riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (09/05/83)
The Rana and Riddle Injun Cookbook
Pauravi Rana
Ahmedabadgirl University
Bilimora, Gujarat
Injia
Prentiss Riddle
The Hungry Jack Institute of Gastronomic Tinkering
1216-B W. 22nd St.
Austin, TX 78705
ABSTRACT
This document describes a set of easy-to-use
macros for preparing delicious Indian meals on any
standard home cooking system.
NOTE: The authors accept no responsibility
for any injuries, damages, or harmful effects
which may occur to the users of this manual, their
digestive systems, their tastebuds, or their
senses of dietary propriety.
The recipes in this cookbook reflect mostly the
vegetarian cuisine of Gujarat in northern India. They were
compiled from an informal recipe notebook and as such are
not necessarily geared to the beginner who doesn't know much
about Indian cooking. If you would like to have a bit of
background before trying these recipes, we recommend either
of the cookbooks listed in the references after the recipes.
Also included at the end is a brief glossary explaining the
Gujarati terminology of the recipes. Don't be afraid --
many of the spices called for sound exotic but have everyday
American equivalents.
The recipes are divided roughly into sections. The
vegetable dishes are probably the most accessible for the
novice; they resemble the vaguely Indian dishes known as
'curries' and taste fine in conjunction with more normal
American food. Dals are lentil soups and form an important
leg of the nutritional basis of Indian cooking: together
with rice and wheat bread they provide needed protein. The
snacks and appetizers can be used either alone or with a
meal. In a section of miscellaneous recipes we have
included Indian tea, a chutney, and several yogurt dishes
which taste marvelous scooped up on a chappati or mixed with
rice or a dal. Finally, a few Indian sweets round out the
collection.
V E G E T A B L E D I S H E S
String Beans
Ingredients:
string beans
onions
ajmo (botanical name: stramoni)
oil
turmeric
sugar
ginger
jalapeno
garlic
salt
cilantro
hing
Heat oil (not letting it smoke) and add hing, onions,
and crushed ginger, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute until the
onions become translucent and add the string beans and other
masala. Allow to cook on medium heat. Leave cover on pot
until string beans are half-cooked, then remove cover and
let cook until color changes slightly. Stir in sugar. Add
cilantro and turn off heat. Replace cover until serving.
Broccoli and Onions
Ingredients:
broccoli
onions
salt
turmeric
cumin
garlic
dhana jiru
jalapeno
cloves
cinnamon
oil
Make vaghar with cumin, cloves, and cinnamon. Add
garlic, onions, jalapeno, and ginger. Slice broccoli and
add it along with dhana-jiru, turmeric, and salt. Cover and
let cook on medium heat.
Variation: Mix 1 part chana flour, 1 part wheat flour,
dhana-jiru, salt, turmeric, hing, and cilantro. Add oil.
When broccoli is halfway cooked sprinkle with flour and con-
tinue cooking on low heat.
Blackeyed Peas with Onions or Eggplant
Ingredients:
dried blackeyed peas
onions
(eggplant)
mustard seed
jiru
garlic
salt
garam masala
water
Soak blackeyed peas for several hours (or soften in
pressure cooker). Make vaghar with onions, mustard seed,
jiru, and garlic. Add salt and garam masala. After the
onion is sauteed, add the drained blackeyed peas and lots of
water. Cook on medium heat.
Variation: Do vaghar with eggplant and then add already
cooked (boiled) blackeyed peas.
Squash with Chick-peas
Ingredients:
chick-pea dal
squash
jalapeno
garlic
ginger root
cinnamon
cloves
peppercorns
cumin
mustard seed
Soak dal in water for 8-10 hours. Strain and add to a
vaghar made of the spices (excluding the turmeric and salt).
Add squash and dal, and then turmeric and salt.
Spinach with Tomatoes and Eggplant
Ingredients:
spinach
tomatoes
eggplant
1/2 jalapeno
garlic
ginger root
cumin
turmeric
salt
Cut eggplant into pieces and chop spinach. Make vaghar
in oil with cumin, ginger root, garlic, and jalapeno; saute
for 2-3 minutes. Add eggplant and cook on low to medium
heat for 8 minutes until half-cooked or tender. Add spinach
and cook until tender.
