Paanch Phoron; powerpuff spices

Now for those who end up using Garam masala powder and are seeking some fresh waft of flavor and taste in their food here's Paanch Phoron.
Its also for those who wants to be away from garlic and onion or love mild bursts of flavor once in a while, also for the purely vegetarians as it can spin wonders to squash, brinjal, pumpkin, potato and a host of other vegetables.
Paanch phoron is a mix of five whole spices namely,

• Cumin/ Jeera
  
• Fennel/ Sauf
  
• Nigella/ Kala Jeera
  
• Fenugreek/ Methi
• Omum/Ajwain or Mustard/ Sarson
  

There is a bit of discrepancy about the fifth spice, according to my mum its a spice called Radhuni which was originally used but now its been replaced with either Ajwain (the one I use bought from a shop in Kolkata) or Mustard (as per some folks on the net). Each of which is added in equal proportions in an air tight container and voila!...its ready to be used. * The primary flavor is dominated by the first four spice mix, so if you add ajwain which has a stong presence of its own add in small quantity. 'Paanch' means 'five' and 'Phoron' is the Bengali word for 'tempering'. Paanch Phoron is suppose to have medicinal properties, it promotes easy digestion and keeps the body cool during hot summer months.

A simple recipe to make red pumpkin and potato curry (Aaloo kumro Chechki) will be-
1) Peel and chop potato in vertical wedges (in Bengali cooking vegetable are cut in a certain way for a particular type of dish and chopping them wrongly is said to be a huge turn off while eating!)
2) Peel and chop red pumpkin also in vertical wedges.
3) Add some mustard oil in a shallow pan or kadai when hot add a pinch of hing (asafoetida) and a tea spoon of paanch phoron, quickly add the chopped vegetables and close lid, (so it does not splinter all around).
4) Toss the vegetables for a minute or so and to this add salt, pinch of sugar, turmeric and red chili powder and add water .
5) Close the lid again and simmer till the vegetable are tender, they should retain their structure over handling will lead to a squashy pulp.
*some people like a watery consistency and some don't so add water accordingly.
6) You can replace pumpkin with brinjal, zucchini or any other variety of squash.
7) You can add chopped cilantro/coriander and split green chili just before serving.

I have seen my grandmother prepare this dish and I cannot express how simple yet flavorful the dish taste. It goes well with Chapati or even better with Plain Paratha. I would suggest taste this dish at a Bengali household and then try it in your kitchen because unless you know how it's taste in its original setting it's very difficult to anticipate what cooking with paanch phoron can be like!

Comments: Fish also goes very well with paach phoron, specially small whole fish, try following the same recipe. Mango chutney (aamer ambal) is another easy preparation using this spice.
Coming soon....

Summer Spice

Devengere Bene(open) Dosa

In a hot August morning, driving through slush and pot holes on our way to lost temple town of Halibedu and Belur,we decided to stop over at Sri kishna Hotel.
The spicy smells of coconut chutney filled up the tiffin house and we eagerly asked for the menu. Among millions of dosas options we chose Benne Dosa which is Devenagere (a region in Karnataka) style Dosa. It arrived with sambar and coconut chutney. I could smell fresh churned butter and the sumptuous masala which is smeared over it.
I know it as daal puri, its made with grinding dry ingredients like Toor daal with host of other spices. Butter milk is also a major component but i am not too sure if its added to the Dosa batter. It adds flavor and softness and gives the open dosa its characteristic taste. Pallya which is a potato and onion concoction tempered with mustard, curry leaves and garnished with tomatoes and chillies is heaped on the top, topped with some more of fresh butter.
In Bangalore I know of only one place which serve this delightful dish and it's tucked away in some by lane of Kormangala. Its a shack like breakfast joint and I have many good memories of lazy Sunday mornings spent there.
PS: If any of you is kind enough to lend me more information on Benne Dosa, maybe the recipe, I'll surely make it for you!

Jumbo shrimps ocean city style!

A sinister looking Tavern, called the Pepper Tavern, tucked under one of the many hotels right in the middle of boardwalk, Ocean city, Maryland. Our off season visit here in some way made us lonesome explorer in the otherwise popular beach destination.

The menu was simple and the choice was easy, Jumbo shrimps platter being the only local choice among the regular chips and burger meals.
According to the woman who runs the place shrimps are steamed in Guinness beer along with other sauces, and served with spicy red pepper dust, lemon wedges and tomato based wasabi dip.
Typically when wine is used in cooking it is a common practice to use the same wine for drinking, so beer goes very well with these shimps.
Wasabi dip is a popular Japanese concoction made with horse radish which has a peculiar sharp taste. It is used along with a huge variety of sushi dishes. The mellow flavor of the fresh shrimps goes very well with this dip.

From Einstein Bros. Bagel Shop in New York.

Bagels should be found in the dictionary under fun, but according to Webster (who probably liked his with a smear) a bagel is "a hard bread roll made of yeast dough twisted into a small doughnut like shape, cooked in simmering water, then baked." The bagel is the only bread product that is boiled before it is baked. That's what gives the bagel its unique texture and the crust its characteristic shine.

