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Coriander is the spice that I use the most of, besides hot peppers. Large amounts are used in Indian and Thai, and some in Mexican - all favorite cuisines of mine.

Did you know that there are 3 types of coriander? The round, grayish brown variety is the one found in most stores, but there is an oval, yellowish type, that is the one used in Indian food. This has a similar flavor, but sort of a citrus type of flavor in the background. Another type, used in Thai and Sri Lankan food, is round, smaller, an reddish in color, and has a more intense flavor than the larger, gray-brown variety.
 
DH says one of the reason he likes coriander IS the citrus flavor in the ones we use. I checked all my recipes in the coriander binder and they all just call for "coriander/ground" or just "coriander/seed". So, I guess the one we use is the most common one found in the store. lol
 
Hi Dave, do you have these cookbooks?

"660 Curries" by Raghavan Iyer

"India's 500 Best Recipes" by Shehzad Husain, Rafi Fernandez, Mridula Baljekar, and Manisha Kanani
 
I have 660 Curries, and if I had to pick my favorite Indian book, this would be it. The best chapter on masalas in any of the books I have, and the best chapter on dal, as well. Not much on flatbreads, but I got enough recipes for those elsewhere.

Never saw the other book, and I don't recognize the authors listed, either. Do you have the book?
 
pepperhead212 said:
I have 660 Curries, and if I had to pick my favorite Indian book, this would be it. The best chapter on masalas in any of the books I have, and the best chapter on dal, as well. Not much on flatbreads, but I got enough recipes for those elsewhere.

Never saw the other book, and I don't recognize the authors listed, either. Do you have the book?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have both books. I was hoping to get some recommendations from you. That's 1,160 recipes to choose from. lol The "India's 500" book is a really large book with a beautiful color photo of each recipe.

On the old Cooking Light Bulletin Board, someone posted the question "why are lentils/legumes so friggin' confusing?" Mr. Iyer himself answered with a full page of explanations. Some years later, someone typed up a list of recipes using Punjabi Garam Masala in Mr. Iyer's book.
 
One of the beans that he has a few recipes for is Red Chiodi beans - sometimes listed as a synonym for Adzuki beans, but they don't look the same at all, but maybe it's where they are grown. I especially like the recipes which call for sprouting them before using them - just a short sprout, lot like a mung bean sprout. And that Punjabi garam masala is one of the spice mixes I have on hand at all times, along with the sambar masala, and a chat masala, though that was a hybrid, not the exact recipe he has.

Funny you should mention the legumes - there are an incredible number of them in an Indian grocery store! Most are split and hulled, but some are whole, and hulled, while others are split, but not hulled, and finally, the simply whole ones.

I tried every legume he listed, plus a few more, and the only two I was not fond of were the moth dal (looks like a smaller, brownish mung bean), and horse gram. I only bought the whole "sabud toor", since the skin was tough, and no great flavor there, either. The black chick peas I really like, though they require a long cooking time - over 1 hr in the IP. Much more flavor than regular chick peas. And chana dal are probably the ones I use more than any other, because they hold their shape, even after 40 minutes of cooking, and I use them in countless non-Indian summer salads.
 
pepperhead212 said:
One of the beans that he has a few recipes for is Red Chiodi beans - sometimes listed as a synonym for Adzuki beans, but they don't look the same at all, but maybe it's where they are grown. I especially like the recipes which call for sprouting them before using them - just a short sprout, lot like a mung bean sprout. And that Punjabi garam masala is one of the spice mixes I have on hand at all times, along with the sambar masala, and a chat masala, though that was a hybrid, not the exact recipe he has.

Funny you should mention the legumes - there are an incredible number of them in an Indian grocery store! Most are split and hulled, but some are whole, and hulled, while others are split, but not hulled, and finally, the simply whole ones.

I tried every legume he listed, plus a few more, and the only two I was not fond of were the moth dal (looks like a smaller, brownish mung bean), and horse gram. I only bought the whole "sabud toor", since the skin was tough, and no great flavor there, either. The black chick peas I really like, though they require a long cooking time - over 1 hr in the IP. Much more flavor than regular chick peas. And chana dal are probably the ones I use more than any other, because they hold their shape, even after 40 minutes of cooking, and I use them in countless non-Indian summer salads.
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Thank you Dave, I knew you would be a wealth of information.;) I am glad to find out about the black chick peas. Never heard of them before, love chick peas. They should have gone on my "must have ingredient" list. I try never to be without them.
 