Purple Hull Peas and Onions
Ingredients:
purple hull peas
hing
jalapeno pepper
garlic
onions
ginger
garam masala
dhana-jiru
turmeric
salt
4 to 5 tbsp oil
Heat oil and add the hing and then the garlic, jalapeno
pepper and ginger. Saute the onions. Add the purple hull
peas and then the rest of the ingredients.
Cabbage
Ingredients:
cabbage
green peppers
mustard seed
hing
1/2 jalapeno pepper
oil
salt
turmeric
lemon juice
Shred cabbage and cut green pepper up. Heat oil and
pop mustard seed and hing. Fry green and jalapeno peppers.
Add cabbage, lemon juice, and salt. Cook until cabbage is
tender. Turn off heat. Sprinkle with coriander.
Cabbage and Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 big potato, diced small
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1-1/2 tbs oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 green chile pepper
pinch of hing
salt as needed
1/4 tsp turmeric
In a large-bottomed skillet, heat the oil and pop the
mustard seeds, cumin, and chile pepper. Add hing and then
the diced potatoes, the turmeric, and enough salt for the
potatoes. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are half-
cooked. Now add the cabbage and more salt for the cabbage.
Cover the skillet and let cook for 5 to 7. Take the lid off,
stir, and raise the heat slightly. Cook until excess water
has evaporated.
Potatoes with Eggplant and Onions
Ingredients:
2 tbs oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of hing
1 eggplant
2 potatoes (medium-sized)
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp salt
spice mixture (see below)
In the heated oil in a deep pot pop the cumin. Add the
hing and then the onions and saute. After five minutes add
the eggplant, potatoes, and salt. Saute these for an addi-
tional five minutes and then add the spice mixture. Cook on
medium to high heat until potatoes are done. If a thick
sauce is desired, add 1/4 cup water with the spice mixture.
Spice Mixture (for Potatoes with Eggplant and Onions)
Ingredients:
onions
coconut
fresh cilantro
jalapeno pepper
ginger root
garlic
turmeric
pinch of baking soda (not necessary)
garam masala
crushed cayenne pepper
dhana-jiru
peanuts (optional)
salt
Finely chop the onions and jalapeno. Crush the
peanuts. Grate the ginger root. Mix all ingredients
thoroughly.
Spinach and Purple Hull Peas
Ingredients:
2 packages spinach
1 medium-sized onion
1/2 cup purple hull peas
methi
hing
fresh jalapeno pepper
ginger
garlic
3 tbsp oil
Heat oil in skillet. First drop in methi and allow it
to turn black, then add hing, onions, jalapeno, ginger, and
garlic to saute. Add spinach and peas and cook at medium
heat. Salt to taste. When beans are soft, turn off heat.
Yield: 4 servings.
Cauliflower
Ingredients:
sweet pepper
jiru
mustard seed
turmeric
salt
oil
jalapeno pepper
Heat oil in skillet and drop in jiru and mustard seed,
then add the jalapeno and sweet peppers for a minute or two.
Finally add cauliflower, turmeric and salt, and cook until
half-way done. Cover for the first ten minutes and cook on
medium-high heat.
Bhajia (Batter-Fried Vegetables)
Ingredients:
dhana
black pepper
chana flour
turmeric
hing
baking soda
salt
ajmo
the vegetable(s) of your choice, cut into pieces
Make crushed mixture of equal amounts of dhana and
black pepper. Add this mixture to chana flour. Then add
turmeric, hing, a pinch of baking soda, salt, and ajmo. Add
water and stir until a viscous consistency is reached.
Dip vegetable pieces in batter and deep fry.
Methi ne Bhaji na Bhajia
Ingredients:
2 parts chana flour
1 part cream of wheat
peppercorns
whole dhana
banana
jalapeno
chili pepper
methi ne bhaji (or spinach)
oil
Mix chana flour, cream of wheat, crushed peppercorns,
and whole dhana. Add a little bit of mashed banana, crushed
jalapeno, chili pepper, and methi ne bhaji. Mix with a lit-
tle bit of oil and enough water to reach proper (i.e., very
thick) consistency. Form batter into blobs and deep fry.
