Cooking With Seeds: August 2013 Event Announcement : Cumin

I am happy to announce that TiffinCarrier Antic/que's will be hosting  this month's Cooking With Seeds event. It has been a year plus since TiffinCarrier Antic/que's hosted this event. Created by the very prolific and talented Priya, the ingredient for this month is Cuminum Cyminum - Cumin.

Cumin,  for people from the  subcontinent, is a 'warming' spice according to Ayurveda and an everyday staple in our spiceboxes. It easily navigates diverse recipes across the Indian subcontinent. Roasting, tempering, grinding and powdering the seed brings us flavours and memories reflecting, in many ways, our regional backgrounds. Of course, this spice is not confined to the subcontinent and has an equally diverse and delicious tradition in places like the Mediterrnean, the Americas, Middle East etc...

So, do blog your favourite recipes with the ingredient, Cumin. Here are the details for participating in this event: 

1. Post any recipe using Cumin between August 1st and August 31, 2013. 
2. Link your post to this announcement and to Priya's event announcement. This is mandatory.
   
3. Use of the logo, above would be appreciated.
4. Non-bloggers are welcome to participate. Please send the details to me along with a photograph not more than, 500 x 700 pixels
5. Please send your recipe details to me, tiffincarrieranticques AT gmail DOTcom with the subject line CWS-August & following details:

• Your Name :
• Your Blog Name :
• The Recipe Name :
• The Recipe URL :
• A photograph of your recipe, 500 x 700 pixels in size.

I will post the round-up during the first week of September.

Cooking With Seeds-June 2012: Black Gram Collection

Here is the collection for Cooking With Seeds-June 2012: Black Gram event, created by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes . Vigna Mungo / Black Gram / Urad Dal/ Udad Dal/ Uzhunnu was the ingredient. Medu Vada/ Uzhunnu Vada and Kali Dal/ Dal Makhani were popular contributions.

Black Gram Recipes
Supriya of Supriya's Rasoi brings us soft fluffy Idli's.

Cooking With Seeds, June 2012 Event Announcement: Black Gram

I am happy to  announce that Tiffin Carrier Antic/que's will be guest-hosting the monthly Cooking With Seeds event  for June 2012. Started by the very prolific and talented, Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes, the ingredient is Vigna Mungo. It is  more commonly known as  Black Gram/ Urad Dal /Black Matpe Bean/ Uzhunu etc. 

I like the symbolic representation/connotations of this tiny seed:

It is commonly used in South Asia in many different ways. 

Considered to have originated in the Indian Sub-continent. 

It's fame as the ubiquitous Punjabi-Indian export of Dal Makhani and Kali Dal/Ma Ki Dal. 

The dal is used in all its avatar's: whole black gram seeds with skin on is a staple Dal in Nepal.

Split-skin-on black gram was commonly used in the rice-lentil batter, which aided fermentation and created steamed dishes like the South Indian staple, Idli's.
Black Gram flour is also used to make sweetmeats and steamed savoury dishes.

Skinned Whole Black Gram Seeds.

I would have loved to use the black-skin-on  and split-skin-on variety that we used  during our 'growing up' years but the pantry did not hold any and my schedule did not allow a trip to the Indian Grocery. Am looking forward to your creative talents  with tradtional/ innovative Black Gram recipes perfect for our summer season ahead!

Guidelines are Simple:

1. Post any recipe using Black Gram Seeds Recipe between June 1st and June 29th, 2012. 
2. Link your post to this announcement and to Priya's event announcement. This is mandatory.
3. Use of the logo, above would be appreciated.
4. Non-bloggers are welcome to participate. Please send the details to me along with a photograph not more than, 500 x 700 pixels.
5. Please send your recipe details to me, tiffincarrieranticques AT gmail DOTcom with the following details:

• Your Name :
• Your Blog Name :
• The Recipe Name :
• The Recipe URL :
• A photograph of your recipe, 500 x 700 pixels in size

Looking forward to a lovely collection of recipes. Thankyou Priya!

Mung Beans and Root Vegetables Soup: Mung Dal, Orissa

Split Skinless Mung Beans

Mung Beans and Root Vegetables Dal with a tempering of Cummin Seeds and Asafoetida powder.

This dish is East Indian, specifically from the state of Orissa and the recipe, courtesy our  friend and neighbour, Ms. P. This stew uses  skinless, split moong beans/mung beans, 'white' winter vegetables like radishes, turnips, potatoes and colocassia/chembu/arbi/arvi.  It does not use any spicing except for the final tempering with cummin seeds and asafoetida in Clarified Butter/Ghee. Perfect comfort soup/stew.


This combines winter vegetables in season, gives you control in the use of oil/butter [ :-)], is a hearty dish vegetarian dal with rice  and a touch of spicy pickle. Mung/Moong beans, according to ayurveda is 'cooling ' for the body. Traditionally mung/moong beans were used during the summer months. One drawback is that a small quantity goes along way. Too much causes a stomach ache.

This goes to Priya's Cooking With Seeds-Mung Beans Event. It also goes to:

• Deb's Souper Sunday's
• Kavi's, Healthy Cooking Challenge started by Smita
• Pari's 'Only Curries' event  guest hosted by Kamalika

Mung Dal with Winter Vegetables served with Chena-Payaru Upperi/ Elephant Yams and Chinese Long Beans

Serves Two-Three

Ingredients

Split Mung Beans, skinless-1/4 Cup

1/4 Cup of radishes cut into chunks

1/4 cup of Chembu/Arvi/Arbi/Colocassia
1/4 Cup of turnip chunks
[ you could also add potato chunks]

Salt
Optional: 1/4 tsp white pepper

For the Tempering

2tbsps of clarified butter/ghee

1 tsp of cummin seeds

2 pinches of asafoetida powder

Method

Wash and rinse the moong dal

Pressure cook with double the amount of water/Cook with 4 Cups of water 

Cook the root vegetables separately with salt

Once the dal is cooked, add the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes
Optional: Use 1/4 tsp or 1/2 tsp of white pepper for heat

Tadka/Tempering

Heat 2 tbps of ghee

Add the cummin seeds and asafoetida

Pour over the dal.