Great Vegetarian Dishes

(Part One)

Introduction, Special Ingredients and Rice Preparations

Over 240 recipes from around the world

By Kurma Dasa

Publisher:              Naresvara dasa
Photography:       Peter Bailey
Food Styling:      Maureen McKeon
Art Dir. & Design: Ram Prasad dasa
Food Preparation: Kurma dasa, Maureen McKeon, Sudevi devi dasi, Kåñëarupa devi dasi
Illustrations:          Lucy Leviska
Color Separations: Palace Press

KCB: Dedication

In the Vedic literatures, cooking is listed as one of the sixty-four arts. My spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, was an excellent cook, and when he came to the West from India he used his skills to make delicious preparations for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. As we read in his biography by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami:

‘…So he very deftly emptied the bag of flour, and with his fingertips, cut in the butter until the mixture had the consistency of coarse meal. Then he made a well in the centre of the flour, poured in just the right amount of water and very deftly and expertly kneaded it into a velvety smooth, medium-soft dough. He then brought in a tray of cooked potatoes, mashed them with  his fingertips, and began to sprinkle in spices. He showed me how to make and form potato kachoris, which are fried Indian pastries with spiced potato filling. Meanwhile, in the course of the same afternoon Swamiji brought in fifteen other special vegetarian dishes, each one in a large enough quantity for forty persons. And he had made them single handedly in his small, narrow kitchen.’

These preparations were then distributed to the people who had come to associate with him. By taking this prasadam, sanctified food, they became further attracted to Krishna consciousness. The preparation and distribution of prasadam is an important part of the Krishna consciousness movement, and it is the part to which I have gravitated.

I would like to dedicate this book to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda and ask him to bless this endeavor.

KCB: Foreword

Whenever someone hears about a vegetarian diet, the common question is, "But what can you eat if you don't eat meat, fish, or eggs?" How sad it is to see what advertising has done to us, particularly our young folk! They grow up with the vast majority of food commercials on TV showing them the benefits of deep-fried chicken, fast-food hamburgers, "lite" beer, and the like. Rarely is there mention of the grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits that for centuries have made up the staple diet of most people around the world. So all too often youngsters end up thinking " food" means "meat".

The slaughterhouse, factory farming, and mass merchandising are pretty much unique to this century. Refrigerators are a relatively recent invention. Many societies around the world still subsist on a very simple, basic vegetarian diet. People in the Western world seldom die of starvation, but rather the opposite over-indulgence.

But there is infinite variety in a vegetarian diet. Let's look at the international nature of the culinary world. If you study the various ethnic foods (Italian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, etc.), they were all vegetarian-based diets. It was only after certain individuals or societies became more affluent that they added meat. Do you really think that the original lasagna or chow mein or tortillas had any meat in them? First of all, people couldn't afford it, and secondly, it wasn't something that was attractive or economically sound.

Many people today are becoming aware of the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. The vast increase in the number of deaths from cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, etc., have woken up a lot of people. Almost everyone in the Western world has lost a loved one to one of these diseases, which are brought on by a meat-centered diet.

But a great myth persists: that meat, fish, poultry, and eggs are necessary for a person to stay well and excel. A case in point: myself. In 1970, when I switched from a predominantly meat-based diet to a vegetarian one, virtually all my fellow athletes told me how sick I was going to get, and some even said I would die! After one year as a vegetarian, I was tested at the Percival Institute in Toronto. I had the highest fitness index of any athlete in Canada! In fact, my left hand strength had increased 38% amazing, considering I'm right-handed and didn't lift any weights during the year. But the most significant increase was in my stamina. It had increased almost 80%!

Every athlete should understand that meat, fish, poultry, and eggs contain a high percentage of concentrated, pure protein, along with high levels of cholesterol. When one eats pure protein, the body cannot use it in that form; it must break it down into amino acids, expending energy with this extra step. This drain on the body's energy takes away from an athlete's performance. Also, these foods contain a lot of toxins, which the body has to work hard to eliminate. And because the cholesterol is in the lean tissue of the animal, even if you trim the fat you will still eat excessive cholesterol. The average Westerner takes in 500 - 600 milligrams of cholesterol a day, while the body can eliminate only 100 milligrams a day. The result is that Westerners accumulate a lot of cholesterol in their bodies, especially in the bloodstream, where it coats the arterial walls, causing arteriosclerotic build-up. As the area through which the blood flows narrows, less oxygen goes through the bloodstream, and with less oxygen getting to the muscles, the athlete will fatigue sooner. Athletes need to keep a flexible, elastic, and clean blood system, and this is accomplished on either a lacto-vegetarian or a vegan diet.

