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dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
Apologies for lack of a more interesting pun.

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that I’m speaking from my own experience, and won’t be able to cover the staggering variety of foods eaten in this region. In Andhra Pradesh /alone/ you’ve got the food eaten by the general populace in the farms, the Mughali royal food, and everything in between. In Tamil Nadu, you have the Tamil Brahmins, the Iyers, the Chetinand cuisine, and even influences from Sri Lanka. This will just be a tiny slice of what’s out there, and I encourage you to explore more, and reach further than the little glimpses that I can show you.

Another thing to bear in mind is that my family hails from Chennai, in the Chrompet area. This means that our food is going to be influenced by that particular region. It will differ from the foods you’d get Mabalam, which would be different from what you’d find in Adayar. There are common themes that run throughout, but the food tastes completely different. I could usually find those long cucumbers when I’d walk with my mum to the market in Chrompet. They’d be on every street corner. However, once you’d got to Mambalam (there’s a lot of good shopping there), you’d find these dudes with roasted peanuts all over the place. In Adayar, I vaguely remember my mum being able to sort out the fluffiest pillow-like idlis at the train station.

I said all that to remind you that even though I’m going to give an overview to the best of my ability, Indian food in general is extremely regional, down the last kilometre. What I know of it, and the methods of preparation will have someone else from a different background and different region rolling their eyes. However, that’s half the fun! In other words, don’t cling tightly to concepts of “authentic”. Each family interprets the basic technique in its own way. When said family moves to another location (i.e., England, Australia, USA, Canada), they take what they can find locally, and suit it to their techniques.

Without further delay, I present to you...

The Food of South India

Generally speaking, nobody will argue with you if you consider South India to be Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The two states neighbour each other, and are pretty much as far south as you can go without falling into the water. Culturally, linguistically, and culinarily, the two states are like very close sisters. In fact, there are many people who are comfortable in both Tamil and Malayalam. As a Tamil speaker, I can more or less make out what a Malayali is saying, as long as they slow down a bit (Malayalam’s liquid syllables come flying off the tongue, as opposed to Tamil’s slightly slower pace).

If you’re a jerk (like me), you’d call Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as part of Central India, even though you’d get death glares from anyone from that region. Culinarily speaking, Andhra and Karnataka are closer to each other than they are to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. How can you tell that a food is from a region? By the stereotypes (which are frequently true) about those regions, of course!

Andhra Pradesh: Andhra people are known to have a long-held love affair with chiles. Their food is screaming hot. You can generally tell when you’ve met an Telugu child when he’s happily chomping down on the same food that the Tamilians have made for the adults (often, in Tamil households, they’ll make one batch of food non-spicy for the kids, and one batch fiery hot for the adults). You make a batch of Indian pickle, and heave great handfuls of extra hot chili powder in there, and you’ve just made a Telugu speaker Very Happy Indeed.

Kerala: Coconut. They use coconut oil on their skin and hair. They cook with freshly grated coconut in everything. Coconut milk goes into anything that contains liquid. There is so much coconut that you’ll literally have it in everything you eat. There is a reason that food from Kerala garners so much respect: it’s extremely delicious!

Karnataka: They may as well be North Indians with their freaking love of sugar. They’ll add jaggery (unrefined evaporated sugar cane) to drat near everything. You know you’re dealing with a Kannadiga recipe when you see a savoury dish calling for jaggery. And then you roll your eyes, and leave it out, muttering about freaking Northerners and their need for sugar all over the place.

Tamil Nadu: Rice. You’ll know a Tamilian when he still looks hungry after eating sandwiches, pasta, noodles, or anything that doesn’t involve rice in some way. I’m serious. We tend to eat rice three times a day. If there isn’t rice in the meal, we don’t feel like we’ve actually eaten. There are times when my mum would take us all to a friend’s house for dinner, and they’d serve us a wonderful vegetarian meal. It would be a salad or soup, some pasta, some veggies on the side, and even dessert! And then we’d go home, and promptly attack the rice pot, because nobody feels like s/he’s eaten a meal yet. Mind, we wouldn’t need very much. Just a little to feel full.

What are the major categories of food?

Rice
Mixed Rice
Soaked & Ground Rice

Vegetables
Stewed Vegetables
Dry Roasted Vegetables
Raw Vegetables

Beans
Daal
Soondal

Pickle
Spicy Pickle
Salty Pickle

Not everything will strictly fall into these categories, but I’ll give a rough overview of them. Mind you, this will be a little Tamil-centric, and vegan (I’m not familiar with the meatfoods, and I’m not comfortable talking about dairy or eggs, so you’re welcome to talk about those things and educate each other on those things of course). Talk about what you know, right?

Rice
Unlike in the North, where wheat breads (puri, roti, naan, phulka, paratha, etc) are staples, in the South, we generally depend on rice. Whether it be the mound of plain rice that forms the major portion of your meal, or is one of the delicious spiced rices (kalantha saadam: literally “mixed rice”, or rice that’s been tossed with spices, nuts, ginger, and herbs), or even a fermented rice product (idli, dosa), pongal (rice & lentils cooked together with spices), or poha (pounded rice), you’re bound to find rice in a South Indian’s home. I’m just going to barely skim the surface of the dizzying varieties of rice that we use and eat on a regular basis.

While basmati rice is prized for its fragrance and aroma, it’s not ideally suited for South Indian food, which tends to need a rice that will get mushy on you. Basmati rice tends to stay too fluffy and separate, and doesn’t give that creamy texture that a regular long or medium grained rice will give when you mash it up. There are few things that make me cry on the inside as much as watching someone eat rasam or sambhar with fluffy separate basmati rice. Unless you’re specifically making a kalantha saadam, or a pilaf (and if you’re making a pilaf, what are you doing here!? that’s Northerner food! [PS I’m just kidding. You get excellent pilafs in Hyderebad]), stick with any short, medium, or long grain rice you can find. Jasmine is a bad choice, as is any rice that tends towards the fluffy and separate.

At home, I’ll reach for short grain brown rice. Sushi rice works great with South Indian food, as does Carolina long grain. If you are making a kalantha saadam, please by all means use basmati. The flavour and texture will be so delicious.

