How to Cook Indian (127 page)

Ghee:
Ghee is butter that has been slowly cooked, skimmed, and clarified.

Ginger:
The rhizome of the ginger plant is available fresh or dried; the latter is usually finely ground.

Green cardamom:
This queen of Indian spices is the second-most important spice in India after cumin seeds. Green cardamom is an ancient and extremely flavorful spice that is native to India. Either the pods are used whole or the small black seeds are ground to a powder. Cardamom is widely used throughout the world, and nearly every food culture has its own distinctive way of using it in sweet and savory dishes.

Green chiles:
Fresh hot capsicums. Indian green chiles that are most commonly used in the dishes in this book are very similar to serrano chiles in flavor and heat level, and finger-size serranos are a good substitute.

Indian broad beans (hyacinth beans):
These are wide, long, flat green pods with beans inside. Their flavor is more pronounced than that of regular green beans, and is often likened to the flavor of lima beans. To use, remove the strings from the outside of the pods, then cut the pods crosswise into small pieces. Hyacinth beans, called
sem kiphalli
in India, are also available already chopped in the frozen-foods section of Indian grocery stores.

Jaggery:
This is an unrefined dark brown cane (sometimes palm) sugar, sold in hard, solid cones or blocks that can be chopped with a heavy knife or grated on the coarse holes of a box grater. Jaggery is similar to Mexican
piloncillo,
or
panela,
and either of those may be used in place of jaggery. In a pinch, you could also use turbinado or natural cane sugar.

Kakdi magaz
(dried cucumber seeds):
Kakdi magaz are dried cucumber seeds. They are thinner and longer and also have a sweeter taste than most melon seeds. Used mostly to garnish select Indian desserts, sweet chutneys, and some savory snacks, they can be substituted with other melon seeds, such as cantaloupe and honeydew.

Kalonji
(nigella):
Small black seeds of the
Nigella sativa
plant,
kalonji
are also sometimes labeled “black sesame,” “onion seeds,” or “black cumin,” though the seed is related to none of these. They lend their distinctive, slightly bitter flavor to
naan
and other breads.

Kashmiri red chile powder:
Kashmiri red chiles are grown in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and Kashmir, and also in subtropical regions of North India, and are harvested from November to February. The chiles are long and fleshy, with a very deep red color and mild flavor that makes the ground dried chiles much prized, especially in North Indian dishes. Paprika is a good substitute for these chiles.

Kasoori methi:
These dried fenugreek leaves taste like a combination of celery and fennel, and have a slightly bitter bite. The leaves are usually crumbled and sprinkled over meat and vegetable curries just before serving.

Kewra
(screw pine) water:
This aromatic water made from distilled screw pine flowers, also known as
pandanus
or
kewra
in Hindi, is used to flavor
biryanis
and sweets.

Kokum:
Kokum (Garcinia indica),
also known as gamboge, is a native fruit of India and is grown abundantly in Konkan, Karnataka, and Kerala along the western coast of
India. It is found in the United States in Indian grocery stores in dried form.

Kurmura
(puffed rice):
Also often labeled “murmura,” this is basmati rice that has been steamed at high pressure so that it puffs, much like puffed wheat. It is used in
chaats
and sweets.

Lapsi
(fine broken wheat):
Like bulgur or cracked wheat, but finer,
lapsi
is used in snacks and
dal
dishes, and can be cooked with ghee and sugar and garnished with nuts as a sweet treat for the festival of Diwali.

Lauki
(bottle gourd):
The smooth-skinned bottle gourd
(Lageneria siceraria)
has pale green flesh with a firm texture. Choose young bottle gourds (less than a foot long) rather than older, larger ones; young gourds have a thin, tender peel and undeveloped seeds that do not need to be removed.
Lauki
is also known as
doodhi.

Lemongrass:
The lower pale yellow and white part of this long, thick grass is sliced or pounded, and is used to add a lovely, vibrant citrus flavor to dishes.

Mace:
This spice is derived from the fleshy red aril surrounding the nutmeg seed. Its flavor is similar to that of nutmeg, but with a hint of pepper. It should be used sparingly.

Maida
(refined flour):
Indian
maida
flour is a highly refined white flour. It is finer and softer than the all-purpose flour found in the United States. If you can’t find
maida,
which, like the other flours used in this book, is available at any Indian grocer, substitute a white (not whole-wheat) pastry flour.

Malai burfi
(condensed-milk
mithai):
Cubes of condensed-milk sweets readily available at Indian grocery stores.

Mangodi
(dried
dal
dumplings):
These large, grape-size dried dumplings made from puréed cooked
dhuli moong dal
(sometimes other
dals)
are available readymade at Indian grocery stores.

Mint:
An excellent remedy for digestive problems, mint is well known for its fragrance and cool, refreshing flavor. It is usually used fresh, but retains much of its flavor when dried.

Mustard oil:
Mustard oil is available in two varieties: filtered and refined. If you are using filtered mustard oil, you will need to first heat it until it reaches its smoking point, then let it cool completely before using. If you are using the refined variety, you can use it straight away. In either case, please use mustard oil that is labeled specifically for cooking. If you cannot find it, regular vegetable oil will work just as well.