Muthia
Ingredients:
3 parts wheat flour
1 part corn meal (or cream of wheat)
1 part chickpea flour
hing
dhana-jiru
turmeric
salt
cilantro
ginger root
chili or jalapeno pepper
oil
baking soda
sugar
diced squash (or other vegetable)
This dish resembles bhajia, but the battered vegetables
are steam-cooked and then lightly fried in a vaghar rather
than deep fried.
Mix wheat flour, corn meal, chickpea flour, hing,
dhana-jiru, turmeric, salt, cilantro, ginger root, pepper,
oil, baking soda, and sugar. Add the diced squash and enough
water (1 to 3 tbsp) to make a thick, gooey dough. Form the
dough into clumps and steam-cook in a double boiler for 30
to 45 minutes. Do vaghar.
Variation: Use spinach in place of squash. Optionally,
add cooked rice, garlic, or anything. Add a bit of extra
water.
Dum Aloo
Ingredients:
potatoes
onions
cumin seeds
cinnamon
cloves
peppercorns
bay leaves
cardamom (large black seeds)
oil
salt
jalapeno
ginger
garlic
turmeric
Boil the whole potatoes, stopping when they are still
firm. Poke holes in the potatoes with a toothpick about 3/4
of an inch apart. Deep fry potatoes until brown. Shred the
onion fine. In another pan, heat oil and saute cumin seeds
and onion until brown. Add turmeric and salt, then crushed
jalapeno, ginger and garlic. Grind together equal amounts
of cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon,
and add to the onions. Now drop in the potatoes.
D A L S ( L E N T I L S O U P S )
Mung Dal with Buttermilk
Ingredients:
mung dal
buttermilk
turmeric
salt
ginger
jalapeno
garlic
Soak mung dal all day. Boil until cooked. Add butter-
milk and mix with turmeric, salt, ginger, jalapeno, and
garlic. (Or, do a vaghar with garlic, onions, mustard seed
and jiru.) Allow to cook a bit longer.
Masur Dal
Ingredients:
masur dal
onions
ginger root
jalapeno
cumin seeds
ghee, butter, or oil
turmeric
salt
fan belt
hoses
water
oil change
Cook dal in pressure cooker for 5 or 6 minutes. Saute
onions, ginger, jalapeno, and cumin. Add dal, turmeric, and
salt.
Split Mung Dal
Ingredients:
split mung dal
garlic
cumin
turmeric
salt
Soak dal all day. Make vaghar from garlic and cumin.
Mix all and add turmeric, salt, and enough water for a thick
consistency. This is a very thick dal.
White Mung Dal
Ingredients:
white mung dal
mustard seed
jiru
salt
turmeric
jalapeno
ginger
Soak dal for a few hours. Add to vaghar of mustard
seed and jiru. Add enough water so that dal is below water
line. Add salt, turmeric, jalapeno, and ginger. Cook on
medium-low heat (covered) for a while and then on low heat.
(Dry.)
Chana-Masur Dal
Ingredients:
chana dal
masur dal
Cook equal amounts of chana and masur dal in a pressure
cooker for 10-12 minutes. Vaghar: jiru and onions, cin-
namon, cloves.
Whole Chana
Ingredients:
whole chana dal
onions
mustard seed
jiru
ginger
salt
garam masala
garlic
Soak dal overnight. Cook in pressure cooker with salt
for 15 minutes. Make vaghar with onions, mustard seed,
jiru, ginger, salt, garam masala, and garlic. Then add
chana, either adding or removing water.
Variation: add potatoes and lemon juice.
Sprouted Whole Mung
Ingredients:
whole mung beans
garlic
jalapeno
mustard seed
cumin
ginger
oil
turmeric
dhana-jiru
salt
Sprout beans by soaking in water overnight. Make
vaghar by popping mustard seed and cumin in oil. Then add
garlic, jalapeno, and ginger. Add sprouts and cook. Add
turmeric, salt, dhana-jiru and a little water. Allow to
cook on medium-low heat.