Kalantha Saadam
Mixed rice is any combination of spices and rice. It can be elaborate, and involve lots of steps, or be simple. The quickest and simplest is Lemon Rice.

Lemon Rice
This is the most basic, simple version. More elaborate versions involve adding roasted nuts, curry leaves, sesame oil (the Indian kind, of course; the Chinese kind is too strong in flavour), sesame seeds, etc. I wanted this version to be the simplest possible.

  • 4 cups Basmati rice
  • 2 TB canola, peanut, or sunflower oil
  • ½ tsp black mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp urad daal OR chana daal OR tuvar daal OR yellow split peas OR 1 hanful of nuts
  • 2 pinches asafoetida (if you have it; if you don’t leave it out)
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 2 TB chopped fresh ginger
  • 3 lemons, zested and juiced
  • Salt, to taste
Cook the basmati rice according to the directions. I use a rice cooker, so I haven’t had to do it on the stove.

In a small pot, add the oil, and let it heat over high heat. Swirl the fat around in the pot, until it gets nice and hot. Add the mustard seeds, and STEP BACK. They will pop. If they’re not popping, the oil is not hot enough. That’s fine. Just let them hang out until they pop. If they do not pop, the flavour will not happen, and you’ll have wasted your time. Do not trust anyone who tells you to add mustard seeds at the same time as any other spice. They’re Sandra Lee-ing you. Ignore them.

When the mustard seeds have reached their peak of popping, and subsided a little, add the cumin seeds and urad daal. Swirl the pot around to distribute the seeds. Lift the pot off the heat so that you don’t burn your spices. The cumin seeds will pop. This is good. Add the asafoteida, turmeric, and ginger, one after the other. Don’t add them at the same time. Turn off the heat, and add the lemon juice and lemon zest. The mixture should come up to a quick boil, then subside.

Add the mixture to your cooked rice. Toss to combine. Season with salt as needed.

For the most fluffy and separate rice, dump out the rice onto a baking sheet, and gently spread it out in one layer. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before tossing with the spice mixture. This will give you amazing results every time.

If you don’t like rice, feel free to use this recipe with quinoa. I’ve done it frequently, and it is delicious. If you can’t find quinoa, use millet. That works great too. If you don’t like millet, this works excellent with couscous. It also tastes really great when tossed with angel hair pasta. My mother has made all these variations many times, and it gets eaten every time.

Once you’ve mastered lemon rice, just sub out the turmeric and lemon juice with 1 cup of freshly grated (or frozen grated) coconut and you’ll have coconut rice. Sub out just the lemon juice with freshly diced tomatoes, and you’ve got tomato rice (extremely delicious). Tamarind rice is a little more complex. Even experienced cooks tend to buy the MTR Tamarind Rice (Puliyogare) mix from the store. It’s a right pain in the rear end to do.

Fermented Rice
I have covered dosa in detail on my blog: http://altveg.blogspot.com/2011/01/dosa.html Just make sure that you’re using some sort of short grain or medium grain rice. Long grain doesn’t come out the same.

Vegetables, Stewed
Vegetables are a huge part of an Indian person’s diet, and they’re very seasonal. You look forward to different things in different seasons, and go to the market and find huge varieties. I think that the fruit and vegtable lady who would come to my grandma’s house every morning would bring at least four varieties of keerai (essentially, spinach). If you went to the market instead, you’d find each vendor having five or six different varieties of those greens. We love gourds and squashes too. Daikon is a huge favourite. Essentially, however, you’re going to wind up eating either a Sambhar, or a Kootu. The Sambhar is more highly spiced, and tends towards the sour side. The Kootu tends to be milder in flavour, and will be almost sweet (subtle sweetness, not sugar sweetness) from the masses of coconut found in there. I’ll roughly cover both here.

I’ll cover kootu first, and then Sambhar, because you can take leftover kootu and turn it into sambhar. If someone is curious about a more specific recipe for keerai kootu (stewed dark green leafy vegetables), please let me know, and I'll type one out.

Kootu (basic)
This is the most extremely basic version ever. I’m not including any other veg, because this is the bare minimum that you need to make something into a kootu. People add other veggies all the time. Popular additions are carrots, cabbage, chayote, any and all gourds, pumpkins, and squashes, split peas, green beans, mushrooms...

The sky is the limit. In fact, there are kootu made with just dark leafy greens, like collard greens or spinach. In those cases, just omit the onions, potatoes, and mustard seeds. My mother’s version is even more simple than this. http://altveg.blogspot.com/2010/01/turnip-soup.html My sister-in-law likes to add cooked moong daal, and only half the coconut. I’ve seen people make it with ginger, and curry leaves, without the onion at all, with pearled onions, and with every vegetable known to man.
  • 1 TB canola, corn, or peanut oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seed
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 1 large daikon, peeled and diced
  • 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • ½ cup grated fresh coconut (OR 1 cup of coconut milk)
  • Water enough to cover the veg
In a stock pot, heat the oil. Add the black mustard seed, and let it pop. When the popping subsides, add the cumin seed. Add the daikon, potatoes, and onion. Add just enough water to cover the whole mess. Bring the whole thing to a rushing boil. Drop down the heat to a bare simmer. Let the vegetables cook, uncovered, until they’re tender. Add the coconut, and turn off the heat (the coconut should not cook very much at all).

Sambhar
  • 1/2 recipe of kootu
  • 2 cups cooked moong daal, black eyed peas, or split peas
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 3 TB chopped ginger
  • 2 TB Oil
  • Sambhar Powder OR Curry Powder (Curry Powder will get you pretty drat close to Sambhar powder).
  • ½ cup of tamarind, soaked in hot water, and strained of seeds (if using Tamcon, use 1 tsp)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
In a pot, heat the oil. Add the sambhar or curry powder. Add onions, and sautee until tender. Add ginger, and cook until the raw ginger taste is gone. Stir the spice blend into the leftover kootu. Add the cooked daal. Stir to combine. Add the tamarind pulp, and allow the whole mixture to come to a boil.

Mind you, there are versions with proper mixes of spices, and you are more than welcome to bring those up. This is basically a quick and dirty version that I’ll make at home, when I haven’t got a lot of time. My mum and sister-in-law both insist that for sambhar, it is one of the few times that making your own tamarind pulp is important, because the Tamcon (tamarind concentrate) tends to turn the whole thing an unseemly dark colour. However, when I’m in a rush, I’ll use the concentrate.

