Lisa on October 3rd, 2011

I used to think the term “curry” meant a specific blend of spices used in a particular way. That turned out to be semi-true. “Curry,” an Indian chef told me a few years back, “simply means ‘sauce.’ A curry can be what you make it.” The way we think of “curry,” then, is kind of [...]

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Lisa on July 11th, 2011

When I was a kid, I thought the only difference between pastas was that some were long and skinny and others were tubular and short. Or looked like shells. But nowadays, the more I troll through the pasta aisles, the more I realize that while shape is important, the biggest difference between one pasta to [...]

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Lisa on December 6th, 2010

I know not everyone is going to be with me on this one, but poached eggs have always been my favorite.  Scrambled eggs are nice, and so are hard-boiled eggs, but for me, the creamy poached-ness is where it’s at.  Poached eggs are easy to make, too: just crack an egg into boiling water, set [...]

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Lisa on August 27th, 2010

Mung beans are the cutest beans you can imagine!  They’re my latest little favorite finds in the Grains & Legumes department.  I’ve been wanting to make a dish with them ever since an Indian friend made a wonderfully simple lunch for us involving mung beans, paneer cheese, and cauliflower.  I hadn’t had mung beans before, [...]

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Lisa on April 14th, 2010

I love Indian cuisine — it’s pungent and earthy, aromatic and exciting, and turmeric is a darned handy 100% natural yellow dye.  (Worth remembering come Easter-egg-dyeing time!)  And since India is home to many clusters of traditions and beliefs, there’s also plenty of culinary variety between various regions. The only thing I wish Indian food [...]

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Lisa on May 25th, 2009

If you ask an American what bread looks like, she’ll probably say “a loaf”…but it ain’t necessarily so.  There are many kinds of flatbreads:  Mexican tortillas, Ethiopian injera, Middle Eastern pitas and lavash.  Indian cuisine features chapatis, naan, and roti.  Even the American pioneers favored buckwheat pancakes. The humble muffin–which is probably America’s greatest single [...]

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Lisa on April 22nd, 2009

While “ghee” may sound like something exotic and strange, if you’ve eaten lobster, you’ve probably sampled it–it’s also known as clarified butter or drawn butter.  (Very occasionally, people call it butter oil.)  “Drawn” butter describes its true nature:  butter that has had the milkfat solids drawn or skimmed off of it.  Since it’s the milk [...]

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Lisa on February 23rd, 2009

Whether it’s cheese and potatoes or shrimp and onions–or anything else you can think of–every culture has its version of dumplings.  In the States, we’re accustomed to sweet dumplings for dessert, but in other areas of the world, stuffed doughs are often savory.  These Indian samosas, for example, consist of whole-wheat dough filled with finely-diced [...]

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Lisa on July 24th, 2008

Like ginger, turmeric is a root.  It is native to India and is used for cosmetic and dyeing purposes along with culinary ones.  It is also an important part of Indian wedding rituals and religious ceremonies.  Often times, turmeric is used instead of the much-more-expensive saffron to lend a yellow color to food.  Though not [...]

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