1,000 Indian Recipes (57 page)

Preparing Mangoes

Mangoes are often called the king of fruits in India, enjoyed in multiple ways, both when sour and unripe and when lusciously sweet and ripe.

Unripe Mangoes

Sour, unripe green mangoes are integral to Indian cuisine, for pickles, chutneys, and other dishes, but they are not the source of rapture that ripe mangoes are. They are prepared as a vegetable. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from unripe mangoes, and slice the flesh around the large center seed.

Ripe Mangoes

To make sure a mango is ripe, sniff it—it should be highly aromatic and sweet-smelling, with no hint of sourness. Ripe mangoes give to light pressure when held in your hand, much like an avocado. The heavier it is for its size, the juicier the mango.

Ripe mangoes are prepared in a number of ways. There are deliciously indelicate ways to eat a mango, but for serving others, one way to prepare a mango is to hold it upright and establish where the "cheeks" are. The cheeks are the fattest sides of the fruit, on both sides of the center seed. Slice off the two cheeks, and serve them with a spoon as you would a papaya. Peel off whatever skin is left on the seed then cut off the fruit around it.

For preparing fruit salads, ice creams, and other sweet treats, you can first remove the peel with a peeler or a knife, then slice off the fruit around the center seed and cut as needed. Or, slice off the cheeks, cut a cross-hatch pattern in the flesh of each mango cheek (without cutting through to the peel), then push the mango cheek inside out and cut off the fruit.

Reconstituting Dried Wild Mushrooms

Sookhi Khumbon ko Bhigona

Makes 1 cup reconstituted mushrooms

In India and the rest of the world, fresh wild mushrooms are very expensive because they only grow in certain places and are very perishable. Most of the wild mushrooms found in India (mainly morels, called gucchi or gucchiyan, and chanterelles, called dhingri) come from Kashmir. People in India, particularly in the north, are fond of them, but use mostly the more readily available and affordable dried form. There and elsewhere, if dried mushrooms are in your pantry, you can easily make a special mushroom dish by reconstituting them. (Always wash them well.)

1 ounce dried wild mushrooms

1.
Wash the mushrooms, then soak in water to cover by at least 2 inches until they absorb the water and puff up, about 1 hour. (Keep the soaking water.) Wash them again under running water to remove all dirt that may still be clinging to them. Chop and use as needed.

2.
Strain the mushroom-soaking water through a coffee filter or paper towels until it looks completely clean and free of grit. Use it in soups, rice
pullaos
(pilafs), and curries.

Sprouting Beans and Seeds

Sookhi Dalonko Phutana

Makes about 4 cups

This is an almost foolproof way of making sprouted beans at home. No special jars, bowls, or pots and pans are needed. Sprouts can only be made with whole beans and seeds. All others (such as the skinned and split
dals
) can be soaked 4 to 6 hours to get a lovely and almost sprout-like flavor, but they have none of the nutritional benefits associated with sprouted beans.

Once beans are sprouted they stay fresh in the refrigerator about 10 days. Sprinkle them in salads or make special salads, like
Mixed Sprouted Bean Salad with Potato Vermicelli
, add them to sandwiches, or cook the sprouted beans to make substantial salads, such as
Parsi-Style Sprouted Bean Salad
.

1 cup any variety whole beans and seeds, picked over and washed

1 thick kitchen towel

1.
Soak the beans overnight, in water to cover by at least 2 inches.

2.
Drain well, cover the bowl with a lid, then wrap with a thick kitchen towel and place in a warm spot in the kitchen, such as a kitchen closet, or in a turned-off oven. Check at least once a day and stir them lightly if you wish to. Keep the beans lightly moist at all times. There is enough moisture when the inside surface of the lid is covered with tiny droplets of water; the beans themselves should feel dry. The beans will sprout in 2 to 3 days.

Shelling a Coconut

Nariyal Cheelna

Makes
³
⁄
₄
pound coconut meat

You can use readily available shredded unsweetened coconut or in Indian or Asian markets buy grated fresh or frozen coconut, or even in-shell coconut pieces to shred at home. However, here's what to do if you want or need to shell a coconut.

