Manpreet Bharara Reward Points : 30900 Member Since : Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Cooking is an art The blending of various ingredients over heat to produce food that is easily digestible requires patience,love and a creative mind.Men and women enjoy cooking although some just cannot bring themselves to enter the kitchen to cook.Some say it is a stressbuster,and some enjoy cooking for friends and family for special occasions.Some love to experiment various cuisines referring to a recipe.Gone are the days when certain recipes were handed down from generation to generation. Grandma s or mom s recipe was standardised and used. And they were delicious Very few were willing to cook something different,let alone eat. Today,we have different cuisines from all parts of the globe,and restaurants that serve the finest from distant lands.Culinary art is being exchanged,improved upon,and served to suit the local palate.It is no wonder then that in Indian outlets,KFC serves combo meals of rice and fried chicken that is also spicy.Mac s serves the aloo potato patty burger for the vegetarian. A good recipe is one which when being cooked,releases the aroma that wafts through,and is appealing to the eye.This readies the brain which activates the salivary glands in the mouth and makes our mouth water.Finally,when food is served lovingly,the taste should be flavourful and delicious.The salt,spice and sour content should all blend well in making the chief ingredient vegetable or meat tasty. Indian Cooking Since ages,India is known as the land of spices.Most spices are grown and exported.Indian cooking is incomplete when it is bereft of spices.And there are some regions in India which use more spices than others.Usually,all homes stock up on spices for everyday cooking. And using these same spices for home remedies is common.They add a variety of flavours to cooked food and act as an appetite stimulant.Since ancient times,spices have been used as medicines,flavourings,perfumes and dyes.They are the fruits,flowerbuds,roots or bark of aromatic plants. Common spices include turmeric,coriander,chilli,star anise,caraway fennel,poppy,cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,pepper,fenugreek,nutmeg and mace,ginger,mustard and saffron. Depending on the dish,the required spices are either used whole or ground to a fine powder and then used.They are stored in airtight boxes,either plastic or stainless steel for upto a year.Spices are separately ground to a fine powder and stored in separate containers.Some are roasted in particular quantities and ground when cool to make up a masala powder such as garam masala,meat masala,chaat masala.South Indian masalas are more spicy and a blend of spices along with a variety of roasted pulses make up sambar masala,chutney powders,vangibath powder,biibelebath,puliyogare powders.Chilly powder,coriander powder,jeera powder,pepper powder are always used in most recipes.
Posted On : 4/9/2009 11:17:50 PM
Maniam PS [Guru] Reward Points : 137200 Member Since : Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. Many of these substances are also used for other purposes, such as medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics, perfumery or eating as vegetables. For example, turmeric is also used as a preservative licorice as a medicine garlic as a vegetable. In some cases they are referred to by different terms. In the kitchen, spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavoring purposes. Herbs, such as basil or oregano, may be used fresh, and are commonly chopped into smaller pieces. Spices, however, are dried and often ground or grated into a powder. Small seeds, such as fennel and mustard seeds, are used both whole and in powder form
Posted On : 4/10/2009 9:10:32 PM
Joydeep Chakraborty Reward Points : 23700 Member Since : Thursday, February 14, 2008
hello all. i will like to share my knowledge on Hing. The medicinal property of Hing is immense. if 1/4 tsp hing powder is mixed with a ripe banana and consumed then it is very fruitful in treating indigestion. Another age old grandma therapy i will share here for dealing toothache with Hing. Heat 1/2 tsp of Hing in 2 tsp lemon juice. Now soak a piece of cotton in this solution and place it in the tooth cavity. You will be amazed to see that your toothache will disappear
Posted On : 4/21/2009 4:07:39 AM
Indravadan Modi Reward Points : 23300 Member Since : Saturday, January 10, 2009
Posted By : Joydeep Chakraborty Posted On : 4/21/2009 4:07:39 AM Go
hello all. i will like to share my knowledge on Hing. The medicinal property of Hing is immense. if ..
hi joydeep thanks for the information. I would just like to add here that in ancient ayurvedic treatise a large number of spices are used for their medicinal properties. since ages in ayurveda, Pepper has been used to cure digestive ailments. A turmeric paste has been applied to burns, itchy skin etc. Ginger even has been regarded as the tried and tested remedy for liver complaints, anaemia and rheumatism.
Indian Spices