Legend has it that in 1683 in Vienna, Austria, a local Jewish baker wanted to thank the king of Poland for protecting his countrymen from Turkish invaders. He made a special hard roll in the shape of a riding stirrup-Bugel in German - commemorating the king's favorite pastime and giving the bagel its distinct shape.

As bagels gained popularity in Poland, they were officially sanctioned as gifts for women in childbirth and mentioned in community registers. Mothers used them as nutritious teething rings that their infants could easily grasp - a practice still popular today.

Bagels eventually made their way to Russia, where they were called bubliki and were sold on strings. Like other ring-shaped objects, they were said to bring good luck and possess magical powers. It is even said that songs were sung about bagels!

A North American Debut

When the Eastern European Jewish immigrants arrived in North America at the turn of the century, they brought the bagel with them. Many settled in Canada, giving cities like Toronto and Montreal their reputation for having superb bagels. The American bagel industry established formal roots in New York between 1910 and 1915 with the formation of Bagel Bakers Local #338. This exclusive group of 300 craftsmen with "bagels in their blood" limited its members to sons of its members. At the time, it was probably easier to get into medical school than to get an apprenticeship in one of the 36 union bagel shops in New York City and New Jersey.

Professional bagel baking required know-how and backbreaking labor. Bagel makers' sons apprenticed for months to learn the trade. Men were paid by the piece and usually worked in teams of four. Two made the bagels, one baked, and a "kettleman" was in charge of boiling the bagels. The men earned 19 cents a box, and each box typically contained 64 bagels. It was not unusual for a team to make a hundred boxes a night.

With the rising of the yeast in countless bakeries, the popularity of the bagel rose far beyond the boundaries of ethnic neighborhoods. In the late 1950's and 1960's, bakers from New York and New Jersey began moving to other parts of the country. One such veteran who opened a bagel bakery in a suburb of Washington, D.C., in 1966, remembers his skeptical landlord nervously questioning, "Who's gonna spend seven cents for one of those things?"

Prepackaged bagels first became available in grocery stores in the 1950's. With the introduction of frozen bagels in the 1960's, consumers had access to bagels even if they didn't live near a bagel bakery.

Bagel-making machines, a boon to commercial bakers, were also introduced in the early 1960's. The machines form bagels by extruding the dough through the ring shape. Inventor Dan Thompson says, "I was born to invent a bagel machine. My father was thinking about a bagel-making machine when I was conceived." That may not be far from the truth, because Dan's father had a wholesale bakery in Winnipeg, Canada, and was already working on a bagel-making machine back in 1926. But it was far too complicated, too slow, and too costly to manufacture and wasn't commercially feasible.

There were as many as fifty unsuccessful attempts to produce a bagel-making machine in the early twentieth century. The Thompson Bagel Machine Corporation developed the first viable model, despite "doubting Thompsons" who insisted that no machine would ever replace the human hand in forming bagels. Most of the early machines were leased by bakers who paid by the dozen on the time meter. Now most are purchased. Popular with "Mom and Pop" bagel bakeries is the single-bank Thompson model with a dough divider that forms 175 dozen (2,100) bagels an hour. Large-scale production companies use multiples of the double-bank machine, each of which produces 400 dozen (4,800) bagels hourly.

Source: Kitchen projects

Name: Macaroni and cheese

Description: Gemelli macaroni cooked in melted cheddar cheese sauce

Type: Entrée (main dish), Kids entree



Accomplice: Salad or steamed vegetables.Lemonade to cut the heaviness of the cheese or a Merlot red.


This is the simplest form of pasta dish adored by kids worldwide. The macaroni used is fortified with iron and folic acids.

Recipe: Boil water in a big pot and add some salt, to this add macaroni and let it boil for 10-12 minutes. Don't cover the pot and occasionally give it a stir. In another sauce pan add 1 table spoon butter and crushed garlic, a small clove head is enough. Stir in 2 tablespoon of refined wheat flour or bread flour. A whisk is suitable here as we need to continuously stir in, the heat should be at low. Add half a cup of milk preferably whole or full creme. keep stirring till the milk thickens, this will take a while. Meanwhile strain away the water from macaroni and keep it aside.
If the sauce has thickened add grated cheddar (sharp cheddar, bright orange in colour is ideal) stir in about 1/2-1 cup depending upon the thickness required. We need creamy consistency here not too viscous that will clog your throat!
Now add the macaroni to the sauce and stir in well so it soaks the sauce. Garnish it with Cheese and your choice of herb.

Remarks: Cheddar cheese available in India have always disappointed me, the quality and variety that i find here is a lot better as the taste of this dish depends hugely on the kind of cheddar you use.
Salad as a accomplice for this can be a simple lettuce, cherry tomato and cucumber salad sprinkled with olive oil salt and pepper you can also add your favorite ham or salami if you can't be away from meat!
Fresh veges specially asparagus and carrots tastes twice as nice if they are steamed for 10 minutes. They also serve as a healthy side dish.