Split Mung Dal
Ingredients:
1 cup dal
2 cups water (plus enough water to reach
one inch above dal line)
salt
ghee
turmeric
Soak dal for 12 hours in water. The water will be
absorbed, so add enough water for evaporation. Do not add
too much water to begin with. Add the turmeric, salt, and
ghee once the dal is soaked. Bring to a boil and then turn
the heat to low and cook until thick.
Flour for Dal Dhokli (see below)
Ingredients:
2 parts wheat flour
2 parts all-purpose flour
1 part corn flour
ajmo
turmeric
ginger
garlic
jalapeno pepper
salt
oil
water
Mix the three kinds of flour and a few kernels of ajmo.
Add turmeric, salt, and oil. Crush and add ginger, garlic,
and jalapeno pepper. Mix in water. The consistency of the
flour should be like that for puris. Roll flour out into
several patties and cut into pieces.
Dal Dhokli
Ingredients:
flour pieces (see above)
toor dal (3/4 cup yields 5 servings)
methi
turmeric
salt
brown sugar
dhana-jiru (dry)
peanuts
ginger
jalapeno pepper
tomatoes
oil
cinnamon
mustard seed
jiru
hing
cloves
limbdo (limpati)
Dhokli can best be described as flat dumplings.
Prepare vaghar from oil, cinnamon, mustard seed, jiru,
hing, cloves, and limbdo. Cook toor dal in pressure cooker
for 7 to 9 minutes. Blend with mixer and put in a large
pan. Add crushed ginger, lots of water, sliced jalapeno
pepper, brown sugar, dhana-jiru, tomatoes, salt, peanuts,
and turmeric. When dal comes to a boil, drop in the flour
pieces one by one. Allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
Then add vaghar.
Whole Mung
Ingredients:
1 cup mung beans
ginger
garlic
jalapeno pepper
turmeric
buttermilk
salt
mustard seed
jiru
methi
1/2 onion
hing
Crush ginger, garlic, and jalapeno pepper together.
Prepare vaghar from mustard seed, jiru, methi, onion and
hing. Boil mung beans in pressure cooker for 10 minutes.
Add buttermilk and salt to taste, then add water. Put in
pan and set to boil (covered, not on high heat). Stir
often, as the mixture burns easily. Add ginger, garlic and
jalapeno pepper. Add vaghar. Makes 7 servings.
Toor Dal
Ingredients:
1/2 cup toor dal
1 tomato
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oil
methi (few grains)
mustard seed
cloves
cinnamon
cumin seeds
hing
salt
ginger
jalapeno pepper
Cook toor dal in pressure cooker for 12 minutes. After
removing from cooker, stir dal with beater. Heat oil in a
pan and drop in the spices; when they pop, add the cooked
dal and stir in sugar, chopped tomatoes (and/or lemon
juice), ginger, jalapeno pepper, and salt. Boil for 15 to
20 minutes. Yield: 5 servings.
R I C E D I S H E S
Toor Khichadi
Ingredients:
toor dal
rice
cinnamon
cloves
pepper corn
cumin
ginger root
garlic
jalapeno
onions
salt
turmeric
Soak two parts toor dal and 3 parts rice for 6-8 hours.
(After soaking there should be about three times as much
water as rice and dal put together.) Saute all the spices in
oil and add the rice-dal mixture. Bring to a boil and cook
on low heat until done (about 25 minutes).
Buttermilk Side Dish for Toor Khichadi (see above)
Ingredients:
limbdo and cumin seeds
ghee
buttermilk
salt
Saute limbdo and cumin seeds in ghee and add to diluted
buttermilk. Add salt to taste.
S N A C K S A N D A P P E T I Z E R S
Handva (Zucchini Bread)
Ingredients:
2 or 3 zucchini (or any vegetable you prefer)
2 cups rice
3/4 cup corn meal
1/2 cup toor dal
1/2 cup masur
buttermilk
1/4 tsp baking soda
salt
jal-ging-garlic
sugar
garam masala
dhana-jiru
turmeric
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp hing
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Grind rice, cornmeal, toor dal, and masur and soak in
buttermilk (enough to cover). Grate zucchini and mix with
batter. Make vaghar by popping mustard seeds, hing, and
sesame seeds in oil. Mix vaghar and other spices in batter.