Mustard seeds:
These small, round seeds varying in color from black to brown to yellow are ubiquitous in southern Indian cooking, where the tempering of the oil in countless recipes begins with the addition of them. They pack a punch that is intensified in hot oil.

Nagkesar:
Also known as cobra’s saffron, this astringent herb is used to treat respiratory problems and as a digestive aid. The leaves are dried and used for their mild and slightly sweet flavor.

Nutmeg:
A hard, oval, dried seed of an East Indian tree, nutmeg is widely cultivated in the tropics and is used as a spice in sweet and savory dishes either in grated or ground form.

Panch phoron:
This mixture of five whole spices is made of cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds,
kalonji
(nigella), mustard seeds, and caraway seeds.

Paneer:
Paneer is a fresh cheese that is pressed until solid enough to slice or cut into cubes. See page 17 for a recipe.

Poppy seeds:
The ivory-colored variety is widely used in Indian cooking to add a hint of nutty flavor to dishes. The seeds are also soaked and ground to a paste, and used to thicken sauces.

Rawa/suji
(semolinaflour):
Coarsely ground (sand-textured) wheat flour,
rawa/suji
contains the wheat’s endosperm and germ, but not the bran, and is available in fine, medium, and coarse grinds. You can substitute farina (Cream of Wheat cereal), which is made from soft wheat; or semolina flour, which is made from harder durum wheat.

Red button chiles:
These small dried red chiles that look like little balls are fried in oil to lend a mild smoky flavor to food. They should be removed before serving.

Ridged gourd:
A vegetable in the cucumber family
(Luffa acutangula),
ridged gourd is long and dark green, with raised ridges running the length of the vegetable. Try to select younger ones; very mature ridged gourds can be tough and fibrous. Look for them in Indian markets and Asian grocery stores.

Rosewater and rose syrup:
Indian stores sell rosewater and rose syrup. Rosewater is a clear, thin liquid distilled from rose petals, and is sprinkled on sparsely to provide a lovely aroma to savory and sweet dishes. Rose syrup is a thick, red, sugar-sweetened liquid with rose flavorings. It is used to add sweetness, color, and aroma to a dish.

Saffron:
Thousands of individual threadlike strands of the stigma from the crocus flower are hand-plucked and dried to make a single ounce of this very expensive spice.
Saffron is used to flavor
biryanis
and sweet dishes, and also in some soups and curries and baked goods. It adds both its bright yellow color and a subtle flavor to dishes.

Sesame seeds:
These tiny oily seeds impart a nutty flavor and texture to chutneys, desserts, and vegetable dishes. Their color ranges from ivory to light brown to black; white sesame seeds are used in most of the recipes in this book.

Sev
(chickpea-flour vermicelli):
Very thin deep-fried chickpea-flour strands that look like broken-up vermicelli or angel-hair pasta,
sev
can be found in the snack and
chaat
-ingredients section of Indian grocery stores.

Star anise:
Known as
phool chakri
or
badiyan
in India, this star-shaped spice has a flavor that resembles that of anise seeds. Star anise is usually used whole, valued for its beautiful form as well as its flavor.

Tamarind:
The fruit of the tamarind tree,
Tamarindus indica,
these pods are about five inches long and contain seeds and a pulp that becomes extremely sour when dried. Tamarind is widely used in Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, and Southeast Asian cooking. See page 9 for more information about buying and using tamarind pulp and concentrate.

Tirphala:
The sun-dried fruit of the
tirphala
tree (which grows wild in the rain forests of Maharashtra and Karnataka in western India) looks like a Sichuan peppercorn except that the former is blackish brown and the latter is red in color. The husk of the dried berries is the actual spice, and it has a strong, woody, pungent aroma and a sharp and biting flavor. The husks are dry-roasted before being used in fish dishes or with pulses or in dishes of peas and beans. Because it is exclusive to this part of India, there is no English word for
tirphala.

Turmeric:
This spice is made from the intense yellow-orange rhizome of a tropical plant related to ginger. Dried and ground turmeric is used to flavor and color food. It is used in curry powder blends and plays an important role in imparting an appetizing golden color to
dals
and vegetable dishes.

White pepper:
This comes from the same plant as black pepper, but the berries are picked when fully ripe rather than green. White pepper is not as hot as black.

Appam chetti:
A concave iron griddle with a heavy lid used to make
appams
(special breads from South India). A heavy cast-iron or nonstick wok can be used instead, as long as it has a tight-fitting lid.

Chakli
or
ganthia
press:
This metal press comes with different dies (much like a cookie press) through which you can push various doughs into different shapes for frying. With it you can make
chakli, ganthia, murukku, sev,
and
idiappam.

Coconut scraper:
This ingenious tool consists of a set of crank-operated rounded serrated blades that can be mounted on a tabletop (or secured via suction). With it you can finely grate a halved coconut by holding the coconut half over the blades while you turn them with the crank; there is no need to shell and peel the coconut flesh. If you don’t have a scraper like this, carefully remove the shell and brown peel from the white flesh with a paring knife and grate the coconut in a food processor.