I just love learning about foods. Here's an ongoing post about various ingredients used in Vaisnava cuisine. Much information for each one can be found online, so this is just some brief notes.
CURRY LEAVES
Here's what fresh curry actually looks like. I was blessed to discover a large curry tree in India. Not so lucky in the states.
Similar in shape to neem leaves, curry is also known as sweet neem leaves. Their properties include much value as an antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory. Curry leaves are also known to be good for hair, for keeping it healthy and long.
URAD DAHL
Also called black gram. It is black if the skin is still on it and it is whole urad. Here the urad is skinned and split. Has a creamy, whitish color.
Urd is used in many ways as iddlis, dosas, vadas and soups. Super high in protein.
WHOLE MUNG BEANS
If you eat green skinned, whole mung as much as I do, you soon won't mind the skins, especially if you don't cook the beans on a high boil, but gently simmer them instead, so that the skins will simply break when the beans are tender and swollen. Mung also makes delicious bean sprouts and is good for soaking, grinding and forming barats. It is easy to digest and all around nourishing.
FRESH COCONUT
If you study a coconut carefully, you will notice it has a face. Two of the holes are identical and slightly narrower than the third hole which is more round. Well, the round hole or the mouth of the coconut is the hole to poke to open it. A favorite way to use coconut is in chutney. Everything about coconut, once you get it opened and the fruit peeled and grated, is yummy.
JACKFRUIT
My husband has climbed trees to get these locally in Hawaii. They are also found fresh in India and are a real treat. If you are lucky enough to get them fresh, you probably already know how to cook them. If not, here's what I learned about getting the tough rind off: One way is with well-oiled hands, knife and work surface, because underneath the rind, the fruit is very sticky. Another method is to bake the jackfruit before removing the rind. The inner pulp is delicious when deep fried or boiled, and then added to subjis.
A few times, guests have mistaken pieces of jackfruit (deep fried in ghee and then added to a subji) for meat. It makes a good meat substitute.
KALONJI SEEDS
Sometimes spelled kalinji, these black seeds are part of the Bengali five spice blend panch parang. Here's a closeup of what kalonji looks like. I'm still really new to using it. Also known as black caraway, black cumin or onion seeds, but it (nigella sativa) is different from the onion (Allium) family.
GREEN CARDAMOM
Below are cardamom pods and the seeds inside. It's best to use them right away because it is easier to open the pods. Older pods become very dry and brittle. They crumble and then you have to sift the pod pieces out of the seeds. Others just grind the pod along with the seeds.
MISHRI
Mishri is natural sugar in a crude, rock like form. It's said to cool the blood rather than heat it like refined sugar does.
NUTMEG
When it is still in its shell, you realize it really is a nut. The shell is fairly easy to crack. Then you can grate the nutmeg to get the amount desired.
BESAN
Forgot to soak some beans or chickpeas? Not a problem. One can reach for besan, chickpea flour, to create a wide variety of high protein preparations including soups, sauces, savories, sweets, noodles, various types of breads and more. As a protein boost, one can easily slip in a tablespoon in some pancake batter. Besan is indispensable for all types of vegetarians dishes. And you can grind your own so its super fresh.
TARO ROOT
These sticky roots can cause skin irritation for some, while peeling the skins off, and are toxic if eaten raw! Despite that, cooked until tender in soups or subjis can make for extra delicious offerings.I like taro better than potato. Taro leaves are used in various dishes as well.
CURRY LEAVES
Here's what fresh curry actually looks like. I was blessed to discover a large curry tree in India. Not so lucky in the states.
Similar in shape to neem leaves, curry is also known as sweet neem leaves. Their properties include much value as an antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory. Curry leaves are also known to be good for hair, for keeping it healthy and long.
URAD DAHL
Also called black gram. It is black if the skin is still on it and it is whole urad. Here the urad is skinned and split. Has a creamy, whitish color.
Urd is used in many ways as iddlis, dosas, vadas and soups. Super high in protein.
WHOLE MUNG BEANS
If you eat green skinned, whole mung as much as I do, you soon won't mind the skins, especially if you don't cook the beans on a high boil, but gently simmer them instead, so that the skins will simply break when the beans are tender and swollen. Mung also makes delicious bean sprouts and is good for soaking, grinding and forming barats. It is easy to digest and all around nourishing.
FRESH COCONUT
If you study a coconut carefully, you will notice it has a face. Two of the holes are identical and slightly narrower than the third hole which is more round. Well, the round hole or the mouth of the coconut is the hole to poke to open it. A favorite way to use coconut is in chutney. Everything about coconut, once you get it opened and the fruit peeled and grated, is yummy.
JACKFRUIT
My husband has climbed trees to get these locally in Hawaii. They are also found fresh in India and are a real treat. If you are lucky enough to get them fresh, you probably already know how to cook them. If not, here's what I learned about getting the tough rind off: One way is with well-oiled hands, knife and work surface, because underneath the rind, the fruit is very sticky. Another method is to bake the jackfruit before removing the rind. The inner pulp is delicious when deep fried or boiled, and then added to subjis.
A few times, guests have mistaken pieces of jackfruit (deep fried in ghee and then added to a subji) for meat. It makes a good meat substitute.
KALONJI SEEDS
Sometimes spelled kalinji, these black seeds are part of the Bengali five spice blend panch parang. Here's a closeup of what kalonji looks like. I'm still really new to using it. Also known as black caraway, black cumin or onion seeds, but it (nigella sativa) is different from the onion (Allium) family.
GREEN CARDAMOM
Below are cardamom pods and the seeds inside. It's best to use them right away because it is easier to open the pods. Older pods become very dry and brittle. They crumble and then you have to sift the pod pieces out of the seeds. Others just grind the pod along with the seeds.
MISHRI
Mishri is natural sugar in a crude, rock like form. It's said to cool the blood rather than heat it like refined sugar does.
NUTMEG
When it is still in its shell, you realize it really is a nut. The shell is fairly easy to crack. Then you can grate the nutmeg to get the amount desired.
BESAN
TARO ROOT
