Preparation For Leafy Vegetables

All the leafy vegetables, also called as Palebhaaji ( some can be found only in Indian stores).
So how do you wash these leafy vegetables and prepare them for cooking?
First wash and pluck leaves and discard the stems. Wash the leaves thoroughly in water as they may have sand/dirt in it. Add these leaves in a big pot filled with water and stir them well. Sand will settle at the bottom of the pan and then remove the leaves to a plate and discard the water. Rinse the pot and fill it with the new water and repeat the process twice. Squeeze the leaves or use a salad spinner to remove excess water and chop them finely.

Glossary of Vegetables - Indian Names

http://www.syvum.com/recipes/indian/glossv1.html

Preparation for Salads

Prepare Oil tempering:

Heat 2 tsp peanut oil + 1/4 tsp mustard seeds. When they start popping remove pan from heat and add 1/8 th tsp hing powder (also called as asaphoetida) and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Add 1 green chilli chopped and pour over the grated/ chopped veggies. If you cannot eat green chilis or jalapeno peppers don't use them. You can add a pinch of chili powder/ dry red chili instead.

Prepare Butter/Ghee Tempering:

Add 2 Tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter to a pan. Heat the pan on medium heat and let the butter melt and cook until it becomes clear (this is clarified butter or ghee). Add 1/2 tsp cumin. When cumin gets lightly brown add 1/8th tsp hing powder. Add 1 chilli chopped fine and pour over the veggies.  If you cannot eat green chilis or jalapeno peppers...don't use them. You can add a pinch of chili powder/ dry red chili instead.

Prepare Peanut Powder:

1) Use dry raw peanuts - Dry roast peanuts in a pan until lightly brown. Cool and with your fingers 
rub against the skin of peanuts or place them in a dish cloth and fold the dish cloth and rub against it. 
The peels will come off.  Remove peels and grind them coarse and store the powder in a refrigerator for upto 4-6 months. 

2)You can also buy unsalted roasted peanuts that are already peeled and grind and store them in 
a refrigerator (the taste will be a bit different but if you don't have time to labor over roasting and peeling raw peanuts these work just fine). The only worry I have is that they are processed and we really don't know how they do it. I try not to use any processed food as possible but once in a while I give in. 

Grating Veggies:

Try to use hand grater ( when making for many people /party you may use food processor) to grate or
chop veggies with a simple knife for daily cooking. Using our fingers like this prevents from getting 
arthritis in old age. So consider this as an exercise for your fingers and hands and a great way to meditate (you will get healthy and good food as a reward too). My mom says that the love you will pass on to your loved ones via cooking is priceless and that is why it tastes so special. 

Prepare Yogurt, Butter and Buttermilk

Preparing yogurt at home is not that difficult. All you need is milk and active culture. Milk has to have a little bit of fat in it (at least 1%) or yogurt will be sticky. More the fat in the milk, better tasting
yogurt you will have.

Heat up milk in a pan on the stove or in a microwave at lower power. By heating milk, fat will make milk rise to the top. Remove the pan from the heat. Depending on fat contents of the milk, there will be a thin or thick layer of cream on top of the milk. Transfer it to a container/ bowl you want to make yogurt in.  Let the milk cool off to luke warm state.

Buy yogurt from the store that has active culture. While milk is cooling down, take 2 tsp yogurt in a small bowl and add 2 tsp warm water to it. Mix well and keep. When milk gets luke warm, add this culture to it. Stir well and cover partially or with a thin cloth. Keep the pan in a warmer place. If you make this at night, check in the morning if the yogurt has set. Store it in the refrigerator. If the yogurt is not set,  then keep checking until the yogurt has set. In winter time, yogurt can take upto a day to set.

Remember not to cover yogurt competely until it is set. If you covered it with a lid completely, yogurt will have a funny smell to it and it might get sticky. Home made yogurt will always have more watery stuff. Don't discard it. This is whey. Whey protein derived from this whey is often sold as nutritional supplement.

