Mexican Indian Fusion Surprisingly Traditional

Fusion food is nothing new. It;s basically how Cajun and Creole food were born. Even Mexican recipes can be fused with another ones.This may seem novel but it;'s actually an old idea brought to light.

Regular contributor and chef, Tejal Rao wrote about the unique blend of Mexican and Indian cuisine in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. This is not some new fangled idea brought about by  a fast food chain.It has to do with restrictive immigration laws a century ago.In 1917 Punjabi-Sikh and Muslim men immigrated to Sacramento to find work as farmers and loggers out side Califormia's capital beginning in the late 1800's After the Immigration Act of 1917 which made it near impossible for Indian women to migrate to the US, hundreds of men married Mexican women,New kinds of cooking and recipes emerged from their home kitchens and even a handful of restaurants sprung up.One couple GUlam and Inez Aguirre Rasul left farming to open ElRanchero in Yuba City, California Since Mr Rasul was a Muslim pork dishes were e off the table.Instead there were roti quesadillas with cheese,onions and shredded beef.It was a hit until the restaurant closed in the 1990s.

Mexican Indian cuisine isn;t codified. so there are really no classic dishes.There could be a series of different ones  taken from one or two recipes.This is how is ts in the Mexican Indian restaurant Mirra in Chicago.Slices of yellowtail snapper are drenched in a lime spiked buttermilk ,hot and tangy with a garlic and Serrano pepper acha a South Asian pickle.It;s tucked under a delicate crunch of nopales ginger and curry leaves. They also celebrate Mr. Rasul's roti by having it on the menu along side shrimp Chaat and lamb tacos or taco Arabe. Their biryani tends to go with local produce than the more traditional ingredients.There is also Saucy Chick in Pasadena, Califnronia run by Mexican Marcel Michel and his wife Rhea Patel Marcel.They call their cuisine Indi-Mex and  feature rotisserie chicken marinated in echo jeera  spectacular curry that is based on one of the backbone spices of Indian cuisine, Another marinade mimicked Mr. Michels' favorite pibil, a marinade made from orange juice and achiote There's also going to be a spicy sweet dal as well as fish pakora to the taco menu.

Mexican Indian food or Indi-Mex may be the next big food trend. Two cultures come together to create a cuisine that's both flavorful and interesting. It's may change up the way Mexican food is thought about.

The Perfect Bowl

 everyone has their idea of their perfect soup.Jt should be brothy with the right amount of veggies and add in such as beef , chicken or seafood. It can be thick like a chowder or thin like a potage. Yet we all dream of the perfect bowl. Do we know how to make one?

Regular contributor and chef Ali Slagle comes to the rescue in her piece in yesterday's New York Times Food section.She gives excellent tips and advice for making a memorable pot of good homemade soup. each smart trick delivers optimum taste in just under forty minutes too. The first step is start by blooming big. A sturdy foundation calls for a good array of spices and pastes along with the necessary main ingredients. These should be sizzled first , giving the soup more umani flavor. Contributor to NY Cooking .com Jocelyn Ramirez browns everything before adding it to her vegan chili. she first browns the onions then mushtooms, hot and sweet pepper and garlic Dried spices and chiles are blended into this. This intensifies their scent so the whole kitchen is filled with their spicy aromas. Bloom a few choice ingredients, ones that have distinctive flavors such as chickpeas and spices such as Berbere spice. Fats also add flavor. Use butter and olive oil along with coconut creams. The liquid evaporates from the last leaving a rich fat behind to soak up the other flavors.

Of course liquid is important. what else makes soup soup? As fellow contributor and chef too,Samin Nosrat points out  that water is essential but you can also use broth stock and even wine! dairy and pickle brines can also be included for a flavorful spoonful. Keep in mind if you don;t want to go with water then rely on stock and broth.Chicken beef and mushroom are all great but consider dashi, made from seaweed and bonito flakes. Most people love a good thick soup yet really don't know how to thicken it. Rice is a good and mild addition. The tender grains will fray at the edges releasing starches into the broth. This is evident in Melissa Clark;'s take on the classic Greek soup avgolomeno, a rich, lemon infused egg soup with escarole. red lemtils are great and make for a wonderful dal, Priya Krishna another Food section contributor and master chef uses then. Mixed with turmeric they produce a smooth silky broth perfect with naan. Two starches can be used,. Think pureed beans and noodles in a sopa de fideo y frijoles. or think of pasta e fagiole - a perfect marriage of white cannellini beans and ditalini pasta.

