[kombuchakid]

yo hkf
thanks for the ghee input, your quest for haleem reminds me of the shenanagans they get up to in Hyderabad where they take their haleem a little seriously

http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/cuisines/haleem.html
and also
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/m...1400950300.htm

now all we need is Reema's secret receipe

[kombuchakid]

a favorite Busybee review-perfect for a soggy day like today


IF you want to eat bara handi (literally, food from 12 pots), you have to be at Valibhai Payawala’s shop at 6 o’clock in the morning. Make it 6.30, if you are a late riser. The shop is in the inner city, the Muslim quarter of Bombay, and, within the Muslim quarter, Bohri Mohalla. The Bohris are good trenchermen, they love their food, and they eat meaty breakfasts. By the time you reach Valibhai Payawala, the shop will be full and the handis half empty. They come after the morning prayers at the nearby mosque, first pray to Allah, then pate (stomach) puja.

It is a peculiar shop, the cooking is done at the entrance. But that is a middle east custom, you see the food before you enter the shop and eat it. The food is cooked all night, in 12 handis sunk in the ground, their lids sealed with flour dough, to ensure the steam does not escape. And it is cooked on slow coal fires, various meats in their own juices, and some lentils.

Two of the handis have payas (trotters), one beef and the other mutton, the meat sticking to the bone like gelatin. Another handi contains topa, the meat around the neck of the animal, what fancier people call salami. Next, pichota, the rump of the animal and the tail, it is meat and bones, not as good at topa, but also in demand.

You may have suka, dry meat with gravy from another handi, and to get away from meat, there is the handi with harisha, three lentils mixed together with chickpea flour, besan and milk. And there is a handi with a rich soup, guaranteed to remove cold from your chest and nose. A couple of handis are not buried in the clay but kept on top of the platform. One of them contains the marrow, which would melt if put next to the fire.

And don't forget to get your lamba pau from outside. The breadman sits outside with his lamba pau. It has a touch of sourness about it and a taste of wood smoke, having been baked in wooden ovens.

[kombuchakid]

I have found a great use for all the yogurt I have been churning out, Labneh is great with olive oil and crushed spearmint and pepper, accompanied by warm egyptian bread, and a tall chilled glass of tamarind water. Divine

full instructions are here http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser...ban/Labneh.htm
but I just use a coffee filter and a funnel and hey presto 5 hours later the labneh is ready. Save the whey and use it to make the tamarind drink
Any suggestions for flavorings, would be appreciated, I plan to add a pinch of saffron to my next batch

[kombuchakid]

I was refered to as Kachumberkid on another thread, which was most insightful as after Kombucha a nice heap of onions especially walla wallas are my favorite ingestibles

a doozy of a Kachumber receipe with nary a hint of pumpkin

Stacked Tomato and
Sweet Onion Salad with Mango Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 servings

I use big, ripe, summer beefsteak tomatoes in this salad. You can use any vine-ripened tomato and sweet onions like Vidalias, Mauis, or Walla Wallas. But the size of the tomato and size of the onion should be about the same to make nice stacks.



2 avocados
Eight 1/2 inch-thick slices beefsteak tomato
Eight 1/2 inch-thick slices 1015 onion
2 cups Mango Vinaigrette
12 sprigs cilantro, stemmed
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste


Cut both avocados in half. Cut each half into three wedges, peeling as you go. Spread 1/3 cup of the Mango Vinaigrette on four salad plates. Set a slice of tomato on the dressing, top with an onion slice, then tomato, and again an onion. Fan 3 avocado wedges on top of each stack. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and garnish with 3 sprigs of cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.



Mango Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 cups

I use this spicy, tropical fruit salad dressing on all kinds of summer salads. Make same extra and keep a bottle in the fridge.




1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1-1/2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup peeled, ripe mango pieces
plus 1/4 cup peeled, finely diced ripe mango
1-1/2 cups olive oil
1/2 cup minced cilantro leaves
1/2 habanero pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
Kosher salt to taste




Put the vinegar, mustard, garlic, honey, lime juice, and 1 cup ripe mango in a blender.

Blend at medium speed. With the motor running, remove the top and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture should be thick and emulsified.

Fold the cilantro, habaneros, scallions, and diced mango into the dressing. If the dressing is too thick, thin with water.

Serve at once or store the dressing; it will keep for up to 4 days.

[kombuchakid]

Farzana Contractor

I had a distinguished visitor coming to lunch at Afternoon House yesterday and realised a little too late that there was no decent wine to offer him. And then it suddenly occurred to me... my plum rum, the one I made last rains, I forgot to open it at Christmas time!

So I brought it out from its dark corner besides the fridge and ceremoniously opened the ceramic jar in the august presence of Sunita, the Afternoon maid. I took one whiff of the aromatic content, passed out, came to, and then happily proceeded to cool some of it for my luncheon guest - Dov Segev-Steinberg, the Israeli Consul General. Dov, the gourmet, took one sip declared it awesome.