Spray baking pan with Pam and add 3 or 4 tbsp oil as well.
Pour in batter and sprinkle some extra sesame seeds on top.
Bake in middle rack of oven for one hour at 375 degrees.
Batata Vada (Potato Balls)
Ingredients:
potato flakes or boiled potatoes
coconut
jal
peppers
cashews
(raisins)
lemon juice
sugar (very little)
balck pepper
salt
cilantro
(almonds)
chick-pea flour
oil
water
turmeric
Mash potatoes and add sugar, lemon juice, coconut,
black pepper, salt, cilantro, cashews, and (optionally)
raisins and/or almonds. Put chick-pea flour in a bowl. Add
enough oil to make lumps in the flour. Mix well. Add salt
and turmeric. Now add water (enough to reach a slightly
viscous consistency) and mix with mixer until there are no
lumps. Roll mash potatoes into one-inch balls, dip in the
chick-pea flour, and deep fry.
Upma
Ingredients:
1 cup cream of wheat
1 1/2 cups water
1 big onion
1 big potato
1/2 cup peas
1 big tomato
2 tsp lemon
Upma -- Mummy's Recipe
Ingredients:
3 tbsp oil
1/2 cup cream of wheat
cashews
peanuts (optional)
metho limbdo
jiru
mustard seed
salt
sugar
jalapeno pepper
1 cup warm water (more if needed)
ginger
Upma is used as a sour side dish or as a quick snack
for unexpected guests.
Heat oil in skillet, pop spices, and fry nuts. Add
jalapeno pepper and ginger. Saute cream of wheat until
light brown over medium to low heat (10-15 min.). Add
water.
O D D S A N D E N D S
Indian Tea
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup whole milk (buffalo milk would be best)
1/2 tsp tea masala
a bit of fresh grated ginger root
2 tbsp good black tea
If you can't get ready-made tea masala, the spice mix
used in Indian tea, you can improvise it with ground ginger,
cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, a bit of black pepper, and what-
ever else strikes your fancy.
Put the water, ginger root and tea masala in a saucepan
and bring it to a boil. Add the milk and bring it to a boil
again. Turn off the heat and add the tea. Cover and let
the mixture steep for 5 to 10 minutes. (For a lot of caf-
feine, do it the Indian way and allow it to continue to
boil.) Strain, add sugar or honey to taste, and drink. The
above proportions serve 3.
Ghee (Clarified Butter)
Ingredients:
unsalted butter
Ghee, or purified butter fat, is the Indian alternative
to shortening or lard. It need not be refrigerated, will
not go rancid, and won't burn or turn brown like butter. It
is always used in place of oil in cooking sweets and is used
at the table to put on chappatis and other Indian bread.
To make ghee, heat butter on medium heat in a saucepan.
Allow it to simmer until the liquid turns transparent. At
this point, the impurities in the butter will have settled
and formed a brown crud on the bottom of the pan. Remove
the pan from the heat and allow the ghee to cool until it is
warm (not hot, but not so cold that it resolidifies.) Strain
the butter through a seive lined with cotton balls. Only
the pure ghee will come through. Upon further cooling, the
ghee will have the consistency of vegetable shortening.
Yogurt
Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
4 tbsp yogurt
Although there are many variations on yogurt recipes,
this one seems to work well. Yogurt is easy to make in
large quantities, so feel free to double or triple the
recipe. The yogurt you use for starter can be any good cul-
tured yogurt (i.e. not the plastic stuff at Safeway!). You
can use homemade yogurt as starter for the next batch, but
you may want to get fresh starter every few generations.
Beat the starter yogurt smooth with a spoon and prepare
the containers in which you will set the yogurt. Pour the
milk into a pan and bring it to a boil on high heat, stir-
ring constantly so it won't stick. Just as the milk is
reaching the boiling point, it will start to froth and its
level will quickly rise. Immediately remove it from the heat
and set the pan in cool water. Continue stirring the milk as
it cools so that it does not separate. Test the milk tem-
perature every so often by checking a few drops on the back
of your wrist: if it burns at all, it is still too hot.