Start with a crack-free, clean-looking coconut with all the "eyes" completely free of any mold. It should feel heavy and full of water (test by shaking the coconut). The uninitiated discard this delicate-tasting coconut water (this is not coconut milk), but anyone who knows coconuts, drinks it, or adds it to soups, rice, and other dishes. South Indians consider coconut water to be as good for you as milk. It is supposed to cool the body in the hot summer months and is considered ideal for convalescents. Before you drink this water, make sure it has no overpowering or rancid smell—that is a sure sign of a spoiled coconut.

1
¹
⁄
₂
to 1
³
⁄
₄
pounds whole coconut

Method 1

1.
Pierce the 3 "eyes" at the top of the coconut with an ice-pick, the tip of a sturdy, sharp knife (don't break the knife), or a clean screwdriver that you use for no other purpose. Collect all the coconut water in a cup. (Skip this step if you do not want to save the water.)

2.
Working outside the house, place the coconut on a clean concrete block or a wooden cutting board. While holding it with one hand, tap the coconut lightly on all sides with a hammer to dislodge the insides from the hard brown shell.

3.
Then carefully hit the shell a bit harder with a hammer and crack it open. The hard shell should separate from the coconut. (It may fly off the board, but it won't go far.) If it does not, break the coconut into smaller pieces and very carefully, with the tip of a well-rounded blunt knife, pry off the shell.

Method 2

1.
Pierce the 3 "eyes" as you would in Method 1 and collect all the coconut water in a cup.

2.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and put the coconut in it until the shell cracks open, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, wait until it is cool enough to handle, and tap lightly all around to release the coconut from the shell.

3.
Then carefully hit the shell with a hammer and crack it open. The hard shell should separate from the coconut. If it does not, break the coconut into smaller pieces and very carefully, with the tip of a well-rounded blunt knife, pry off the shell.

Basic Ingredients

The following ingredients are used in countless ways by Indian cooks and are frequently cross-referenced throughout the book.

Clarified Butter and Indian Clarified Butter (Ghee)

The terms clarified or drawn butter and
ghee
are often used interchangeably, but, in my opinion, these fats are quite different.

Clarified butter is the fat that floats to the top when butter is heated, leaving the pale milk solids settled at the bottom of the pan.
Ghee
, on the other hand, is this same clarified butterfat that is further cooked over low heat until the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn a rich golden color. As this happens, the butterfat gets infused with a characteristic smoky aroma that comes from the browned milk solids.

Clarified butter, more a concept of the Western world, is generally used as a dipping sauce and cannot be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time.
Ghee
, however, is (or should I say used to be) one of the primary cooking mediums for all foods in India. It stays fresh for a long time at room temperature (4 to 6 months), which explains why, in a tropical climate with no refrigeration, the ingenious Indians cooked all their excess butter into
ghee
. With the quick-spoiling milk solids completely removed, they always had a ready supply. Its shelf life in cool temperatures is even longer.

Besides filling the air with its intoxicating fragrance,
ghee
is believed to have some wonderful healthful benefits. The Indian
Ayurvedic
school of medicine uses it extensively in food preparations. However, today's conventional wisdom encourages moderation, and so do I. A little bit of
ghee
infuses food with a delicious, decadent aroma and flavor. I often sneak a teaspoon into dishes at the last minute. As a side note, authentic Indian
ghee
is much lighter in color than what you see in the United States because it is made from milk of the water buffalo, not from cow's milk.

Indian Clarified Butter

Ghee

Makes about 2 cups

Ghee
, interchangeably called
desi, usli
, or
khara ghee
in India, is very easy to make at home and can also be purchased at Indian markets. It translates in English to Indian clarified butter, but in this book, for the sake of brevity, I refer to it in all cases as
ghee
.

1 pound unsalted butter

One 1-foot-square piece of fine muslin or 4 layers of cheesecloth