Hot spices

GARAM MASALA

Garam Masala means hot (Garam) spice (Masala) is not an spice in itself. It is a powder used throughout India and the rest of the world.

It solely depends on the region and personal tastes that people make this powder. It is unique to various cultures and this has a huge demand in the world market.

The basic ingredients are:

30 green cardamom pods

15 cloves

5 black cardamom pods

4 pieces cinnamon

5 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds (shown here in powder form)

1 tbsp fennel seeds (optional)

1 tsp black peppercorns

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)

Preparation

Place all these spices in a hallow bottom pan or skillet and heat over a very low heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the aroma from the spices begins, remove the pan from the heat (make sure not to over brown them). This step is to release the aromatic oils from the spices.
Working with only a small quantity at a time, put the spices in an electric blender to grind it to a fine powder. Remove the cardamom pod skins. Allow to cool.
Store the Garam Masala in an air-tight container. As long as the container is tightly closed after each use, it should last for a long time.

Summer farewell

Summer is on us, Oh! no don't think i realised it too late. It is just that when it get hard on you that is when you try to get remedies out of books, internet, friends and other means to cool yourself down.
This is a typical smoothie, but the exception is that you may not find in any Mc Donald or KFC outlets. It is a simple drink but has a smooth and cooling effect on you and your family once you have tried it.

Recipe:

Watermelon - 1/4 ea
Kiwi - 4 ea
Ginger - 1ea
Fresh Mint - 15 leaves
Lemon Juice - 1ea
Crushed Ice - 1 cup


All you have to do is blend all this together and if you have a pallet that is craving for tanginess, and health concious it's good to have the drink without sugar as is mentioned in the recipe, but if like it sweet add 2 sugar cubes per glass. (It would be great if done fresh)
It can be garnished with either mint leaves, Lime wedge, watermelon chunks, Orange zest, Orange segment. (
Another great aspect about this drink is that, it is a great combination if you would like to try some alcholic beverage with this like vodka, gin etc.

Fusion my way

It is not very hard for a person to understand what are the basics of cooking. But the taste that carries the senses is something which can be found only in people who have truly understood the tastes of the masses. This is the reason that we have certain restaurants that have gone fusion cooking. This is an intersting subject to me and many others like me. There are restaurants in the city (New York) and other places like california that have restaurants that open for few hours for lunch and dinner but make a good business out of it. The reason why i wrote this topic was that i realised that i would not like to eat my food just with one accompliment but have a mixture of two or more dishes and to form one more eloberate taste that can tickle my senses.
The simple aspect of adding some tamarind and date paste gave the gobi manchurian and also the beef shashlik that i had prepared this weekend to taste something different to the people who indulged in this ritual of eating good food.
There are many spices in Indian cooking that can help bring out a different taste. There are dried spices like dried mango which can give a dish tanginess, it also depends on the amount that is being added to the dish to bring out a unique flavor. There is a recent trend of using duck fat to enhance the flavor of certain Indian dishes as beef and pork is considered religious to certain religious groups, this is again to enhance the experience and to tease the pallet. The gourmet world is heading to new sphere of taste perception that it has bought about personal chefs who cater to a elite few.

Freeding frenzy

It was a wonderful weekend which was filled with fun, and a time to experiment with new recipes. The saturday we (our family) headed to brooklyn, the time was perfect for me to try my recipe of gobi manchurian. My brother decided that i need to try my knowledge on the family gathered that afternoon. It was a unanimous decision to make gobi manchurian to go with the lunch. It was a simple recipe that i followed:

1 Head Cauliflower
1/2 Cup Corn starch
1/2 Cup Rice flour (instead of all-purpose flour)
1 TB soy sauce
2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup Ginger garilic paste
3TB Tomato ketchup
1 red onion medium dice
2 Bell pepper medium dice
1Tb Tamarind & date paste
1Tb Salt

This was a usual kind of recipe which is best for home prepearation, which had a few changes done to it. The main changes were the rice flour and the tamarind and date paste with no addition of green chilli these were the only definitive changes that i had made to the recipe and it turned out to be a super hit with the bowl licked clean (it was not licked but clean).