My mom makes buttermilk from the yogurt that is made from the full fat milk. She uses wooden
churner to churn yogurt. This process can easily take 10-15 minutes and cream floats to the top. This
is home made butter. It has a hint of sourness of yogurt and tastes heavenly. She takes out this butter and stores it in the refrigerator. After 4-5 days she cooks this butter to make clarified butter or brown butter or ghee. After the butter is removed, remaining liquid is called as buttermilk. You can use this buttermilk as a drink or in cooking.

Home made butter does not have any hormones, preservatives or additives. Ghee made from this butter is used in many Ayurvedic medicines (Indian Medicine). When the yogurt is churned to make butter, whey remains in the buttermilk and that is why drinking fresh buttermilk is good for your
health. This buttermilk also tastes really good and refreshing, especially in summer months.

Dal - split legume or split beans

dal - split legume, split beans

Buy most of the spices and dals in Indian stores. I store my spices in glass jars in the freezer. It is best to use legumes and dals within 4-6 months but when I purchase them in bulk and need to store them outside the refrigerator, I add 1 tsp of boric acid to them and store them in a tight lid container. Always wash these dal (rubbing with your fingers) at least 3 times to wash off the boric powder.

Dals and beans have high protein so it takes longer time to cook them. I use pressure cooker to cook them. I use pans that are made for pressure cooker. You can use any stainless steel pan that will fit inside a cooker. If you take 1/2 cups of dal or soaked/roasted beans, add 1.5 cups of water. I also add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (makes dal/beans more permissible to water, spices, salt etc and speeds cooking process) and 1/8 tsp asafoetida (anti-gas). Don't add asafoetida if you will be using garlic in the recipe.

Pressure cooker saves time and energy and cooks dals/beans well without fail.

Mustard seeds

The earliest reference to mustard is in India from a story of Gautama Buddha in the fifth century BC. Gautama Buddha told the story of the grieving mother (Kisa Gotami) and the mustard seed. When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to the Buddha to find a cure. The Buddha asks her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a family that has never lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. When the mother is unable to find such a house in her village, she realizes death is common to all, and she cannot be selfish in her grief.

Mustard seed is a rich source of oil and protein. The seed has oil as high as 46-48%, and whole seed meal has 43.6% protein.

It has high amounts of calcium -52%, potassium - 15%, magnesium - 84%, phosphorus -120 %, 

Zinc - 60%, Iron - 77%, and Vit. B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, Vit. E, small amounts of Vit. C and Vit. K

I use mustard seeds in oil tempering. When mustard seeds are added to the oil, they start popping when the oil reaches right temperature so that curcumin becomes available when turmeric is added and oil gets blended well with whatever is added to it.

Medicinal Turmeric

The bioactive compounds found in turmeric are called as curcuminoids. Curcumin is one of the most important or the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant.

However, the curcumin content of turmeric is not that high… it’s around 3%, by weight. Also curcumin is poorly absorbed into the blood stream. It helps to consume black pepper that contains piperine, a natural substance that enhances the absorption of curcumin by 2000%. Curcumin is soluble in fat.
So to extract the optimum benefits of turmeric

1) Activate turmeric with some cooking heat
2) Boost turmeric’s absorption by 2000% by adding some black pepper that has piperine in it.
3) Skyrocket bioavailability and healing potential by adding healthy fat like ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil.
4) So warm up some ghee on gentle heat and add turmeric and black pepper to it so that curcumine from turmeric will be available for it’s medicinal use.
5) Cut root – 1.5 to3 gms per day or powder – 1 to 3 gms per day

 I like to use peanut oil as it blends in very well with the Indian food and actually enhances flavors of the spices we use. It has 17% saturated fat, 46% unsatutaed fat and 32% polyunsaturated fat. It as smoking point of 437 degrees F. It has 33% lenoleic acids (omega 6), and 48% oleic acids (omega 9) and traces of alpha-lenoleic acids (omega 3).  I make flax seed chutney to get omega 3 

I add turmeric powder in oil tempering that is used in almost all the vegetables, many salads, snacks, and legumes/beans/dal preparations for the two meals we eat every day.