Soup is what you make it. Make it a perfect one. Use the right ingredients and the proper methods to create a steamy, fragrant bowl of goodness on a chilly day,.

Kamala For COTUS

 Is it I'm[ortant for a candidate to be relatable to their constituents? Yes. Even better is that they cook which is always relatable. What would make for a good COTUS Cook Of The United States? Someone who loves cooking and a good sit down family meal. Someone like Kamala Harris.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about the presidential candidate in yesterday's New York Times  Wednesday Food section. A few presidents were known to cook. Dwight Eisenhower famously liked to grill steaks in the White House back yard. Abe Lincoln was known to put on an apron and help out. Yet Vice President. Harris goes the extra mile. She is in charge of her family's Sunday meals where she creates the family favorite spaghetti Bolognese. Yet she also embraces her  South Indian roots. She has cooked with the actor Mindy Kaling where they made dosas, a type of crepe , popular with street vendors and a potato curry.Of course she has also make monster cookies with a young voter, Avery in Iowa. She also cooked apples and bacon with her Iowa's campaign chair. She made sure both ingredients were from Iowa. Unlike other candidates she also scrolls through YouTube  to study videos. During the pandemic she took to Instagram where she got a lesson in egg cookery from famed chef Jose Andres.

Not surprisingly Ms Harris learned cooking from her mother Shyamala Gopalan. Theirs is a vegetarian cuisine thanks to their Hindi religion so Ms Harris grew up with vegetable samosas and dal, She also has favorites  such as Marcella Hazan and Alice Waters cookbooks. She had even mentioned that she'd like to write her own one day on Jennifer Hudson's talk show.Her cooking skills are as smooth as her political ones. She's known to crack an egg with one hand and chopped an onion so well that it impressed chef Tom Colicchio. The Harris- Emhoff kitchen is more a kitchen belonging to a professional chef than a possible future president. She owns enamel skillets a gas range and a crock next to a stove overflowing with spatulas and spoons, Yet cooking is more than a hobby.It centers and grounds the busy pol.It makes her feel normal, especially after a busy week. There is nothing like cooking for her husband and bonus children. She feels in control with cooking whether it's making family recipes or dry brining a turkey with salt and pepper. If she is elected she will have to say goodbye to some of this. She can still cook but with an army of help to cut , chop and prep.

It will be a crazy race for the next few months. Luckily Vice President Harris can turn to her cooking for calm and serenity It helps dealing with the wildness of this presidential election.

The Lesser Spices

 Let's face it. oregano , rosemary and garlic are the spice stars of any kitchen, whether residential or commercial. They sparkle and shine in sauces and rubs, marinades and vinaigrettes. Yet there are lesser known and used spices that can give oomph to any savory or sweet dish. It's time to get to know them.

Fenugreek is one of those lesser known seasonings. Only a few professional chefs have used it in various sauces and side dishes. Mention it to a home chef and you might be met with a "Huh?". Fenugreek is an herb similar to clover and found mostly in the Mediterranean  region along in South Asia and  southern Europe. The seeds are the part of the flower that's primarily used and the flavor is similar to maple syrup. The Indians eat the fenugreek leaves as a vegetable, It's best in Indian cooking gracing such dishes as aloo methi, a traditional Indian potato curry and methi dal, a dal that also uses the leaves as does the first dish. It's also one of the ingredients in Berbere spice rub which gives the mix a certain sweetness. Caraway is another spice that many home chefs don't know or rarely use. Yet it's a part of everyone's favorite bread - rye. The seeds have been gracing the tasty loaf for centuries. It's used also in biscuits, cakes, stews meat dishes sauerkraut and pickles. Caraway is even used in cheeses. Sprinkle a teaspoon in any stew for more flavor or over a pork roast. Definitely think of it when you're baking bread and want a nice topping.