And finally, the overall perspective important for us to understand is that eating meat is an ecological crime. The purpose of the fish is to keep the ocean clean, the purpose of the chicken and pigs is to keep the land clean, and the purpose of the cow is to give us milk. Unfortunately, today we must even be concerned with the quality of milk we purchase, as so many of our factory-farmed animals are filled with hormones. Ghee is preferred over butter, and butter is preferred over margarine, the latter basically being plastic fat, a product that was invented in the late 1940's as a substitute for the shortage of butter.

I consider the step to vegetarianism, and in particular, the understanding of it, the most important step in my life. It has changed my health for the better, but more importantly, it has changed how I view life. Only after changing to a vegetarian diet did I truly understand the phrase "reverence for life". When I hear people say, "But a little meat won't hurt me," that may be true, but what a selfish way of looking at things. If you asked a cow or a chicken or a fish how it felt about "that little piece"...

So wherever you are in your level of understanding about nutrition, give Kurma's recipes a try. Through his TV cooking series and video tapes, he has helped thousands of people realise the sheer versatility of vegetarian cooking.

If you sincerely make the effort to follow his instructions and recipes, you'll discover a whole new world of enjoyment. You will be amazed at how good food really can be. Happy eating.

Peter Burwash
Tennis Professional and founder of
PETER BURWASH INTERNATIONAL

KCB: Acknowledgements

I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the following persons: Naresvara dasa, the publisher, and Ram Prasad dasa, the art director, (both my dear friends without whose collaboration and direction this book would not have become a reality; Peter Bailey for his beautiful photographs and his patience; Maureen McKeon for her assistance in so many ways, especially her foodstyling; Lucy Leviska for her excellent illustrations; Tulasi Maharani dasi for typing and re-typing the manuscripts; Nada dasi and Nagaraj dasa for editing; Kåñëarupa dasi, Jeff Perry, Jenny Naismith and Yadusrestha dasa for proofreading; Mark Kennedy for patiently assisting me in the long months of recipe testing; Suchi for allowing me to use his kitchen; Sudevi Dasi, Michelle and Shaun for hands-on assistance in the studio; Ujvala dasa, Rahugana dasa, Aniruddha dasa, Chakra dasa and Vijay Gopikesha dasa for their advice and technical assistance; Mrs Nancye Walmsley, Jenny Jenkins, Cecilia Caffery, John Raffaut, Subhuji dasi, Peter Burwash, Drutakarma dasa, Advaita Acharya dasa, Trevor Absalom, Russell and Della Absalom, Shreed, and others too numerous to mention.

Casa Portuguesa Pty. Ltd., Dartington Crystal, Deruta of Italy, Bright on, Georges Australia Ltd., Ishka of Prahran, J.D. Milner and Associates, Mikasa Tableware Pty. Ltd., Villeroy and Boch Australia Pty. Ltd., and Waterford Wedgwood Australia Ltd.

KCB: Introduction

You'll notice in Great Vegetarian Dishes' full and inviting Directory of Recipes quite a number of tantalizing Indian recipes South Indian Sweet-and-Sour Tamarind Rice, Gujarati Yogurt Soup, Rajasthani Spicy Dal-Stuffed Bread, North Indian Curried Cauliflower and Potato, and many others.

There's a good reason for that. The inspiration for this superbly conceived and lavishly illustrated international vegetarian cookbook comes from the timeless spiritual philosophy of India, especially as it is represented in the enduring books of Vedic knowledge such as the Bhagavad-gétä.

The author of the recipes, in addition to being an expert vegetarian cook, has long practiced the yoga most highly recommended in the Gétäbhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotion.

