French Toast with a twist 27 July 2007
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The times I’ve had French Toast, it was usually with fruit jam. And even with its nice-sounding name, it always seemed to taste bland. That I’d rather have my eggs separately, in an omelette perhaps stuffed with mushrooms and cheese, and my milk in a cold glass.
Now I know how infinitely more exciting it is to treat French Toast not as the dish itself, but just like plain sliced bread with which to make a sandwich.
Make your toast. FrenchBeard’s tip is to soak the bread slices for a longer time in the egg-and-milk batter before frying them in a butter-lined skillet, making sure they’re brown and crunchy on the outside.
You can then experiment with your filling. If you’re into meat, you can maybe use salami or ham. But one truly delectable filling definitely has no meat: a mix of finely chopped tomatoes, onions, fresh coriander leaves, and green chillies (in which you go slow if you’re not used to it). It requires more than a bit of work. But definitely makes a fine start for your morning.
For chocoholics 4 July 2007
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Who among us isn’t aware of those medical studies that say chocolate is good for one’s health? We all know that.
Research in previous years have suggested that the chemical substances, flavanols, contained in cocoa result in health benefits including lowering one’s blood pressure. But those earlier studies theorised that large amounts of chocolate were needed to achieve the desired positive health effects. And in turn, whatever gains would only be negated by consuming the high levels of fat and sugar contained in those cocoa products.
Now medical researchers in Germany are saying you don’t have to eat a lot of chocolate to benefit from it. Hurrah!
This team at the University Hospital of Cologne found that benefits can be achieved with a small amount — 30 calories worth of chocolate. The researchers monitored 44 people with hypertension, and found that those who ate dark chocolate did not gain weight, nor see an increase in their blood sugar. At the same time, their blood pressure fell. Noting that the reduction in blood pressure was “small,” the doctors say that still, it is “clinically noteworthy” as it potentially will reduce the relative risk of death by stroke and heart disease.
Asked about the new research, the British Heart Association warned against getting too excited. The group says fruits and vegetables have the polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals our body needs and eating five or more portions a day is still the best way to protect one’s heart. “And you don’t need to worry about over-indulging.”
Ouch.
Not for vegetarians 2 July 2007
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I know about foie gras, the French delicacy of duck or goose liver, whose fattened state is obtained by force-feeding the bird using a funnel attached to a tube inserted into the animal’s throat. But reading a special Connossieur’s series in India Today, I have just now learned of ortolan, a bird that is native in most countries of Europe and west Asia and which is similarly stuff for gourmet taste. Like foie gras, ortolan, the delicacy mocks all that animal rights activists are screaming about in this what they call a world of unethical, carnivorous people.
The bird is caught with a net in the forest. Taken alive, its eyes are poked out and the bird is put in a small cage. It’s then force-fed oats, millet and figs until it has swollen to four times its normal size. The bird is then drowned alive in fine cognac. Then it’s roasted whole, in an oven at high heat, for six to eight minutes.Once it reaches the table, a napkin is placed over the diner’s head. The technique of eating the ortolan is to put the whole bird into the mouth, with only the beak protruding. Here sadism mingles with masochism. The first taste as you crunch on the bird is the brandied flesh and fat. Then, the bitterness of the guts follow and finally, as the tiny, delicate bones are being chewed on, they will lacerate the diner’s gums, with the salty taste of bleeding gums mingling with the richness of the fat and the bitterness of the organs. Chewing the ortolan takes approximately 15 minutes.
Reading it makes you squirm in your seat.
But my own issues about ethical eating — triggered this time by images of a tiny bird being force-fed and then drowned in expensive liquor — tend to conflict even me.
For, indeed, what is the difference between this so-called savagery to the ortolan and the way chickens are killed? People either slit the chicken’s throat and let it bleed until it dies, or else the chicken is beheaded in one quick sweep with a big blade. Is it not savagery too? (And I happen to like chicken.)
Or, again, how does it differ from roasting pigs? The cruelty will not be hidden no matter that we prettify the lechon’s mouth with an apple (agape as it is skewered whole with a bamboo pole). And what about balut, the delicacy of fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside, boiled and eaten in its shell?
I am barbaric too.
So what does it mean? If I were in France and I had the money to pay for an ortolan meal in a stupendously priced restaurant, will I actually eat it? Will I do as the French do, first put a napkin on my head to cover my face before God, then take the drowned bird whole in my mouth to cheers of, bon appetit!
Cheers to bitter beginnings 9 June 2007
Posted by bornonacusp in Delhi life, Domesticity, Food trip.add a comment
Bitter is the word for the start of a typical Indian meal (especially for Bengalis).
In our home, a favourite is the very simple fried bitter gourd (ampalaya to us Filipinos): sliced very thinly and deep-fried to a nice crisp in sunflower oil. It’s an appetizer that goes well with rice and dahl and another dish, vegetable or meat-based perhaps. It’s very tasty and will surely awaken your appetite.
Not that I’m new to bitter gourd; while it is easy to hate this vegetable for its sheer bitterness, I’m not one of those who do. And I’ve always liked my mother’s recipe of sauteed ampalaya with beef strips in oyster sauce. But ampalaya-as-appetizer is something new for me, and again is a nice surprise, as in many other dishes I’m discovering here every day.
Apparently, too, starting one’s meal with something bitter helps to normalise the body’s digestive process. Seeing FrenchBeard, it makes complete sense. Unlike me (and many others of my family and friends back in the Philippines), he has a digestive system that works quite perfectly well. No complaints, and everything is like clockwork.