Vegetables, Dry Cooked
In the Tamil Nadu, a curry is any sort of dry cooked vegetables. This generally involves three or four spices, along with the vegetable, and as many red chiles as you can handle. I’m covering the most basic and simple vegetables to cook: cabbage. Why? Because it’s dead simple to make, and is one of those vegetables that if you cook correctly, in this manner, you’ll end up with something delicious. Feel free to substitute any other vegetable that you like for the cabbage. This is the Tamil Brahmin version. If you like it, use onions (about 3, sliced thinly) instead of the asafoetida. However, for speed, you can’t quite beat the Tam-bram version, because you’re literally only chopping one vegetable.

Cabbage Curry
  • ½ head cabbage, shredded
  • 2 TB canola, peanut, or vegetable oil
  • ½ tsp black mustard seed
  • ½ tsp cumin seed
  • 1 tsp urad daal
  • 2 pinches asafoetida
  • 1/3 tsp turmeric
  • Salt to taste

In a large frying pan or wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the black mustard seeds, and allow them to pop. Add the cumin seed and urad daal. When the cumin seeds pop as well, add the asafoetida, and stir once. Add the sliced cabbage, and the turmeric. Vigorously stir the cabbage to combine it with the spices and the fat. When all the cabbage has turned a beautiful shade of yellow, let the cabbage sit for a minute or two. Stir again, and let it set for another minute. You’ll notice the cabbage begin to caramelise.

Because this is a quick cooking vegetable, you can do all your cooking over highest heat. For potatoes and other root vegetables, you’ll want to drop the heat down to low after the turmeric is combined, and let the veg cook through. Then, once the vegetables are tender, turn up the heat to high again to let them develop a crust on the outside.

The trick is to not crowd the pan. Add the salt at the last minute, and taste for seasoning. You may want to add some red chile powder (cayenne pepper works great here). If you do, please turn off the heat before adding the heat of the chiles. Why? Because the smoke bomb of pain and burning that will happen if you try to add ground red chiles to a hot pan will burn your insides.

Really. That’s it. That’s the vast world of South Indian vegetables. Throw mustard seed, cumin seed, and turmeric at it until it tastes great. You can do like I do, and also add sesame seeds with the popping spices. You can also crush up some coriander seeds, and add them along with the cumin. By and large, however, this is the bulk of dry roasted vegetables.

Beans
Beans I have covered at length on the Wiki.
BASIC Daal Tarka
  • 2 cups of beans of your choice (or split peas), cooked RESERVE THE COOKING LIQUID
  • 3 TB oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seed
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 2 tsp coriander seed
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
In a pot, cook your beans. In a separate smaller pot, add the oil, and let it get hot over high heat. When the oil shimmers, sprinkle in the mustard seeds, and slam on the lid or a splatter guard. The mustard seeds should pop like mad. When the popping subsides, lift the pot off the heat, and add the cumin seed and coriander seed. Replace the pot on the heat. When those seeds pop, add the onion and turmeric powder. Stir well until the onions are yellow. Cook over high heat until the onions are softened, and dump into the pot of cooked beans, with as much of the cooking liquid as you like.

Taste for seasoning, and adjust salt and pepper as necessary.

To this basic recipe, you could keep going. Add sliced garlic if you have it. Then, when the garlic and onion are cooked through, add chopped ginger if you have it. Then, when the ginger is cooked through (takes about 45 seconds), add some chopped tomato (if using tinned, make sure it has NO calcium chloride in) if you have it. Then, when the tomato has cooked down into a gravy, add some chopped dark leafy greens if you have them. I like kale, but I've seen everything from okra to collard greens to radish greens to chopped daikon to cabbage to peas. The sky's the limit on this one. Then, once you've added the cooked beans, add some chopped basil, coriander, or mint, and stir it through.

Soondal
Another version of beans is the dry-roasted kind, or Soondal (in Tamil). To make a soondal, cook your beans until they’re done through. Drain off the water completely. Then, cook them just like you would a dry roasted vegetable (omit the turmeric). Then, at the end, add freshly grated coconut. Done. They’re extremely delicious with basmati rice. If you have them, peanuts with the skin still on that have been boiled makes an extremely delicious soondal. Seeing as how it's a legume, it'd count as daal. Right? RIGHT!?

Often, my mum and I would decide what kind of bean to make, based on how the rice came out. We had a cheap rice cooker, which would produce a cooked pot of rice, even though each batch was different. Some days, the rice would be soft and slightly mushy. On those days, we’d make the daal tarka. On other days, it was like the fluffy separate rice fairy had blessed our house. On those days, we’d make soondal. Why? Because the wet daal is extremely delicious with mushy rice. You end up with this totally creamy texture that comes from beating up the rice before adding the daal.


I’m not going to cover pickles quite yet, because they are so complex, and take so much time to explain. I’d sooner see if there’s any interest in South Indian cooking, and move forward from there. Bear in mind that I have barely nicked the iceberg. This isn’t even an introduction to the cuisine. Instead, it’s a basic starting point from where you can build your range.

Couple of other notes. My mother’s wok is nearly nonstick. It’s been used for over 30 years. My own wok is also nearly nonstick. I own cast iron that’s the same level of slippery. In South India, you’ve got a similar situation. However, I’ve adapted these recipes to work in a typical American kitchen, where you may be using fairly sticky pans, so I’ve increased the oil content considerably. If you do use nonstick pans and pots, feel free to ratchet the fat down to about 1 tsp or so, and you’ll still be fine. It’s how we’d cook in South India, because oil is damned expensive.

Also, bear in mind that this initial recipe set is very Tamil-Centric. I haven’t really included the delicious cuisines of Karnataka and Andhra because I’m not as familiar with them as I am the Tamil and Kerala foods. If anyone else is familiar with those cuisines, please chime in by all means. If you want to adapt any recipe to a more Keralite bent, just throw a bunch of freshly grated coconut at it at the end. I’m freaking serious. It will be very delicious, and you’ll wonder how you did without.

