Indian Food

For Dough:
1 ½ cup - wholewheat flour
1 tsp - oil
½ tsp - saltFor Filling:
1 bunch - fenugreek leaves, picked, cleaned
1 tsp - red chilli powder
½ tsp - cumin seed powder
2 to 3 pinches - asafetida powder
salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
oil to shallow fry

1. Mix oil and salt in flour.
2. Add water, a little at a time, to make a soft pliable dough.
3. Knead till very smooth and elastic, cover and keep aside for 10 minutes.
4. Chop fenugreek leaves finely.
5. Sprinkle salt, toss, and keep for 5 minutes.
6. Now sprinkle chilli, cumin, asafetida, mix well.
7. Divide dough into four portions, roll into ball shape.
8. Dust with dry flour, roll into 6” wide chappati.
9. Apply some oil on chappati.
10. Place ¼ filling in centre chappati.
11. Press down spreading a little.
12. Pull up edge, bringing it towards centre, hold edge like a pouch, press down firmly.
13. Now dust with a little dry flour, roll into ½ cm thick paratha.
14. Be careful while rolling not to burst open the paratha.
15. Heat griddle, put paratha, allow to cook to a light golden brown on both sides.
16. Drizzle with a little oil on both sides, press to make crisp and golden.
17. Serve hot with fresh curds or chutney.

Making time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 parathas
Shelflife: Best fresh

For Dough:
1 ½ cups - wholewheat flour
1 tsp - oil
½ tsp - saltFor Filling:
5 to 6 stalks - springonions with greens, very finely chopped
1 tsp - red chilli powder
½ tsp - cumin seed powder
2 to 3 pinches - asafetida powder
salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
oil to shallow fry

1. Mix oil and salt in flour.
2. Add water, a little at a time, to make a soft pliable dough.
3. Knead till very smooth and elastic, cover and keep aside for 10 minutes.
4. Chop fenugreek leaves finely.
5. Sprinkle salt, toss, and keep for 5 minutes.
6. Now sprinkle chilli, cumin, asafetida, mix well.
7. Divide dough into four portions, roll into ball shape.
8. Dust with dry flour, roll into 6” wide chappati.
9. Apply some oil on chappati.
10. Place ¼ filling in centre chappati.
11. Press down spreading a little.
12. Pull up edge, bringing it towards centre, hold edge like a pouch, press down firmly.
13. Now dust with a little dry flour, roll into ½ cm. thick paratha.
14. Be careful while rolling not to burst open the paratha.
15. Heat griddle, put paratha, allow to cook to a light golden brown on both sides.
16. Drizzle with a little oil on both sides, press to make crisp and golden.
17. Serve hot with tomato ketchup, chutney or raitha.

Making time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 parathas
Shelflife: Best fresh

When it comes to Indian food, one inadvertently conjures up images of local mamak food–cheap, greasy and heavily spiced. However, tracing authentic Indian food back to its culinary roots, this bears no resemblance to the fare that we are familiar with. Once the epicenter of world spice trade, at a time when Maharajahs ruled, the Indian cuisine was as rich as the culture that defines the land itself. At the heart of the spice trade, the region of Kerala prospered and it was at the palaces that sumptuous ethnic food was served.

Fast forward a few centuries, one restaurant–Kerala Kottaram–attempts to recollect the grandeur of the forgotten days and revive the authentic dishes of Kerala right here in KL.

Kottaram, which means “palace” in Malayalam, Kerala’s native language, is touted to be the first Indian fine dining restaurant in Malaysia. True to its name, its decor, food and service are crafted to deliver a culinary experience fit for a king.

All interior pieces are sourced from Kerala and hand-picked by the owner, including custom-made Kathakali masks of ancient Indian art performances.

The restaurant is the brainchild of owner Jacqueline Francis, a multi-talented entrepreneur who also runs a successful company that provides environmental, quality and safety certification services. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Kerala Kottaram’s food and cleanliness meet ISO standards and all suppliers are audited for Halal-Jakim status.

Upon entering the restaurant, you would indeed be transported to a majestic palace setting, complete with five sections to choose from–the Main Gate, Dining Hall, Stage, Royal Bar and Southern Garden–all inspired by the Padmanbhapuram Palace in Kerala. Not only are you spoilt for choice in dining ambience, the menu also has a whopping 250 items for the fickle royalty in you. In fact, if you decide that none of the Authentic, Fusion, Ayurvedic or Casual Dining dishes fits your tastebuds, the 10 chefs in the kitchen would be happy to oblige you with their special Made-to-Order dishes.

We had Kottaram Sushi (RM15) for starters, a Keralite take on the Japanese dish under its Fusion Menu. While some came encased with the usual seaweed wrapping, others were rolled in dosa (also known as tosai). Instead of short-grain rice, this sushi was assembled using a type of brown rice common to Kerala. It was definitely a hit, as the delicately spiced rice and dosa combination makes for an unusual appetiser.

Next, we had Kappa Meen (RM12), an authentic Kerala dish. This deliciously spicy fish curry reminiscent of assam fish gravy, served with steamed tapioca, arrived in quaint claypots. It is worth noting that only the freshest spices are flown in from Kerala and used by this restaurant, lending to a wonderful burst of flavours on the tongue. If you are partial to poultry, try the Chicken Roast with Spicy Sauce and Vegetables (RM24) and a side order of fragrant basmati rice. A fusion version of the local chicken rice, it would definitely appeal to the diet-conscious people as the Kerala-spiced chicken is skinned and double cooked which resulted in very little oil.

