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special ingredients

Za’atar

May 9, 2008

Za’atar is an aromatic spice mixture used in the Middle East. Like many spice mixtures, there are many variations, but all contain toasted white sesame seeds, ground sumac, thyme and salt. Za’atar has a unique pungent and zesty flavor.

A friend of mine got me Za’atar from Dubai (I love it when I get authentic stuff!

). I have wanted it ever since I learned about Israeli cuisine some months ago and I finally have some wonderfully fragrant za’atar that will last me for a good one year at the least.

The type of za’atar mix differs depending on the region. My mix contains thyme, sesame, sumac, caraway, dill, turmeric, roasted wheat, salt and vegetable oil. With so much za’atar at hand, I found out some fun ways of using them. I’ve found a bunch of things with I could use it, one of the experiments was a za’atar chicken pilaf – a tad less hot for my taste, but quite flavourful and fragrant.

Za’atar can be used as a tabletop condiment – I say, sprinkle away on anything you eat. This is a good way to judge how much it complements your regular food. For a nice appetizer, cut pita bread into wedges, sprinkle with za’atar and olive oil and bake for 5 minutes at 200°C. Za’atar is used as a seasoning for meats and vegetables. It can be mixed with olive oil to make a spread or you could add some to a bottle of olive oil for the flavours to infuse – but this should be consumed quickly. It tastes so good when sprinkled on some garlic rice. I love a thick layer of za’atar and olive oil paste as a part of as a savory tart (mankeesh Za’atar). A few days ago I made some Shish Taouk and garlic rice sprinkled with za’atar. It was so good. But that’s makes for another post. Za’atar is often sprinkled on hummus too. I’m so excited about using this versatile herb mix for a ton of creative experiments!

Labneh
After hearing so much about labneh I thought I’d make some of my own today. I bought some full fat milk (to make it so, so creamy) to set some fresh yoghurt. What you’ll need:

Yoghurt
Salt
A clove of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Za’atar

Here are the steps I followed:

Hung the yoghurt in a muslin cloth for a couple of hours until all the whey drained out (about 3 hours).
Mixed the drained yoghurt with some salt and a whole clove of garlic until it had a hint of the flavour and then I tossed it out (since raw garlic can be so overpowering).
Spoon the creamy mixture on a plate and splash with some extra virgin olive oil.
Finally, sprinkle with lots and lots of za’atar!

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What is Kokum?

February 16, 2008

The then NY Times food critic, Ruth Reichl (Garlic and Sapphires) was on one of her visits to the New York restaurant, Lespinasse. One of the dishes she sampled was a Braised salmon and crisped Artichoke with a syrah wine reduction. It looked familiar – a fat slice of salmon on a bed of crispy fried strips of artichoke in a deep purple sauce, garnished with bread crumbs and chervil. However, there was an unusual element in it that escaped her. So she asked the waiter, and what she learnt was a new ingredient – Kokum.

Only after reading this, did I realise the exotic value of this local ingredient. The kokum lying at the back of my pantry earned a new found respect from me. Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved kokum in my food, but simply took it for granted until now.

Photograph sourced from Wikipedia.

So what is kokum? Kokum is native to the Southern regions of India and it didn’t quite go places, that’s why there is no English name for the fruit! The dried kokum that is used to flavour foods is usually purplish black in colour; the darker the colour, the better the kokum. After the fruit is picked, the rind is removed and then soaked in the juice of the pulp and sun-dried. Sometimes a good quantity of salt is used to speed up the drying process.

Kokum is sometimes confused with mangosteen fruit. They are similar only till the point of belonging to the same family – The genus Garcinia which itself has under its wing over 435 species! The binomial name for Kokum is Garcinia Indica and that of Mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana.