You can generally find frozen fresh grated coconut at Indian and Thai markets. I’ve seen them at Filipino markets too, although I’m not sure how many of you have those around you. I’ve seen it at Mexican markets, but not so much the South American or Spanish markets. If you can’t find black mustard seed, feel free to use white. It won’t be exactly the same flavour, but it will be delicious. Cumin I’ve managed to find at pretty much any Middle Eastern, Latin-American, and Indian market. Please do not substitute powdered cumin. It will not taste right. The popped seeds are what give South Indian food their flavour and character. You see more ground spices in the North. Asafoetida and urad daal can only be found at Indian/Pakistani/West Indian grocery stores. I have not seen them elsewhere.

If you’ve got questions, please feel free to ask. I’ll do my best to answer. I will likely bring up Pesarattu (one of the best tasting Andhra delicacies ever) and Bise Bela Bath (a Kannadiga favourite) at some point. I’ll also see if I can’t wheedle a Sambol recipe out of my mum (Sri Lankan coconut sauce to accompany food). I’ll definitely cover Gothsu at some point (tomato chutney, in essence). I haven’t really covered coconut chatni, Dosa Podi (roasted and ground pulses, combined with red chiles, salt, and asafoetida, mixed with sesame oil, and eaten with dosa or idli), or other accompaniment type foods, because I haven’t got time to cover them all.

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Victory Yodel
Jan 28, 2005

When in Jerusalem, I highly suggest you visit the sexeteria.
Thank you for this post. My wife family is from Kerala so whenever we visit family there's a contest to see who can out do the other.

I did have one question for you, however. It might not be southern Indian, but perhaps you can speak to it. I once had this savory dish that seemed like cream of wheat with veggies but it was the creamiest, most delicious thing I may have ever had. I've also had it in a sweet version that was yellow in color. What the heck is it and how do I make it? My mother in law refuses to tell me.

Black Griffon
Mar 12, 2005

Now, in the quantum moment before the closure, when all become one. One moment left. One point of space and time.

I know who you are. You are destiny.


I've been terrible about Indian food, and I've yet to make that daal that I've told everyone that I'll make. Thanks for this thread, it's inspirational. The last "Indian" I made was butterchicken, and though it tasted awesome, I feel it barely qualifies.
Edit: Even "barely" is giving it too much credit, isn't it?

Black Griffon fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Nov 11, 2012

Plus_Infinity
Apr 12, 2011

I am so excited about this thread! I loved the South Indian food that I've had at restaurants before, and all your recipes being vegan is an extra plus, as I am vegan too! I've tried some Indian recipes before but not in a long while so I'm excited to try again with simpler recipes that I can vary later. I think that's what stopped me from cooking Indian food on a regular basis- all the recipes were so complicated and I'd only try them when I was feeling ambitious. I'd love to be able to fit some of these into my regular repertoire.

One question- my mother gave me a bunch of Indian spices about 3 years ago but as i said, i haven't used them too much, and the whole seeds have mostly just sat around. Will they still have the flavor they should, or would it be better to re buy the ones I need?

AllTerrineVehicle
Jan 8, 2010

I'm great at boats!
Hell yes, I've been needing to widen my Indian food arsenal, and this will provide ample inspiration.

Also, I missed the pun in the title at first. Now that I see it, well done. :golfclap:

Toast
Dec 7, 2002

GoonsWithSpoons.com :chef:Generalissimo:chef:
Educational! Also making me yearn for a restaurant trip before I get around to trying some new things. :)

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

Victory Yodel posted:

Thank you for this post. My wife family is from Kerala so whenever we visit family there's a contest to see who can out do the other.

I did have one question for you, however. It might not be southern Indian, but perhaps you can speak to it. I once had this savory dish that seemed like cream of wheat with veggies but it was the creamiest, most delicious thing I may have ever had. I've also had it in a sweet version that was yellow in color. What the heck is it and how do I make it? My mother in law refuses to tell me.

Uppuma!!! It's one of my favourite dishes for breakfast. I can shoot a recipe your way if you like. I can likely even approximate a Keralite version if need be, which will taste even more creamy.

@black: make the daal drat it!


@ infinity: just crush the whole spice in a pestle and mortar. If you smell an amazing fragrance, feel free to use it. Else, get fresh.

@atv: the soul of South Indian food is exactly what you mention: taking inspiration from a recipe, and adapting it to your own. I look forward to your adventures.

@toast: let me know if you want something specific. You still have my email right?

Toast
Dec 7, 2002

GoonsWithSpoons.com :chef:Generalissimo:chef:

dino. posted:

@toast: let me know if you want something specific. You still have my email right?

Yep, definitely.

Squashy Nipples
Aug 18, 2007

Whoa... hell of an OP.

I cook a lot of Indian food, but it tends to be a very broad definition. This adds a huge amount of regional specificity to my knowledge. Thanks!

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
I made this dish tonight.

The idea was to cook an Indian vegetarian dish as a sort of cook-off contest that the girlfriend and I are having. I just didn't realize that this thing was like, Indian mashed potatoes. So we just ate a big thing of mashed potatoes with delicious spices.

Now we have about six cups of this left over (I think I used more than a pound of potatoes, but a farm sold me 15 pounds for $2.99 so...), what should I cook tomorrow that will be vegetarian and kind of balance out/compliment the leftovers?

I've got all sorts of Western vegetables in my fridge, like asparagus and broccoli and carrots and stuff, just to give an idea of what I'm working with.

I'm not a vegetarian, but at approximately $0.29 for four or five servings I'm loving the idea of semi-regular, hearty, delicious vegetarian foods that won't even leave me missing meat.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
Make puri. Yeah, it's not South Indian, but it's the exact thing you want with that. OR, make dosa, and stuff that in the middle. It would make an excellent masala dosa.

@Squashy: I'm glad you enjoyed the read. It was a lot of information to cover. Essentially, you shouldn't think of India in terms of a single country. The linguistic and cultural barriers present from state to state make India more like a miniature Europe than a single country with any overarching unity in it. The cultures and foods are vastly different.

xcdude24
Dec 23, 2008
I know that pretty much everything from Tamil Nadu is vegetarian, but I thought food from Kerala was more meat-centric?

Also: have you ever tried substituting fresh turmeric for the powdered stuff?

