Oriental Recipes - U
[Home] Ullundhu Vadai - A South Indian Snack [Home]
Title: Ullundhu Vadai - A South Indian Snack
Yield: 1 Servings
Ingredients
1 c ullundhu (urad daal)
5 green chillies(chopped)
1/2 inch ginger (grated/chopped)
1 c water
1 ts salt
1 1/2 c oil (for frying)
1 md onion (chopped)(optional)
1/2 sm head cabbage (chopped)
1 (optional)
Instructions
Soak uLLundhu for about 3 to 5 hours.
Drain the water completely and grind till the uLLundhu is just
about broken in small pieces (maAvu should NOT be too fine) the
uLLundhu in the blender or food processor with very little water as
possible, to do this grind 1/2 cup of uLLundhu at time ]or else the
blender will be on fire ;-)].
Mix chillies, ginger, salt and the
vegetables(optional) to the uLLundhu. You can just onion or both
onion and cabbage.
Add the oil to heated wok (vaANali) and heat the oil on medium-high
heat for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Wet the palm of one of your hands. Put the maAvu on the wet palm
and shape it like doughnut and drop it slowly into the oil and fry
till golden brown. If the shape dosen't matter to you, then take
the maAvu and drop into the oil using a table-spoon (slightly
oil the spoon before taking the maAvu so it won't stick to th spoon).
You can add 2 or 3 at a time depending on how much oil you have in
the vaANali.
Variations: To the same maAvu, add about 1 tsp. whole black pepper
(crushed), 1/2 cup of chopped fresh coconut, 1/2" ginger grated and
salt (omit chillies,onion and cabbage). Drop the maAvu into the oil
in round shapes, to make Madras Bonda and fry till golden brown.
CONTRIBUTOR Geetha Anandraj anandraj@tis.enet.dec.com
[Home] Unusual Chinese Grilled Shortribs [Home]
Title: Unusual Chinese Grilled Shortribs
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients
4 ea large, meaty shortribs
1/3 c oriental toasted sesame oil
4 1/2 tb peanut butter
4 tb brown sugar
2 1/4 tb curry powder
3/4 c soy sauce
1/2 tb black pepper (fresh cracked)
1/2 c rice sherry wine
1/2 ea fresh ginger root
2 ea large garlic cloves (minced)
10 ea green onions
Instructions
Make shortribs into short, flat strips. Begin by placing rib
fat-side-up on cutting board and cut 1/4" high layer almost (but not
through) the bottom-most section of the rib. Turn meat over and
continue to make 1/4" layers until the rib is completely layered and
is now one long strip. Using the edge of a Chinese knife or otehr
flat surface, pound meat until it is off an even thickness. NOTE:
Chill the meat well. This cutting method will not work well on room
temperature ribs. MARINADE: (Curry Based Blender Sauce) Blend all
liquid ingredients in a blender for about 15 seconds at "Blend"
speed. Grate the fresh ginger root and combine with the minced
garlic. Mince the white (only) portion of the green onions. Add all
ingredients to blender mixture and operate on "low" for about 45
seconds. Rub suace onto butterflied ribs and refridgerate for 2 or
more hours. NOTE: This sauce is excellent for chicken, too. Place
ribs on grill, basting often with sauce until done, about 30 minutes
depending on heat of grill. Watch carefully to determine when done.
[Home] Uppama (A South Indian Dish) [Home]
Title: Uppama (A South Indian Dish)
Yield: 1 Serving
Ingredients
1 sm onion
1 tb vegetable oil
1 ts mustard seeds
1 tb broken cashews
1 ts ground coriander
1/2 ts ground cumin
1 ts turmeric
1/8 ts chili powder (more to taste)
1 sm carrot
3 oz broccoli florets
1 ts raisins
1 1/3 c water
1 sea salt; to taste
1/2 c whole wheat farina to
2 ts vegan margarine
Instructions
Chop the onion and saute it in the oil in a saucepan for 2-3 minutes.
Add the mustard seeds and cashews and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the coriander, cumin, termeric and chili powder and cook for
another minute.
Chop the carrot and broccoli quite finely. Add to the saucepan along
with the raisins and stir well. Pour in the water, bring to the
boil, lower heat, cover pan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Season to taste.
Pour in the farina very slowly, stirring all the time. As soon as it
is all in the pan and well thickened, serve it, with the margarine
spread over the top so that it melts into the mixture.
Source: The Single Vegan - by Leah Leneman Typed for you by: Karen
Mintzias
[Home] Using The Chinese Cleaver (Part 1) [Home]
Title: Using The Chinese Cleaver (Part 1)
Yield: 1 Info
Ingredients
1 no ingredients
Instructions
With a little practice, any beginning wok cook can master the use of
the Chinese cleaver. As mentioned earlier, a Chinese cleaver must be
honed very sharply before use and one should have a suitable cutting
board on hand.
The Styles of cutting foods for Chinese cooking include slicing,
dicing, shredding and mincing. It cannot be stressed enough that
students must exercise safety in the use of the Chinese cleaver. A
dull cleaver or knife will cause accidents as the cook will have to
work too hard at slicing anything. A sharp knife will also cause
accidents, if not held properly.