Kurma knows well that in order to experience the optimum spiritual rewards of yoga or even to stay fit and healthy one should eat properly. And with humor, patience, and enthusiasm he has successfully communicated that essential bit of knowledge to a growing and appreciative world-wide audience.

It's a message Kurma learned from his spiritual master (and mine), His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda (1896 - 1977), who introduced bhakti-yoga to the world outside India, starting with his arrival in the United States in 1965.

Çréla Prabhupäda's lucid translations of Sanskrit and Bengali classics on bhakti-yoga gained him a reputation among scholars. But it was Çréla Prabhupäda's cooking that most endeared him to his original followers in New York City's Lower East Side. In his first storefront temple and ashram, Çréla Prabhupäda trained his disciples not only in the teachings of Bhagavad-gétä, but in the art of India's spiritual vegetarian cooking. Needless to say, everyone thoroughly enjoyed these lessons especially the final test of tasting.

Since those early days, the movement Çréla Prabhupäda founded has grown impressively to a world-wide network of hundreds of temples, farm communities, and restaurants, which together provide millions of spiritual vegetarian meals each year. The delighted beneficiaries range from patrons of the movement's fine vegetarian restaurants (the newest in Leningrad) to the poor and homeless who receive nutritious free meals from Hare Krishna Food for Life in cities around the world.

As many people are aware, a vegetarian diet is healthy. But it would be a mistake to think that the health benefits of a vegetarian diet have only been recently discovered. I don't want to downplay the many modern medical and scientific reports that show so clearly the links between meat-centered diets and such implacable killers as cancer and heart disease. It's valuable research, and well worth studying. But long, long ago, the Bhagavad-gétä  identified meat, fish, and eggs as foods harmful to bodily well-being. According to the Gétä, such foods "cause distress, misery, and disease."

The Gétä recommends food in the mode of goodness vegetarian foods: "Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one's existence, and give strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction."

Those are the kinds of food Kurma teaches you to prepare in this book. The Gétä says that such foods are "wholesome and pleasing to the heart." What more could one ask?

How about a more livable planet? A vegetarian diet is good for the environment.

The Bhagavad-gétä  tells us "all living bodies subsist on food grains." Even the consumer of fast-food burgers depends on vegetables for nourishment the vegetables have simply been processed into the flesh of cows.

But getting one's vegetables in that way is harmful for our planet. Rain forests are being destroyed to make way for beef cattle ranches in developing countries.

A meat-centered diet is also wasteful of scarce agricultural resources. These days, most meat is grain-fed, and, just to give one example, it takes 16 pounds of grain to get 1 pound of beef.

A vegetarian diet is a compassionate diet. It involves less pain to our fellow creatures. That humane message is coming to mean more and more to people who love animals. But despite the recent surge of interest in animal rights, concern for animals is not new. For thousands of years the spiritual tradition of India has consistently shown an attitude of ahimsa, or nonviolence toward all things living.

It's nice that so many celebrities have been putting themselves on the line speaking (or singing) out in the many campaigns to convince people to stop wearing fur, to stop eating veal and beef, to stop buying cosmetics tested on animals, and so forth. But there is a more solid and enduring foundation for our concern for God's creatures. That is the remarkable spiritual vision outlined in the Bhagavad-gétä. Fashions in causes may change, but genuine commitment founded on real knowledge remains unshakeable in all circumstances.

Lord Krishna says in the Gétä: "The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater [outcaste]." This vision of equality is the key to respect for all life. Animals have souls too.

True knowledge enlightens us to the fact that violence against animals is not simply a matter of abstract ethics. According to the Vedas, the spiritual texts of ancient India, one who kills animals directly or indirectly (by purchasing meat, for example) will experience a definite reaction something more than moral qualms and pangs of conscience.

The destined reaction may not come immediately, but eventually it will, in the form of disease, accident, or violence. What goes around comes around in this case, pain and suffering. This unrelenting cycle of action and reaction is called "the wheel of karma," and eating meat is definitely bad karma.

Now that naturally gives rise to this question what about plants? Aren't vegetarians getting karma  for killing them? The answer is yes.

Of course, in many cases, you don't have to kill the plant in order to take the part we use for food. For example, you can pick a tomato without killing the tomato plant. But there is still some karma  to be had for that. How would you like some creature taking part of you for food?

