The last couple of days I've experimented a little and tried a few new lassi recipes. Strangely, I had some negative experience with some canned mango, which I pureed and processed to a mango lassi. The drink was "hairy", little pieces of fibre everywhere. Never happened before, and even tasted the pure puree before I blended the buttermilk in, which seemed absolutely fine at that moment. Really, it felt like you would drink a broom ;P

Nonetheless, want to share another lassi recipe with you (: This will serve one or two, depending on the size of the serving glasses:

Meethi Lassi (Sweet Lassi)

3/4 cup yoghurt
1/4 cup chilled water
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2-2 tablespoons honey (I really prefer honey over other sweeteners, and would recommend using it as a sweetening agent in all lassis, but you could also use sugar, jaggery etc.)
1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground almonds
a few ice cubes (3-5 small ones)

Combine the yoghurt, water, lemon juice and honey in a blender. Process for approx. 30 seconds (up to one minute). Add the cardamom, almonds and the ice cubes. Process till the ice cubes are partially crushed and the drink is frothy. Serve and enjoy!

Anyone tried the banana lassi yet? (:

Greetings!

Since when can recipes be copyrighted? Sure, the exact text and photos can be, but the ideas (and even exact amounts) are free, so such a thing wouldn't be classy or pretty, but not against the law either.

Greetings!

edit: oops, spicey was faster (and more in-depth) ;P

Well, of course they are not. But Tartrazin and most of the azo dyes surely are ,) (was talking about these particular, because they are the most used ones in these pastes and colouring powders, so it seems - sorry about my bad wording). Would prefer some aspirin above the pure Salix bark anytime, so I do also believe, that there are many chemicals and synthetic products, that are quite useful and can be healthy (even healthier than their natural counterpart) (:

Greetings!

The discussion reminds me of a curry-house I visited, that used artificial colourings in almost anything. The lassi, the onion bhajis and the tandoori dishes used all colouring for sure. I even ate some rice kheer once, that was all red by artificial colouring. At that time, I was already into indian cooking, never made that dessert by myself, but knew that is is basically just milk and rice. I was not amused, and it did taste... just meh. Interestingly, my companions didn't believe that there was some fake colouring involved. Maybe that's because we use so much of it in anything today, not just indian restaurant cooking, that some people already forgot how some things really look, and are used to these appearances. On the other hand, there are whole industries that advertise with slogans like "without artificial colouring" and such. To use it that much, like some restaurants seem to do it, is just pure overkill, I think. And it doesn't stop there: The green chili paste I bought, does contain artificial food colouring, too! (some acid yellow, I think) I mean, why?! I simply don't get it. Why not use something, that will give colour, and isn't that unhealthy? And if that isn't possible (or too expensive), at least to avoid all these crazy E-numbers and azo dyes. Will never buy a can of it again, that's for sure.

Greetings!

Quote from: spiceyokooko on March 19, 2013, 07:16 PM

Quote from: chonk on March 19, 2013, 07:08 PM
I'm not sure about that. The muslims of Kashmir did and do use the cockscomb plant, and they used and/or still use "Ratan Jot" (Alkanna tinctoria).

Interesting.

Do you have any more information on why they used these? Was it for religious reasons? I was reading yesterday that Indian Muslims exempted certain vegetables from their fast for some reason, something to do with the health properties or religious.

Not sure again, but I think they use it mainly because it's a "proper" vegetable leaf, something other cultures do consume regularly, too. (cockscomb) The Alkanna just gives colour, or so it seems. But I read somewhere that the "Ratan Jot" (the hindi name) grows in the kashmir area, and that would be enough, to go right into some kashmiri dish ;P But indians do love colour, though. They add turmeric to almost any dish, to enhance the colour, but as far as I'm concerned, not always exclusively. Turmeric is the holiest spice over there, pretty healthy and enhances the flavour. If you add too much of any spice at some point, you could also add a little pinch of turmeric extra, and it could possibly save your day. And as far as I remember, the coloured pilau goes back originally to the persian folks. The indians adopted their methods, because they liked the look and taste.

I believe you are talking about the kashmiri pandits. They don't use garlic and onions, but fennel seeds, hing, ginger and curd/yoghurt. But they aren't muslims, but a hindu caste. Jains avoid garlic and onions (and many other things), too. The Hare Krishna cuisine also doesn't use garlic and onions. But kashmiri muslims use it quite extensively (:

Greetings!

edit: Just realize that "Rogan Josh" is, originally, a persian dish, too. So it would make sense, that traditional kashmiri plants, that also add a red colour, weren't used originally, and the colour could really just be the product of tomatoes. There are some theories, that the name itself comes from the red colour of the dish, and it could be, that the persians already used something to colour it. We know they did it with their rice, though. But I'd love to know what they used exactly for the green and red rice grains back then. Especially the green ones.

Hey, spiceyokooko!

Quote from: spiceyokooko on March 19, 2013, 05:49 PM

Pilau rice is coloured yellow from saffron and/or turmeric - natural ingredients that add flavour. It's only modern BIR's that have taken to making multi-coloured rice through artificial food dyes that add nothing whatsoever to the taste. Rogan josh is traditionally reddish from the sheer number of tomatoes used in the dish,

I'm not sure about that. The muslims of Kashmir did and do use the cockscomb plant, and they used and/or still use "Ratan Jot" (Alkanna tinctoria).

