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Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Curry flavor
Add authentic flair to Indian cuisine by creating a special spice mixture
By Aimée Courtice
Caller-Times

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

Purnima Verma prepares aalu bhujiaa (stir fried potatoes) which is a spicy dish containing cayenne peppper and made without preservatives.

Although Purnima Verma has lived in the United States for more than 12 years, she still cooks like she's back home in Calcutta, India almost daily.
   For Verma, the appeal of Indian cuisine is that it's packed with a variety of flavors and yet leaves plenty of room for a spicy kick.
   "People who like spicy food will like it," she said. "And people who are vegetarian will like it too."
   "Nothing we use is really filled with preservatives, or canned," she said. "It's basically all-natural."
   And Verma wants everyone to know that there's more to Indian food than curry.
   "This is not the real thing," she said one recent afternoon as she pointed a plastic container of curry powder. "Indian food flavor comes from much more."
   Try cumin, coriander, curry powder, ginger, garlic, cinnamon to name a few, which Verma often combines to make a spice mixture called garam masala that she regularly uses in her recipes. Verma has even found room for a little cayenne pepper, thanks to where she lived prior to coming to Corpus Christi.
   Verma lived in Baton Rouge, La. when she first moved to the United States from India in 1988. The cuisine of her homeland took on a Cajun twist. She still cooks regularly with green hot peppers and plenty of cayenne.
   "Sometimes I have to take an anti-acid," she said. "I keep some in my purse."
   Cultural roots

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

Mutter pulav (green pea rice) is flavored with cumin seeds and cinnamon sticks.

   Food is very important to the Indian culture, Verma said, and each special occasion calls for traditional dishes and customs for preparation. If a family is holding a religious celebration, for example, onions or garlic will not be included in the recipe. The custom stems from her Hindu religion.
   "Onions and garlic grow below the ground, they are root plants," she said. "To use them, you have to tear them from their root. It's like ending life.
   "The least you kill so that the body can survive, the better," she said. "If you can do without (certain food) why kill?"
   On Verma's refrigerator hangs a prayer recited in Sanskrit before her family eats dinner: 'Eating is not merely for enjoying food, but to sustain the body which one can perform one's duty.'
   "Eating is part of the godly things that you do," she said.
   Keeping traditions
   How you eat - especially in the Verma household - is also part of tradition.
   "Indians eat by hand," she said. "It's hard to do if you aren't raised to eat like that."
   Verma's earliest memories of cooking stem back to her childhood in India when she helped her mother and other female family members prepare meals. They would make a wheat flour tortilla-like flat bread. "My mother would give me my own small piece of dough and a would roll it out with a miniature rolling pin."
   She's been cooking ever since then, learning recipes from her mother and mother-in-law. And she's hoping her daughter, Neha, picks up on some of it too. Neha keeps a notebook in the kitchen to take notes while Verma cooks. But Verma finds that tradition often takes a backseat to what her three children like to eat.
   "The kids don't like to eat (Indian food) everyday," she laughs. "They want to eat something normal like pasta sometimes."
   Contact Aimée Courtice at 886-3622 or courticea@caller.com
   Garam masala
   6 tablespoons coriander seeds
   2 tablespoons cumin seeds
   1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
   2 teaspoons cardamom seeds
   1 3-inch long cinnamon sticks
   1 teaspoon whole cloves
   1 whole nutmeg
   3 bay leaves
   On baking tray, spread out the spices and bake at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Then blend spices in a coffee grinder. Store in a glass jar with a lid.
   Raajma (red beans)
   16 oz. can of red kidney beans
   2 large onions, chopped
   4 cloves of garlic
   ½ inch of fresh ginger
   2 large tomatoes cubed, or 1 8-oz. can of paste
   2 tablespoons of garam masala
   2 teaspoons of salt
   1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
   ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
   ½ cup of vegetable shortening
   Soak the red beans in water for four to five hours. Cook beans in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes with one teaspoon of salt and four cups of water. Grind the onions, garlic and ginger in a blender. Heat vegetable shortening in a pot on medium heat. Add the paste or tomatoes. Brown it for 15 to 20 minutes. Add garam masala, cayenne powder, turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir. Add the cooked red beans and water. Cook for another 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve hot.
   Mutter pulav (green pea rice)
   2 cups Basmati rice
   3 cups of water
   ½ stick of butter
   1 teaspoon cumin seeds
   1 small onion, chopped
   5 cloves cardamom
   5 cloves
   1 inch cinnamon stick
   1 teaspoon salt
   1 cup frozen peas
   Rinse rice in cold water. Soak for 30 minutes. In a 4-quart pan, melt the butter over medium heat, add the cumin seeds, onion and the rest of the spices. Drain extra water from the rice and add rice to the pan and stir. Add frozen peas, stirring for 4 to 5 minutes. Then add three cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook 7 minutes or until rice is done. Garnish with salted roasted cashews.
   Aalu bhujiaa (stir fry potatoes)
   4 medium potatoes
   1/3 cup of vegetable shortening or olive oil
   1 teaspoon of garlic paste
   ¼ teaspoon of ground turmeric powder
   2 teaspoons salt
   ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
   ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
   ½ teaspoon of cayenne powder
   1 tablespoon of dill powder
   Peel and cut potatoes into bite-sized cubes. In a frying pan heat oil and brown the garlic paste. Add potatoes, turmeric powder and salt. Cover and cook until the potatoes or tender. Add cumin, black pepper and cayenne and stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle dill and then serve.
   Aam chutney (hot mango dip)
   1 large unripe mango
   3 cloves of garlic
   1 bunch of cilantro leaves chopped
   6 fresh green hot peppers, whole
   2 teaspoons of salt
   Peel and cut mango into small pieces. In a blender, puree all ingredients, including the peppers. Serve in a small quantity. This dip can also be used as a sandwich spread.
   Gaajar halwa (carrot halwaa)
   1 pound of carrots, finely grated
   ½ cup of whole milk
   1 ¼ cup of sugar
   1 stick of unsalted butter
   1 teaspoon of powdered cardamom
   chopped nuts for garnish
   In a saucepan, combine carrots, milk and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Stir frequently. Once the milk has evaporated add the sugar and the butter. Cook for another 15 minutes. Add cardamom powder and stir. Add garnish and serve warm or at room temperature.
   Recipes courtesy of Purnima Verma





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