So there you are. Sometimes it's good to forget things. They work out for the better. In this case the plums had matured just a bit more and fortunately the final result was better than my last year's effort. But then you can't say, that's the fun of doing things yourself. Home-made, self-made.

Now should be a good time to go buy some plums and prepare for next year's stock. Pick them dark maroon but not over-ripe. Here's the recipe.

Get a kilo of plums, they are being sold on street corners and in fruit markets. And a 750 ml bottle of good quality rum. I used Old Monk, one of the most trusted labels!
Wash the plums thoroughly and then remove the stems from the fruit. Dry carefully with a clean and soft cloth. Keep the fruit under a fan for a couple of hours until you are certain the plums are absolutely dry. Next, put the plums in a stone jar (the billor ni barni that is otherwise used for pickle) with rum and 750 gms sugar. Tightly screw on the cap and keep the jar in a cool and dark place. Note the date on which you did this.

One month later, open the jar and with a dry, long-handled spoon, stir the contents for a while. Close the jar tightly and return it to its cool and dark corner. Let the rum ferment for at least five months after that. I would say open it one week before Christmas, strain the contents out into a decanter using a conical net strainer twice. Then stand back and admire the plum rum you have made. It will be full-bodied and potent, but velvety smooth and like an extremely fine port or claret on the tongue. Its rich and fruity bouquet will fill your house.

The fruit from the rum will be dehydrated and wrinkled with age and fermentation. But don't throw it out. Remove the pips, puree the pulp, store it in a container in the fridge and use it as a dessert with cake, pudding or even plain ice-cream.
By the way, before leaving Dov said they do the same thing with raisins in Israel. Think I'll try that too. And, maybe peaches in vodka. What do you say? The possibilities are endless.
Hmm... Life is good.


Farzana Contractor is the CEO of this newspaper and the editor of UpperCrust.

[kombuchakid]

yaneke rice porrige, the breakfast of champions which can be had all day long

just bung everything into a slow cooker the night before, but for those who shudder at such a cavalier attitude, here is a cool receipe

1 1/2 cups of washed rice
8 cups of room temperature water
6 large chicken thighs
1/2 cup dried scallops
5 cloves garlic, skinned and crushed
1 slice ginger, thich,crushed (2cm) (optional)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese wine or sherry wine
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon white pepper or black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 carrot (sliced about 1 cm in thickness)
1 head broccoli (chopped up to bite size)
2 eggs


GARNISHING
chopped green onion
chopped cilantro
1 dash white pepper
1. Cut the chicken thighs up into two inches in length.
2. Marinate the chicken with the oyster sauce, Chinese wine/sherry, soya sauce, pepper, sugar, worcestershir sauce and sesame oil.
3. Leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge for about 30 min or longer.
4. (the longer it is left to marinate, the tastier the chicken will be.) Grab a large pot, pour the rice, water, ginger, garlic and dried scallops in.
5. Let this boil on a low heat for about 1 hour.
6. (this is to bring out the flavour or the spices and scallops) Do check on the congee frequently and give it a stir, so that the rice doesn't stick and burn at the bottom of the pot.
7. NOTE: The congee is boiled at low heat, so that the congee will be smooth.
8. NOTE: The more frequently you stir the congee, the faster the rice grains will break down, making the porridge smoother and tastier.
9. Pour in the carrots, and allow the congee to continue simmering.
10. Take the chicken out of the fridge, and pour it into the congee.
11. (a fair bit of water would have disappeared by now; thus adding the chicken won't cause it to overflow) Add 2 cups boiling hot water into the pot, and stir the congee.
12. Allow this to cook for about 15 minutes.
13. Add the brocolli into the pot.
14. Allow the congee to cook till you are happy with the thickness of the congee.
15. Bring the congee to a boil, while continuesly stirring it.
16. Once it boils, turn the heat off, and drop the two eggs into the pot of congee.
17. Leave it for about 30 seconds, and give it a good stir to break up the egg totally and it mixes very well into the congee.
18. Laddle into bowls, and garnish.
19. Enjoy a bowl of smooth yummy congee.

[kombuchakid]

Formulating Vegetarian Foods
http://www.preparedfoods.com/archive...vegetarian.htm

[kombuchakid]

he delectable Ms Lawson in her own words

Nigella: I love the Japanese way of eating cold noodles: I just lift a bowl to my face, fork furiously and slurp. If you want to make these part of a meal, then know that they go wonderfully well with salmon: just get some fillets, sear them in a hot pan, leaving the interior fleshily coral. But I love eating these as they are, in huge quantities and - preferably - alone. Because they’re served cold, you can profitably keep leftovers for midnight fridge-raiding later. Boxed into foil containers, they are the perfect, if unconventional, food to take along for a picnic.

Ingredients:

75g sesame seeds
salt
250g soba noodles
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
5 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil
5 spring onions
Instructions:

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over a high heat until they look golden brown, and tip them into a bowl.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add some salt. Put in the soba noodles and cook them for about 6 minutes (or according to packet instructions) until they are tender but not mushy. Have a bowl of iced water waiting to plunge them into after draining.