Cardamon is another spice that's sadly underused in the home kitchen.It has a piny flavor , sort of like rosemary.It's grown in tropical areas like India and Malaysia along with Costa Rica. It's used to flavor basmati rice and curries. It's also a spice that works well with chicken, whether as a rub or as a sweet and savory curry sauce. Use this spice in baking too, Cardamon shortbread cookies are a nice addition to any Christmas cookie table. A flourless chocolate cake laced with it is always a delicious end to a dinner. Coriander is another spice that's only used during pumpkin spice season.It's one of the many spices that gives pumpkin pie and its' offshoots that tangy, sweet taste. It's grown in India and Indonesia and features strongly in both cuisines. It's also used in Mexican, namely in chiles, where it add some sweet zing.Coriander is  a big ingredient in Spanish and Latin recipes as well being part of rubs, sauces and soups. Try a coriander-cumin rub for your pork chops. This is a mix of the spices with hot chili powder, allspice and paprika. Allspice is another under rated spice.It can be found in the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America. It can be used in flavoring everything from Swedish meatballs to Jamaican jerk chicken.It also works well in spice cakes and cookies, perfect for fall baking. Think a spice cake with cream cheese frosting or streusel muffins, spiked with it.

These are just some of the lesser known spices. However they add big flavor to everything from stew to cakes. Try  them for a different spin on spicy cooking and baking.

Yellow Chili Hits The States

Indian food is one of the tastiest and most fun out there.It is an experience, enhanced by beautiful surroundings and exotic aromas. Now it's going to be pushed one step further thanks to a man who can be called the Mario Batali or Bobby Flay of India - Chef Sanjeev Kapoor creator of the Yellow Chili restaurants in India.

Priya Krishna, food writer and author of the cookbook,Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks. wrote a fascinating article about Chef Kapoor in yesterday's New York Times Food section. He has created a chain of restaurants, Yellow Chili in India,  - think of it as their Applebee's.or Olive Garden along with having his own twenty-four hour food channel Food Food. He is the country's most famous chef who has not only restaurant franchises but also a whole line of cookbooks. People adore him as is the case with  the  married couple Kamal Laur and her husband, Satvinder Ghotra. They  have opened one of his Yellow Chili in Buena Park, California. It will draw in fans,mostly from the heavily Indian populated towns of nearby  Irvine and Artesia.It is also close to the famed Knotts Berry Farm so curious tourists as well as n locals  and Indian food lovers will also probably visit. The Ghotras plan on hosting Diwali and Holi festivities there too to draw in more business.They've already threw a New Year's Eve bash in the adjoining banquet room with seats going between $100 and $125 a person.

The success of Yellow Chili depends on its' menu. The restauarnt, which is already established in Canada and Oman, features Northern Indian cuisine.These signature dishes of Chef Kapoor are hearty ones, rich with sauces and spices. One is Lalla Mussa Dal, a fiery lentil dish , spiked with Kashmiri red chili powder  a kind of cayenne and ginger. Another dish is Shaam Savera, spinach coated dumplings submerged in a thick tomato gravy. The restaurant also offers soups such as the popular Mulligatawny and tomato basil shorba or soup.American audiences would love their chaat dishes, fried street dishes reinterpreted for diners. There's chicken lollipops and fried fish patties to crunch on and share with friends. Yellow Chili would definitely appeal to vegetarians thanks to a large  list of vegetarian dishes that feature potatoes, cottage cheese. and mustard leaves.There are also sorts of curries from ones starring veggies to ones loaded with shrimp and chicken along with lamb. There's a variety of Indian breads from gluten free roti to naan along with basmati rice.. Desserts include  Phirni, their version of rice pudding.

The Ghotras want to turn Yellow Chili into a well known chain like the OLive Garden. They just may, be that successful especially with the hordes of Chef  Kapoor fans. Yellow Chili may be the next place to go for good eating.

Can Food Unite Us?

Today is Martin Luther King Day, a day for unity and inclusiveness. Unfortunately we don't have that thanks to a racist and divisive administration. That task now falls to us. How do we unite? Over a good meal or even just a coffee.

Now , more than ever we have to sit down with neighbors, coworkers, and our kids" classmates and teachers. Churches, synagogues and mosques have to gather together as well. The best way is through a meal or even a bake sale. Schools should offer Saturday luncheons or dinners where parents and kids can get together and bring up topics from bullying to prejudice. The meals don't have to be elaborate. A pot luck menu can be arranged with everyone following religious dietary laws  as well as being sensitive to vegans and those prone to food allergies.Another great food idea is that the families bring their traditional dishes so others can expand their palates. Kids can experience dal or kimchi as well as understanding why going meatless is so important to vegetarian classmates.It's also a good time to bring out the fruits and veggies and have parents start a dialog about healthier school lunches.The same idea can be applied to places of worship.It's an important  idea to expand not only the palates  of older members but  also broaden their horizons. The more they know about a religion, the less they are to judge and pigeonhole.

