Different Indian curries

 

 India is a vast country.It has many states.Each state is

 unique in its  traditions and very importantly in

 food curries.Food is still a very important activity

 of woman in India .Food diversity in India is absolutely

 mind-boggling so is Indian curries.

I am fond of cooking.Being chemistry teacher I enjoy making

 my own receipies and I also  do try them as and when I get

 time.  We Indian make different type of curries.We friends

 some time  do discuss  different curries,   gravies in

 our Indian  cooking and their methods of prepration.

My  friend Asha wanted me to write number  of different

 curries in form of little article so that she

 could send the same to her daughter living in USA.I wrote

 short summary of different Indian curries.My submission

 is following

 The Western and outside world thinks Indian curry is

 just one reddish oily one, either it is veg or nonveg.

But it is not so. We have the following types of curries,

 depending on the main ingredients.Few I am listing below.

1.Regular ground onion, red chillies, tomato curry..

 Like in chicken curry

2.Mashed lentils (dhals) chilly powder, tamarind gravy

.. Like in sambaar

3.Plain mashed dhal with red chillies and ghee…

as in dhal tadka

4.Onion, green chillies, tomato curry.. Tomato gravy

 for rice and chapathis

5.Onion, chilly powder, tomato curry..

 Like in potato - peas gravy

6.Onion, chilly powder, tamarind curry.. 

As in Chennai dish kara kuzhambu or Madras spicy red gravy

7.Onion, green chillies, coconut paste curry..

 Like in kurumas, Kerala gravies

8.Red chillies, tamarind, coconut curry..

 Like Mangalore gravies

9.Onion, chillies, cashew/almond paste,/cream curry..

 Like Lucknowy and Kashmiri curries

10.Bengal gram green chillies ground together with curd added

 last…Tamil butter milk gravy

11.Bengal gram powder, curd, green chillies curry…

 As in  Punjabi kadi

12.Onion, black pepper and tamarind curry..

 Milagu kozhambu..Tamilian pepper gravy,

Moral of Story-Friends We need one chilly/ pepper type,

 one base and one sour  balancer or sweet balancer.

The base can be onion,cooked dhal, bengal gram paste,

 ground coconut,tomato, curds, tamarind, 

fresh cream, almond or cashew or poppy seeds.

Sukarma Thareja

Alumnus IITK

India 

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Science-Delicious Fries

 

I love # crispy and tender fries, I boil my potatoes before frying them. This simple trick can make a big difference in the taste and texture of your fries. Since I am student f science I  am listing below some scientific facts involved in boiling of potatoes.

 

1. Boiling potatoes #deactivates an enzyme called# polyphenol oxidase, which causes potatoes to turn brown when exposed to air. This way, your fries will look more appetizing and won't have a bitter flavor.

 

2. Boiling potatoes removes some of the water content from the potatoes,which makes them less likely to stick together and more likely to crisp up in the oil. It also prevents them from #absorbing too much oil and becoming greasy.

 

3. Boiling potatoes closes the# cell walls on the surface of the potatoes,which creates a barrier that prevents the oil from penetrating too deep into the fries. This helps them retain their shape and texture, and also makes them more fluffy on the inside.

 

4. Boiling potatoes partially cooks them, which reduces the frying time and ensures that they are cooked evenly throughout. This way, you won't end up with # fries that are burnt on the outside and raw on the inside.

The glucose index (GI) is a measure that evaluates how quickly that particular food raises ones blood sugar levels. However, the GI of potatoes changes with different cooking techniques:

    Fried potato has a GI of 95
    Baked potato has a GI of 85
    Boiled potato has a GI of 50
    

This shows that a diabetic can consume boiled potatoes  as their GI is low and would not affect their blood sugar levels severely.

https://www.apollo247.com/blog/article/can-diabetics-eat-potatoes
 

 

Moral of story-Friends next time you want to make some # delicious fries, give boiling a try.You'll be surprised by how much it improves the # taste of your potatoes.

Sukarma Thareja

Alumnus IITK 1986

India