And in many cases you do have to kill the plant. The question then remains what about the karma?

To get free from the karma  is possible. But you must go beyond ordinary vegetarianism to spiritual vegetarianism, and the Bhagavad-gétä  tells how to do it. The underlying principle of spiritual vegetarianism is that everything in the universe is part of the energy of God. This means that everything including food should be used in connection with God. This is called sacrifice.

By sacrifice I mean the attitude of doing something for the sake of someone else. For example, a mother sacrifices for her children. She does things for them, to make them happy. One kind of sacrifice is to prepare food for others. It takes time and energy to shop for ingredients, to cook, wash, and so on. It's an act of love. The opposite of selfishness.

So the Bhagavad-gétä recommends that we perform the sacrifice of cooking for God, Krishna: "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin."

In other words, if one prepares vegetarian food as a sacrifice to Krishna, one stays free from karma. Since God is all-powerful, He can transform the material energy of karma into spiritual energy.

At this point, I should say a few words about Krishna. According to the Gétä, there is one God, who is the creator of all things, material and spiritual. That God is known by many names in different parts of the world. One God, different names. Most of these names refer to God as the creator, the most powerful being, and so forth. These names are somewhat impersonal, in the sense that titles such as "king", "president", and "commander-in-chief" are impersonal. They designate the post but don't name the specific person who holds the post.

Ultimately, however, there is a person who occupies the post of God, and He has intimate, personal names. Krishna is one of these personal names, and it means "all-attractive." Krishna is the person who is God.

According to the Vedas, Krishna periodically descends from the spiritual world to this material world, sometimes in His original personal form and sometimes in other personal forms, such as Buddha. The most recent avatara, or incarnation, of Krishna was Lord Chaitanya, who appeared in India about five centuries ago and taught love of God by His own example.

Can foods other than vegetarian be offered to Krishna? In Bhagavad-gétä Krishna says: "If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it. " He does not say He will accept non-vegetarian foods, such as meat, fish, and eggs. He specifies vegetarian items.

But even more important, Krishna asks for love and devotion. These are the most essential ingredients in the vegetarian offerings prepared for His pleasure.

So now that I've explained the philosophy behind preparing vegetarian food as an offering to Kåñëa, I'll give you specific instructions on how exactly to perform a simple offering.

Let's start with some preliminaries. It's said that cleanliness is next to godliness, so keep a clean kitchen while you're working. Also, don't taste any of your preparations until after you have offered them to Krishna.

Now for the offering itself. First, if you have some hesitation about offering your food specifically to Krishna, then simply offer it to God as you understand Him.

But if you do want to offer your food to Krishna, here is how you can go about it. Somewhere in, your home or kitchen you can make a small altar. On this altar you can place three pictures one of the spiritual master, one of Krishna, and one of Lord Chaitanya. Such pictures are also available from the publisher of this book.

The spiritual master, or guru, serves as Krishna's representative, and it is through the spiritual master that Krishna receives offerings. If you seriously take up the practice of bhakti-yoga, you will eventually want to connect yourself with a living spiritual master through initiation. In that case, you would use a picture of your personal spiritual master for offering food. But until that time one may make offerings using a picture of Çréla Prabhupäda along with pictures of Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya.

For the purposes of offering, it is best to reserve a special plate that is not used for anything else. After you have finished cooking, place a little of each preparation on the plate for offering. Soups and drinks can, of course, go in special cups and bowls reserved for making offerings.

The simplest kind of offering you can make is to place the offering before the pictures of Çréla Prabhupäda, Krishna, and Lord Chaitanya and simply ask them to please accept it. But the usual procedure is to say some traditional Sanskrit prayers, or mantras. Each of the following four mantras should be softly repeated three times. The English translations do not have to be spoken. I have provided them simply so you will know what the Sanskrit mantras mean.

1)

nama om vishnu-padaya
krishna-presthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktivedanta-
svamin iti namine

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet."

2)

namas te sarasvate devam
gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-
paschatya-desha tarine

"Our respectful obeisances unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvaté Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanya and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

3)

namo maha-vadanyaya
krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-chaitanya-
namne gaura-tvishe namaha

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other incarnation, even Krishna Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given pure love of Kåñëa."