When the yogurt is cool enough (but still warm), add the
starter and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the
containers and put them (unlidded) in a warm place for about
four hours. (One good place is an oven that has been
preheated to 'warm' and then turned off for some time before
the yogurt is put in.) Once the yogurt has set, put the lids
on and refrigerate.
Radish Raita
Ingredients:
grated radishes
finely chopped jalapeno
yogurt
salt
cumin powder
cayenne pepper
mustard seed
Press the salt and radishes together to draw out excess
water. Mix spices in yogurt, then add radishes, salt, and
jalapeno. Stir thoroughly.
Fruit and Cucumber Raita
Ingredients:
cucumber
grapes
raisins
ripe banana
yogurt
crushed mustard seeds
salt
green jalapeno
cilantro
Grate the cucumber and use the salt to squeeze the
water out of it. Chop the fruit and cilantro and mix every-
thing together.
Kadhi (Yogurt Soup)
Ingredients:
buttermilk (or yogurt with water)
chana flour
crushed ginger and jalapeno
salt
brown or plain sugar
ghee
adad dal
mustard seed
jiru
hing
limbdo
cilantro
Mix buttermilk, a little bit of chana flour, ginger-
jalapeno, salt, and sugar with a handmixer. Make a vaghar
with ghee, a bit of adad dal, mustard seed, jiru, hing, and
limbdo. Add the buttermilk mixture, allow to come to a boil,
and add cilantro.
Idli Dosa Chutney
Ingredients:
1 tbsp chana dal
1.5 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp dhana (whole)
8-10 leaves of metho limbdo
1 tsp oil
crushed red pepper (Italian)
ginger
coconut
jalapeno pepper to taste (about 1/4 to 1/2)
buttermilk
This chutney, although usually eaten with idli and dosa
(two kinds of spiced bread), also goes well with many other
foods.
Blend jalapeno pepper, coconut and ginger with butter-
milk in blender until the mixture reaches a viscous con-
sistency. Heat oil for the spices. Put all other
ingredients in the hot oil to pop the spices and fry the
dal. Dump the fried spices and dal into the buttermilk mix-
ture and blend well. Yield: 1 cup.
S W E E T S
Rus-Goola (Cheese Balls in Sugar Syrup)
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon whole milk
juice of 1 lemon
(1/2 tsp powdered alum)
cardamom
sugar
water
Bring the milk to a boil and add lemon juice (and,
optionally, alum). Remove from heat and stir while milk
solids separate. Drain through cloth and knead the solids
for 20 minutes. Make balls adding 1/4-1/3 tsp of cardamom-
sugar mixture to each ball. Then bring 1 cup sugar and 3
cups water to a boil and add the balls of milk solids. Keep
them in the boiling water (making sure the water level
remains the same) for 1/2 hour or until they are puffy.
Sheera (Cream of Wheat)
Ingredients:
3 1/2 tbsp ghee
3/4 cup cream of wheat
2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
(raisins)
cardamom
saffron
almonds
Heat ghee in a frying pan and add cream of wheat.
(There should be enough ghee that the mixture bubbles
slightly.) Saute mixture until the color is changed. Add
raisins if you like. Saute for one more minute and add milk
slowly (being careful not to add too much). Turn the heat
down. When the consistency is right add the sugar. This
will make the cream of wheat release water. Add the spices
and almonds. Serve cool.
Rice Pudding
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon whole milk
evaporated milk
1/4 cup rice
almonds
1/2 cup sugar
pistachio nuts
cardamom
(nutmeg)
Bring milk to boil on low heat (stirring constantly)
and add milk. When the rice is cooked, add evaporated milk.
Now add sugar, almonds, and pistachio nuts. When the mix-
ture boils stir it constantly. It will turn pinkish or
beige. Turn off heat and let cool until lukewarm. Add car-
damom and, if desired, nutmeg.
