The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals Read Free Page B

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There is nothing more comforting and soulful than a bowl of dal topped with some steamed rice. I incorporate dals into my everyday meals—both Indian and non-Indian. I cook my dried legumes the old fashioned way in my kitchen, using a pressure cooker. Though this technique is not so popular in North American and Europe, I urge you to give pressure cooking a try: It uses less liquid, has faster cooking times, and the food retains more vitamins and minerals. I can assure you that once you get used to a pressure cooker, you will be eating more dals as part of your daily meals, especially the longer-cooking types. Anticipating that not everyone will have a pressure cooker or be inclined to use one, the recipes in this book call for common kitchenware, such as saucepans or pots. If you want to experiment with a pressure cooker, simply follow the instructions provided with it; you will find that cooking time is reduced by more than 50 percent!
I often stock my pantry with canned legumes, which I find to be an acceptable substitute for dried, and very convenient when I’m in a rush. For the dal recipes in this book, I include the option of using commonly available canned peas or beans. Make sure to drain and rinse them thoroughly before using them.

    Fennel Seeds These are the oval, pale greenish-yellow seeds of the common fennel plant, a member of parsley family. They are sweetly aromatic and have an anise-like flavor. In Indian cooking, they are used whole and ground in both sweet and savory dishes. Roasted fennel seeds are sometimes sugarcoated and chewed as a digestive and mouth freshener after Indian meals. They are readily available in most grocery stores.
    Fenugreek Leaves Known as methi when fresh and kasoori methi when dried, these leaves are extensively used in Indian cuisine. The slightly perfumed and bitter flavor of the leaves goes very well with curries. The leaves are sold fresh when in season or dried in packets year round in Indian markets. The dried leaves can also be purchased online (see Shopping Guide, page 140 ). Frozen chopped fenugreek greens are also now available at some Indian grocery stores. I use the dried version—kasoori methi—in the recipes in this book because of its unique flavor and strong taste. In comparison, fresh methi (young leaves and sprouts of fenugreek) has a very mild flavor. When fresh, the leaves are eaten as greens and are commonly cooked with potatoes, spinach, and paneer and eaten with roti or naan (breads). The dried leaves have a bitter taste and strong aroma and are used in small amounts to flavor dishes. There is no real substitute for this ingredient in Indian recipes, and so I have made its use optional throughout the book.

    Fenugreek Seeds The fenugreek seeds are bitter, yellowish-brown, tiny seeds that provide commercial curry powders their distinctive aroma. They are used in small quantities because of their strong flavor. In the southern part of India, the seeds are often oil-roasted and then ground to create a bitter balance in curries; in eastern India, the seeds are stir-fried whole. They are available only in Southeast Asian or Indian grocery stores.

    Garlic A close relative to onions, shallots, and leeks, garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking. Garlic powder is not a substitute for fresh garlic in traditional Indian cooking. Whole bulbs of garlic will keep for several months or more when stored at room temperature in a dry, dark place that has ample air circulation. Keep in mind, however, that garlic’s shelf life decreases once you start removing cloves from the bulb. Storing garlic uncovered, such as in a wire-mesh basket inside your cupboard is ideal. You can also store garlic in a paper or mesh bag. Just be sure there is plenty of dry air and little light to inhibit sprouting. To avoid mold, do not