For purer, less factory produced foods to offer to Krishna, making your own ingredients for a recipe from scratch may seem daunting at first, but gets easier with practice. Here's a few samples of what I've been learning, plus chauncing spices:
HOMEMADE NOODLES
First, chapati dough is rolled out as usual, but as thin as possible.
Then each is sliced into noodle strips (long or square) which are set aside.
(With a little experience, several layers of rolled out dough can be stacked on top of each other before cutting. This makes going a lot quicker. And click here for making longer noodles)
Boiling all the noodles comes next, putting them in a big pot of boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes or al dente.
Then they are drained, rinsed and drained again.
After you discover the joy of homemade noodle making, you may want to invest in a noodle making machine, especially if you want to cut large quantities for feasts and you like them to be extra long or uniformly shaped. It's a real timesaver. Here is one that does an excellent job and is inexpensive but sturdy.
It's called the "Al Dente Pasta Machine", made by "VillaWare". LATER NOTE: Not as sturdy as I thought. I'm back to cutting my own at home. Save any machines for temple feasts.
HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER
Preheat you oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Bake organic peanuts about 10 min. Then pour the peanuts into a bowl and mix them around. Pour them back onto the baking pan and back into the oven for another 3-5 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Cool a little before grinding. A Champion electric food grinder gives best results.
You can add a little sugar and salt as desired before offering.
HOMEMADE JAM
2 parts pureed strawberries or peaches or raspberries
1 part sugar (or to taste)
1 pinch baking soda (for acidic fruit)
arrowroot (opt)
Boil on low until thick or add arrowroot for a quicker result that uses less fruit and is less expensive.
Stir jam into plain yogurt or spread onto breads.
PURPLE GRAPE JAM
Puree deseeded grapes and measure how many cups you have. Put an almost equal amount of sugar and cook until it thickens. Do not overcook or it will harden!
HOW TO CHAUNCE
Chauncing is done rather quickly to prevent burning, so it is essential to assemble all ingredients needed beforehand.
Heat ghee fairly hot. Things like ginger, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and chilis are added first. Ginger and mustard can cook quite a while, unless the ghee had been heated up very hot beforehand. Cooking in the ghee the ginger will brown and the mustard seeds start popping. You can tilt the pan when the seeds start popping so they don't fly all over the place.
Next would come asafetida- cook it until you can smell it- and then all other spices that may burn quickly or need to be cooked not too long such as fenugreek seeds, coriander powder, turmeric powder, ground black pepper, cayenne powder, cinnamon powder, etc. Fenugreek seeds can be cooked longer, but only if you want a more bitter flavor. Thus they can be cooked awhile first before adding the others. On the other hand, turmeric is often added to the subji or dahl in the early stages of cooking rather than chauncing it. There's then a less chance of burning it. Precooked items such as roasted cumin and garam masala are not chaunced either, but added separately.
GROUND ROASTED CUMIN
After heating a small pan, the cumin seeds can be added, turning the pan back and forth to toast them until they pop and a smell comes out and they brown.
Or you can stir the seeds around with a spoon. Immediately transferring the cumin to a cool pan when lightly browned will stop the browning process. It's good to grind them with a grinding stone or a mortar and pestle at this point. Very fresh.
HOMEMADE NOODLES
First, chapati dough is rolled out as usual, but as thin as possible.
Then each is sliced into noodle strips (long or square) which are set aside.
(With a little experience, several layers of rolled out dough can be stacked on top of each other before cutting. This makes going a lot quicker. And click here for making longer noodles)
Boiling all the noodles comes next, putting them in a big pot of boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes or al dente.
Then they are drained, rinsed and drained again.
After you discover the joy of homemade noodle making, you may want to invest in a noodle making machine, especially if you want to cut large quantities for feasts and you like them to be extra long or uniformly shaped. It's a real timesaver. Here is one that does an excellent job and is inexpensive but sturdy.
It's called the "Al Dente Pasta Machine", made by "VillaWare". LATER NOTE: Not as sturdy as I thought. I'm back to cutting my own at home. Save any machines for temple feasts.HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER
Preheat you oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Bake organic peanuts about 10 min. Then pour the peanuts into a bowl and mix them around. Pour them back onto the baking pan and back into the oven for another 3-5 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Cool a little before grinding. A Champion electric food grinder gives best results.
You can add a little sugar and salt as desired before offering.
HOMEMADE JAM
2 parts pureed strawberries or peaches or raspberries
1 part sugar (or to taste)
1 pinch baking soda (for acidic fruit)
arrowroot (opt)
Boil on low until thick or add arrowroot for a quicker result that uses less fruit and is less expensive.
Stir jam into plain yogurt or spread onto breads.
PURPLE GRAPE JAM
Puree deseeded grapes and measure how many cups you have. Put an almost equal amount of sugar and cook until it thickens. Do not overcook or it will harden!
HOW TO CHAUNCE
Chauncing is done rather quickly to prevent burning, so it is essential to assemble all ingredients needed beforehand.
Heat ghee fairly hot. Things like ginger, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and chilis are added first. Ginger and mustard can cook quite a while, unless the ghee had been heated up very hot beforehand. Cooking in the ghee the ginger will brown and the mustard seeds start popping. You can tilt the pan when the seeds start popping so they don't fly all over the place.
Next would come asafetida- cook it until you can smell it- and then all other spices that may burn quickly or need to be cooked not too long such as fenugreek seeds, coriander powder, turmeric powder, ground black pepper, cayenne powder, cinnamon powder, etc. Fenugreek seeds can be cooked longer, but only if you want a more bitter flavor. Thus they can be cooked awhile first before adding the others. On the other hand, turmeric is often added to the subji or dahl in the early stages of cooking rather than chauncing it. There's then a less chance of burning it. Precooked items such as roasted cumin and garam masala are not chaunced either, but added separately.
GROUND ROASTED CUMIN
After heating a small pan, the cumin seeds can be added, turning the pan back and forth to toast them until they pop and a smell comes out and they brown.
Or you can stir the seeds around with a spoon. Immediately transferring the cumin to a cool pan when lightly browned will stop the browning process. It's good to grind them with a grinding stone or a mortar and pestle at this point. Very fresh.