4)

namo-brahmanya-devaya
go brahmana hitaya cha
jagad-hitaya krishnaya
govindaya namo namaha

"I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Absolute Truth, Krishna, who is the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas as well as the living entities in general. I offer my repeated obeisances to Govinda [Krishna], who is the pleasure reservoir for all the senses."

After chanting these four mantras three times each, you can chant the following mantra, called the maha-mantra, or great mantra, several times:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare

When the offering is completed, you and your family or guests can enjoy your meal. Be prepared for a nourishing and satisfying taste experience.

When food is offered to Krishna, it becomes transformed. It not only becomes karma-free, it becomes infused with positive spiritual energy. The Sanskrit word for spiritual food offered to Krishna is prasadam, which means "mercy."

Prasadam is especially wonderful, because simply by eating it one can make spiritual advancement. One is freed from karma and experiences spiritual energy and pleasure.

As Lord Chaitanya said five centuries ago: "These ingredients, such as sugar, camphor, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, butter, spices, and licorice, are all material. Everyone has tasted these material substances before. However, in these ingredients there are extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference in the experience. Apart from the taste, even the fragrance pleases the mind and makes one forget any other sweetness besides its own. Therefore, it is to be understood that the spiritual nectar of Kåñëa's lips has touched these ordinary ingredients and transferred to them all their spiritual qualities. "

Drutakarma dasa
 Co-author of The Higher Taste:
A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking
and a Karma-Free Diet.
July 29, 1990
Pacific Beach, California

For more recipes from India, try Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking, by Yamuna Devi. This award-winning cookbook is the ultimate encyclopedia of India's culinary tradition. The Chicago Tribune called it "the Taj Mahal of cookbooks."

For a brief but comprehensive overview of the philosophy of spiritual vegetarianism, along with selected international vegetarian recipes, try The Higher Taste: A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking and a Karma-Free Diet. This book is a good introduction to spiritual vegetarianism for a friend or relative.

Another excellent cookbook is The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking, by Adiraja dasa. In addition to 133 recipes, it contains suggested menus and useful explanations of spices.

For information about vegetarianism and religion, see Food for the Spirit: Vegetarianism and the World Religions. In this wide-ranging survey, Satyaraja dasa (Steven Rosen) examines traditions of vegetarianism in Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and other faiths.

For more insight into the life of Çréla Prabhupäda, you can read Prabhupäda, the first-rate biography by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami.

For further details about the practice of bhakti-yoga the indispensable first book to read is Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, by Çréla Prabhupäda.

All of these books are available from the publishers of this book.

Please write to:

KCB: How to Measure and Use the Recipes

Because there is some difference between Australian, American and British cup and spoon measurements, this book gives quantities for most ingredients in Australian cups and spoons with the metric volume equivalent (litres or parts thereof) in parentheses. This avoids the troublesome business of looking up conversion charts or using kitchen scales to weigh ingredients.

To conveniently use these recipes, you will require a set of graduated spoons (¹/₄ teaspoon, ¹/₂ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon) and a set of graduated cups (¹/₄ cup, ¹/₃ cup, ¹/₂ cup and 1 cup) and perhaps a glass or plastic liquid measuring container, usually containing both cup and litre markings.

The Australian, American and British teaspoons all hold approximately 5 ml. I have rounded off fractions of teaspoons to the nearest ml, thus:

Tablespoon measurements given in this book are standard Australian tablespoons, holding 20 ml. The American standard tablespoon holds 14.2 ml and the British standard tablespoon holds 17.7 ml. Thus American readers should heap their tablespoons, and British readers should slightly heap their tablespoons.

Cup measurements given in this book are standard Australian cups, which hold 250 ml. The American and British standard cups hold 240 ml. Thus American and British readers should generously fill their standard measurement cups, or in the case of liquids, should add 2 teaspoons extra for every cup required.

Measurement for items which cannot be conveniently measured by volume, such as un-melted butter, pastry, spaghetti, ungrated cheese, etc. have been given in grams with ounces in parentheses, thus:

Accurate temperatures are indicated for baking, some deep frying and for confectionery making. In this book, measurements are given first in Celcius, then in Fahrenheit, thus: 185°C/365°F.

