these creative people who stay hidden in some haveli ( the Islamic style of architecture and usually contain a courtyard often with a fountain in the center), but produce some of the most exotic things ever. You can picture them ------ all those wizened faces with curly, off white moustaches, wearing a colourful dotted pagdi, and wielding a mean karchi. Behind latticed windows and arched doorways, you can think of some rare meat cooking on slow fire.

Actually, not all this a imagination. Royal cuisine of Rajasthan as some like to call it -------- is being celebrated. The recipes have mostly travelled by word of mouth. The strenght and weaknesses of every region reflected in its food. Rajasthan is dry ---- of it used to be so till something called climate change reared its ugly head ----- and that is why vegetation ts sparse in the region. You do not find the lush green vegetables of Kerela or Bengal in Rajasthan ------ so vegetables don’t have much of role to play in its palace cuisine.

What Rajasthan does, or did have, is game. The maharajahs were all fond of hunting. The forested areas of Rajasthan had their share of wild animals and birds ------- partridge, quail, pheasant, deer, wild boars and so on. These days, of course, you can’t hunt any of these, but farmed birds are available, cooks are making do with substitute meat.

On the vegetarian front ------ though a good number of Rajasthanis are vegetarians. Vegetarian Rajasthan cuisine competes for pride of place with International Cuisines. The recommended gourmets delights in the restaurant is a meal starting with 'Besan ki Chakki & Gal ke Ladoo' followed by Kersangri, Methibadi,, Gatta & Sattakutta with Dahi Vada as an accompaniment. Do not forget to ask for Bajre ke Roti and Missi Roti as Breads with the meals. A truly enjoyable gourmet feast for the Bird watching connoisseurs and the discerning traveler.

Cooking in Rajasthan, North India has always been treated as an important art form and is an important part of Rajasthan's culture.

Hilsa, (Ilish) is no longer just the Bengali gourmet’s delight.

You could have knocked me down with a feather, albeit an iron one. I was sitting with my Punjabi friends and talking about some good gourmet experiences we had. Their reactions amazed me, “ Have the hilsa, and not with the bones”. For long years, it was a fish that only easterners talked about. East India was passionate about the hilsa fish, but the rest of India had no idea what it was all about. But, that, as I can see now, is no longer the case. The Hilsa has been co-opted --- it’s no longer the secret closely guarded by the east. Those who had never eaten a hilsa are doing so with a real vengeance these days.

I know the passionate hilsa lover would rather go on a fast than eat boneless hilsa. I have friends and relatives who tell me that half the fun of eating a hilsa lies in talking the bones in and out. I, however, have large legion of friends who love their fish, but have been avoiding the hilsa because of its bones. And many of them think the boneless hilsa is the best discovery after the remote.

In the age of entrepreneurship, I suppose the hilsa has found new avatars. In restaurants where the hilsa is served, they are looking at novel ways of preparing the fish. Hilsa prepared with pumpkin leaves, coconut, mustard and mango pickle is one of the wonderful recipes. The fish is sometimes wrapped in a nice and leafy bottle gourd leaf and steamed along with rice. The fish is then served with the leaf, which is great to eat, especially when the plant is a young one.

The hilsa , truly, is a wonderful fish. The sea fish goes to the river to spawn ------- and the taste changes radically. It’s the queen of fish. In fact, if you take all the different ways of cooking the fish into account, it’s an entire house of royals all by itself.

Delights of Indian Cooking

India is a complex country, rich and fascinating, just like its food. The cuisine can be as simple as a one dish meal or a sumptuous feast with courses and condiment after condiment arranged like jewels on a tray.

Most people unfamiliar with the cuisine expect it to be very spicy, with overwhelming lists of ingredients and unfamiliar words. The ingredient lists may be long, but usually the length is made up of spices you can just line up on the counter and add as you cook. Indian cooking tries to incorporate sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and spicy into all meals; this balance of flavors has spiritual meaning as well.

The most important advice is to relax and have fun. You are broadening your horizons and adding zip to your life by trying Indian recipes. I believe that food defines us as a culture and brings us together as people. And the more you know about other cuisines, the more you will understand the world.

This simple microwave recipe is very easy to make, and so delicious.

Sprinkle Fish Fillets

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. fish fillets, in serving size pieces,
2 Tbsp. lemon juice,
1/4 tsp. salt,
1 Tbsp. butter,
1 Tbsp. flour,
1/2 tsp. curry powder,
1/2 cup milk,
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley,
Mango chutney,
Toasted coconut or chopped peanuts.


Method:


Arrange fish in 12 x 8" microwave safe dish, with thickest parts to outside. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt. Cover with microwave safe plastic wrap and microwave on high power for 3 minutes. Rotate dish and microwave 2-4 minutes longer, until fish flakes with fork.