Quote from: spiceyokooko on March 19, 2013, 05:49 PM
Tandoori chicken is red through the use of food dye - it was never red in traditional Indian cuisine, nor is it red in any traditional Indian home cooking either.

I believe that indian street vendors began to colour their tandoori chicken to distance themselves from the products of their competition, and let people believe, it's in some way superior. But I'm with you, personally I'm not a fan of artificial colouring. In fact, I find that fake red look highly unappetising, and use only kashmiri mirch, deggi mirch, paprika and tomato paste, to give a few dishes more (natural) colour. Just a matter of taste.

Greetings!

"Vada pav" (or the 'Bombay Burger' ;D) is pretty nice, too. "Bunny chow" would be something very unique, or bread pakoras (also something you don't see too often). Or some potato based curry, like "Aloo Rasedar" (potatoes in a spiced tomato gravy), "Aloo Mattar" (potatoes and peas in gravy) or "Aloo Dum" (fried, spiced potatoes). You really have to try out "Rajma Chawal" (the rajma masala with rice), it's a wonderful dish - in India, they love to take a bowl while the monsoon rain is dropping. And the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the holiest temples in hinduism, serves one curry only: Rajma masala (: Or try some "Mixed Dal" recipe, and use the beans and lentils you already have and are easily available, like masoor, chana and mung.

Greetings!

Hey StoneCut!

Quote from: StoneCut on March 18, 2013, 04:31 PM
Chonk, I fear that noone over here really knows about "Dhaba Dal" and I have the same problem with it as with other lentil dishes: They simply don't look very good (I KNOW that they taste good, but ...). I want people who happen to pass by to think "Wow, that looks tasty. What is it?". So, it needs to be colourful in some way (and be it through condiments). Also, I'd need to buy black lentils from an asian shop and I want to minimize specialty ingredients as much as possible (well, spices and so on will stay, of course). But the suggestion itself is a really good one. Especially as there'd be a little something to talk about with the street vendors and all. So please keep it coming.

Axe, Masala simply referring to a spice mix is known to me (more or less), but I didn't know how else to refer to the sauce for CTM that I actually meant. I guess that's quite confusing, sorry.

Isn't "Murgh Makani" just the indian name for "Butter Chicken" ? From what I read about it it's more of a traditional dish hence why I asked whether that would be made with a gravy. I'm thinking no.

I definitely need to try some of their other dishes (only had a Madras from there so far) AND make the Rajma Masala. Thanks again!

True, nobody calls it that way here, but I always felt that "Dal Makhani" is a pretty popular dish here in Germany (but I see it rarely at any british take-away menues). Vivek Singh (the chef of London's "Cinnamon Club") has a pretty good recipe, and just like the famous 'Bukhara'-restaurant in Delhi, they serve it out of one main, master-pot. They put the lentils on their tandoor oven at night, and finish the other day with garlig, ginger, tomatoes, butter and cream. Yummi! Without the additional dollop butter and some cream, it wouldn't look as nice as it could, though. But it's definitely one of the most well-known dal curries globally (: As an alternative, you could think about "Paneer Makhani". The look could be improved easier than that of dal dishes, and the paneer can be made on your own.

I'm quite sure that "Masala" does, in fact, also refers to a sauce or gravy. "Chicken Tikka Masala" means chicken tikka in a gravy, like "Rajma masala" means Kidneybeans in a (spiced) gravy.

Yes, "Murgh Makhani" is the traditional "Butter Chicken". As far as I'm informed, with gravy.

Greetings (:

Hey StoneCut!

I really love pulses and legumes in general, and Rajma is one of my favourite curries aswell, but if I had to choose only one last dish, I would go for the whole urad bean and one nicely cooked "Dal Bukhara" / "Dal Makhani" / "Kali Dal". They call it also "Dhaba Dal" in India (Dhaba meaning roadside restaurant), because it's THE signature dish of the small punjabi vendors, that made this curry popular around the world, right after the partition.

Greetings!

Quote from: curryhell on March 09, 2013, 10:50 PM

Quote from: Axe on March 09, 2013, 12:53 PM
Ali quoted "when I was working the kitchens back in the late 80s/90s, when the base ran low, they'd top it up with water and throw in a couple of whole chickens and sometimes lamb as well". Take from that what you will.

I think this is probably one of the best kept secrets of the BIR kitchen.  And nobody is ever going to admit to this because of the outcry from the non meat eaters, that their curries may have been prepared with a gravy containing some meat products which is not easily discernable  .  And i don't doubt that this is common practice in some establishments across the country  :

I'm not sure, but could it be against the law, to sell vegetarian or vegan meals, that aren't vegetarian at all? I believe to remember some trial against McDonald's because they used animal fat for the fries.

And doesn't a traditional "Murgh Makhani" get prepared with parts of whole chicken, instead of finely chopped pieces? Always believed so.

Greetings!