This same idea can be applied to the town's police forces as well.Many throughout inner cities and even some suburban towns regard the police with suspicion. It's time to come together with a lunch or dinner at a community center or school. Again, this creates an open dialog for all sorts of subjects. It also gives kids a chance to see cops not as their enemy, but as people  just like them. Towns can definitely give this a try , especially during the warmer months.Many municipalities do have a Memorial Day or Fourth of July picnic where everyone gathers over hot dogs and soda. They should have this once or twice a month  from May to October. These would  unite a town. Again volunteers can make various foods from their backgrounds to create an all inclusive internationally driven get together.A forgotten group of our society is our elderly. Nursing homes would welcome the community to come and share a meal with their residents. It also is a boost for the young because they get a first hand look at people who have made history and lived during some of its' most memorable times.

Can a meal help unite us? Most assuredly yes. It's just a question of planning an all inclusive lunch or dinner where all are invited.

Jewish Cooking Redefined

Mention Jewish cooking and images of chicken fat - schmaltz and oily latkes come to mind along with a heavy Eastern European influence. Healthy and international dishes never enter the picture. Until now. A new cookbook sets kosher cooking in a hipper, more worldly light.

Paula Shoyer, creator of the famed Kosher Baker blog along with being named as A Woman To Watch in 2015  has written The Healthy Jewish Cookbook ( Sterling Epicure Publishers 2017). This is a great book, a mix of traditional Jewish cooking with  modern and international twists. This is a must have in any kitchen, regardless of religion. The books starts off with a page one meal planning and introducing kids to preservative free foods. It's written in a straightforward style that many novice home chefs will appreciate.Other pluses is that she recommends using whole wheat pasta and and mixing whole wheat into recipes calling for refined white flour.She is a stalwart advocate of always  cooking with  fresh ingredients.The cookbook is also sprinkled with tips from  feeding the elderly to serving buffet style at a Thanksgiving dinner. There is extra advice on how to clean leeks and dealing with yeast. The book is divided into such sections as Appetizers and Salads, Soups and Sides. I like the fact that she puts vegetarian with fish and dairy main dishes. She also keeps kosher by separating the meat recipes in a chapter all their own

What is also striking is the globalization of her kitchen. Yes, she has a healthy and modern takes on brisket (treating it like bouef bourguignon) baked latkes and tsimme but there are recipes influenced by every corner of the globe.Home chefs will love her Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, a kosher take on pho .Dark miso paste and tamari soy sauce lend color and flavor to a home made chicken soup. There's also a recipe for coq au vin, the traditional French that has Chef Shoyer's spin. She makes this dish lighter by subbing in a white wine for a red. Lamb lovers will enjoy her Japanese lamb chop recipe fiery with jalapeno peppers and ginger.  Italian cooking is sort of similar to Jewish and she has many recipes. A cold winter warmer is her Pasta Siciliano , rich with eggplant and pasta, along with her Ribollata, bread soup. Indian and Moroccan  dal and lemtil  soup recipes also figure greatly in the book..Chef Shoyer is well known for her baking. Her dessert recipes don't disappoint. The  picture of chocolate rugelach looks heavenly as does the one featuring  her carmelized apple strudel. There are also bread recipes such as a gluten free challah and whole wheat onion one. Home bakers will flip for her rosemary focaccia which would be great dipped in peppery olive oil or marinara sauce.

The Healthy Jewish Cookbook  is the book to have for the New Year. It is full of good for you recipes that any home chef or home baker can make. Best of all it marries Jewish  tradition with international dishes.

The Chlie Pepper Bible - The Perfect Pepper Book

Peppers, both hot and sweet, are wonderful to put into any dish. They liven up everything , from simple salads to tame drinks. Now there's a new cookbook celebrating them and their long history.It's a great addition to any home chef's library.