Then again it may not be just the bitter gourd. Indians do get a lot of good bacteria in their diet including those you get from yoghurt and soy. Those, too, aid in digestion. See they do generally eat smart and have a lot to teach compulsive, mostly unhealthy eaters such as myself. But no guilt here; no way am I giving up my coffee. Just learning a few new tricks to healthier (and still fun) dining.
Super-sasta India 28 May 2007
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That Hindi word means cheap.
FrenchBeard never fails to go ballistic over the prices of almost everything in Manila. ‘25 pesos for an apple?!’ Which will then prompt me to say, ‘Shush. There’s one billion of you.’ Vegetables? Milk? Even junk-food addicts will thrive here for half of the price of Lay’s. Haircut? Barbers sitting in street corners here, 10 pesos; in an air-conditioned salon, 30. Ironing of clothes? 1.50 per piece.
We’re not even talking about pharmaceutical products, for which there are other (political) reasons why India can afford to sell cheaper, besides having the far bigger volume market. Biogesic versus Paracetamol? (The brand, which is more accessible and preferred by most Pinoys versus the generic, which is how Indians know it)? The branded is easily ten times more expensive.
Among Bengalis actually, they’ve come to call foreigners in India, ‘Damchi.’ Because once upon a time when tourists would come and shop, all the locals could hear was a nonstop exclamation of ‘Damn! Cheap!’ The sound stuck, and the ‘damchi’ name came to be.
But three things which, as far as FrenchBeard knows, are cheaper in the Philippines than here: cigarettes, beer, and Nescafe. For these three, Philippines is at least a third of the price of what it is here.
Which is why before I moved here to stay, whenever I would come he would ask me to lug big sachets of Nescafe for himself and packs of Marlboro Lights for a favorite uncle. Chats with friends will also normally segue to him raving about how cheap San Miguel is. To which will follow a chorus of Ooooh’s. Because Indians (at least those that I’ve met so far) like their ice-cold beer too.
And while their Kingfisher is nice, it is not nearly as fulfilling for me as San Mig Light. Not that I’m a beer-guzzler — far from it — as the drink is mostly an excuse to listen to some good music and have long chats with friends and eat some more. But if the beer I’ll get here is not as good as San Mig anyway — and it’s so much more expensive — why bother? There’s lassi and aam panna, yoghurt-based and mango-based drinks with cumin and mint and other spices — two of all these drinks that I’m only starting to discover and like.
Turmeric leaves a nasty stain 20 May 2007
Posted by bornonacusp in Delhi life, Domesticity, Food trip.1 comment so far
And my fingertips are still yellowish.
Turmeric is an important spice in India that is bright yellow in color and is aromatic. It is used in cooking a variety of dishes, for medicinal purposes, and religious rites as well. I have turmeric stains on my hand because we had just used the spice to make dahl, a dish of lentils and spices that is a staple of Indian homes. (While Indian cuisine widely varies depending on where you are in this vast sub-continent, dahl may be one of those dishes which you can find everywhere.)
Dahl is inexpensive, easy to prepare, and rich in protein. I am told that there are thousands of ways of preparing dahl, and what we cooked is from one of FrenchBeard’s own recipes. Dahl itself has different sorts: red, yellow, black. The size of the beans also vary. We used yellow dahl of the big variety.
The dahl is rinsed, placed in a bowl and mixed with water (one part to five), quartered potatoes, some salt and turmeric. It is mixed, best with the hand (the right one, never the left). Then it is soaked for half an hour, and pressure-cooked for five minutes. (And you get that turmeric smell out which just really whets my appetite.)
While it is cooling down, prepare all the rest of your other ingredients and spices. For this recipe, we decided to jazz it up with thinly chopped tomatoes, onions, some ginger, cumin seeds and green chillies. The boiled dahl is transferred to a pot with all the other ingredients, and cooked in low fire for another five minutes.
Voila! You’ve got your dahl. Now bring out that chapati (flat whole wheat bread, very healthy).
The closest that I can think of to a parallel is the Pinoy ginisang mungo. Though in that dish (at least in my mother’s recipe) the predominant taste would probably be the talbos ng kamote (tender leaves of the sweet-potato). And Pinoys will of course say, We don’t eat mungo with bread!
Chillie paste with my adobo? Gasp! 13 May 2007
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At least that was my first reaction. When FrenchBeard said, Would you mind if I use some green chillie paste here? I gave him a look that said, What can I do if you want to? I did not know if I should feel offended really. To me my chicken adobo was perfect! Just the right mix of white vinegar and dark soy sauce, a lot of garlic which we both love, and bay leaves that gave it a nice tangy taste. So for him to use chillie paste on the dish felt strange.
Then quickly he clarified. He wasn’t going to use the chillie paste on the adobo itself, but on the rice. See, if Pinoys are happy sitting on a dish of plain steamed piping-hot rice and their favorite viand (such as adobo), Indians are not; they need their rice soggy (at least that’s the adjective from my perspective, but it wouldn’t be the same for them) … If not dahl, then some soup, or a vegetable dish with lots of gravy.
Aah, I shrunk in my seat, embarrassed with myself. I should have known, of course. Having already shared with him countless meals. I think I reacted too quickly and felt odd that he would need chillie paste for my adobo. When, really, it should not be a big deal. To each his own taste buds.
Sprouts for breakfast 12 May 2007
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Try this salad:
Bean sprouts (togue for us Pinoys), chopped tomatoes, onions, green chillies, and coriander leaves. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Toss. Squeeze a slice of lime.
Learned it from FrenchBeard, who likes having it for breakfast.
