Make-Your-Own Sour Cream

Sour Cream

1 box (about 1 cup or 200ml) cream

1-2 Tbls vinegar or Lemon Juice (Meg prefers lemon juice! Try them both and see what you like)

Pinch of Salt

In South Asia, cream generally comes in small boxes (think drink box). Because of the heat, a lot of times the liquid will settle to the bottom. In order to drain off the liquid, gently turn the box upside down. Undo the bottom and pull it up. Use scissors to cut across the entire box to open it. There will likely be a yellowish liquid on top of the cream. Pour this off and dispose of it. Then get a spoon and add vinegar starting with ½ Tbls at a time. After each addition, taste and see if it has lost the strong cream taste (you do not want to taste vinegar – think about the flavor of sour cream). Once you have added 1 Tbls, make additional additions in smaller increments until you reach desired taste. Then pour it into a container with a lid and refrigerate. This works great on baked potatoes, Mexican food or anything that needs real sour cream. In recipes which use sour cream as a cooked ingredient (not as a garnish), plain yogurt is an easy and cheap substitute.

Basic Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortillas (makes about 8-10, should be at least the size of a salad / sandwich plate)

2 C white flour

1 ½ Tsp salt

½ C warm water

¼ C oil

In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Add oil to water and combine all at one time. Stir until all the flour is mixed into the dough. Form a large ball and knead thoroughly on lightly floured board or counter top. Divide dough into egg sized balls (approximately 8-10). Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Take one of the balls and roll it as thin as possible into a round tortilla.* It should not be any smaller than a salad plate. If you cannot get them round, roll it out and use a salad plate as a template. Place the plate on the dough and cut around it. Then place tortilla on a hot , dry griddle or skillet** (no grease or oil). Cook until it is freckled on one side and then flip. Cook other side and serve or cool for storage. (You can also take the tortilla off the pan and place it directly on the gas burner to puff it up to make it nice and fluffy. Watch your helper do this if you have one to figure it all out!) Repeat the process with the other dough balls.

After tortillas have cooled, place them in an airtight container (ziplocks work well). They can be refrigerated for about a week or stored in the freezer for several months. They can be reheated in the microwave between two plates or heated in covered baking dish in the oven. If used in recipes, simply allow to warm to room temperature and use. (makes about 8-10, should be at least the size of a salad / sandwich plate)

*I've found that when rolling out tortillas or chapatis, there are some tricks to getting it round. Here's my process:

-Take your ball of dough and roll it between your palms till it's a good solid ball, no creases.

-Slightly flatten it into a disc between your palms.

-The more round it is at this point, the more round it will be when it's rolled out. If it's odd shaped, rotate it in a circle between your left palm and right thumb and pointer finger, pressing it where it's too thick, squishing it where it's too thin, etc. until you get it an even thickness and good roundness.

-Place it on a floured counter or chapati stone. Evenly press it from bottom to top, then turn a quarter. Do these same one stroke quick taps a few times, turning a quarter between each one. Dip back in flour if it's starting to stick.

-Once you get it about half the size you want by doing the short one stroke pushes, it should still be pretty round. Keep rolling until you get it the size you want.

This takes some practice, so if at first you don't succeed, try try again! :)

**Indians use a specific type of pan for chapatis called a tawa. Its perfect for tortillas as well. Some are flat and others are a bit sunken in the middle. Mine is sunken and I really love it.

Chik-Fil-A Sandwiches

I know lots of us are from the south and REALLY miss Chik-Fil-A. DebbieM sent me this recipe for a copycat Chik-Fil-A recipe for chicken breasts, but you could use it for chicken nuggets, too. Debbie's notes:

"I used regular Sundrop oil (couldn’t find peanut oil, but I know they have it here!) I used 4 chicken breasts (cut a little of the skinny side off.) You can definitely make more than that! The salt in the flour mixture sounds like too much. It was really OK. It was not too salty. The powdered sugar was a surprise!! I used a thermometer to see the oil temp. Sadly, mine doesn’t go to 375 so I had to guess if it was right. I double dipped the chicken like it mentioned. That was a good idea…make it very crunchy.

When I put the lid on the pressure cooker, it would not close all the way. It still was good and definitely kept the oil from spraying all over the place. I cooked for 4 minutes. Oh, there was plenty of flour mixture and milk/egg to fry more. I really wished that I had made more…they were good!!"

3 cups Peanut oil
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
2-1/2 Teaspoons Powdered sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Salt
2 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved
4 Plain hamburger buns
2 Tablespoons Melted butter
8 Dill pickle slices

Mix together the egg and milk. Place the filets in this mixture, and let
sit for at least an hour.

While the breasts are sitting, mix together the flour, sugar, pepper, and
salt.

Once the sitting is done, dredge in the flour. (For ourselves and our
favourite customers, after the first dredging, we would put them back in the
milk bath for a few seconds, and re-dredge! This is not company policy,
however!)