Even thogh each person eats only part of these dishes, by the end of the day one should get the required amount of turmeric without even knowing it. 

Spice Boxes

Spice Box 1

Start from chilies and go clockwise

1) chilies

2) Fenugreek

3) Turmeric

4) Black Masala (Goda Masala)

5) Chili Powder

6) Asafoetida Powder

7) Mustard Seeds (in the center)

Spice Box 2

Start with Cinnamon and go clockwise

1) Cinnamon

2) Shahajeera (Black Cumin)

3) Ilaichi

4) Cloves

5) Star Anise (Chakriphool)

6) Bay Leaves

7) Black Peppercorns (in the center)

Asafoetida

Ingredients:

Compound Hing (asafoetida).
You can also buy hing powder already prepared to save time.

Recipe:

1) Heat a pan on medium heat. Add compound hing to the pan. Keep turning until you see white spots on the surface. Hing will also swell in size. Let it cool. Transfer it to a mortar and pound it with a pestle to make into powder.

2) Place the compound hing in a glass bowl. Heat it in the microwave oven for 30 seconds on 50% power. Repeat until the compound swells and almost doubles in size. Pound it to make smaller pieces and then into fine powder using spice blender ( I use coffee grinder).
Store in a glass jar with a tight lid.

Note:

Powder made from the compound hing is very pungent so you will need only (1/3) one third  the amount of the store bought powder.

Read this article for more information on this super spice.

Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri / 6 yrs ago / 

  22

 

                                                                                                                          http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2674/4082645318_980d458b0a_o.jpg                   (L)

Dr. K.T. Acharya in his book, “A historical dictionary of Indian food” and “Indian food – a historical companion” refers to a food item which has been imported into India from ancient times.  It was known as a food item, in the Vedic times and the epic Mahabharatha describes meat cooked at a party, with black pepper, rock salt, pomegranates, lemon and this import, Hing.

This spice, is a resinous gum, which has a strong flavour. It is exuded from the roots of three kinds of plants belonging to the family of Ferula - a close relative of the carrot and fennel plant.  It boasts two varieties - the water soluble and the oil soluble.  

Another worthy, Dr. Chip Rossetti, calls this resin as "smelliest spice of the world".  When the farmers remove the soil from around the plant and make an incision in the top thick carrot like root, for about three months, it exudes the resin which coagulates on exposure to atmospheric air and gradually turns brown.  

Asafoetida, the European (coined by the Italians) name for this resin is a combination of  - "Asa”  from Persian meaning “resin”, and "foetida” meaning “stinking” in Latin.  It is a stinking resin because its major component is 2-butyl 1-propenyl disulphide, which can  easily  be replicated in the school / college laboratories by using the Kipp's Apparatus.    It has a more colourful name, which mercifully is not in use any more.  Devil’s Dung - both for its shape and smell !!

In India, we call asafoetida, as Hing [In Farsi it is called Angozad. The “Ang” from Farsi became Hing in Hindi] or Perungaayam(Tamil) or Kaayam (in Malayalam) meaning the big lump and is not a native of India.  It is imported as Ferula Asafoetida, from Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and central Asia. 

It is used in our daily cooking, as well as in medicines.  As a medicine its most common use is in treating indigestion and flatulence.  It relieves locked gas from the intestines and allows it to gush southwards as Kizh Vayu.  One reason, the Indian housewife includes this spice to almost all her cooking, as well as add it in making her masalas. 

The family of lentils, has a tendency to produce gas, in humans who eat them, and hence our forefathers have found a way to naturaly neutralise this upavadham in our stomachs.  To a great extent, garlic is also used for the same purpose, other than adding their fragrance to cooking. But most people do not know, that one should never add Garlic and Hing together in cooking.  Because one neutralises the effect of the other, and the very purpose of adding these spices to our cooking is lost irretrievably or forever.   