Actress Elizabeth Hurley is feeding her wedding guests obscure regional Indian cuisine adapted to the scarcity of the desert and rarely found in curry houses in the West.Hurley is celebrating her wedding to Indian businessman Arun Nayar in Jodhpur, the main city of the arid Marwar region bordering the Great Thar Desert, where people have mastered ekeing hearty meals out of a parched land.

“You have to develop a taste for it,” said Kiran Arora, executive chef at Jodhpur’s Taj Hari Mahal hotel, where some of Hurley’s guests are staying. “They are all very simple dishes.”

Most items on the menu will be unfamiliar to people used to eating tandoori fare at Western curry houses. Marwari food is traditionally vegetarian, though it has been broadened in recent times to include meat dishes.

The cuisine developed in one of the hottest corners of India in an age when cows were plentiful but refrigerators not yet invented, so milk and its products had to be used up quickly.

Lashings of sweet buttermilk are used instead of water, which is scarce, to make gravies and sauces in many of the dishes that will be served to Hurley’s guests on Friday at the Meherangarh Fort, said Arora, whose colleagues have been planning the meals.

Dal bhati churma is perhaps the quintessential Marwari dish, in which tough, wheat dumplings are bashed into crumbs and mixed into a soup of savoury lentils.

The same dumplings are then ground with sugar, spices and nuts before being moulded into balls to make a dessert.

Guests were served “khad” — or “earth” — cuisine on Thursday, Arora said, in which food is marinated, wrapped in leaves and buried in the earth in a sack.

Hot embers are then spread over the ground while the food cooks slowly, often overnight, in a technique developed by the nomadic tribes of the desert region.

This cooking method is largely used these days as a spectacle for tourists, with most people in the region preferring the convenience of modern ovens.

But those of Hurley’s guests who have had their fill of spicy Indian food need not go hungry — Italian, Chinese and Mexican food will also be on the table, Arora said.

Hurley and Nayar are not making details of their wedding public other than to a British celebrity magazine with whom they have a lucrative tie-up.

You may think that you will never need dental insurance, it’s just a waste of time and money, but you should think again. It is very important that you get insurance as you never know when there will be a dental emergency. Your teeth are an important part of your body and if something does go wrong with them it could be very serious and cost you a lot to resolve. Most places are expensive for insurance and don’t do as much for the money you pay, but one place in which you benefit from tremendously is discountdental4u.net. They provide emergency dental insurance coverage at reasonable prices with the best of benefits.

Presently, a small percentage of farm produce are processed into value-added products. India needs US$ 28 billion of investment to raise food processing levels by eight to ten per cent. Rapid urbanisation, increased literacy, changing lifestyles, more women in the workforce and rising per capita income have led to rapid growth and new opportunities in the F&B sector.

It is calculated that Indians spend about 50 per cent of their household expenditure on food items. The new Exim policy places greater thrust on agro-based industries. Following are the areas for bilateral co-operation (in investment, technology transfer and trade, particularly with India as base):

• Fruit and vegetable products,
• Fisheries and seafood
• Wine, beer and alcoholic beverages
• Food processing machinery/packaging
• Total quality/management system
• Animal products, meat and dairy
• Cereals, consumer foods/ready-to-eat foods
• Cold chain infrastructure
• Food parks
• Human resource development.

It has an automatic approval to foreign direct investment of up to 100 per cent equity for all foods and beverages except for alcoholic beverages and items reserved for small-scale sector. Moreover, foreign equity ownership of up to 24 per cent is allowed even in categories of items reserved for the small-scale sector. An industrial license carrying a mandatory export obligation of 50 per cent is required for equity beyond 24 per cent in these categories: Agro-based units established in Special Economic Zones and 100 per cent Export Oriented Units allowed (a) sales up to 50 per cent in domestic traffic area and (b) import of capital goods and raw materials at zero duty.

There comes a time when you hear that your favourite band is playing live in a concert, the first thing that comes to your mind is how or when will you get the tickets, and if they will be available or not. Sometimes just thinking of this passes the time by and till you even think of making some moves to arranging tickets the time is up for the concert. But next time you know your favourite band is playing don’t worry because all you need to do is visit premiumseatsusa.com, not only his you can also purchase your Miami Heat Tickets from there too and without any hassle.

The total food market turnover in the country has been estimated at US$ 197.7 billion. It is the largest producer of fruits, vegetables, milk, livestock in the world (India has 53 per cent of the world’s buffalos, 23 per cent of sheep and 842 million poultry - sixth largest in the world) and its agriculture and food product exports have been valued at US$ 106 billion.

Its food processing industry has been declared a priority - it has attracted an investment of about US$ 540 million in the last six to seven years. No industrial license is required for food and agro-processing industries except for alcoholic beverages and a few items reserved for small scale sector. However, foreign investments are allowed in SSI reserved items under an export obligation (pickles, chutneys, bread, pastry, hard-boiled sugar candy, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, groundnut oil, sweetened cashew nut products, ground and processed spices other than spice oil and oleoresin, tapioca sago and its flour).

Kanye West may have expensive taste but he isn’t importing Indian food.