Remove, cover, and let stand 3 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare sauce.
In 2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup, melt butter. Add flour, salt and curry powder and blend well. Add milk and stir to blend with wire whisk. Microwave uncovered on high power, stirring every minute, until sauce is thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Pour sauce over fish, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with chutney and coconut or peanuts.

4-6 servings.
Cook Time : 10min.

Choose Indian Cuisine

The Wonderland of Indian Cuisine


That is how Shakespeare would have undoubtedly put it…..talking about Indian Cuisine, which, with its immense variety, has carved a niche for itself internationally. People from other parts of the world, especially in the West, simply adore Indian cuisine, despite the fact that a majority of its dishes are spicy, tangy and hot ! Indeed Continental as well as American cuisine (save Mexican) is rather bland when compared to their Indian counterpart. Down the centuries, Indian spices have always lured the adventurous, sea-farers and explorers to come to India and carry away bulk quantities to their native lands. All that is a part of our history now.


Food, glorious food...The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...An army marches on its stomach....and so many other cliches that all centre around one of life's necessities - eating. Without exception we aim to ensnure you into a truly unique, unforgettable cuisine experience. We combine the ancient with the modern and take you down the path to losing yourself in the exotic flavours of INDIA.


Indian cuisine is gaining popularity around the globe. Easy to prepare, tasty and it's mainstay grains, lentils and vegetable dishes is allowing Indian cuisine to gain popularity all over the world. Today, many people want a balance of both protein and carbohydrates. Indian cuisine offers the health promoting properties of various herbs, ginger and spices, as well as a well-balanced diet. Yogurt, an accompaniment to Indian meals, introduces good flora into the digestive system.


Many of our menus are vegetarian, which tend to be more alkaline than non-vegetarian menus. Fresh fruit follows Indian meals, which also contributes to an alkaline balance. meals are easy to prepare, taking about 20 to 30 minutes to prepare at an averga. Many foods can be cooked in crockpots, pressure cooker or in pans. Beans/lentils can be soaked overnight. Whole wheat dough for chappatis and rotis can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for later use. Tortillas and pita breads may be substitued for Indian flat breads.

AN ANGLER'S TALE

I used to be quite a keen angler in my vagabond days. I'd catch a trout, gut it, clean it and cook it whole in a foil over a slow fire.

A whole fish is a treat. If the fish is fresh, and you have some basic ingredients, such as, lemon juice, butter and pepper, you can transform it into a gastronomic delight .

I suppose there are two reasons why a whole fish tastes so good. For one, the juices are trapped within it. And, second, a whole fish is usually cooked over slow heat -- grilled, smoked or baked -- and that again helps in enhanching the tastes.

I remember another occasion when I had a delicious whole fish. This was cooked in Delhi by an Italian friend. She had taken a huge ruhu made slits all over it, which she filled with garlic. She smeared the fish with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and then steamed it.

You really can't go wrong with a whole fish. The only problem that I have with it is that it tends to look a little balefully at you with its glassy eyes. But I would suggest you look right back ---------- attack.


SPICY POMFRET


Ingredients:

1 Pomfret,
Salt and vineger to marinate,
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced,
1 carrot, thinly sliced,
1 onion,thinly sliced,
1 green chilli, minced,
1 tsp gralic minced,
1 cup fish stock,
juice of two limes,
1 tsp suger,
1/2 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp pepper,
1 tsp chilli sauce,
1 tsp coriander leaves,
1 tsp cornflour,
oil.

Method:


Clean and gut the Pomfret. Slit on both sides, and then marinate with salt and vineger for an hour or so. Heat oil in a pan, deep fry the fish for about seven minutes, and then drain and keep aside. Now, in another pan, take one tablespoon of oil and fry the garlic, onion, green chilli, cucumber and carrot. Add the fish stock, lime juice, chilli sauce, suger, salt and pepper and let it come to boil. Thicken with cornflour and then pour it over the fish. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Traditional Indian Cooking