And how is it used? This tart fruit is used to add a sour twist, quite like the tamarind; to dishes hot and cold – be it coconut based curries, dals, chutneys, vegetables or pickles. My favourites being Goan Fish Curry from my Grandma’s kitchen, Sindhi curry and a refreshing drink made from kokum. Thinking of the drink, I fondly remember the summers I used to make Kokum Sherbet for my family, I was probably 10 or 12 then. Everyone enjoyed the refreshing drink.

It may be February now, but you don’t have to wait for the summer to down this drink, because this fruit can reduce fat, purify blood, aid in digestion and also reduce cholesterol!

Kokum Sherbet

100g Kokum

A pinch, Asafoetida
Salt, to taste

6 tablespoon jaggery or brown sugar
4 slit green chillies
3 tablespoon parsley, chopped
3 cups of water

In a pitcher add water and all the ingredients except the parsley. Let it rest for about 6-8 hours in the refrigerator. And if you want it speed it up, you could soak it warm water.

Large quantities of this sherbet are consumed in the coastal regions of southwest India to beat the sweltering heat. You can also buy yourself a bottle of the syrup that requires just the addition of water. You could even drop in a tea bag and make a different kind of iced tea!

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Mughal Flavours: Mutton Biryani

January 10, 2008

10 days into the month and finally a post! I know I’m very late, but wish you all a wonderful New Year ahead!

A few days ago, I made mutton biryani. I followed the recipe that I’d learnt from a chef at the Dumphukth Restaurant at the ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton. I made certain additions to it, like adding more spices (always a good thing). Also, the biryani can be made of mutton, beef or chicken. Pick your favourite. It takes a while to prepare it all at one go, so what I usually do is keep the birasta ready, or better still marinate it the night before (this is what I do when I have to rush to office the next day).

Here is my version of the recipe:

Mutton Biryani

Ingredients:
1 kg Boneless mutton
5 medium potatoes cut into 4 and deep fried till partially cooked.
3 tomatoes, diced

Marinade:
1½ cups yoghurt
1 cup birasta (browned onions – read ahead for the method of browning)
¼ cup oil
2 tsps Garam Masala powder
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
3 black cardamoms
3 star anise
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
2-4 bay leaves
1 cup coriander/parlsey leaves (chopped)
1 cup mint leaves (chopped)
10 slit green chillies (or to taste)
3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste

For the Rice:
1 kg Basmati rice
1/4^th tsp saffron, dry roasted for a few seconds and then dissolved in a little milk
Few drops of rose water
Few drops of kewra water (screwpine essence) – they add to the fragrance of the Basmati rice, but it’s okay if you don’t have it.
Salt to taste
½ cup ghee (clarified butter)
A few table spoons of the mint and parsley mixture as well as some browned onions.

Browning onions:
Using a mandolin slice about 6 medium onions (these will reduce after frying). Salt it and let it stand for a few minutes. Squeeze out the excess water. Deep fry until the colour is that of almonds. Be very careful, you might be tempted to fry it for a few seconds more, but don’t! They will continue to cook and become dark, even after they’re out of the fryer. This is called a birasta. This tastes wonderful when made properly. A little extra time, and you’ve got yourself burnt onions and a little less time will give you a lumpy mass instead of separate strands. I tend to much on them while I’m cooking so I always make a little extra.

Cooking the biryani:

Prepare a marinade with all the ingredients and marinate the mutton for at least 1 hour.
Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes.
Boil water and add rice to it. Add salt, rose water and screwpine essence.
Place marinated mutton in a thick bottomed pan, add the tomatoes and potatoes and cook for about 15-20 minutes (if you’re using chicken, you don’t need to cook it at this stage).
Cook rice till it is 70% done. Strain and while it’s still steaming, spoon layers of rice over the mutton and sprinkle with mint, coriander and browned onions and saffron milk between the layers.
Pour the melted ghee over it evenly.
Cover this with a lid and place some heavy weight on it so that no steam can escape.
Let it cook for about an hour.
Garnish with fresh coriander, mint, fried cashews and birasta.

Raita

2 cups yoghurt
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 medium tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
A handful of chopped coriander