Judith Finlayson wrote The Chile Pepper Bible (Robert Rose Press) that' has both savory and sweet (!) recipes featuring all sorts of peppers. She is the author of many cookbooks that center around slow cooking, dips and salsa along with vegetarian cooking and appetizers.This latest is a dazzling amount of recipes that range from salsas to ice cream. Many home chefs refuse to cook with any kind of peppers, fearing the heat may be too much. This book alleviates all fears. Ms. Finlayson opens up the book with a detailed picture guide on every pepper grown on earth. She also gives us the Scoville scale which measures the levels of heat or fieriness..It was created in 1912 by William Scoville , a chemist who determined how much sugar water it takes to neutralize the heat. It takes 5,000 drops to neutralize a jalapeno pepper  so it would be classified as 5,000 SHU or Scoville Heat Unit. This is what I love about the book,It has so many nuggets of information and history. She writes of how peppers became a staple of various regions, from India to England, and from America to China. There is an interesting history of Tabasco Sauce along with the chemical breakdown of capiscums.  The last surprisingly links them to the vanilla plant.

 There are many international recipes since peppers are universally used in all aspects of cooking, The recipes are divided into sections , from appetizers all the way to dessert. Each has a good amount of recipes to try The appetizer section has such diversity as the Southern classic deviled eggs with cayenne and pickled bird type peppers to  the Korean kimchi patties with a chili paste dip.Soups are also represented in the book and there is a variety to choose from. Home chefs will love making Bermudan Fish Chowder along with the famed Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, redolent with red finger chiles and sliced onions and scallions.Meat lovers will enjoy the recipes for Brazilian feijoada, Turkish style stuffed peppers and Catalan meatballs.There is also Ms. Finlayson's version of Kung Pao Chicken given a kick with the addition of cayenne peppers.If a whole meal made with heat is too daunting, there are plenty of side recipes.Try her recipe for the Indian based Spinach and Tomato Dal, a flavorful chickpea paste livened up with Kashmiri ground chile pepper.Her paprika laced Home Style Hash  Browns will liven up any weekend brunch, The most surprising are the dessert and drink recipes.Pecan pie along with spicy orange coconut ice cream gets a jolt of fire along with tomato drinks.

The Chile Pepper Bible is a great cookbook for those who to add heat and spice to their cooking and baking. Home chefs can experiment with recipes from all over the world and create spicy and interesting dishes and even desserts. It's an exciting and interesting must have for any kitchen,

Nepali Cuisine Spice And Mountains

Many only know Nepal for Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain top, yet it's also a fascinating, ancient country/It lies between China and India, and there's no doubt of their influence on the cuisine. It is tradition mixed with the exotic, two cultures fused as one in an interesting blend of spices.

Nepal sits on the top of India so it's no surprise to see certain Indian dishes in the cuisine..Dal, a staple of New Dehli and Bombay is made here as well.It's a spicy but easily replicable soup of lentils and spices.It's served with bhat or cooked grains along with rice. Sometimes vegetable curry is also served with it for a more  satisfying meal. A more Nepalese dish is dhindo.This is a kind of polenta being cooking with clarified butter or ghee and water. Buckwheat can also be added to the mix for more nutrition, Aachar or a tomato pickle is often served . This is a  kind of ketchup , but with zesty zing of cumin and mustard. Timur, or Szechuan pepper is also added to give the sauce more kick. There is  the chutney, made super hot by adding chili peppers and ginger to a sweet mango and tamarind mix. Most of the people are vegetarian , due to Hinduism and Buddhaism so most meals have yogurt as the main dish.Those of Pahari background enjoy yak meat.

The Chinese influence is felt very strongly here. There are momo, Tibetan style dumplings with Nepali spices. They were originally filled with buffalo meat but now have chicken and vegetarian fillings.Fermented soy and bamboo shots are also used.The janajati or indigenous people are big on buffalo and pork while another group, the Magars eat nothing but pork. Along with different ethnic groups different locations have different dishes Thakali cuisine, located between the Himalayas and the lowlands are big on sheep. Their meat is air dried and then eaten. The Thakali also make a kind of blood sausage rhat is also dried. These are added to curries  or sautéed in ghee and sometimes dipped into timur-ko-chop, Szechuan pepper, salt and local herbs.Newars, the urbanized people of Katmandu have huge feasts  that feature fried tofu or even cottage cheese. Their festival foods would not be out of place in a restaurant featuring nose to tail cuisine either. They are big on fried liver and tongue as well as stuffed lungs. Tea and beer usually round out any Nepali lunch or dinner.