In the bowl you are going to serve them in, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, honey and oil. Then finely slice the spring onions and put them into the bowl with the cooled, drained noodles and mix together thoroughly before adding the sesame seeds and tossing again.

Leave the sesame seed noodles for about half an hour to let the flavours develop, although this is not absolutely necessary or sometimes even possible.

Serves 4 as part of a meal; or 2 when eaten, gratifyingly, as they are.

http://www.channel4.com/life/microsi...forever6.shtml

[kombuchakid]

Maury Rubin's Grilled Chocolate Sandwich
8 ounces dark (bittersweet) chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
12 to 16 slices of plain white bread
Handful of chocolate batons ( 1/2 inch long) or chocolate chips (about 1/3 cup)
3 to 4 tablespoons soft butter.

1. Chop the chocolate fine and set aside in a medium bowl.

2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just boiling and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until just slightly solid, about 30 minutes.

3. Spread a layer of the chocolate mixture 1/4-inch thick (approximately 2 to 3 tablespoons) on half the bread sides to within about 1/4 inch of the edges. Press about 2 teaspoons of the chocolate chips (or 5 or 6 pieces of batons) into the center of each filling.

4. Spread a bit of softened butter over one side of the remaining slices. Buttered side up, place the slice over each chocolate-spread slice and press lightly around the edges to seal. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before putting on a grill or on a press. (If you are using a skillet instead, freeze the sandwich 15 minutes.)

5. Heat a grill or sandwich press (or a large griddle or skillet over medium-high heat), and add the sandwiches. Press on one side only for a minute or two (depending on the particular grill or press you're using) until the bread is nicely browned; the chocolate should be barely melted and not swimming out the side. If you are using a griddle or skillet, heat the sandwich first on the unbuttered side until lightly toasted, about 1 minute; turn the sandwich over and weight it down by placing a baking sheet or pan on top of the sandwich and placing a few soup cans on top. Toast for another minute, until golden. Cut in half and finish with a frilled toothpick.

Yield: 6 to 8 sandwiches
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/07/magazine/07FOOD.html

[kombuchakid]

Toulouse : Thoughtful hosts ensure that the meals they serve do not offend the dietary sensitivities of their guests

This can be a nerve-wracking exercise where Indians are concerned. The hosts proceed on the basis of hearsay: most Indians don’t eat beef; some will not consume pork; still some others avoid fish, fowl and any kind of viand altogether. Add to this already complicated list Indians who observe a fast on Tuesdays or Thursdays or Saturdays and that too at lunch time in one instance and at dinner time in another.



Then there are Indians who are strictly vegetarian on certain festival days and indeed for several days on end at certain times of the year. On the other hand there are Indians who are more than willing to tuck into a beef-steak, feast on pork ribs or tickle their taste buds with a platter of oysters. And all this still excludes those who observe food restrictions for reasons of health and fitness. Fixing a menu under these circumstances requires strategic imagination of a high order.



Such imagination, as an Indian delegation recently discovered during a brief sojourn in France , is hard to come by. The hosts simply give up trying to rustle up a meal that will find general acceptance. They choose the line of least resistance. At our official lunches and dinners we were served variants of chicken — boiled, grilled, roasted — and raw, steamed or fried vegetables. What saved the day were the wines, cheeses and desserts. But the thought of facing another plate of chicken was plainly exasperating.



That partly explained our eagerness to wake up at the crack of dawn to fly to Toulouse for a day-long visit. Besides the official meetings we looked forward to seeing two of its most magnificent churches, visiting at least one of its seven fine museums and discovering for ourselves how the brick walls of the buildings account for the changing light of Toulouse — pink at dawn, red in broad daylight and mauve at dusk.



But the desire we nursed with the greatest ardour as we covered the 700-odd kilometers from Paris to Toulouse was for something else altogether. It was to satiate our greed for the foie gras and the cassoulet — two of the region’s finest gastronomic delights. The first is made of artificially fattened goose livers and the second consists of white beans, fresh pork, ham, a slice of pork shoulder, bacon, sausages and preserved goose. Few things can be as pernicious as these two for cholesterol levels. But few can tantalize the palate with such an overwhelming sense of contentment. It is therefore with much anticipation that the Indian delegation trooped into the restaurant of the Airbus headquarters. We were in excellent spirits after we had been shown the inside of the A 380 which is arguably the most advanced airliner ever conceived in aviation history. A marvel of engineering, this gigantic bird, which will be able to transport 555 passengers, offers more comfort, more recreational areas, a more sophisticated interior and lesser noise than any existing aircraft.



But those high spirits began to sag with every course: grated raw vegetables, boiled vegetables, more boiled vegetables all presented with uncommon aesthetic verve but it was tasteless sabzi all the same. Too courteous to show our burgeoning disappointment, we did the best thing we possibly could: thanked the chef for the endless trouble he had gone through to feed the Indians and expressed the hope that some day in the not too distant future we would be served the Toulouse delights in the heady comfort of the A 380. By the way: we never saw a church or a museum but we did watch the changing colours gracing this ancient town which has emerged as the scientific, technological and commercial avant-garde of France.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow?msid=262532