Many people love to experiment with different foods from different cultures and ethnicities. Some people love to go out for dinner and experiment with foods they’ve never had before. Other people like to reproduce their favorite dishes at home. Experimenting with cooking from other regions and cultures can be an exciting and fun process. Many cuisines have subtle differences from region to region. Or sometimes the ethnic cuisines are based strictly on different geographic areas.
Indian cooking is as complex and diverse as India's geography, climate, religion, and culture. The variety of dishes is extensive: from warm tandoori dishes with meat of Northern India, to the, saucy Southern mostly vegetarian dals , you’ll find incredible diversity and great taste.
Many people are mystified by traditional Indian cooking and cuisines and a little somewhat confused with the varieties of curries and spices used . Some may even think the traditional Indian cooking is mostly about vegetarian dishes and curries.
India has one of the finest and richest culinary histories. Contrary to popular belief, Indian cuisines are not complex or too confusing to cook. It can also be as elaborate as you want it to be. If you understand the diversity of the country, which is divided into four regions, north, south, east and west, you will appreciate the varieties of dishes, exotic spices, cooking methods, etc.
Northern India: This region of India offers the some of the more familiar mix Indian dishes, including the popular tandoori-style of cooking. This region offers the dishes that are found in most Indian restaurants of the West, such as koftas (spicy meatballs), kormas (meats braised in creamy sauces with yogurts and fruits), and the delicious chewy, leavened bread, naan. The blend of spices used to flavor these dishes is Garam masala, more warming than fiery. You may also add Basmati rice for a regional flare, but breads are the primary starch in this wheat-growing region.Southern India: Some people think of Indian food as extremely spicy. Southern Indian cuisine is probably the cuisine most people think of, the spicy dishes such as vindaloo, a dish that relies legumes, including lentils and chickpeas. For the most part, the dishes from Southern India are primarily vegetarian, but you can certainly adapt the recipe to include meat for celebrations and special occasions. Rice is an essential ingredient in these dishes, especially the fragrant jasmine variety which is used in almost every dish during a meal, even dessert!
Eastern India: The region is most known for Darjeeling tea. In addition to tea, this hot, humid region near the Bay of Bengal cultivates rice, as many as 50 different varieties. Coconuts and bananas are popular ingredients in the cuisine of this area; in fact, coconut milk is often used as a substitute for cow or goat's milk.Western India: This region of India incorporates a great deal of dairy products in their dishes: including yogurt, buttermilk, cow's milk, and goat's milk. Along the coastline of the Arabian Sea, you’ll find a popular dish referred to as “Bombay Duck," which, despite its name actually refers to a small, transparent fish. Pickles are all an essential part of the meal from this region. India boasts a variety of cuisine that is as complex and unique as the country itself. There’s no reason to be intimidated by Indian food, not all of it need be hot and spicy, and most can be adjusted for adjusted for personal preferences.

Chill Out With Delicious Desserts In The Summer

It is the summer here once again and the hot noons are just around the corner to make you feel thirsty and to make you crave for delicious desserts. Licking a delicious desserts preparation, trying to finish it off before it gets melted is one very common scene during the summer, when the mercury level is on a desperate rise.

Summer is the peak time for the ice cream parlors to earn huge amount of money. But it would be wise enough to prepare the yummy summer dessert recipes at your home to beat the summer heat. Here are some of the awesome summer dessert recipes, you can try out to strike your friends and family with sudden wonder this summer. Don't worry if you do not have an ice cream make at your home. Ice creams can also be prepared at home without an ice cream maker. The only things you will be required are patience, time, effort and an eagerness to come up with some unusual flavor of ice creams.

Beat The Heat With These Ice Creams


Chocolate ice cream :

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks
Double cream milk – 250 ml.
Condensed milk – 1 large can
Sugar – 55 gms
Cocoa Powder – 3 1/5 table spoon

Method:

Create an ice cream base. This is one of the most significant part of the story because it will make your ice creams creamy and yummy.
Mix the milk, egg yolks, condensed milk and sugar properly, stir it well.
Heat the mixture until it gets slightly thicker.
At the point where you stop heating the mixture add the the cocoa powder.
Put the mixture in the freezer and let it freeze for at least for one and a half hours.


Home Made Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb. Coffee Can3 lb. Coffee Can1/2 cup Rock salt1 pint Half and Half1 1/2 tsps. Vanilla1/3 cup + 2 tblsps. Sugar

For flavored ice cream, choose one:

3 tblsps. of your favorite flavor of instant pudding
1/3 cup of fruit (such as, bananas, strawberries, peaches)
3 of your favorite cookies, crushed into pea-size pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped

Method:

Mix the first three basic ingredients together and pour into the one pound coffee can. Add flavorings if desired. Place the lid on securely and set inside the three pound can.
Add ice, and alternate layers of ice and salt outside the small can and inside the large can. When totally full, secure the lid on the large can. You may wish to add duct tape for good measure.
Now here comes the fun part! Place a sheet on the floor or wrap the can in a large towel. Let party guests roll the can back and forth for at least 10 minutes. Open the cans and check the ice cream.
If it is not starting to freeze, replace lids and roll 10 minutes more. The ice cream should be frozen to the sides and bottom of the can. If not thick enough, place in freezer and check every 10 minutes or so.

