Thanks ever so much for the recipes. They sound great, especially the
dips. I'm not sure whether I can muster the energy and patience to make my
own pakora, much as I love the stuff. But the tip about the batter sounds
interesting. Maybe one could also incorporate the leaves into some flat
bread.




On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:05:41 -0800, kalanamak wrote:

Last weekend, I cooked an Indian curry (Methi Murg). The recipe called
for
fenugreek and coriander. I assumed it was referring to fresh fenugreek
The question now is, what to do with the
rest. I have already given some to friends, but they don't really know
what to do with it either.

Karin

From an old post from my previous existance, when I was married to an
Indian who could really cook. I had methi pakora later with fresh
leaves...very good. You don't have to dip any veggies, just add as much
coarsely chopped fresh to the batter that will hang together when
dropped in oil. To see what chutney's I usually serve it with, look at
bottom of post.
blacksalt
begin paste
All weekend TJ has been threatening me with a
delight called methi
pakora. We looked from fresh fenugreek leaf, but
failing that we bought
a 'brick' of it dried (whole, not powdered,
which is also available).
It's called kasuri methi when dried.
This is what he did:
Start with M. Jaffrey's pakora recipe

1 1/2 C chickpea flour or besan
3/4 teas salt
1/2 teas baking soda
1/4 teas (generous) of turmeric
1/2 teap ground cumin
1/2 teas ground coriander (for these two, I
added a teas + of my garam
masala...which has a healthy bit of both of
these as a base)
3/4 teas whole ajwain or cumin. (We always use
the ajwain...it gives an
unusual undertone, and is a cheap seed that
stores well...available at
Penzey's)
1/4 teas ground black pepper
1/4 teas cayenne....(we add 1/2 or MORE...very
important says tall TJ)
She says sift, but we don't, just break up the
clumps of besan and mix
well with a fork. It travels very well in this
form, and water can be
added at the party.
Beat in 1 1/4 C water until you have a smooth,
thin batter.
To this add the methi (to prepare it, measure
about 3/4 cup into water
and let soak for 10 minutes, squeeze out the
extra water and beat into
the above batter (TJ says it's better with fresh
leaf, lightly chopped).
To this add some potato cut into 1"x1"x 1/4"
peices, onion about the
same and some bell pepper about the same, in any
ratio, until it's a
coated mess that will *just* hold together as
it's dropped in to hot oil
in a wok or deep pan. Fry for a couple of
minutes. Leave the veggies a
bit crisp.

THE DIPS
ow for the chutneys, the red one, the brown one and the green one.
Usha's Hot and Spicy Hyderabadi Tomato Chutney
(M. Jaffrey say that this perky relish can be kept in the fridge to
brighten up almost any meal...I can taste it on eggs)
A pound of ripe toms peeled and chopped (About 1 3/4 C)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teas mashed garlic pulp
1/2 teas turmeric
1/4 teas cayenne
Put this in a bowl and reserve

Heat 4 T oil (I used Mustard and only 2 T)
Add 4 whole, peeled cloves of garlic and brown lightly.
Add
1 teas cumin seed
1/2 teas black mustard seed
1/4 teas whole fenugreek seed
stir once and then add
2 whole dried hot red peppers (I used one big tein tsin) HAVE THE FAN
ON
When the peppers have darkened and puffed up, add the reserved mixture
above and don't breath the blast of steam.
Cook, stirring a bit 10+ minutes until the mixture is 'dry' but not
panting.
Add 1/2 teas or so salt (ours needed 1 teas) and serve warm or chilled.

Tamarind-mint Chutney
This I make exactly how she says:
1 heaping T EACH of chopped cilantro and chopped mint
2 T chopped GUR (or brown sugar) (again, this is a cheap ingredient
that
keeps, and will make your Indian food more, well, 'Indian'.)
3/4 " peice of ginger minced
1/4 teas kala namak (black salt...very cheap and keeps well)
2/3 cup tamarind paste (I use the compressed bricks...break off about a
cup of the brick and soak in enough warm water to cover and then some.
Break the material up into small peices in the water and let soak at
least 15 minutes. Rub the muck into a strainer with the back of a
spoon,
being sure to scrape a spoon on the bottom of the mesh to capture the
thick muck.)
1/8 teas ground pepper, fine this time
1/8-1/4 teas cayenne
1 teas ground roasted cumin...place raw cumin seeds in a fry pan and
heat over medium, shaking now and then (use no oil) until they darken
and smell toasty. Grind in a mortar or under a rolling pin.

Place all of the above in a blender and puree (I use the one cup
attachment on the Oster Blender).

Mint Chutney
(the green one) Although Jaffrey has a recipe, we've never added the
yougurt.
3/4 C cilantro chopped and firmly packed
1/2 C mint chopped and firmly packed
0-2 seranno chiles (I do seed these for fine texture) minced
1 T of lemon juice
1/2 teas salt (half of this if you use no chile I would gamble)
Puree in blender as above. She add 3/4 C of yougurt which would make a
significantly different dish

The three chutney's above can be made well ahead, and the three
colours,
I think everyone will admit, were very nice together.



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