Indian Cooking For Dummies. Monisha Bharadwaj
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The arrival of the first monsoon in June marks the end, and Alphonso mangoes disappear from the markets as suddenly as they first appeared.
Ayurveda even has a name for this kind of healthy eating: ritucharya (ritu means “season”). Mankind has known about the benefits of seasonal eating for a very long time! I find seasonal eating quite exciting because it connects me to my surroundings and makes me look forward to different foods at various times of the year. Berries and nectarines only taste good to me in the summer, and winters are for Brussels sprouts!
It’s great for your health. Fruits and vegetables are more nutritious when they’re in season. Strawberries ripen well in the summer sun, and they struggle when they don’t have optimum growing and ripening conditions. Winter tomatoes are often watery and dull. Nutrient-rich foods hold the promise of good health, so why wouldn’t we choose them?
It tastes great. This is why farmer’s markets are so popular — seasonal food tastes like it should! If you’ve ever grown your own vegetables, you don’t need me to tell you any more. Fruits and vegetables are seasonal for a reason. Keep in harmony with the balance of nature, and you’ll give yourself the best chance of good health.
It’s great for the environment. You may argue that a food is in season somewhere in the world year-round. But transporting it to your local store means fuel emissions and a relatively long delay between harvesting and being on your table. You’re probably thinking that so many Indian ingredients are flown into our markets when they’re in season in faraway countries like India and Kenya. True, but in some recipes, you can swap some of those with what’s growing near you.
It’s great for your budget. When foods are in season, markets are flooded with them, so naturally, prices go down. You’ll know this if you’ve ever tried to buy apricots in the winter. As for Alphonso mangoes, thankfully, you can’t buy them out of season, for love or money.
Chapter 3
Tools of the Trade
IN THIS CHAPTER
For many people, setting up their first kitchen involves getting essential cookware as hand-me-downs from family or friends. Then as you expand your cooking skills and possibly have a little more disposable income, your tools become more sophisticated. You may hold on to a few of those original pieces for emotional reasons — I still own (and use) a bright orange plastic colander a dear friend gave me many years ago. Or you may add a nifty gadget that helps save time or do the job better. Buying the right tools and looking after them means that they’ll last.
In this chapter, I walk you through the tools you’ll need for Indian cooking. Many of these tools you’ll likely already have; others may be new to you. Either way, if you’re looking for an excuse to shop, this chapter is for you!
Making Prep Work Easy with the Right Utensils
You’ve decided to cook a curry. Devoting some time to do all the prep work before you even turn on the stove will make it easy and fun to prepare. And for this, you need the right tools.
Knives
Professional chefs choose and care for their knives like some people do with jewelry. They’re possessive about them, too — most chefs bring their own knives to any kitchen they work in and make sure to sharpen their knives themselves. (Many chefs believe that each person uses a sharpener differently, so the blade may be ruined if it’s sharpened by many hands.) Here are the knives you need to prepare the recipes in this book:
Chef’s knife: This all-purpose knife is good for all your chopping needs. A 10-inch chef’s knife that is balanced in weight (meaning that the handle and blade weigh about the same) is best for home cooks. Invest in a good-quality chef’s knife, because you’ll be using it every day!
Serrated knife: A serrated knife is used to cut breads such as naans. You can also use a serrated knife on thin-skinned vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes without the knife slipping.
Fillet knife: Although a fillet knife isn’t absolutely essential, after you’ve use one, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without. The blade of a fillet knife is thin and flexible, so it can get between the fish and the skin to bend and remove it without much waste.
Cutting boards
In addition to knives, you need a good cutting board. I use a plastic cutting board because it can go in the dishwasher; plus, plastic is nonporous, so it doesn’t hold onto smells such as onion or garlic. Wooden cutting boards are long-lasting, but they need regular sanitizing with a kitchen-safe cleaner and proper drying so they don’t become moldy.
KEEPING YOUR KNIVES IN TIP-TOP SHAPE
After you’ve bought that lovely, expensive knife, you’ll want to look after it to make sure it does its job for a long time to come. Here are my best tips for caring for your knives:
Use knives only for the purpose they were intended. I know it probably happens in every home, but it makes me mad when someone in my family (I’m not naming names) uses one of my kitchen knives to rip open a cardboard box. It dulls the blade, and the knife isn’t meant for that job. If you have someone who does that in your house, hide your knives — or threaten them.
Store your knives separately. Don’t just throw your knives in with everything else in your cutlery drawer. Keep them in a separate compartment, in a knife block, or attached to a magnetic strip on the kitchen wall. (Just make sure if they’re attached to a magnetic strip, they can’t be knocked off and fall to the ground where they could harm your feet, pets, or children underneath.)
Use soap, warm water, and a soft sponge to clean your knives immediately after using them. If you leave them caked with food to be washed later, you’ll be tempted to use steel wool on them, but steel wool may scratch or dull the blade. I never put my knives in the dishwasher and don’t ever soak them either. Dry them with a soft tea towel and put them back into storage after use. A knife is like a child: Neglect it and it won’t turn out well.
Keep your knives sharp.