Don't Waste Your Hard Earned Money Going Out to Eat

Imagine it's Saturday night and your husband just calls to tell you he's invited friends to go out to eat... what should you do? Should you go out and spend about 1000 rupees for a fancy meal that you really can't afford or should you offer to cook? You should offer to cook!

Why waste your hard earned money on going out to eat, when you can easily prepare the same meals, right from the comfort of your own home? It's so easy you'll wish you'd thought of it sooner!

I offer you a super recipe that you're sure to find the exact one that you are looking for. My entire family loves the Tandoori Chicken and they have asked for this recipe over and over again!

TANDOORI CHICKEN :

Ingredients:

6 pieces Thawed chicken, skinned
2 tsp Ground Coriander
2 tsp Masala (Tandoori paste is available)
Red pepper powder
Dash Garlic powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp Ground jeeraSoy sauce (or yogurt needed only if tandoori masala is used)

Method :

If you are using the ready made tandoori paste then life is a lot easier. Replace all occurrences of masala and soy sauce (or yogurt) with the tandoori paste. Take the chicken and make deep cuts in it (so that the Masalas seeps in quickly). If you are using soy sauce as the base, put some on the chicken pieces and let it seep in the cuts. Rub in the Masalas as a mixture or one at a time. The idea is to let the Masalas seep in the cuts with the soy sauce. You can leave it for little while to seep in. If you are using yogurt, you'll get a more authentic taste since the original TC is after all marinated in it. In this case, mix the Masalas in the yogurt first and then rub the stuff into the chicken cuts as before. The yogurt tends to leave a considerable amount of water behind. DON'T THROW THIS AWAY. Let it evaporate in the oven with the chicken. This will keep the pieces from getting dry if over-cooked. Cook the chicken until it starts turning brown and the cuts you made start "expanding."

DELICIOUS CHICKEN

Try your favorite dishes, that you can make right in your own home.

FRIED CHILLI CHICKEN

Ingredients :

200g mange tout

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 spring onions

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 red peppers

5 cm/ 2in piece of ginger peeled and crushed

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

2 tsp corn flour

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

Salt and black pepper

Method :

Slice chicken breasts. Slice mange tout length ways into strips. Trim spring onions and cut into pieces. De-seed pepper and cut into strips.
Heat the oil in wok or suitable frying pan. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken strips and stir-fry for a further 3 minutes. Add mange tout, red pepper and spring onions and stir-fry for another 3 minutes.
Mix the corn flour, soy sauce together with 2 tablespoons of cold water to form a smooth paste. Pour in the chicken and vegetables and stir – fry for 2 minutes. Season and serve.

Tip: Add more chillies if you like it hot! Serves 4

RESTAURANT NOW AT YOUR HOME

Now a day’s people are going out to eat more often, and spending more money to satisfy their cravings. People all have their favorite restaurants that we like to go out to eat at, and often times we will be willing to go out of our way just to go to certain ones.

What compels people to go out to certain restaurants over others though? Undoubtedly, it is a signature dish that they are in the mood for that particular night. One dish is all that it can take for restaurants to make a name for themselves and build a large customer following. Many restaurants are built completely around just one particular dish or type of dish.

But what makes these dishes so special, that we the consumer go out of our way to get. chances are it is a secret sauce, a taste that you have never been able to create at home, or a style of food that you never thought that you could create. If you thought you could make it yourself at home, then you would. It would be a whole lot cheaper that is for sure, not to mention more satisfying that you created such a delicious meal all on our own.

Maybe you can create those tastes, and styles of foods right in your own home though. It all comes down to a willingness to try, and having the right resources at your disposal. But why would we want to do this when we can just go to the restaurant and pay someone else to do it? Well, there are a number of reasons, and I’ll tell you them right now.

The best reason is definitely the money that you will be saving by not going out to restaurants all of the time. Not only will you spend money on the food and drink that you purchase, but the gas to drive there. Also, if you have a big family, or even a modest family of four, you would be hard pressed to spend under fifty dollars for a night at your favorite restaurant.

The next great reason is that you can impress all of our friends and family with your new found cooking abilities. If you had a friend visiting from out of town that you knew loved Olive Garden bread sticks, you could make them some, and tell them how easily they could do it themselves. Perhaps there is a potluck coming up; why not bring some KFC style chicken that you made. The responses you will get are priceless.

Lastly, if you are watching your weight, you can control what goes into your favorite dishes. Instead of using gobs of butter, substitute some Olive Oil. Why use two percent milk when you can use non-fat milk to make that cream sauce that you love. You can maintain the great flavors, often times for half of the calories.