Place the Peanut oil in a deep fat fryer, and bring up to a high heat.
Once up to 375 F., gently drop into the oil, and let cook until golden
brown. (This is for those of us who do not have a pressure cooker. If you
do, follow the note below!)

Note: Chick-Fil-A actually uses a Pressure Cooker to cook the Filets in. If
you have one, use the peanut oil according to the instructions for frying in
it. Desired heat is 400 F. Place chicken in it and put the lid on. Cook for
about 3-4 Minutes. Be VERY careful removing the lid…you have to make sure the steam is released.

Lightly butter the buns, and grill until heated through. Place two
pickles on each bun, and place a hot breast on each!

What to Say to Get What You Want

When you first come to South Asia, figuring out the new terms for food items can take months. Many of us struggled to figure these out on our own, but we love you newbies too much to put you through that. So here's a list of items from the experienced minds of South Asian American cooks. :) Thanks to all those who helped compile this list! Please feel free to email/comment if you think of anything that's left off.

almonds = badaam

asafoetida = hing

baking powder = baking powder or pakaanay ka soda

baking soda = bicarbonate of soda from chemist, or meeta soda at the local store

barley = joe (but I have not found it like pearl barley, only in the husk)

basil = kali tulsi

bay leaves = tej patta

black eyed peas = lobia

black pepper = kali mirch

brown sugar = jagari (this is local and not quite the same, but might work depending on what you’re making)

butter = makkan

cardamom = elaichi

carom seeds = ajwain

cayenne powder = lal mirch

celery seed = anjwan

chick peas/garbanzo beans = channa or chola/chole

chick pea flour = besan

cilantro = dhaniya

cinnamon = dal chinni

cloves = laung/lavang

coconut oil = naryal ka til

coriander powder = dhania powder

coriander seeds = dhania

corn meal = makki ka atta/makka atta is as close as you’re gonna get, but works great for cornbread :)

corn starch = corn flour

corn syrup = Solar brand Golden Syrup

cream = malai

cream of tartar = potassium acid tartrate at the chemist

cumin powder = jeera powder

cumin seeds = jeera

curry leaf = kari patta

dill = soya

dough = gunda huwa atta

egg/eggs = anda/ande

fennel seeds = saunf

fenugreek = methi

fenugreek leaves, dried = kasoori methi

fish = muchli

garlic = lussun

ginger, fresh = adrak

ginger powder = sohnth (but it’s stronger here, so beware) :)

green bell peppers = shimla mirch

ground meat = keema

honey = shahed

kidney beans = rajma

lemons = nimboo

lentils = dal* (see post on dal, detailing the types with names)

mace = javitri

mango powder = amchur (for Indian cooking, really potent)

mint leaves = hara pudina

mustard seeds = rai/sarsoon

mustard oil = rai ka til/sarsoon ka til

nigella seeds = kalonji

nutmeg = jaiphal

onion = pyaz

olive = zaitoon

peanut oil = groundnut oil

poppy seeds = khus-khus (lighter colored and smaller here)

powdered sugar = icing sugar

raisin = kish mish

refined sugar = boora or breakfast sugar or castor sugar

rock salt = seendha namak

saffron = kesar

salt = namak

semolina = sooji/rawa

sesame seeds = til

shortening = no equivalent, but see note*

star anise = chakriphool

turmeric = huldi

vinegar = sirka

walnut = akrot (great substitute for pecans)

wax paper = butter paper

wheat germ = try boosa? my helper called it that today

wheat gluten = possibly seitan, not sure yet... let me know if you figure it out :)

wheat flour = atta

white flour = maida

yeast = khameer

yogurt, plain = dahi

Seasonal things:

-Makki ka atta tends to only be available in the cold months

-Strawberries come for only 6-8 weeks in November-January, so stock up, puree and freeze!

-Mangoes are so delicious, but only available during the hot season. These are also good pureed and frozen.

-Jagari is also only a winter thing

Notes on Milk:

-Doubled Toned Milk is like 1%

-Toned Milk is like 2%

-Slim Milk is skim

-You can also get full cream milk

-(In Rajasthan at least, where Saras milk is sold, they have skim, 1.5%, 3%, 4.5%, and 6% milk, all different colored bags. Can you guess how long it took me to figure THAT out!? Some days the milk bag was purple, some days green, some days blue...) :)

-The milk sold in bags (Mother Dairy, Amul, Saras, etc.) is pasteurized and does not need boiling, but if it makes you feel better, knock yourself out. :) Seeing a few chunks of cream in this milk is normal and fine. Don't plan on keeping this milk in the fridge longer than a few days, it will start to spoil quickly. So don't buy too much at once.

-The milk sold in boxes (Nestle, Amul, etc.) is pasteurized and homogenized. Because of this it will keep a lot longer and you'll never see chunks of cream.