A cooking thermometer is a useful accessory.

Measurements are given in centimetres with inches in parentheses, thus:

Take note of the following suggestions to get the best out of these recipes:

1. Read the entire recipe first and obtain all the ingredients before commencing to cook. Measure all the spices and ingredients beforehand and place them where they can be easily reached.

2. All measurements for the spoons and cups are level unless otherwise specified. Pan size is specified whenever important e.g. 3-litre/quart pan.

3. "PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes" does not include the time needed to gather the ingredients. Some ingredients, when indicated, are pre-cooked and the assembling and chopping of most vegetables, fruits and herbs is not included in the preparation time.

4. "COOKING TIME: 25 minutes" is based on the time it took me to cook the dish over a household gas stove. This should serve only as a guideline. Adjust cooking time according to the capabilities and liabilities of your heat source. For instance, keep in mind that compared to gas, electric cooking elements are slow to heat up and cool down.

5. For information about unfamilar ingredients, see Glossary.

The following list will clarify any confusion that may arise because of the different cooking terms and ingredient names used in Australia and America.

KCB 1: SPECIAL INGREDIENTS

Modem fast-paced living often affords us little time to spend in the kitchen. Yet the kitchen is a very special place. George Bernard Shaw said "You are what you eat". The foods that you prepare directly influence the physical and mental behaviour of those who partake. Meals prepared begrudgingly or without care, for instance, often taste poor. Therefore the most important ’special ingredient' in cooking is your good consciousness.

Fresh produce is also of primary importance; basic ingredients that can be prepared at home taste so much better than shop-bought items that can sometimes be old or stale.

Let's start with a few recipes for freshly prepared dairy products.

KCB 1.1: Home-made Yogurt

Yogurt is an indispensable ingredient in vegetarian cuisine, being nutritious, tasty, and easily digestible.

It is a source of calcium, protein, fat, carbohydrates, phosphorus, vitamin A, the B-complex vitamins, and vitamin D. The lactic acid content of yogurt aids in the digestion of calcium. Yogurt encourages the growth of "friendly" bacteria in the intestines that help destroy harmful strains. And yogurt is quickly assimilated into the body.

Yogurt is made by adding a small amount of "starter" (which can be either previously prepared homemade yogurt or commercial plain yogurt) to warm milk. Under certain temperature conditions, and after some hours, the live bacteria in the starter will transform the milk into yogurt, which can then be refrigerated and used as needed. If you prefer a slightly thicker, firm yogurt, you can add milk powder at the beginning.

Yogurt is called for in many recipes in this book, from the traditional creamy yogurt-based drinks called Lassi to the cooling yogurt salad called Raita. Drained of its whey, yogurt is transformed into a low-calorie cream cheese featured in Syrian Yogurt Cheese  and Greek Yogurt Dip. When sweetened, this yogurt cheese becomes a delicious dessert called Shrikhand. Yogurt can be folded into vegetable dishes, such as South Indian Vegetable Combination, or heated into zesty Gujarati Yogurt Soup. A small bowl of plain yogurt is a cooling addition to any main meal.

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes
SETTING TIME: 4 - 10 hours
YIELD: 4 cups (1 litre)

¹/₃ cup (85 ml) fresh milk (optional)
¹/₂ cup (125 ml) full-cream milk powder (optional)
4 cups (1 litre) fresh milk
3 tablespoons (60 ml) fresh plain yogurt

1. If you prefer thicker yogurt, combine the ¹/₃ cup (85 ml) of milk with the milk powder, whisk until smooth, and set aside.

2. Bring the milk to the boil in a heavy, 3-litre/quart saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove milk from the heat and whisk in the optional powdered-milk thickener. Transfer the milk into a sterilized container and set aside to cool.

3. When the temperature of the milk has reached 46°C/115°F, add the yogurt starter and whisk until smooth. The milk temperature should not exceed 44°C/111°F, which is the ideal culturing temperature.

4. Put the container of warm milk in a warm place for 4 - 6 hours. You can place the container inside a sealed plastic bucket of warm water or wrap it in a towel or heavy blanket. The container may also be placed in an oven with the pilot light on, in a preheated electric oven which has been turned off, or in a wide-mouthed thermos flask.