Ayurveda Materia Medica says it is good for goiter (iodine metabolism), bronchitis (anti-infective), baldness (hair follicle stimulant)  and even to bring on the recalcitrant monthly menstruation in females, sort of a female hormone moderator?

Very recently, a farmer in Kodumudi  Tamilnadu Mr. Chellamuthu, had used this Perungaayam  in it raw form as an insecticide by putting a bag of  asafoetida in his irrigation channel in the field, killing caterpillars, thus helping  many vegetables to grow better and infection free.  Plants flower better and turmeric flourish because the planted area is free of insects.  

According to the biochemists  “this resin, has a component, that inhibit the growth of insects in the field.  This component Ferulic Acid acts as an antifungal, but is also known to disturb plant nutrient balance, and inhibit the effect of plant hormones. There must then be a balance of these effects that benefit the plant". 

In our daily cooking we do not use this resin in its virgin state.  We adulterate it with atta and an edible gum used as a bonding agent, like gum Arabic in the ratio of 60:30:10.

A hundred grms. of the famous LG.Compounded Asafoetida contains 10 grms of this resin, 30 grms of  gum Arabic and 60 grms. of wheat powder. Hence it is a compounded item? 

We use minute lumps of Hing embedded in a small piece of ripe banana and swallow, as an immediate antidote for neutralising the poison of spiders and other home insects whose bite / sting give pain and an eruption.  

[Contains Hing (Asafoetida), Kali Mirch (Black Pepper) - gastro-intestinal stimulant, Zeera (Cumin) - antispasmodic Saunth (Ginger extract) - digestive and tonic, Nimbu Saar (Lemon extract) - digestive stimulant]  Rs. 15/- per bottle of 100 tabs.

"The natural way to relief from gas. Containing herbs and spices like hing, trusted and used for generations to stimulate digestion."

Ayurveda uses it as a Gas expeller, especially the OTC Medicine Dabur Hingoli, that saves  one from many an embarrassing situations.  Taken regularly, twice a day, it expels the accumulated obnoxious gas, while one is cleaning the teeth in the morning.  

A lot of churnas, and powders are available, with Hing as the major ingredient for almost all ailments concerning the stomach.Notes:

1)

Turmeric

My Mom has been using warm milk as a pre-bedtime sedative since I was a child. As much as I love chamomile, lavender, and all the usual tricks, they haven't always worked for me. I've always liked the whole "drink a glass of warm milk before bed" idea but adding turmeric to milk has won its way to my heart. Just add 1/4 tsp of turmeric along with a tsp of sugar to a warm cup of milk. It works it's magic when you get cold and cough. Take it at least 3 nights up to 7 nights for it to show it's effects. Most of the Ayurvedic medicines are taken in smaller quantities for a longer time, but not as long asthey stop being effective.

Turmeric, the beautiful orange spice from India, is from the ginger family. (Go figure, I love ginger.) Ayuverda and TCM boast that turmeric is anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and helps deal with internal and external infections. Doctors have more recently found that it might block enzymes that promote certain cancers. 

On a more traditional/spiritual plane, turmeric is said to increase ojas. Ojas loosely translates as "heartiness" or resilience, referring specifically to physical health. Ojas is one of the three key aspects of vitality in Ayurveda, along with tejas (the emotional level) and prana (the energetic level). Ojas is usually indicated by strong digestion and a healthy metabolism. Interestingly, I just learned that fertility is a very good sign of ojas because reproductive organs are nourished only after other tissues have been taken care of. 

Turmeric has so many benefits including help for arthritis, cancer, inflammation, skincare, haircare, etc. Please research it. If you have gallstones avoid it but you can take curcumin 
the constituent according to Dr. Weil.Sleep Well, Live Longer!

I believed that Turmeric is rich in anti-oxidants which helps in boosting the immunity power hence it is good for digestive, lungs, heart, bone etc. It acts as anti-bacterial in nature so it heals wound faster.