Nepal is known for beautiful and exotic scenery.It is also know for interesting foods that reflects the cultures around it. It is full of variety and spice as it has been for centruies.

Treat Your Heart Well

 We know how to treat our sweethearts on Valentine's Day bit do we really know how to treat our own sweet hearts? A good gift is healthy but fun eating, that delivers a Cupid's arrow of both nutrition and flavor straight to us.You can not only eat something yummy  but also one that's packed with benefits.

Dips are always a neat way of enjoying a  snack Imagine a big bowl of one and munchies as your and your sweetie enjoy a romantic movie..One of the most .  flavorful and easiest to make is guacamole. Avocados are especially heart healthy being loaded with potassium and also lutein for the eyes .Add mashed tomatoes, chopped onions and a tablespoon of olive oil for a superfood dip that's extra smooth and creamy.Salsa is another treat and it can be made both sweet and savory.  For a tasty sweet one take  a mix if strawberries , oranges along with pineapple chunks and mangoes  and coarsely chop. Add some stevia to sweeten and a squirt of lemon juice to keep the fruit fresh to finish it off. Serve with cinnamon tortilla chips which are tortillas rebaked with a brushing of bitter and a dusting of cinnamon and brown sugar on top. Savory salsa can be made a variety of ways with everything from fiber rich black beans to tomatoes to one just made with onions and scallions. Pretzels can be a fun snack especially when they're served with homemade honey mustard. Use a good mustard like Colmans and dark wildflower honey. The last is bursting with antioxidants and enzymes.

Romantic meals can also be good for  both your heart and sweetheart. Spaghetti (remember Lady and the Tramp) can be enjoyed with a good wine and candleight. Try a whole wheat pasta as opposed to a white flour based type.as for the sauce, again tomatoes are full of phytonutrients such as folate and lycoprene. For fun make a primavera sauce, This is a quick saute of not only tomatoes in olive oil and garlic but also , broccoli, cauliflower and onions,Indian  food is also good for the heart. Curries are chock full of the spice cumin. Not only is it delicious and addictive but its' also  rich in iron and antioxidants.You can also make masoor dal, a lentil paste that's loaded with turmeric and can be served with naan bread. This is a superfood meal if there ever was one.Lentils can aid in controlling diabetes along with helping dieters to lose weight,Tumeric is a spice, like cumin that can reduce the risk of certain cancers like colon and breast as well as fighting arthritis and Alzheimer's disease. Of course nothing beats a grilled salmon dinner  and again served with gilled veggies is a meal that's good for both the heart and the brain.end with rich deep  dark chocolate or better yet strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Treat both your sweet heart and your heart good today. Give both tasty foods that are rich in flavor and nutrients, Both will appreciate it.

A Rainbow Of Spices

Indian food is a variety of so many different colors and tastes.It reflects this mysterious, ancient country with it's exotics recipes and amazing ingredients.It is also a fun cuisine to cook,from it's" appetizers to desserts. There's a new cookbook put there showcasing these, and they are the perfect dishes to welcome in the summer. The cookbook is Spices And Seasons,Simple Sustainable Indian Flavors (Hippocrene Books,New York)written by Rinku Bhattacharya.This is her second book and she has written for newspapers and appeared on television.I love this book, not just because I love Indian food but because Ms. Bhattacharya also explains and show how to make your own arsenal of Indian spices.These are vital in creating the right flavor and can be made for a few pennies.Not only that she lists the health benefits of them as well. Another plus is that she uses farm fresh vegetables from the far den.With spices, such as turmeric and cardamon ,mixed with tomatoes, peppers and eggplants she creates dishes that are not only flavorful but also better than any tonic or medicine.These recipes are also the direct opposite of Indian take out which is usually sodden with cream and butter.Most of her recipes don't have these, opting for a tiny bit of ghee or clarified butter.Even the dessert recipes such as the Ginger and cardamon cookies and the frozen treat, raspberry mufti are far from being rich. The other recipes are drool worthy.This is not all curry, although there are recipes for it.There is also chutney ones and many focus on dal, the creamy lentil dish that's made a variety of ways.You could try lentils with cabbage or slow simmered for a tasty dinner.Ms. Bhattacharya includes some great recipes for these warm days.Tofu is put on skewers with tomatoes and onions.There's a long list of salads to choose from ,such as a black ,bean corn and stone fruit one and an essential Indian one that have cucumbers and tomatoes drenched in spices and dusted with crushed peanuts.Eggplants and potatoes are curried with tomatoes to create a light summer dinner.There recipes for winter too,fiery pilafs that contain chickpeas and mushrooms.Another is a chicken orzo spiced one ,fragrant with cinnamon, cardamon and saffron.A different kind of holiday dish is the Surprise The Guests Pink Chicken Biryani, chicken cooked with a tomato rich tika sauce. Breads are a must at an Indian table and there are several recipes to choose from naan to parathas.There's even a version of crostini which is perfect for dipping into the curries or dal's. Spices And Seasons, Simple , Sustainable Indian Flavors, is a great cookbook for any Indian food lover like myself. it also is a great book for a home chef wanting to try cooking of the Subcontinent too. The recipes are flavorful and healthy, a perfect combination for modern eating.