5. Check the yogurt after 5 hours. It should be thick and firm (it will become thicker after refrigeration). Refrigerate, covered, and use within 3 days. After three days, the yogurt makes an ideal curdling agent for production of Home-made Curd Cheese (Panir).

Note: If your home-made yogurt does not taste as nice as expected or is something other than yogurt, consider the following points:

1. Over-boiling the milk without proper stirring can cause the milk to scorch or burn. This will give the yogurt an unpleasant taste.

2. If the milk does not sufficiently cool before you add the starter culture, it will curdle.

3. If the milk cools too much before adding the starter culture, it will remain milk.

4. If you do not ensure continuous warmth during incubation, the yogurt might fall to a less-than-desired temperature. Over warming during incubation causes spoilage.

5. Over-incubation (allowing the milk and yogurt to sit for longer than required) will produce a strong-tasting, tart yogurt.

6. Non-sterile containers may introduce foreign bacteria into your yogurt, causing bad tastes. Do not disturb the yogurt while it is culturing.

KCB 1.2: Cultured Buttermilk

Cultured buttermilk is prepared in the same manner as yogurt by inoculating milk with a special culture and allowing it to grow under certain conditions. However, the type and the amount of culture, and the temperature conditions, differ from yogurt production. Buttermilk requires twice as much culture as yogurt; it must be incubated for up to 2 - 3 times as long and at a considerably lower temperature. For these reasons, it is best to use an electric yogurt maker or a thermos when making buttermilk. Buttermilk has a milder taste than yogurt and is lower in calories because it is produced from skim- or low-fat milk. Try Orange Buttermilk Smoothie or substitute home-made buttermilk in any dish requiring yogurt for milder, lower-calorie results.

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
SETTING TIME: 8 - 16 hours
YIELD: a little over 4 cups (1 litre)

4 cups (1 litre) fresh skim or low-fat milk
³/₄ cup (185 ml) commercial cultured buttermilk
²/₃ cup (165 ml) full-fat milk powder

1. Heat the milk over moderate heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-litre/quart pan, stirring constantly. Don't boil the milk; just heat it until it reaches 42°C/108°F. Remove from the heat.

2. Blend the buttermilk and milk powder in a blender or food processor until smooth.

3. Whisk the warm milk with the buttermilk and milk powder, until smooth. Immediately pour the mixture into an electric yogurt machine or wide-mouthed thermos and cover loosely. Wrap the container in a thick towel or blanket and set aside at a temperature of about 26°C/80°F for between 8 and 16 hours or until it sets. Buttermilk can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Note: After one week, buttermilk is ideal for curdling milk in the production of Home-made Curd Cheese (Panir).

KCB 1.3: Ghee

Ghee, clarified butter, is the preferred cooking medium for many dishes. Most commonly used in traditional Indian cuisine, ghee is also popular in Middle Eastern cooking. Whilst olive oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, and coconut oil find their way into recipes in this book, ghee has many advantages.

When butter is melted and slowly heated, all the moisture is evaporated, and the milk solids are separated from the clear butterfat. This residual, golden-coloured liquid, called ghee, is excellent for sauteeing and frying, as it can be heated to 190°C/375°F before reaching its smoking point.

Ghee will not turn rancid and will keep for months unrefrigerated; it will keep for over 6 months in the refrigerator and for over a year when frozen. Ghee has a delightful, slightly nutty flavour and is preferred for all traditional fried Indian sweets and savouries. Ghee can be purchased at most gourmet stores, Indian and Middle Eastern grocers, and some well-stocked supermarkets. Homemade ghee, however, is much more economical. Ghee can be prepared either on the top of the stove or in the oven. If you are making a large quantity of ghee, it is best to use the oven method. Unsalted butter makes the best ghee.

The following is a chart indicating how long it takes to make a batch of ghee and what the approximate yield will be.

