Golden Mung Dal Soup
This is a variation of the simple dal soup, using the same ingredients as the previous recipe, but a different seasoning procedure changes the flavor considerably. The contrast between these recipes shows the possibilities of using different procedures to produce varieties of flavors. This dish will go well in any lunch menu, such as a rice, salad and vegetable of your choice. Preparation time (after assembling ingredients): 10...
Sweet Tomato Chutney with fennel
This dish, from a banquet at Calcutta’s famous Radha Govinda temple on Mahatma Gandhi Road, was served near the end of the meal. Depending on the number of courses, every regional cuisine has an order of serving, and sweet chutney often served with plain rice or toasted pappadam are considered palate cleansers after other spicy dishes. This is versatile chutney that complements many types of cuisine. Preparation...
Thin ‘n’ Crisp Chickpea Flour Noodles
Sev rivals peanuts as India’s most popular munching snack. Anywhere people gather, a sev vendor is sure to appear with an assortment of freshly made fried noodles. Some noodles are spicy and spaghetti-thick, while others are very fine and unseasoned. Sev noodles are shaped with a sevaya machine, a unique brass utensil equipped with an assortment of interchangeable disks. A fine-holed disk is attached to the...
Tomatoes in Smooth Yogurt
Tomato is probably the most popular raita selection in India, vying for first position with cucumber. It is simple, unadorned refreshment, with each region having its own slight nuance in seasoning. The contrast between the brilliant red tomatoes and the snowy yogurt is vivid and appealing. To take advantage of the colors, use firm-fleshed or seeded tomatoes. I like to use marble-sized cherry or sugar-lump tomatoes, cut into...
Bengali Spinach
Srila Prabhupada encouraged me to observe cooking techniques from the expert chefs at the C.L. Bajoria household in Calcutta. On one occasional visit, I arrived just after Mr. Bajoria had returned from his hill station resort and jute plantations in Bihar. He had brought back kilos of hand picked raw almonds. Each was encased in a soft, greenish skin with a texture somewhere between those of crisp apples and water chestnuts....