Barfi
Ingredients:
1 package (15 oz) ricotta cheese
3/4 stick sweet butter
sugar (about 2/3 to 3/4 of the cheese container's worth)
4 to 5 tbsp powdered milk
Barfi (pronounced burr-fee) is a favorite, perhaps the
favorite, Indian sweet. It can also be made with almonds,
pistachios, or other nuts.
Mix cheese with butter. Add sugar. Cook on low heat.
When butter starts to become separated from cheese, add
powdered milk and cook a bit more on low heat until mixture
becomes thick. Cool and cut into squares or diamonds.
Pooran Podi
Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal
3/4 cup sugar
cardamom
Soak dal in water for two hours. Cook on medium heat
for 30 to 45 minutes. Drain off water. Add sugar and let
cook on low heat -- keep stirring and be careful. When the
tepatho stands up in the pooran, it is done. Let it cool.
Glossary
Ajmo -- stramoni.
Aloo -- potatoes.
Barfi -- sweet, spiced cheese squares.
Besan -- chickpea flour.
Bhaji -- cooked vegetables.
Bhajia -- vegetables coated with batter and deep fried.
Cardamom -- a strong spice with a flavor akin to menthol.
Made up of pods which should be broken to release the flavor
of the seeds inside.
Chana Dal -- chickpeas.
Chickpeas -- also known as garbanzo beans, one of the most
easily available dals.
Chutney -- a hot spice-and-fruit mixture used to season food
at the table.
Cilantro -- coriander leaves; a pungent herb available fresh
in Texas supermarkets. Also known as Chinese or Mexican
parsley.
Cumin -- a staple spice for Mexican food ('comino'), avail-
able whole or ground.
Dal -- lentils, usually split, and the soups made from them.
There are endless Indian varieties. The easiest ones to come
by here are split yellow and green peas, mung beans, black-
eyed peas, and chickpeas.
Dhabra -- vegetable bread.
Dhana -- coriander.
Dhana-Jiru -- a 50-50 mix of ground coriander and cumin.
Dhokli -- flat dumplings.
Dosa -- a thin, crisp snack bread.
Garam Masala -- a mixture of ground cloves, cinnamon, and
cardamom.
Ghee -- clarified butter. In a pinch, plain butter or even
oil or margarine will do instead of ghee.
Ginger -- best in the form of ginger root bought fresh at
the store and minced or grated at home.
Herder -- turmeric.
Hing -- asafetida.
Idli -- a spicy steamed cake.
Jiru -- cumin.
Kadhi -- yogurt soup.
Khichadi -- rice cooked with dal. Undeservedly considered
the lowliest of Indian dishes and therefore never served to
guests.
Limbdo -- a dried herb vaguely resembling bay leaves.
Methi -- foenugreek seeds.
Methi ne Bhaji -- leaves of the foenugreek plant. Spinach
makes an acceptable substitute, although it has a much
milder flavor than the real thing.
Mung Beans -- another easily found dal. Available in whole,
split, and white varieties.
Mustard Seed -- the whole black seed. A vaghar just wouldn't
be the same without it.
Raita -- yogurt with things mixed in it. Sometimes sweet but
always spicy.
Rus-Goola -- cheese balls.
Rai -- mustard seed.
Sabudana -- tapioca.
Sheera -- cream of wheat.
Toor Dal -- split yellow peas or pigeon peas.
Turmeric -- the spice that gives Indian food its bright yel-
low color. Don't use much!
Vada -- ball (as in 'batata vada').
Vaghar -- spices sauteed in butter, ghee, or oil to bring
out their flavor.
References
[1] Shanta N. Sacharoff, Flavors of India. (A good general
Indian cookbook. Warning: the recipes often call for
too much oil and too little spices.)
[2] Anna Thomas, The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two. (A
wonderful all-purpose vegetarian cookbook with a fine
chapter on Indian food. No recipe in this book has
ever failed us.)joy@mit-vax.UUCP (Joy Hoppe) (08/03/84)
Madhur Jaffrey has a second book out: it's based on her BBC television series. "Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking" Published by Barron's of Woodbury, NY US Edition, 1983. ISBN 0-8120-2700-0 In Paperback. $8.95. joy