Today (Feb. 10) is "NAT'L CREAM CHEESE BROWNIE DAY"

CAPPUCCINO BROWNIES

Brownie Batter:
4 (1 oz. squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
3 TB instant coffee powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour

Coffee Swirl:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 TB flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

To make batter: Microwave chocolate and butter until melted. Stir in sugar till blended. Mix in eggs, vanilla and coffee. Stir in flour until blended. Spread in prepared 13 x 9 inch pan.

To make swirl: Beat together all ingredients until blended. Spoon mixture over brownie batter. Swirl with knife to marbelize.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in pan, then cut into 24 squares.

Source: Sun Sentinal -5/97
 
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I've made a lot of cream cheese brownies recipes, but in most the cream cheese is sort of lost in them - the swirls are noticeable, but not the flavor. This one looks like it has a generous amount, compared to the brownie batter.

My favorite is the one I found in Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever...I think the title is Santa Fe Brownies. It's been a long time since I made them, but I remember that they have 12 oz of cream cheese, 6 oz semisweet and 6 oz unsweetened chocolate, and 1/2 lb butter. Total decadence!!! The recipe calls for a 9x13 pan, but after using that once, and it ended up deeper than the pan, I used a 10x15 pan from then on. These were the brownies that were requested for many years, until I found the caramel sea salt brownies, which quickly became favorites.

This is why I only bake brownies for crowds - in 2 days, I would probably finish off any of these recipes, without help!

Update: I googled the recipe and found it! It sounds crazy, being able to remember those ingredients, but it was sheer repetition - having made them so many times. Her Palm Beach Brownies I have made even more times, and I remember that recipe exactly.

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/quenell/club/proj/brownies.html
 
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Thanks Dave, printed it out. Your right, I like the idea that it calls for more cream cheese than my recipe. Will let you know when we make it.
 
A heads up!!!!!

Coming!!!!! this Wed.!!!!!!!! Feb. 13!!!!!!! (Are you listening DH?)


NATIONAL CHEDDAR DAY (hey, hold down the shouting)
 
Tonight DH made a very delicious quiche. It had bacon, tomatoes, Swiss and Cheddar to name some of the ingredients.

Did anyone else have Cheddar today?
 
cookieee said:
Thank you Dave, I knew you would be a wealth of information.;) I am glad to find out about the black chick peas. Never heard of them before, love chick peas. They should have gone on my "must have ingredient" list. I try never to be without them.
Click to expand...

Funny, when I opened my delivered lunch today there was some delicious rice, that had black chick peas in it. The rice was delicious but I could not enjoy the texture of the chick peas. If it had been the chick peas I am familiar with, I would have eaten the whole thing.
 
What was wrong with the texture of the black chick peas, Addie? Were they too hard and grainy? It's been my experience that these things need a long cooking, even in a pressure cooker. I put them in the IP for at least 80 minutes, before simmering in a dish for even longer.
 
Bok choy, pak choi or pok choi is a type of Chinese cabbage. Chinensis varieties do not form heads and have green leaf blades with lighter bulbous bottoms instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens. Chinensis varieties are popular in southern China and Southeast Asia. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis
Origin: China, before the 15th century
Cultivar group: Chinensis
Higher classification: Field mustard
Rank: Subspecies
Did you know: Bok choy is sometimes called a "soup spoon" because of the shape of its leaves. veggiesinfo.com



Of course I know you knew that. :LOL:
 
Yes, cookieee, I had heard that one before. And the Asian brassicas I grow and eat more than any others (bok choy, tatsoi, komatsuna, senposai, mbuna, mizuna, and napa are the ones that come to mind) which I guess you figured out. lol I think the reason they are so popular over there, and are being grown a lot more in this country is that they grow much faster than our traditional brassicas. I often begin harvest 30 days after transplant! SOW, it won't be long before seeds get started...
 
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