Happy Diwali, everyone!

xcdude24 fucked around with this message at 08:23 on Nov 14, 2012

Anarkii
Dec 30, 2008
Kerala and Andhra have a rich non-veg tradition. Tamil and Kannada stuff is mostly vegetarian though.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

xcdude24 posted:

I know that pretty much everything from Tamil Nadu is vegetarian, but I thought food from Kerala was more meat-centric?

Also: have you ever tried substituting fresh turmeric for the powdered stuff?

Happy Diwali, everyone!

In Tamil Nadu, the muslims, and the Chetinand cuisines are both heavily meat-centric. If you're looking for that sort of thing, there's plenty of it. Kerala tends to be fish-filled, because they have such a huge coastline. Hyderebad has a lot more meat than the others.

That being said, unless you're painfully wealthy (as are the Chettiars, from whence Chetinand cooking comes; they're merchants), you won't be eating meat but once in a week or so. Dairy, beans, and eggs are gently caress-off expensive as it is, but meat is extremely expensive, because there is no federal government subsidising the cost of meat. Dairy, yes. Rice, of course. Beans, for sure. Meat? You're on your own. Add that to the fact that Muslims won't touch pigs, and Hindus won't touch cows.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

dino. posted:

In Tamil Nadu, the muslims, and the Chetinand cuisines are both heavily meat-centric. If you're looking for that sort of thing, there's plenty of it. Kerala tends to be fish-filled, because they have such a huge coastline. Hyderebad has a lot more meat than the others.

That being said, unless you're painfully wealthy (as are the Chettiars, from whence Chetinand cooking comes; they're merchants), you won't be eating meat but once in a week or so. Dairy, beans, and eggs are gently caress-off expensive as it is, but meat is extremely expensive, because there is no federal government subsidising the cost of meat. Dairy, yes. Rice, of course. Beans, for sure. Meat? You're on your own. Add that to the fact that Muslims won't touch pigs, and Hindus won't touch cows.

That's pretty great actually. A whole (loving huge) country where the negative externalities of meat haven't been absorbed by the taxpayers for dubious reasons!

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer
Dino, good thread, two questions:

1) What is "Mughali royal food"? As a classy guy I feel I should be eating things like this.

2) Maybe you can help me figure out what this food I once had was. When I was a kid I lived in a group house that had this random 50yo Indian dude living there, he was a professor who was waiting for his family to come over and join him. Anyway, he use to make this dish that was yogurt/coconut milk cooked in a pan with onions. Tons and tons of onions. Sadly I can't remember much else about it but I remember really liking it and have never been able to track down what it was. I know he was from southern india and was a vegetarian, so it might have not been yogurt. I just remember the amazing onion-ness of it.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
@Bunnielab: Likely it was Onion Gothsu. It's basically an onion based curry, involving all kind of spices, and tamarind, and all different daals and such. It's extremely delicious. As for Mughlai food, you're talking all the heavily ghee'd and cream'd dishes. Biriyanis, phulka, all the tandoor type meats, any of the heavily rich qurmas and the like. Basically, it's heavily influenced by the Muslims, which means that it'll have a fair bit more meat, and a lot of dairy products, nuts, etc. It's interesting stuff, but nothing I'd ever have the stomach for. Stuff is hella rich.

For Vengaya Gothsu (Onion Gotsu), you'll do like

5 TB canola or vegetable oil of your choice
1 tsp mustard seed
2 1/2 lbs red onions, sliced thin (lengthwise)
1/2 lb shallots, sliced thing (if you have it; else, bump up the onions)
1 cup of tamarind pulp (with the soaking liquid added to bring it up to a cup; start with a lemon sized ball of tamarind, soak it in hot water, strain out the pulp, and measure out a cup)
3 stems of curry leaves (if you have them)
5 - 9 red or green chiles, sliced into rounds (if you don't want it lethally spicy, leave 'em out)

In a deep pot, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, and let them pop. Add the curry leaves (tear them in half as you throw them in). Add the onions, and red chiles. Let them cook down until they're completely soft. You can keep cooking until it's darkened a bit, but you'll be fine if you stop at the soft stage. Add the tamarind pulp, and stir vigorously. Season with salt to taste. Serve alongside idli, vadai, dosa, adai, or whatever else you like.

dino. fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Nov 15, 2012

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

dino. posted:

@Bunnielab: Likely it was Onion Gothsu. It's basically an onion based curry, involving all kind of spices, and tamarind, and all different daals and such. It's extremely delicious. As for Mughlai food, you're talking all the heavily ghee'd and cream'd dishes. Biriyanis, phulka, all the tandoor type meats, any of the heavily rich qurmas and the like. Basically, it's heavily influenced by the Muslims, which means that it'll have a fair bit more meat, and a lot of dairy products, nuts, etc. It's interesting stuff, but nothing I'd ever have the stomach for. Stuff is hella rich.


Awesome, I will try this out ASAP. Maybe Ved would just serve it with yogurt to temper the spice.

And the Mughlai food sound exactly like what my fat rear end likes.

xcdude24
Dec 23, 2008
So is ghee not usually used in south India? I live in a city with a large punjabi community, and it seems like their cooking agent of choice.

I just bought a huge bag of channa dal; can you recommend a recipe to me?

This is a super interesting thread, by the way. Definitely looking forward to making some of these recipes.

xcdude24 fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Nov 15, 2012

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

xcdude24 posted:

So is ghee not usually used in south India? I live in a city with a large punjabi community, and it seems like their cooking agent of choice.

I just bought a huge bag of channa dal; can you recommend a recipe to me?

This is a super interesting thread, by the way. Definitely looking forward to making some of these recipes.
Because the South isn't a really dairy producing region, they'll use ghee, but as a finishing fat, rather than a cooking fat. The Punjabis and Pakistanis are notorious in their use of ghee as a cooking fat. They'll deep fry in it, cook with it, and more or less drink the stuff if given half a chance. In the South, ghee is more a seasoning or finishing thing.

More common in the South is Til oil (an Indian version of Sesame oil with a light taste) for cooking. Ghee is way too expensive in the South to use as liberally as they use in the North. Also, Southern cooking tends to be very light in comparison to that of the North. We use less overall fat, and more water. When you're in a hot climate, it's best not to eat too many heavy meals that will bog you down. Instead, you tend to eat more frequent, light meals.

