271 replies to this topic

[anil]

Termz, on 26 June 2009 - 10:53 PM, said:

Assam Cops new torture weapon

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Policemen in an Assam district allegedly tortured two teenage boys, accused of stealing mobile phone recharge cards, by rubbing the world’s hottest chilli(bhot jolokia or naga jolokia standing at 1,041,047 heat units on the Scoville scale) on their bodies and forcing it down their throats.

Bhot jolokia is currently used in some parts of Assam to make small bombs used to frighten away raiding wild elephants from fields.

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is also working on bhot jolokia as the main ingredient in non-lethal hand grenades.

I had once tried the habanero chilli (orange color) in a curry and promised to myself never to use them again. It was very hot and I had to keep going to the bathroom quite a few times after that. Being brought up on AP cuisine mostly, I can deal with some heat, but this was over the limit. I think, this bhot jolokia is supposed to be hotter than habanero; I can just imagine their plight.

For some strains of habenero and all varieties of naga-jolokia you have to wear gloves while cooking - No ifs-no-buts and no talking orangutan.

[Suresh Hinduja]

Economic Times of India
writes Vikram Doctor~

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Half a gondhoraj lime in a pot of light green tea makes an incredibly refreshing drink, as does jamming a segment in the neck of a pint of cold beer – but a good one, like the Belgian Hoegaarden or Leffe that are now being imported , or some of the new range of craft beers brewed in India that has just been launched under the Little Devils name. And if you want something stronger, then grate the peel – just the green or yellow zest, not the bitter white part – of 3-4 limes and add them to a bottle of vodka. It infuses with great rapidity and is good on its own, but add sugar and you’ll have instant limoncello.


Even my enthusiasm is dwarfed by that of my friend Suresh Hinduja, who runs a gourmet food site, and who has taken the gondhoraj in unexpected directions. He’s an enthusiast for the leaves, which I never get in Mumbai, but he’s managed to grow in Bangalore. Suresh tells me he’s used them instead of basil in a pesto, has used the zest to spike caramel custard, throws in leaves and juice with fish chunks in a stir fry and has preserved leaves and lime with salt to make an extremely aromatic pickle. I’m dying to try all this, yet sometimes

I feel the simplest use is best: take dhal, chawal (or the khichuri that Bengalis make when the rains finally come), add a squeeze of gondhoraj, and this simple, yet supremely satisfying dish goes into the stratosphere.

[Sekhar]

Vir Sanghvi: Rude Food - Hyderabad Diary:

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...........................................This time I am back in Hyderabad without a political or rock and roll agenda. I am accompanied by my Discovery Travel and Living crew and we are shooting for our episode on biryani. We all know the legends by now. Though the Mughal court based in Delhi invented most of the great dishes of modern north Indian cuisine, these were preserved by the satraps after the decline of the Mughal Empire following Aurangzeb.
Thus, Lucknow is a better example of Mughal court cuisine than Delhi. And the same is true of Hyderabad, where the Nizam-ul-Mulk, the Mughal Governor of the Deccan, finally declared himself independent and came eventually to be known as His Exalted Highness, The Nizam of Hyderabad.

Part of the research for our biryani episode has led us to Hyderabad. We all know that the kuchcha biryani of Hyderabad is justly famous. Many people argue that it is the only true biryani. The biryanis of Lucknow, they say, are no more than pulaos: combinations of cooked rice and cooked meat. The Hyderabadi biryani, on the other hand, uses raw rice and raw meat cooked together. Thus, it is a complete dish, unlike the Awadhi pretender. Soon after I get to Hyderabad, I am delighted to find that nearly every dhaba and restaurant has a sign outside reading: "Biryani served here".....................................................

................................................................What a shame! And here I was, looking for a democratic dish!

MORE: http://blogs.hindust...diary/#more-151


Lucknow Diary:

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The great biryani search continues. But Lucknow, it turns out, is pulao country. It is also the place for outstanding kababs and kormas. And it has the best chaat in the entire country

I went to Lucknow as part of the great biryani search. But all controversies about whether Lucknow made a biryani or a pulao were quickly settled. Every single person I met in Lucknow was clear that Lucknow only dealt in pulao, not in biryani.

But why then did so many restaurants advertise that they served Lucknowi biryani – even in Lucknow itself? And what's the difference between a pulao and a biryani anyway?

The answers seem to be shaded in grey rather than black and white. There is no clear distinction between a biryani and a pulao unless you take the Hyderabadi line that only a biryani made with raw (rather than cooked) meat is the real thing. In Lucknow as in so many other places, I have decided that biryani and pulao exist in a continuum. Some versions are clearly biryani and some are clearly pulao but the distinction appears to be the spiciness and the wetness of the final dish. Between these two extremes are many many stages and whether you use the term biryani or prefer pulao seems to be a largely subjective decision..............................................................

http://blogs.hindust...diary/#more-186

Edited by Sekhar, 21 July 2009 - 09:30 PM.