On Sunday morning before leaving for a recreation park in New jersey, my sister-in-law, told me that it was decided to have beef for lunch. I marinated the beef with fresh basil, worecestershire sauce, soy sauce, fresh crushed black pepper, Tamarind and date paste and english mustard. I cut the beef into chunks and marninated it until the afternoon. After we were back from the park i immediately cut 1 red onion, 2 bell pepper into large dice and marinated that with crushed pepper and lime juice and put the rest of the marniation of the beef to the vegetable and made some tasty shaslik. With some corn on the cob which was my brothers marination which just had some salt, curshed black pepper and lime juice. My brother just grilled it to perfection. It was a wonderful treat to the gourmet gods. They were so impressed by the taste that it rained mad.

Restaurant Drums

A fancy restaurant with some fancy rules, this is what i felt when i trailed at one of the restaurants in new york city. It was a restaurant (which i would not like to mention here) that has got a name with spanish speaking immigrants working long hours. It is hard to believe in this time and age when slavery has been a word of the past is clearly being carried on by having cheap labour.
As i walked into the restaurant i was asked to wear the uniform and was assigned a station (remember this was a trail to know the flow of the kitchen), I was being called at by every cooks in this restauarant to help them with their preparation. I was willing to work, but never expected it would turn out to be a bad experience after all. I walked into the kitchen at 10.30am and started to work. I was not informed of a lunch break that they had so that i could have lunch. The chef calls me for a interview into his office at 6.00pm, questions asked were what was my visa status, this was a question to judge if this person he was interviewing was for cheap labor or if he had to pay normal wages. As i am a international student (which he presumed i would be), i told him the fact as the government allows me to work on a OPT (optional practical training) status for a period of 1 year he just got his break. He tells me that i will be informed of the position that will be available via e-mail or will have the chef de cuisine inform me in the night. Once i was done with the interview i saw him walk upto the chef de cuisine and tells him something and walks away. At 8.00pm i told the chef-de-cuisine i need to leave, as i had no means of transporation and had been working straight without food for 9.5 hours, but guess what he tells me, if i needed a job i needed to wait until 10.00pm. At about 9.00pm i get the results of this gruelling day, he tells me that i will be offered a position of butcher and my wages would be 10.50 per hour. This caught me by surprise as this was direct exploitation of labour. As i had applied for a position of mid managerial level which would be a demi chef. Getting to know that i was being taken for a ride made me understand that there is no value for educated and experienced people. It just matters if you are a american you get the previledges that every american gets, and if you are a international candidate you are considered to be a payed slave.
PURE EXPLOITATION OF LABOUR IN A RESTAURANT THAT IS ZAGAT RATED.

Weekend Photo

I am a CIA alumni with a Culinary arts degree

On the 3rd of July, it was a nice sunny morning when i was awarded the Assoicates degree from the prestegious Culinary Institute of America. I was overwhelmed by different emotions. It was the day of my graduation, that i had been waiting for a long time.

It was a hard for me to imagine that i would be studying in this prestegious college that has produced some eminent personalities in the culinary world. The dream came true as my whole family supported me throughout the process. It was a hard decision that i had to make when my daughter was born, and was just 1month when i had to tell my wife and daughter that i will have leave for my education. My wife understood the reason behind the decision, which would be just nothing without her support. The money i had saved through the years that i had worked in the cruise line industry, was not even enough for the 1st semisters fee. My brother, sister-in-law, Sister, brother-in-law were the people who financed my education, without whom this would not be a reality. My parents gave me all the moral support. My wife took good care of my daughter during my absence. It was all these emotions that had filled my heart and mind as i walked to receive the medal of honor from the president.