Even with our liberal use of coconut, you'll never get that layer of oil that forms on the top like you would with a Northern dish. It's what makes Indian Southern food what it is: you taste the fresh ingredients more than you do the fat. Mind you, both have their charms. I'll never eat a Chhole dish made with a Southern recipe. The Punjabis know how to make Chhole. They use copious amounts of fat. Same goes for Raajma. Don't ask a Southerner to make Raajma. It will end in tears. For them, a whole four TB of fat, rather than the usual two is a Very Big Deal. And then the Punjabi guy laughs his rear end off, and throws in another 1/2 cup.

Chana daal can be used in any recipe that calls for daal. Soak it overnight in cold water, and then boil it in the pressure cooker or in a regular pot. In the pressure cooker, you'll need 12 minutes (soaked) - 20 minutes (unsoaked). In a pot, you'll need about 40 minutes (soaked) - 1 hour (unsoaked). Then, make a daal tarka, and go to town! Chana Daal is also IDEAL for Paruppu Usili.

http://goonswithspoons.com/Paruppu_Usili

Recipe is on the Wiki. :)

ColdPie
Jun 9, 2006

Oh my god this thread is amazing. Indian food is my favorite cuisine to cook. I can't wait to try out some of these recipes. Luckily I've already got most of the spices, so just need to pick up the fresh veggies. Thanks very much, I'm excited to see what comes out of this thread.

e: Holy crap you have a book? :aaa:

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

ColdPie posted:

Oh my god this thread is amazing. Indian food is my favorite cuisine to cook. I can't wait to try out some of these recipes. Luckily I've already got most of the spices, so just need to pick up the fresh veggies. Thanks very much, I'm excited to see what comes out of this thread.

e: Holy crap you have a book? :aaa:
I certainly hope you do give some of them a try. If you want to make the dry roasted veg with ONLY potatoes, that is an extremely delicious and popular dish all across ?India. Just leave out the onion, of course.

Yeah, it's just a little vegan book whose second edition came out recently. Just search for dino vegan or something on Amazon, and it'll come up.

EAT THE EGGS RICOLA
May 29, 2008

ColdPie posted:

e: Holy crap you have a book? :aaa:

Get the one with the hyphenated last name, it's the most recent edition. Also: the book rules.

icehewk
Jul 7, 2003

Congratulations on not getting fit in 2011!

dino. posted:

Lemon Rice

Made this tonight. I'd crawl across my own mother to get to it. So light, fragrant, delicious.

Schmeichy
Apr 22, 2007

2spooky4u


Smellrose
I'm determined to, if not master, get comfortable with cooking Indian cuisine. Ordered Dino's book and Julie Sahni's, let's do this!

There's a great Indian grocery not too far from me. I accidentally picked up the whole urad daal with the black skins, will that mess up dosa (other than the color)? Are there any recipes that specifically call for or work well with the whole kind? Also, if one were to make a bunch of garam masala powder, are green cardamom pods unacceptable?

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
Hi Schmeichy! Glad to see you jumping aboard with both feet first! In the South, we don't really use garam masala. That's really a Northern thing. Personally, I don't care for badi elachi (the black cardamom). It has a weird flavour, and gives garam masala that same weird flavour. I prefer the green cardamom. Unfortunately, the potency of green cardamom dies much more quickly than that of the black. If you can trust yourself to only make about 1/4 cup of garam masala at a time, use it up, and then grind a fresh batch again, I'd say use the green with my blessings.

Whole urad daal requires longer soaking. It'll mess with the colour. While you're there, just use brown rice for the dosa, and the colour won't matter so much. For whole urad daal, a really tasty recipe is to make Soondal. Soak 2 cups of it overnight in cold water, then drain. Cook in a pressure cooker for 14 minutes. Drain well. Then, toss with the same spices as a sabzi (1 tsp mustard seed, 1 tsp cumin seed, curry leaves [OPTIONAL], asafoetida [OPTIONAL], and lots of grated coconut). Holy balls, it's so delicious.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
Kootu
Manni is the Tamil word for the wife of my older brother. Because of the closeness of Hindu Brahmin families (especially ones in the South), you're meant to view your elder brother almost like another parent. Consequently, your elder brother's wife is to be like a second mother to you. She always holds a special place in your life, because she takes care of you as if you were part of her own family.

My own Sowmya Manni is one such lady. Whenever Steve and I go down to DC to visit my brother and his family, she sees to it that we're not only comfortable, but also having a really good time. She constantly checks in with either me or Steve to make sure that we're OK with anything she's asking us to do. If she has to step out for a bit and leave the kids under our watch, she'll clear it with one of us first, then make sure to threaten dire consequences if the kids don't listen to their uncles.

Mind you, this is never an issue, because my nephew and niece love us both dearly, and would be horrified if they upset us for any reason. She'll stock the fridge with almond milk, because she knows that Steve and I like it. She makes sure to knock up a batch of idli, because she knows that I won't make it at home for Steve, while still keeping a batch of dosa batter for me (since I dislike idli). All in all, my Sowmya Manni is a pretty stand-up lady, and I'm pleased to have known her all these years.

On to the recipe. This is an amalgam of my mother's version and my Manni's version. My mother does the thing where she adds fenugreek seeds, because it's healthy, and good for the stomach. She's not a huge fan of its bitter taste, but does like how it thickens soups admirably. My Manni likes to throw in daal, because she's not a huge fan of using lots of coconut (like my mother is). See, my father hates daal in his kootu. So my mother, knowing this, made the compromise and added a lot more coconut instead. My manni doesn't care for the fat, nor does she like fenugreek, so she enriches the stew with daal. In her recipe, she cooks the daal separately, because she's using tuvar daal, which takes a long time to cook. In this one, I used moong daal, so I could throw everything together in one feel swoop.

Anyways. Onwards to the recipe.