[Suresh Hinduja]

A new breed of colonialism is rampaging across the world

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The extent of this new colonialism is vast. The buyers are wealthy countries that are unable to grow their own food. The Gulf states are at the forefront of new investments. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar – which between them control nearly 45 per cent of the world's oil – are snapping up agricultural land in fertile countries such as Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Egypt. But they are ' also targeting the world's poorest countries, such as Ethiopia, Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia and Cambodia.

The amounts of land involved are staggering. South Korean companies have bought 690,000 hectares in Sudan, where at least six other countries are known to have secured large land-holdings – and where food supplies for the local population are among the least secure anywhere in the world. The Saudis are negotiating 500,000 hectares in Tanzania. Firms from the United Arab Emirates have landed 324,000 hectares in Pakistan.

But they are not the only buyers. Countries with large populations such as China, South Korea and even India are acquiring swathes of African farmland to produce food for export. The Indian government has lent money to 80 companies to buy 350,000 hectares in Africa and recently lowered the tariffs under which Ethiopian agri-products can enter India. One of the biggest holdings of agriculture land in the world is a Bangalore-based company, Karuturi Global, which has recently bought huge areas in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Food is not all the new colonialists are after. About a fifth of the massive new deals are for land on which to grow biofuels. British, US and German companies with names such as Flora Ecopower have bought land in Tanzania and Ethiopia. The country whose name became a byword for famine at the time of the Live Aid concerts has had more than 50 investors sign deals or register an interest in the cultivation of biofuel crops on its soil.

[Suresh Hinduja]

Western Ghats hold key to flu fight

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The Western Ghats — one of the world's 10 hottest biodiversity hotspots — could soon hold the answer to the world's spiraling demand for Tamiflu.

Just last week, India started commercial trials of leaves from trees found in the Ghats, that contained large amounts of shikimic acid, the most active ingredient of Tamiflu.

The trials, supposed to end in a couple of weeks, will show exactly how much of the acid can be extracted from the trees, when processed in large quantities and whether it is economically feasible for Indian pharma companies.

Scientists from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, who are conducting the trials along with an industrial partner, had a couple of months back made a startling finding — they discovered seven plant species that yielded high amounts of shikimic acid from the Ghats scanning through 210 plant species.

Presently, the majority of the acid's global availability is met by China because it is extracted from the fruits of the Chinese star anise tree, that contains up to 5% of the acid.

But the 10-metre tree attains its seed-bearing stage after six years of growth, making it unlikely that the growing demand of the acid would be met by the single source alone.

The fruits of this tree are traditionally used in China for culinary and medicinal purposes.

Interestingly, the leaves of the trees discovered by Indian scientists have yielded 1%-5.02% of the acid, with a plant species called Araucaria Excelsa yielding almost 5.02% of shikimic acid.

[anil]

Suresh Hinduja, on 10 August 2009 - 12:08 PM, said:

A new breed of colonialism is rampaging across the world

Corrected URL

[jyotirmoy]

In our childhood there used to be a preparation called "Panta Bhat" Left over rice used to be kept overnight soaked in water. Next day it was eaten after adding a little salt, sugar and drops of nectar from a Gondhoraj lime along with the water.
I suspect that a lill fermentation did take place.

[Peppertrail]

jyotirmoy, on 02 September 2009 - 04:12 PM, said:

In our childhood there used to be a preparation called "Panta Bhat" Left over rice used to be kept overnight soaked in water. Next day it was eaten after adding a little salt, sugar and drops of nectar from a Gondhoraj lime along with the water.
I suspect that a lill fermentation did take place.

In times past left over rice soaked in cold water was popular in Kerala as well. Next day it was eaten with yogurt and some hot pickle.

[Sekhar]

Same in Andhra too.

[Suresh Hinduja]

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chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar (of Rasam) gives us the Beetle Leaves and Garlic Rice recipe that originated in the third century in Kongunadu (southwest Tamil Nadu). This is 2009 and he has definitely made a lot of changes to the original dish."Beetle Leaves Rice originated in Kangayam, Erode district. It's cooked during festivals," says the chef.It was originally prepared without garlic and onions, he adds.

An ancient rice recipe

[Termz]

Three Cheers to Upma.

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There are many who cringe and shy away from the dish and yet there are some who can't get enough of the dish(UPMA), like New York's celebrated chef, Mumbai-born Floyd Cardoz.

Floyd entered a contest in New York which required him to prepare an item based on food memories. Floyd couldn't think of anything better than a plateful of upma with a twist. And this helped him win the big ticket prize of $ 100,000. Floyd is a happy man but the debate in the upma staple land continues.

Foodie and food critic Vijay Marur says he is only aware of two breakfasts—the English breakfast and upma.

http://www.thehindu....icle2120566.ece

http://www.thehindu....ece?viewImage=2

[Chetan]

Agree Hip Hip Hurray !