Greek and Turkish Palate

Greek and Turkish cuisines share much of their food norms, as well as a border. Traditional Greek food is Byzantine, which blends Greek and Roman cookery. The most dominant ingredient is olive oil. Goat, sheep and fish are the primary proteins, as beef is not cultivated as much in the region. Another food component of note is filo pastry, that is used to make the well known dessert Baklava. Other Greek foods that are familiar to the Western palate are Spanakopita (spinach wrapped in filo), Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), and Gyros (meat roasted on a turning spit) with Tzatziki (yogurt sauce with cucumber and garlic). Don’t forget the Ouzo (anise flavored alcohol)!

Turkish foods owe much to the history of the Ottoman empire, but share links with Arabic, Persian and Greek diets as well. Yogurt and cheeses made from sheep’s milk are artfully prepared here, and rice pilaf and bulgur wheat are common grains. Turks share in the Greek tendency to use abundant amounts of olive oil, as do most Mediterranean peoples. Shish Kebabs are the archetypal Turkish meat dish. Grab some parsley, mint, cumin, and paprika and your ready to spice up a great Turkish dish! You can even use smoked paprika if you’re daring!

Source: The spice house

Tracing down Tzaziki

A small bowl of tzatziki, served with few drops of olive oil and a few pieces of dill.
Tzatziki ( also transcribed jajiki) is a Greek and Turkish meze, or appetizer, also used as a sauce or dip. The Greek word is derived from the Turkish cacik, which means a form of chutney (Cacik, the Turkish side dish with similar ingredients, is more diluted). Tzatziki is made of yoghurt (which in Greece and Turkey is usually made of sheep or goat milk), cucumbers (either pureed and strained or seeded and finely diced), onion, and garlic for taste—in Greece this can be as much as a whole head of garlic for a large bowlful of tzatziki. It is usually seasoned with olive oil and diverse herbs including dill or mint, and usually a spoonful of vinegar is added. It is often served with pita bread as the first course of a meal, with black olives on top or served separately. It is one of the standard components of the Turkish doner kebab or Greek souvlaki and gyros.

In Bulgaria the same dish is known as "dry tarator" or "Snezhanka" salad, and is served as a appetizer. For the preparation the yoghurt is put in a kerchief and hanged for several hours in order to lose about half of its water. Then cucumbers, garlic, minced walnuts, salt and pepper are added.

Similar dishes in Iraq are known as jajeek.To prepare the dish, thoroughly mix skinned and diced cucumber, diced dill and plain yogurt. One may add salt and mint, according to taste. A variation in the Caucasus mountains, called ovdukh, uses kefir instead of the plain yogurt, thus creating a refreshing summer drink. This can be poured over a mixture of vegetables, eggs and ham to create a variation of okroshka, sometimes referred to as a 'Caucasus Okroshka'.

I have tasted the greek, turkish and the persian version of Tzaziki. Tzaziki can be compared with raita in India,with variations in ingredients like replacement of dill with coriander (locally available) and disappearance of garlic (considered primarily non-vegiratian ingredient sp. in parts of north India). All are served as a refreshing appetizer/relishes along with other dishes.

The Sephardic Jewish name for this sauce, at least in Greece, is Tarator.

Simple recipes for Tzatziki
Ingredients:
* 1 ½ cup of Greek yogurt (strained)
* 2 medium-sized cucumbers
* 4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
* olive oil
* a little vinegar
* salt
Skin the cucumbers and cut into thin strips with a vegetables grater; and then cut into small pieces. Drain and squeeze well and then salt. Add the crushed garlic, the vinegar, the yogurt and mix, finally adding the oil (a little oil at a time) and mixing. If you wish, you can garnish with olives. For a more garlicky taste, add more garlic.Please note the following instructions are not typical for Greek yogurt
*You can sprinkle the tzatziki with paprika.
*You can, if you wish, add a mixture of finely chopped almonds and other nuts.
*Can also be made with a sour cream base.


A version from Asha by Clio:
Scrape a cucumber. Remove water (drink it!)
Scrape a little garlic
Cut some dill leaves (sabbajki – needle like fragrant leaves) into fine pieces
Add all this to a bowl of curd and mix well.
Add salt. And a few drops of olive oil if you want.
Tip from my Greek friend Clio: When you buy olive oil, buy one which is green in colour, not yellow – it is the closest to pure olive oil.


Another version from Dimitri
Greek cucumber appetizer or salad
Serves/Makes:8 or more

Ingredients
* 2 pints. yogurt
* 5 cucumbers
* 10 cloves garlic
* 4 tbsp (60 ml). olive oil
* 3 carrots
* 5 tbsp (70 ml). chopped parsley
* 6 tbsp (90 ml). vinegar
* 5 tbsp (70 ml). Ouzo(greek drink)
* 5 tbsp (70 ml). salt
* 3 tbsp (45 ml). white pepper

Preparation
* Wash the cucumber and grate it.
* Mix it with the salt and leave it aside for one hour so that it will loose all the water.
* Peel and grate the carrots and the garlic and mix all the ingrediends together and last, but not least, the grated cucumber.

Comments
It is Greece's most popular appetizer and I'm sure that you are gonna love it unless you don't like garlic. Yours sincearly chef Dimitris Pangiotopolos from Greece.

Source: Allexperts.com