-You can also get fresh milk straight from the cow or buffalo. Ask your neighbors and find someone who has milk delivered to their house everyday. Just make sure to ask where it's coming from, so you can rest easy it's not coming from that cow across the street eating your trash. :) In Delhi, you can get organic milk delivered to your house if you want!

Notes on Ghee/Shortening/Dalda

There is no equivalent of shortening in South Asia, but some things can be substituted.

Pure butter can be substituted.

Ghee is also an option, it is a clarified butter made from milk fat, we think. :) It has a strong flavor though, so may not work in certain recipes. Also, the brand of ghee makes a big difference. (Katrina P says, “I strongly recommend using one of the name brands like Nestle, Milk Man etc... the ‘desi ghee’ is just a little too ‘desi’ and still tastes a little too much like the buffalo.” ) You’ve been warned. :)

Vanaspati is another option, made from vegetable oils, which is more like shortening. Experimenting might be necessary for you to figure out what you like best. Dalda is one company that makes this, and you can find others in the oil/ghee section. Makes a good substitute for Crisco in biscuits, pie crusts, etc.

For a more exhaustive list including fruits and vegetable names, check out: (thanks to ErickaS for the tip)

http://www.angelfire.com/country/fauziaspakistan/recipes

Make-Your-Own Rotel

Here's a great tip on how to make rotel from ErickaS.

Homemade Rotel (Equivalent of 2 Cans of Rotel)
(1 can is usually 10 oz which would be a little more than a cup – maybe 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups stewed tomatoes (4-6 tomatoes maybe depending on size), peeled and chopped with juice*
¼ - ½ c. large green bell peppers, chopped
2 - 4 T. white onion, finely chopped

1-2 hot peppers, cut in half long ways with seeds removed or red chilli flakes to taste
1/2 t. cumin (this is optional but I like it in Mexican dishes)
1-2 t. garlic paste
½ t. salt

Directions:
*To stew tomatoes, wash them and cut an X on the bottom of each one. Place in pot and cover with water. Heat water until boiling and cook for a few minutes. Drain tomatoes and allow to cool. Then simply peel the skins and chop the tomatoes removing the stem / core at the top.

Mix together and cook 10-15 minutes until onions and bell peppers are a little tender but not mushy. Remove hot peppers. Store in fridge for one week or divide in half and freeze.

Butter, anyone? And Getting Organized...

So a few weeks ago we went to Shimla to visit friends. While we were there, we noticed signs around Himachal proudly proclaiming that Amul butter products were NOT being sold in Himachal. I realized I'd been having a hard time finding butter recently, and wondered what was up. Rumor has it that Amul has been caught adding large amounts of melamine to their butter to cut down on costs. I'm still having a hard time finding anything but the individual sized packages, and this week decided if they're putting melamine in their butter (the stuff those unbreakable dishes are made from!) then it was worth it to buy the imported butter. Ouch. Let's hope it gets taken care of, or the Britannia Milk Man butter starts cranking out more due to the demand. :) Anyone out there experimented with making your own butter? I know it's not that hard to do if you're getting full cream milk. I'd love to hear from you if you do.

Second, I have been dreaming of a computer program that will organize my recipes, help me plan menus for the week and automatically generate grocery lists. I figured someone out there had thought of this before, so I did a quick search online. I have a Mac, so I was looking for a Mac friendly program. I was surprised at how easy it was! I bought a program called Computer Cuisine for $20 that is incredible! It is super easy to use and looks like a cute homey cookbook. It came with 1000 recipes, most of which I deleted. :) I can add my recipes in a few seconds by cutting and pasting from my Word document I've been keeping them in. It sorts them however you want: by ingredients, by category, by serving... And I can generate a weekly menu, and a shopping list from it. Wow! It's taking some time to get all the data into it, but once I do, I think it will be a huge time saver. Right now I've got recipes that I use regularly in several different cookbooks, saved online, in a Word document, in about five different places. This will be really helpful for me to keep track of all of them, and to keep track of what I've posted on here, because each recipe has a "Notes" section with it.

This program has a Windows and a Mac version. If you're interested, you can download a trial here:

http://www.inakasoftware.com/cuisine/

Shannon's Chicken and Dumplings

From ShannonB

Chicken and Dumplings

Fill a 3 quart pot with water about 3/4ths of the way.

Add 3-4 Tbsp chicken bouillon

Add 1 or 2 chopped onions

Add 4 chicken quarters or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours

If you used chicken quarters, remove them and set them aside to cool, reserving the broth. If you used chicken breasts you can just add the dumplings to the broth and meat without removing it. At this point, add more water to refill the pot if needed and add one more tablespoon of chicken bouillon.

4 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

2 1/2 tsp of salt

2 cups milk

Mix and drop by spoonfuls into the broth. Simmer for 20-30 more minutes. If you used boned chicken, remove the chicken from the bones after it has cooled. Add chicken during the last 10 minutes. Enjoy!