1 chayote, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 red onion, diced
1/4 cup slivered ginger
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (use up to 1 tsp; if you don't like them or don't have them, omit)
1 tsp red chile flakes
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp~ish Kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 handful curry leaves
3/4 cup moong daal
1/2 cup grated coconut
Water, to cover the veg

TARKA
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/4 cabbage, diced


First, chop the veggies. Then, in the bottom of a pressure cooker, add the fenugreek seeds. Atop that, add the coconut. Then, layer on the vegetables over that. Add turmeric and red pepper flakes. Add black pepper.
On the VERY TOP, add moong daal and curry leaves. Oh. And add salt at some point in the works. This is important. If you add the moong daal to the bottom, you risk having it stick to the bottom. Follow the order, and you'll be fine.

TARKA

Start, as always, with fat, and black mustard seeds. When the pop, add cumin seeds. When they pop, add cabbage. The reason I'm cooking the cabbage now is because I'm doing the kootu differently from how most people would. Most people use a regular pot. I wanted kootu quickly. I used the pressure cooker. If I added the cabbage to the pressure cooker, it'd get horribly overcooked. I wanted the cabbage to retain some of its firmness.


Pressure cook for 9 minutes (this is why I used the cooker; on the stove in a regular pot, it'd take a good 45 minutes or so). Add the cabbage tarka to the stew. Stir to combine. Eat over brown rice.

me your dad
Jul 25, 2006

Cool thread! I really enjoy making Indian dishes. For some reason it's the only cuisine I feel comfortable experimenting with when I cook. Last night I improvised some sort of non-traditional chickpea curry with grilled chicken, squash, zucchini, and tomato with yellow and red bell pepper and seasoned with lemon, cilantro, and curry powder of course.

I don't know the regions but I'm trying to learn. The language is the big stumbling block for me. My wife and I eat at Indian restaurants quite frequently (they abound here in the DC area) but I have trouble remembering the names of the things I eat.

My wife really loves spinach dishes. Can you recommend a good main-dish recipe?

Also, any tips on feeding our one year old baby? When I cook, I love the spices and I'm afraid of hitting my baby too much with spiced foods.

me your dad fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Nov 17, 2012

Schmeichy
Apr 22, 2007

2spooky4u


Smellrose
Thanks for the tips! The dosa batter is fermenting, and I'm making your Paruppu Usili recipe for dinner. I will definitely make that Soondal, probably next week sometime. What is your preferred chutney/sauce when you make dosa? Or do you eat them plain?

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.
@Dad: Keerai Kootu it is! My mum used to make this for the family when they were living next door to a cattle farm. The farmers used to give her their leftover cattle fodder (i.e., spinach, and other greens) for extremely cheap, if not outright free. They didn't have much money at all at the time, so she'd end up having to make it more often than not. Fast forward to many years later, and we're living in USA. Greens are gently caress off expensive, so my mum would make the dish very rarely. My sister and I hadn't lived through keerai kootu every day times, so for us, it was a special treat. My two older brothers, however, would quietly fix themselves a sandwich on the nights that my mum would knock this up. Neither I nor my sister complained. More for us!

Keerai Kootu

3 lbs collard greens, kale, or spinach (or some combination thereof), chopped in the food processor
1 onion, diced
3 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 TB oil
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 cup grated coconut

In a large pot, add the oil, and heat on high. Add the mustard seeds when the oil is hot. They will pop. Allow the mustard seeds to pop, and then add the cumin seeds. Add the onion. Cook the onions until they're just softened (don't brown them). Add the chopped greens. Keep cooking on high heat, until the greens start to release their liquid. Add the ginger and coconut. Keep cooking until the greens are tender. Serve over brown rice.

Optionally, you can stir in some leftover baked potato, chopped green or red chiles, or curry leaves if you have them.

This is one of those dishes that's easy enough to adapt, based on whatever greens you have. I'm sure you've noticed that there's very little oil, and very little spice in the dish. The reason is because when my mother made it, she didn't have enough money to buy more spices than that tiny amount. If you do enjoy the spices, feel free to double them.

For babby, we generally feed them things like pongal. Just leave out the pepper and ginger. It's the sort of dish one makes for one's family, because everyone from toothless babby to toothless granny can easily eat it. It's also eminently digestible. That keerai kootu recipe is another thing that we'll frequently feed the young 'uns. It's good to introduce them to spiced foods early on. South Indian food tends to be very easy on the stomach, and safe for young ones, as long as you omit the chiles. Tamil Brahmin food in particular tends to be good for young ones, because it doesn't use any onion or garlic.

My mother says that for young children, she tends to err on the side of soft foods, because their teeth are still not up to the task of chewing harder foods too easily. It's why the pongal is such a staple. It's soft. It's got good for you spices. It digests really easy. I've heard someone call it the Indian version of mac and cheese.

@Sch: How did it turn out? When I make dosa, I tend to make coconut chatni. This is my version, which is a spin-off of my mother's version. She used peanuts when she couldn't afford/find Daliya.

1 whole coconut, removed from the shell (save the water too), cut into pieces
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
3 sprigs curry leaves
5 - 8 whole green Thai Bird chiles, stems removed
4 TB daliya (use roasted peanuts if you can't find daliya)
Water
Salt, to taste

In a blender, add the onion, curry leaves, chiles, and coconut (in that order). Add the coconut water. Blend on low until the coconut is chopped up. Have about a cup or two of water at the ready. Increase the speed, and add more water, so that the coconut continues to get finely chopped. Add the daliya, and keep blending. You should end up with a puree of the coconut. It will be delicious.

Rurutia
Jun 11, 2009

dino. posted:

@Sch: How did it turn out? When I make dosa, I tend to make coconut chatni. This is my version, which is a spin-off of my mother's version. She used peanuts when she couldn't afford/find Daliya.

1 whole coconut, removed from the shell (save the water too), cut into pieces
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
3 sprigs curry leaves
5 - 8 whole green Thai Bird chiles, stems removed
4 TB daliya (use roasted peanuts if you can't find daliya)
Water
Salt, to taste

In a blender, add the onion, curry leaves, chiles, and coconut (in that order). Add the coconut water. Blend on low until the coconut is chopped up. Have about a cup or two of water at the ready. Increase the speed, and add more water, so that the coconut continues to get finely chopped. Add the daliya, and keep blending. You should end up with a puree of the coconut. It will be delicious.

