Healthy Indian Vegetarian Cooking. Shubhra Ramineni
cm) or larger. It is okay if all of the cubes are not exact squares, or if they have some rounded sides, but try to cut almost equal-size pieces so that the food cooks at an even rate. When a recipe calls for an ingredient to be diced, cut it into small cubes that are approximately ¼ inch (6 mm) or smaller. When a recipe calls for something such as green chili peppers or onions to be finely diced, the pieces are cut even smaller.
Matchsticks
Vegetables such as carrots and potatoes are commonly cut into strips called matchsticks, but usually not as thin as an actual matchstick. When creating thin matchsticks, the cut is known as julienne." The vegetable is first cut into thin slices, and then the slices are cut across to the desired length, resulting in a short or long matchstick." I like to use this attractive cut when preparing the carrots for Vegetable Rice Pilaf (page 65) and Vegetable Curry with Tofu (page 103).
1 Cut off the both ends of the carrot and discard.
2 Thinly peel off the outer skin and discard and then wash the carrot with cold water. Or you can leave the nutrient-rich peel on and thoroughly scrub the carrot with your hands or a vegetable brush.
3 Cut the carrot in half crosswise to make it an easier size to work with.
4 Cut each half lengthwise down the middle.
5 Cut each piece in half lengthwise again. For the thicker part of a carrot, you might want to make another lengthwise cut to create strips of even size.
6 Stack the strips and cut them cross-wise into approximately 2-inches (5 cm) long matchsticks.
Basic Ingredients
Here I explain the magical and exotic, yet easy to find ingredients and spices, which will transform fruits, vegetables, and tofu into delicious dishes and will provide excellent health benefits as well. I use easily available ingredients that can be found at your local grocery store so you can conveniently make any dish in this book.
All-purpose flour is made from a blend of high-gluten hard wheat and low-gluten soft wheat. This fine textured flour is milled from the endosperm (inner part) of the wheat kernel and does not contain the germ (the sprouting part) nor the bran (the outer coating), which are nutrient and fiber rich parts of the kernel.
In America, the law requires all flours not containing the wheat germ must have niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, and iron added, thus making them “enriched” as the label on the package might say.
All-purpose flour is white in color and is sold as either bleached (naturally as it ages or chemically) or un-bleached, and both can be used interchangeably for a recipe. I use non self-rising flour, which means baking powder and salt have not been added.
Storage and Food Handling Tips When shopping for ingredients, I tend to buy small quantities so they will stay fresh, but when shopping for rice, I buy big burlap bags of it since I cook it often. You can store all of your individual spices, lentils, dried legumes, and rice in airtight jars in a cool, dry place and out of direct sun for up to six months. I actually like to store rice in the freezer in order to eliminate any bugs in it, since rice is prone to bugs from the warehouse. Flours are best kept up to three months in the pantry, but they may also be placed in the freezer for up to six months. Roasted and ground spice blends, such as Garam Masala (page 109), lose their flavors more quickly and are also best if kept up to three months only. Nuts have oils in them, which can cause them to go rancid if stored at room temperature. It is ideal to store nuts up to three to six months in the refrigerator or up to one year in the freezer. When handling spices, rice, lentils, dried legumes, flour, and nuts, always use dry hands and utensils when removing them from or adding them to storage containers.
Basmati rice is a long-grained, fragrant, gluten-free rice that is grown in the cool foothills of the Himalayan mountains in India. In Hindi, basmati means “the fragrant one,” so the name seems to fit quite well. Basmati rice is commonly available in most grocery stores in small packages, and many international food stores sell big burlap sacks of basmati rice, which is more economical if you cook rice often like I do. Rice can be stored in a jar, plastic bag, or in the burlap bag it came in for at least six months in your pantry. But I like to store rice in my freezer so it keeps well and takes care of any bugs that may be in it from the store. It is a good idea to thoroughly wash the rice before cooking it to clean it and to remove any starchy residue so that the final result is less sticky. In general, the rule of thumb to cook basmati rice is to use twice the amount of water to rice. One cup of uncooked rice yields about three cups of cooked rice. Basmati rice comes in white and brown forms and you may use either for cooking, although I prefer to use white rice since I prefer its taste and texture. Rice is cholesterol and gluten-free, and a good source of fiber, which is good for a healthy and regular digestive system. See also Brown rice (page 25).
Bay leaves come fresh or dried, but dried bay leaves are easy to find and keep well, especially if one does not cook with them too often. When cooking, the leaf is added to heated oil or butter to release its sweet and woody aroma. I put bay leaves in my Vegetable Rice Pilaf (page 65). You may leave the bay leaf in your dish for presentation purposes, but with its sharp dried edges, it is best to avoid eating it. Drinking an infusion of bay leaves helps relieve upset stomachs and digestive disorders.
Black pepper (ground and whole peppercorns) is a berry that grows in grapelike clusters on the pepper plant. The berries can become green, black, or white peppercorns depending on how ripe the berry is when it is plucked and how it is processed. The black peppercorns have the strongest flavor whereas the white ones are milder and are used when you do not want the black pepper to show in food, such as a white sauce. The green berries are unripe when plucked and are commonly preserved in brine or pickled for a fresh taste. For everyday cooking, I use the finely ground black pepper that comes in a tin or I sometimes if I have time, I use freshly ground whole peppercorns. For some dishes, like Vegetable Rice Pilaf (page 65), I prefer to use whole black peppercorns that I temper in oil to release their flavors. Black pepper has antimicrobial properties that help destroy cold-causing germs. This spice also helps relieve congestion by breaking up excess mucus and clearing nasal passages.
Brown rice is a gluten-free whole grain rice with only the inedible outer husk removed, unlike white rice, which has the husk, bran, and germ removed. This makes brown rice more nutritious than white rice, and also more effective in lowering cholesterol levels. The nutritious, high-fiber bran coating to brown rice gives it a light tan color, nutlike flavor, and chewy texture. The presence of bran limits the storage life of brown rice to six months since it can go rancid, but it may be refrigerated to extend its life. Brown rice may be substituted for recipes that call for white rice, but it does require more water and it takes longer to cook since it is the entire grain. Basmati rice comes in brown rice as well.
Cardamom come from the cardamom pods that are the fruit of the cardamom plant, and they are plucked while they are still unripe and then dried. The common variety is the small green pods with its warm, fragrant, and spicy-sweet intensely flavored small black seeds inside, which is what I use. There are also big black cardamom pods. If you shop in ethnic markets, you may also see small white cardamoms, which are simply the green ones that have been bleached for aesthetic purposes. Cardamom is frequently used to add a special touch to Indian desserts and tea. (See page 20 for instructions on how to work with cardamom pods.) My two-year-old daughter loves to chew on cardamom pods! Cardamom pods make good natural breath fresheners. Simply pop a whole pod in your mouth and chew on it until you can swallow everything. Cardamom also provides relief from heartburn.
Chili peppers, green (fresh, whole) There are hundreds of varieties of chili peppers, varying in length, thickness and spice level. Generally, the smaller a pepper, the hotter it is because there are more seeds