KCB 1.4: Stove-top Ghee

Stove-top Ghee

1. Cut the butter into large chunks and melt it over moderate heat in a large heavy-based saucepan, stirring to ensure that it melts slowly and does not brown. Still stirring, bring the melted butter to a boil. When the butter becomes frothy, reduce the heat to very low. Simmer uncovered and undisturbed for the required time until the solids have settled on the bottom, a thin crust appears on the top, and the ghee is clear and golden.
2. Skim off the surface crust with a fine-mesh wire sieve and set it aside in a bowl.
3. Turn off the heat source and remove the ghee with a ladle without disturbing the solids on the bottom. Pour the ghee through a sieve lined with paper towels. When you have removed all the ghee that you can without disturbing the solids, allow the ghee to cool and store in a suitable covered storage container.
4. The remaining ghee and solids can be mixed with the crust from the top of the ghee in the small bowl and used for vegetables, soups, or sandwich spread. It will keep 3 - 4 days refrigerated

KCB 1.5: Oven-Made Ghee

Oven-Made Ghee

This method for making ghee is suitable if you want to produce a larger quantity of ghee. It is practically effortless and can be conducted in basically the same way as the stove-top method, except that instead of placing the ghee on top of the stove, heat it for the required time in a preheated 150°C/300°F oven. Skim and store in the same way as for the stove-top method.

KCB 1.6: Home-made Curd Cheese (Panir)

Home-made Curd Cheese (Panir)

Curd cheese, or Panir, is the Indian equivalent of bean curd (tofu). It is rich in protein and extremely versatile. It can be deep-fried and used in vegetable dishes, crumbled into salads, made into sweets, stuffed inside breads and pastries, and creamed into dips. Curd cheese is the simplest kind of unripened cheese and is made by adding an acid or other curdling agent to hot milk. The solid milk protein coagulates to form the soft curd cheese, the liquid whey is separated, and the cheese is drained, pressed, and then used as required. Because curd cheese is not available in shops outside of India, I have included the simple recipe for making your own.

The quality and freshness of the milk will determine the quality of the curd cheese. The higher the fat-content of the milk, the richer the curd cheese. Different curdling agents will produce different types of curd. The most common curdling agents are strained, fresh lemon juice, citric acid crystals dissolved in water, sour whey from a previous batch of curd cheese, and the whey residue from hanging yogurt to make Shrikhand, Greek Yogurt Dip, or Syrian Yogurt Cheese. Left-over yogurt or buttermilk used as curdling agents produce good curd cheese. Here are some hints in making your curd cheese.

1. Don't allow your milk to scorch or burn, as this will spoil the taste of the curd cheese.
2. Don't unnecessarily use all the prescribed acid curdling agent unless the milk stays a whitish colour. Overcurdling tends to produce an unpleasant acidic taste.
3. If you use all the curdling agent and the milk has still not completely curdled, add a little more curdling agent until the whey becomes clear.
4. Bad flavours in the cheese indicate that the milk was not fresh or that the utensils were dirty.
5. Tough or crumbly curd results from using low-fat milk or from allowing the curd cheese to remain too long over the heat once it has separated from the whey.

Home-made Curd Cheese (Panir) is featured in many recipes in this book, such as Bengali Royal Rice; Eggplant, Potato and Curd Cheese; Tomato, Peas and Home-made Cheese, and Curd Pakoras. Lemon Cream Cheese Fudge (Sandesh) also features panir, smoothed into a cream-cheese consistency.

Curd cheese can also be crumbled and mixed into salads or vegetable dishes such as Scrambled Curd or as a substitute for ricotta cheese in Spinach Filo Triangles.

HERE IS HOW TO PREPARE CURD

1. Boil the milk in a heavy-based saucepan, stirring often to prevent scorching or sticking. Lower the heat and add the lemon juice or other curdling agent. (See above chart for quantities.) Stir the milk gently until it curdles; then remove the saucepan from the heat. If the liquid is not clear but is still milky, return the saucepan to the heat. If it hasn't fully cleared after another minute, add more curdling agent.
2. Place the saucepan of curds and whey aside for 10 minutes. Pour or scoop the contents of the pan into a colander lined with cheesecloth, gather the corners, and hold the bag of cheese under lukewarm water for 10 seconds. Squeeze the bag, place it back in the colander, and press it under a heavy weight for ³/₄ - 1¹/₂ hours or as desired.
3. Unwrap the curd cheese and use as required. I