To hold a cleaver properly for cutting, one should take his right
hand (or left hand, if left handed) and get a firm comfortable grip
on his cleaver. The other hand should be free to hold or move the
food as it is being cut. If a food, such as a potato, is round, it is
best to hold it firm on the cutting board and with your free hand cut
the potato directly in half. Lay the flat side down on the cutting
board and continue slicing. By creating a flat surface, a round food
is prevented from rolling, thereby lessening the chances of an
accident.
There are two types of slicing styles in Chinese cooking. The first is
straight slicing and the other is diagonal slicing. There should be a
rhythm of motion involved in slicing foods and this may be achieved
by the novice cook with practice. For slicing, insert the forward
blade of the cleaver into the food. Your free hand should hold the
food onto the cutting board. Press down toward the back part of the
blade, slice. The motion should be forward to back. Use your free
hand to push food up to the knife blade, keeping the fingers tucked
in. The blade should be kept as close to the cutting board as
possible. Repeat slicing motion until all food is cut. This slicing
motion is done with ease. Great pressure need not be exerted on the
knife. If you are using great pressure on your knife then you are
cutting with unnecessary effort or else the knife is dull. Usually
the novice cook does quite well until he gets to slicing the end
piece of the food, then it is better to go slower to finish off the
job.
The main point that must be emphasized for wok cookery is that the
food should be sliced as uniformly as possible. This is to allow like
foods to be cooked at the same time. If some slices of a like food
are thick while others are medium or thin, then the thin slices will
be undercooked. So strive for uniformity in cutting.
Meats, especially beef, should be sliced across the grain of the meat.
This is to prevent the meat from becoming "tough" when it is cooked.
The most difficult type of meat for novice cooks to cut is beef. It
also is the easiest to overcook and render "tough." For anyone who
has difficulty in learning to cut beef, it might be better to use a
thin sharp blade knife (like the 1 1/2" cleaver). Lay the beef flat
with the muscular or long fibers perpendicular to the cutting board.
Insert the forward blade of the knife across the grain of the beef.
Take your free hand and lay the fingers over the slice of beef that
you wish to cut. Slice slowly towards yourself. You can feel the
thickness of your beef slice. Try to slice your beef about 2x1/2" in
length and breadth, and about 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Some beginning wok
cooks are afraid of holding the beef with their free fingers. This is
incorrect as it will cause either accidents or result in coarsely,
uneven cut beef. If you are initially afraid of the knife, do the
cutting very slowly until you gain more confidence. The finished
cooked dish will be the reward for your patience.
[Home] Using The Chinese Cleaver (Part 2) [Home]
Title: Using The Chinese Cleaver (Part 2)
Yield: 1 Info
Ingredients
1 no ingredients
Instructions
Diagonal slicing is usually performed on cylindrical or
semi-cylindrical vegetables such as celery, bok choy, beans, carrots,
etc. It can also be performed on other vegetables or meats to give a
more attractive effect to the finished cooked dish.
Diagonal sliced vegetables have a larger cut surface area to be
exposed for rapid cooking in the wok. By having this advantage,
vegetables can be thoroughly cooked in a minimum of time and yet
retain its bright natural colouration. Vegetables are also more
nutritious cooked this way as a minimum of vitamins and minerals are
lost in the cooking process.
The only difference between diagonal cutting and straight cutting is
that the knife is held in the hand so that it can cut the food at a
45' angle. The same motion as in straight cutting is employed. Most
beginning wok cooks do not hold their foods so that the knife can cut
it at a 45' angle. They have a tendency to hold it as for straight
cutting because they are afraid of the knife. Again it must be
emphasized that one should practice this cutting technique slowly at
first. Speed will come as one gains experience.
Dicing food means that it must be cut into cubes of uniform size.
Decide on what size you wish your cubes to be. If you are stir-frying
food in a wok, the maximum suggested size that a cube should be is
about 3/4". This is so that the cubes can be cooked through without
prolonged heating.
In dicing foods, it is best to cut strips or slices, depending upon
the shape of the food, the desired width of the cube. Slice these
strips or slices into square strips. Lastly cut these strips or
slices into cubes.
Shredded food means that it has been cut into the shape of sticks.
Depending upon the food, one may shred it into very fine sticks or
coarse sticks. If a food requires lengthy cooking time, it is well to
shred it finely. The less cooking time required for the food, the
coarser the sticks may be.
In shredding foods, one first straight slices the food. Stack several
of the slices on top of one another. Straight slight through the
stack in the same width as the slice.
Mincing foods is a requirement that all Chinese cooks must know since
so many native Chinese dishes require mincing. Raw meat is perhaps
the most difficult food to mince finely.
Before mincing meat, remove and discard all tough connective tissues
from it. Coarsely dice the meat into 3/4" cubes. Add cubes of onions
or whatever that is to be minced with it. Take your 4" Chinese
cleaver or your heavy duty Chinese mincing cleaver and chop the cubes
with a straight rhythmic up and down motion. Use the blade of the
cleaver from time to time to consolidate the mass of meat together as
you are mincing it. When the meat forms a mass, it is minced. Examine
it to see if it is as finely minced as desired. If not, continue
chopping until it meets your requirements.
There are some other practical uses for you Chinese cleaver. The
blade of it can be used for transporting cut foods either into a
plate or directly into the wok from the cutting board. The Chinese
cleaver can be turned sideways so that the blade can act as a mallet
for pounding meats flat or for crushing cloves of garlic or ginger.
The handle of it can be used for grinding or pulverizing salted beans
or peppercorns. Like the wok, the Chinese cleaver is a multi-use
implement.