Prepare Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Ingredients:

Sweet cream, unsalted butter - 1 lb or 4 sticks

Recipe:

In a tall stainless steel pan add 4 sticks of unsalted sweet cream butter.
Heat the pan to medium high heat.
Let the butter cook until it starts looking clear. It will have light brown sediment (cooked milk solids) at the bottom. At this stage cooked butter will have a nutty flavor.
Remove from the heat and let it cool a little. Strain and store it in a glass jar. Wait until ghee is thickened and refrigerate.
Do not transfer glass jar to the refrigerator until it is cool to touch or glass jar will break due to drastic change in temperature.

Notes: 

1) Whenever needed, leave the jar out on the counter overnight (if in a hurry...warm it in microwave for a minute) and take out a small amount just enough for a week at a time. You can return the jar to the refrigerator after it gets cold to touch.
2) Ghee gets rancid if you leave it out of refrigerator (it will start smelling bad after a few days).
3) I always store it in a glass jar (I use peanut's empty glass bottles after washing and drying them).
4) Use tall pan to cook butter as it can splatter (it has water content).  You can occasionally stir it to reduce splattering.
5) Cooked butter lasts much longer than the uncooked butter (without refrigeration).
6) Cooked butter does not burn as quickly as butter as milk solids get settled on the bottom of the pan
as sediments.
7) Scrape the brown sediments on the bottom of the pan and add 1/2 tsp sugar to it and eat. It tastes great.

Basic Ghee Tempering

Ingredients: 

Ghee - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

green chilies (or red dried chilies) - 2-3 or to your taste

Recipe:

Heat butter warmer (or a small pan) on a med. high heat.
Add 2 tsp ghee.
Add 1/4 tsp cumin seeds.
Let them get lightly brown (they should get cooked).
Add chillies and remove from the heat.
Add to the food while hot.

Note:

1) Add hing powder, curry leaves, turmeric powder after adding chilies if required by the recipe.
2) Use basic ghee tempering for the dishes for fasting (like tapioka, potatoes).
3) Use basic ghee tempering for many salads that require roasted peanuts or yogurt.
4) Use basic ghee tempering for recipes that use yogurt or buttermilk.

Basic Oil Tempering

Recipe:

Heat 2 tsp peanut oil in a pan on a med high heat.
Add 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds and when they pop, remove from the heat (when mustard seed pop, oil is of correct temperature so it will get mixed with the food properly and will not float on the top).
Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Add 1/8 tsp hing powder.
Add immediately to the food you are making.

Notes:

1) I like to use peanut oil as it blends in very well with the Indian food and actually enhances flavors of the spices we use. It has 17% saturated fat, 46% unsatutaed fat and 32% polyunsaturated fat. It has smoking point of 437 degrees F. It has 33% lenoleic acids (omega 6), and 48% oleic acids (omega 9) and traces of alpha-lenoleic acids (omega 3).  I make flax seed chutney to get omega 3.

2) Mustard seed is a rich source of oil and protein. The seed has oil as high as 46-48%, and whole seed meal has 43.6% protein.

It has high amounts of calcium -52%, potassium - 15%, magnesium - 84%, phosphorus -120 %, 

Zinc - 60%, Iron - 77%, and Vit. B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, Vit. E, small amounts of Vit. C and Vit. K

3) Asafoetida  is used in our daily cooking as it relieves gas and stimulates digestion.  As a medicine its most common use is in treating indigestion and flatulence. 
Beans are the main source of protein for most vegetarians and these beans have a tendency to produce gas. To a great extent, garlic is also used for the same purpose, other than adding their fragrance to cooking.
I don't use hing powder when I add garlic to the tempering as hing powder has a very strong and pungent smell and because  one neutralises the effect of the other, and the very purpose of adding these spices to our cooking is lost irretrievably or forever.

4) The bioactive compounds found in turmeric are called as curcuminoids. Curcumin is one of the most important or the main active ingredient in turmeric. Curcumin is soluble in fat (oils, ghee etc). It 
has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant and antiseptic.