That sounds amazing dino. Do you think it'd make a good substitute for coconut milk in coconut milk sticky rice? I'm mostly concerned about if it'd match the richness and viscosity.

Squashy Nipples
Aug 18, 2007

dino. posted:

@Squashy: I'm glad you enjoyed the read. It was a lot of information to cover. Essentially, you shouldn't think of India in terms of a single country. The linguistic and cultural barriers present from state to state make India more like a miniature Europe than a single country with any overarching unity in it. The cultures and foods are vastly different.

Yup, I know it's a huge country... I've worked with many Indian folks over the years (first I was an engineer, and then in the out-sourcing business), and I've always loved taking them out to my favorite Indian places for lunch, because nothing is ever 100% "correct"! :)

Even if the chef is from the same region, there is always a lot of "Well, my mom does it this way", and "I've never really liked that style", and even "Why they hell does this X have Y in it? That's totally wrong!"

So yeah, I know that it's a big country with tons of subcultures, I was just happy to have some details to help fill in the picture a little. Previous to your post, I knew that Punjabi was north, and Hydrebadi is from the south, and that was about it.


ColdPie posted:

e: Holy crap you have a book? :aaa:

Yep, and it's a very good book, too. Only downside is the boutique publisher; I ordered mine off of Amazon, and it took almost 6 weeks to get delivered.

Hey Dino, have you considered using this OP and thread as the kernel of another book? A proper taxonomy of Indian food regionalisms would be a really interesting read! It probably wouldn't need that many recipes, either.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

Rurutia posted:

That sounds amazing dino. Do you think it'd make a good substitute for coconut milk in coconut milk sticky rice? I'm mostly concerned about if it'd match the richness and viscosity.

I'm not familiar with the recipe. I'd imagine if you squeezed out the milk from it (throw the whole chatni into a strainer or cheesecloth, and squeeze out the liquid). It'd be a hella spicy, delicious coconut milk.

@Squashy: With the new publisher, turn around times are much faster. They're coming in from Amazon with standard shipping. If you've got Prime, it'll get to you in two days.

:checks site: And now they're down to 11 copies. WTF.

Babylon the Bright
Feb 22, 2011

by Y Kant Ozma Post
Can we get some chaat recipes, particularly sweets like ladus and halva? I used to live in Berkeley, which had a huge south Indian population. I miss good Indian sweets so much, also Dhokla, and bhel puri.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

Babylon the Bright posted:

Can we get some chaat recipes, particularly sweets like ladus and halva? I used to live in Berkeley, which had a huge south Indian population. I miss good Indian sweets so much, also Dhokla, and bhel puri.

Those are all North Indian.

DerpAlert
Aug 31, 2009

Haulin' Ass, Gettin' Paid
TEN XXXTRA LARGE
Hey, just wanted to chime in and say that popping the mustard and cumin seeds is an amazing trick that I never would have thought of had I not seen your Indian cooking threads.

I'm trying to convert my diet to a mostly vegetable-based one as our factory-farmed meat here is expensive in more ways than one.

As such I've stocked up on beans, chickpeas, and the like. I really like learning about Indian cooking as it's the easiest and most delicious way to cook these foods. It's also nice to be able to take such simple ingredients and make something so delicious with spices and technique.

By the way, is yellow-colored mustard seed an acceptable substitute for black mustard? Yellow mustard is much easier to find around here and still seems to impart a rich flavor when popped.

I love to cook vegetables, and it's wonderful to see how versatile Cumin is as a spice.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

DerpAlert posted:

By the way, is yellow-colored mustard seed an acceptable substitute for black mustard? Yellow mustard is much easier to find around here and still seems to impart a rich flavor when popped.

I love to cook vegetables, and it's wonderful to see how versatile Cumin is as a spice.
Glad too see another enthusiast! Yes, yellow mustard seed will get you there. It won't be quite the same flavour, and the popping will take a little longer (as the yellow mustard seeds seem to be hardier), but it'll certainly get you there. If you can get black mustard seed at some point, just get a bag, and you'll notice the difference big time. Initially, however, stick with what you can find easily.

Essentially, your generic South Indian vegetable dish (from most of South India) is mustard seed, cumin seed, turmeric, asafoetida, curry leaves. The generic for Kerala is all of the above, plus grated coconut. XD It's really easy.

DerpAlert
Aug 31, 2009

Haulin' Ass, Gettin' Paid
TEN XXXTRA LARGE

dino. posted:

Glad too see another enthusiast! Yes, yellow mustard seed will get you there. It won't be quite the same flavour, and the popping will take a little longer (as the yellow mustard seeds seem to be hardier), but it'll certainly get you there. If you can get black mustard seed at some point, just get a bag, and you'll notice the difference big time. Initially, however, stick with what you can find easily.

Essentially, your generic South Indian vegetable dish (from most of South India) is mustard seed, cumin seed, turmeric, asafoetida, curry leaves. The generic for Kerala is all of the above, plus grated coconut. XD It's really easy.

I'll have to pick up some turmeric, asafoetida and curry leaves next week then. I live in the Pacific Northwest in the USA so that kind of stuff is extremely difficult to find in the big chain supermarkets around here.

Luckily there's an Indian supermarket a block away from where I live. It's the only place I've been able to find Paneer so far so I give good odds.

dino.
Mar 28, 2010

Yip Yip, bitch.

DerpAlert posted:

I'll have to pick up some turmeric, asafoetida and curry leaves next week then. I live in the Pacific Northwest in the USA so that kind of stuff is extremely difficult to find in the big chain supermarkets around here.

Luckily there's an Indian supermarket a block away from where I live. It's the only place I've been able to find Paneer so far so I give good odds.

Just get all the spices from the Indian store. They'll be much cheaper than the grocery stores. If you swing by a hardware store, they'll sometimes carry those 4 oz mason jars. Excellent for storing your bulk spices!

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Victory Yodel
Jan 28, 2005

When in Jerusalem, I highly suggest you visit the sexeteria.

dino. posted:

Uppuma!!! It's one of my favourite dishes for breakfast. I can shoot a recipe your way if you like. I can likely even approximate a Keralite version if need be, which will taste even more creamy.

Yes please! I would love the recipe. Maybe I'll get up early and surprise my wife this weekend.

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