Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Glad to hear you got one nearby! Maybe you can get some fresh curry leaves, which are something I grow, because I used to NEVER be able to find them.

The chana dal - hulled chickpeas - are one of my favorite dals, since they don't turn mushy fast (actually, I never cooked these until mushy), and are good for salads. They take about 45-50 min to cook, and you can leave them a little crunchy, if you like. Also, I recently found a bag of organic green moong dal (mung beans) at my local Indian grocery, which I got just to sprout, and it had almost 100% germination rate. Those yellow moong dal are simply hulled mung beans, and cook up like red lentils, or masoor dal, turning to mush in 20 min. or so. I have used them interchangeably when out of one, though the flavors are slightly different.

When this place first opened nearby, I got a small bag of all the beans and dals I wasn't familiar with, just to try them out, and cooked a bunch of them the same day, trying them next to each other. Something you may wish to consider.

Dave

There aren't too many things Geekboy won't eat, but chickpeas are one. The mungs are definitely going on the list. There's only one grocery around here that has decent sprouts and they are in the opposite direction from every other grocery store we visit. Thanks for the recommendations -- I really should expand my dal repertoire. I love coriander seed and I'm geeked to try the dhana.

Oh, and my favorite find at Patel Bros. find has been screwpine essence. It takes the mango lassis to a whole new level.

What does screw pine essence taste like? I have no idea but, even after conjuring up something Pledge-like, I STILL want some. We do have a pretty good Indian store here so they just may have it... is it called anything else?

Mary

He doesn't have to know channa dal are chickpeas; in fact, you don't even have to tell him the name...just that it is another lentil. See if you can sneak it by him.

Have you ever used pandanus leaf, Mary? This is what screwpine is, and it has a faint taste of vanilla. The essence, even though artificial, is not bad. And if you find the frozen leaf here's a warning: put the used leaves down the garbage disposal, or take them outside to the trash as soon as you are finished with them. First time I ever used these I simply tossed them in the trash, after simmering with the rice, and the next morning my house smelled like a dirty gym! I finally realized what caused it, and it took about 3 days for the smell to dissipate from my house. Hard to believe it could taste so good, and smell so bad!

Dave

I have not used it... I think I need to go to the Indian place this week.
What is it used for besides lassis?

Mary

Sort of a reverse coffee then?

Dave, JesBelle:

I've never found a good way to keep curry leaves. The only place I can get them in town is inconvenient. If you freeze them, they turn to mush, and if you dry them they lose most of their flavor.

Also, chana dal are not chickpeas. They are a near relative of the chickpea, but are in fact a different legume -- the "black chickpea" which is smaller, denser, and which requires skinning before cooking. A lot of recipes substitute chickpeas for chana dal because the flavor and texture is fairly similar and they assume you won't be able to get genuine chana dal. Chana dal is probably the most popular dal in India.

Fuzzy,
I just pop the whole bag of branches into the freezer and they never turn mushy, even after cooking. I strip the frozen leaves off the branches. I agree dried ones are tasteless.

Mary

Mary -- I believe it is also called kewra essence. To me it tastes a little like bay, actually. I've only seen it called for in sweet mango dishes like lassis and kulfis

Fuzzy -- I always froze my curry leaf right on the branch as well. It freeze-dries a little so the flavor diminishes over time, but otherwise it seems to work well. Then my brain finally registered that the herbs labeled karipatta at the grocery store that Geekboy sometimes stops at on his way home are the same thing. It's not even difficult to get him to stop there since they have free donut holes in the lobby.

JB,

Screwpine essense is extract of pandan leaf, actually.