The Great Indian Pickling Book

Pickling and Indian food are never really mentioned in the same sentence. Yet it's an important part of the cuisine, as Indians, both from the north and the south will tell you. There are so many different ones that complement the variety of dishes the country offers. What's great is that anyone from experienced to novice home chefs can make these tart and tasty sides.

Tejal Rao wrote about this in today's New York TImes Food section. Ms Rao, a regular contributor, also interviewed India's pickle queen Usha Prabakaran who wrote a cult classic cookbook Usha's Pickle Digest.It was on the cusp of being big, when a rare fungus lodged in the front of her brain. She needed surgery to remove it along with long periods of rest to recover. The book and the launch party had to be put on hold. This was in 1998 and through the two decades since the book has picked up a following.It was self published and then the pages were photocopied. It was celebrated in blogs and on podcasts. Ms. Prabakan, who originally studied to be a lawyer, answered inquiries with friendly PDFs which explains how her pickle books hopped the globe. Pickling is big in Indian cuisine. She learned how from her mother in law who preserved  new batches of seasonal pickles every week.The tart fruits and veggies were addictive. She apprenticed herself, learning to turn jars in the sun so the fruit dried evenly and taught herself to combine new and old tamerinds to balance out their acidity levels. Her creations were given to friends who begged for the  recipes. The book also reflects the need to preserve this tradition which is dying out thanks to pickle factories taking over.

 Indian home chefs use almost anything to create these tasty side dishes and condiments. Fruits such as plums and hog plums - a kind of smaller version of plum along with cherries and chokeberries - a berry similar to a blueberry are brined in either salt or a spiced oil. Sprouted fenugreek seeds, bamboo shoots, fat gooseberries and even hibiscus flowers (!) are also pickled. Most of them are brined in salt water but Indian home chefs also use vinegar, citrus juice , tamarind juice and yogurt. Pickled foods are served at every meal, including breakfast and with every kind of dish  including grilled cheese.Anyone can pickle. Ms. Rao gives two of Ms. Prabakaran's recipes. One's a simple carrot one that has a peeled and julienned  carrot brined in lime juice and kosher salt. Fresh , finely chopped ginger and a finely chopped serrano chile are added for heat and flavor. This would be a great side for any dinner.Another is a tomato and fennel seed pickle.It requires unripe or sour Roma tomatoes.It has a sweet and spicy vibe , thanks to tamarind juice and hot paprika. Asafoetida powder is also added. This gives a leek like flavor and is used in northern Indian cooking. This is a more involved cooking which involves cooking mustard seeds also used for more flavor, and then cooking the tomatoes in the spice mixture.It's then cooled and eaten with flat breads or yogurt.

Pickled foods are a great side to any main course. Try  Usha Prabakaran's recipes to give your meals a fun lift. They're relatively easy to  recreate and a nice jolt of heat on a cold winter's night.

Healthy Pets Healthy Diets

For Panther who's enjoying his tuna and milk now in Heaven

We worry about our family's diets and what they eat. However we should also be concerned about what our cats and dogs are eating too. Just like so much of our food animal companion foods are also processed. This can cause a lot of problems, from simple obesity to various forms of cancer. It pays to give them a good healthy diet from early on. They'll live longer and be healthier.

Pet food is mostly processed and not always made from the best ingredients. There are petrochemicals added for color so that the food will be appealing to us. We buy cat and dog food according to the commercials or ads we've seen. We like the fact that our companions food are feline and canine versions of ours. However the big pet food companies (you can guess who they are) put everything from egg noodles to cheese flavoring as fillers and flavorings. Also some brands do have eggs which are good for glossy coats, however they also have egg shells in them which can get stuck in an animal's delicate intestinal tracts. There's also corn oil added as well along with offal (those gross innards we usually don't eat),

You can either go natural or add supplements to your cat's and dogs diets. Natural eating means shopping at smaller, privately owned pet shops. These offer boutique brands that are made almost by hand. They have the same flavors that regular pet foods have such as salmon , turkey and tuna for cats and chicken and lamb for dogs. However these also have the addition of wholesome grains such as brown rice and fruits  and vegetables such as antioxidant rich blueberries and beta carotene rich carrots. You can also give dogs and cats the same supplements we take. Mix a few drops of flaxseed and/or Omega 3 fish oil in their foods. This prevents or stops any cancer along with giving them healthier skins and glossier coats

Our animal companions are a vital part of our family dynamic. Give them the same good food and supplements you would give yourself. A healthy diet means a long healthy life for you all