All Dalled Up

One of the most tastiest and nutritious dishes is the Indian dal.It's a healthy dose of beans ,flavored with even better for you spices.It makes a great meal on it's own with naan or as a player in a a complex Indian dinner.Best of all any bean can be used and the recipe can always be varied. David Tanis wrote about dal's benefits in his A City Kitchen column in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Dining section.Dal,which translated means dried legume is an everyday dish in Indian cuisine, sort of like what green beans or mashed potatoes are in American cooking.To first make the dish choose the beans.Lentils and split peas are the most common choice,according to Mr. Tanis however chickpeas or fava beans can also do the trick nicely.Simmer any one of these in water and add turmeric for a bit of flavor.cooking time is only twenty minutes and you can leave it to pursue other kitchen prep chores.Another suggestion from Mr. Tanis is buying a pressure cooker if you fall in love with the dish and plan to make it often. Dal is basically a blank canvas, waiting top be livened up.Most cooks add a cornucopia of spices sizzled in ghee ,the clarified Indian butter?Mustard and fennel seeds can be added for zing but also coriander can be sprinkled in.Chop in garlic and onions in the hot butter until they are lightly browned.Add chiles to this for the characteristic bite of Indian food. Also texture is key in making this dish as well.It. The perfect dal should be soft and thick, collapsing in a rough purée.If you want a more velvety, creamier texture, put it through the blender .Some prefer the mixture a bit more chunkier, if that's the case then just use a whisk.Dal can accompany braised lamb or roasted chicken or just served with basmati rice and plain yogurt. Dal is a tasty ,quick and nutritious dish that can be the star or the side.It's an easy dish ,using only a few ingredients .Enjoy it for a change from the ordinary, if you're craving something different.

Indian Food Explained

Indian food is one of the most delicious and tastiest cuisines out there. It is full of different flavors and colors along with being rich with good for you ingredients.Bet of all cooking Indian cuisine broadens any home cokk';s range along with being introduced to new spices and herbs.

For those who want to try their hand at it, there is a cookbook out  with all sorts of great recipes. It is  called Easy Indian Cooking(Robert Rose Publishing) by Suneeta Vaswani. Ms. Vaswani gives some of her own dishes to the book along with ones from north and south India as well as ones given by friends and family. She also includes a very comprehensive guide to Indian spices. These are explained in full detail, what they look like and how they taste. Ms. Vaswani includes  a section on cooking techniques such as braising and tempering spices to achieve their full flavor.

I love this book because it has all sorts of recipe sin it. There is an entire section on Indian street food along with ones dedicated to meats and veggies. One of the first ones I want to try is the pureed lentils. These are cooked with a variety of sweet and savory spices from cinnamon to cumin. Another must cook is a lamb roti, which is redolent with clove chilis and cilantro. Ms. Vaswani also offers recipes for lassi, the yogurt based drink that is the perfect foil for some of the hotter dishes. She also has some interesting dessert recipes, some of them a nod to the British influence in Indian cooking.

Indian cooking is a feast for both the palate and the eye. Easy Indian Cooking can easily bring it to the table with simple recipes. It's the best of exotic yet healthy cuisine, perfect for family get togehters or parties