You may recall last year's chili pastimes. Here's an unripe, new-season offspring of one of the original Yellow Habanero chili bushes that was pruned and lived over into this season.
Pretty soon these will ripen and look like this:
I diced with death earlier this year with the very same variety of chili. They are exceedingly hot. but very flavoursome.
And I have 50 grandchildren chili plants (my favourite Red Savina and Yellow Habanero) newly sprouted from seeds of the second generation chilies, and on the cusp of their 15 minutes of botanical fame.
Those seeds were dried and saved until 2 months ago when I planted them according to the lunar cycles. And here they are, in their baby pots.
It's also Gardenia season in Sydney. Our large potted plant is at the perfectional stage of its life, giving generously of it's large creamy, sweet fragrant flowers.
It is the Sun that makes all this possible, season after season. It's not hard for the broadminded person to appreciate that the Sun is the natural representative of God, operating under His order. This is described in this ancient Brahma-samhita verse that I chant everyday as I see the sunrise.
yac-chaksur esa savita sakala-grahanam raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-teja yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrita-kala-cakro govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"The sun, who is the king of all the planets, full of infinite effulgence, the image of the good soul, is the eye of this world. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, in pursuance of whose order the sun performs his journey, mounting the wheel of time."
You can read all about my tour with Le Carnaval Spirituel here (scroll down to Polish 'Festival of India' Baltic Tour, July 2006).
Summer 2009/10 Australian Tour
"Following on from the success of their 2007 and 2008 concert tours, Le Carnaval returns to Australia this summer to entertain us with their colourful joie de vivre performances.
With spectacular flair they bring the stage to life with a rich tapestry of music, dance, tribal drum acts, yoga, martial arts and surreal theatre evoking the timeless wisdom of India's ancient spiritual culture.
Street performances will precede each of the stage shows, so the whole community will get the chance to glimpse a vibrant world a world that has enriched and deepened the lives of millions of people for more than 50 centuries.
Established in 1979 in France, the troupe has toured extensively throughout the world enthralling audiences with their "out of this world" production."
Le Carnaval Spirituel commences its tour in NSW as follows:
Newcastle: Sat 21 November, Conservatorium of Music, Harold Lobb Concert Hall, Laman St. Bondi: Wednesday 16 & Thursday 17 December, Bondi Pavilion Theatre. Randwick: Friday 18 & Sat 19 December, Town Hall, Cnr Avoca & Frances Sts.
I'll be attending the Bondi event. For a full listing of over 35 Australia-wide dates and places to see this (free) stage show at a venue near you, click here...
Saturday was spent at the beautiful kitchen of Kellie (below, top row, second from the left) in Vermont, the heartland of Melbourne's 'Burbs'. A couple of latecomers missed their fifteen minutes of photographic fame.
Kellie and Jenny (above, top right) spent many months arranging the day, which was a great deal of fun for all. Number's swelled for lunch (a common occurence), with husbands and an abundance of good-looking babies completing the family gathering.
It was a big day for Jenny, who completed her full-set of Kurma cookbooks and DVD's, making her now a full card-carrying member of the KGB (Kurma Groupie Brotherhood). Welcome, Jenny!
Alu vadas were the star of the lunch. Crispy batter, tender soft potato inside, slathered with creamy coconut chutney...my best ever.
Weekend temperatures soared. At Gopal's Restaurant in the heart of Melbourne's downtown, an ultra-enthusiastic group of 26 partook of a day-long cookery workshop. Many a KGB member was present, including a lady who had last attended a cookery class with me in 1983.
Our youngest attendee was Kieren, aged 14. Did we have fun? The photo says it all.
Saturday and Sunday will be spent teaching cookery classes at two different venues.
Stay tuned!
We all have a few regrets in life. Allow me to share with you a nagging one that won't go away.
It concerns a printing error in my second cookbook Cooking with Kurma. During pre-production, Philip Little, our art designer, inadvertently sliced off a major ingredient as he re-arranged text while putting the finishing touches to a photo insert.
I had already done my last page check, and the book went to print suggesting that our Almond Toffee Fudge be set by adding, and I quote "1/2 cups powdered milk". The actual amount was 3 1/2 cups, but Philip had lost the 3 as he moved text to fit over the space we had left on the photograph.
The mistake was especially regretful since I had given the recipe such an enthusiastic promotion.
Subsequent reprints of the book have been unable to tackle the delicate fix. So the error has remained to this day. Dozens of perplexed readers have written to me over the years wondering why the fudge never set. I was happy to explain the error. But to all those frustrated readers who never did write, I dedicate this blog.
ALMOND TOFFEE FUDGE
I can honestly say that I've cooked more fudge than any other one preparation in my quarter-century kitchen career. Different versions of the same basic recipe, often prepared in 2,000-5,000 piece batches, have been devoured with delight at innumerable expos, food fairs, alternative life-style events and catering programs. I've supplied the recipe hundreds of times to "fudgeaholics".
Here's the original almond variety, immortalised in print. You should know that the best-tasting fudge requires top quality unsalted butter, premium quality cream and, most important, full-fat powdered milk.
PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME: about 30 minutes, YIELD: about 50 pieces of fudge.
250g good quality unsalted butter (I prefer Danish style), 1 1/2 cups raw sugar, 1 cup pouring consistency pure cream, 1 cup whole unblanched almonds, oven-roasted or fried, and very coarsely chopped, about 3 1/2 cups full cream powdered milk, extra toasted, crushed, slivered, flaked or whole almonds for decorating the surface of the fudge (optional).
Gently melt the butter in a heavy 5-litre/quart saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, increase the heat to moderate and, stirring constantly, cook for about 3 minutes or until the sugar melts into the butter and becomes frothy.
Cook for a few minutes more until it develops a light caramel colour. The caramelised sugar will give off a light toffee fragrance. Be careful to avoid over-darkening the sugar at this point; excess caramelisation will give the fudge a bitter flavour. The butter will probably be completely separated from the caramelised sugar at this stage, but that's normal.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and nuts. Using a wire whisk, gradually mix in the powdered milk a little at a time, whisking vigorously to avoid forming any lumps. When the mixture just hangs onto the whisk, it is ready. If it reaches this stage before you've added all the powdered milk, don't add any more. If it's still too runny after adding it all, add a little more.
Very lightly butter a 25cm-30cm (10-inch - 12-inch) tray. With a spatula, scrape the hot fudge mixture into the tray. Smooth it out and sprinkle the top with the optional nuts. Allow the fudge to set in a cool place for 1 hour. Cut into approximately 3.75cm(1-inch) squares, and stand back.
Ah, time! What a magnificent and mysterious thing. The year 2009 is almost over. Here are some quotes about time that I thought I'd share with you:
"Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It's passing, yet I'm the one who's doing all the moving." ~ Martin Amis, Money
"Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them." ~ Dion Boucicault
"In reality, killing time is only the name for another of the multifarious ways by which Time kills us." ~ Osbert Sitwell
"For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work." ~ Doug Larson
"But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day." ~ Benjamin Disraeli
"Time goes, you say? Ah no! Alas, Time stays, we go." ~ Henry Austin Dobson
"Old Time, that greatest and longest established spinner of all!.... his factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his hands are mutes." ~ Charles Dickens
"Time wastes our bodies and our wits, but we waste time, so we are quits." ~ Author Unknown
"Time is the fire in which we burn." ~ Delmore Schwartz,
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day" ~ William Shakespeare
"It strikes! one, two, Three, four, five, six. Enough, enough, dear watch, Thy pulse hath beat enough. Now sleep and rest; Would thou could'st make the time to do so too; I'll wind thee up no more." ~ Ben Jonson
"The flower that you hold in your hands was born today and already it is as old as you are. " ~ Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin
"It's a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up." ~ J.K. Rowling, "The Hungarian Horntail," Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000
"Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side." ~ The Talmud
"Old Time, in whose banks we deposit our notes Is a miser who always wants guineas for groats; He keeps all his customers still in arrears By lending them minutes and charging them years." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Time is like the wind, it lifts the light and leaves the heavy." ~Doménico Cieri Estrada
"Time is making fools of us again." ~ J.K. Rowling
"El tiempo da buen consejo." ~ Proverb
"There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time." ~ Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815
"Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations." ~ Faith Baldwin
"The years like great black oxen tread the world And God, the herdsman, goads them on behind." ~ William Butler Yeats, The Countess Cathleen
"Time! the corrector when our judgments err." ~ Lord Byron
"Time flies on restless pinions - constant never." ~ Friedrich Schiller
"Time is a brisk wind, for each hour it brings something new... but who can understand and measure its sharp breath, its mystery and its design?" ~ Paracelsus
"The time you think you're missing, misses you too." ~ Ymber Delecto
"What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know." ~ Saint Augustine
"Each moment has its sickle, emulous Of Time's enormous scythe, whose ample sweep Strikes empires from the root." ~ Edward Young
"Watches are so named as a reminder - if you don't watch carefully what you do with your time, it will slip away from you." ~ Drew Sirtors
"Time is the wisest counsellor of all." ~ Pericles
"Time is the only thief we can't get justice against." ~ Astrid Alauda
"There are whole years for which I hope I'll never be cross-examined, for I could not give an alibi." ~ Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
"Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires." ~ Charles Caleb Colton
"Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst." ~ Willaim Penn
"Time is the longest distance between two places." ~ Tennessee Williams
"Man goes nowhere. Everything comes to man, like tomorrow." ~ Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin
"Whether we wake or we sleep, Whether we carol or weep, The Sun with his Planets in chime, Marketh the going of Time." ~ Edward Fitzgerald
"The Present is a Point just passed." ~ David Russell
"Methinks I see the wanton hours flee, And as they pass, turn back and laugh at me." ~George Villiers
"Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. " ~ Louis Hector Berlioz
"Time I am, the destroyer of the worlds, who has come to annihilate everyone. ~ Sri Krishna, Bhagavad-gita
"Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead." ~ Sukadeva Gosvami, "The Srimad Bhagavatam".
And some, like this one from Isvari Rani Dasi (from India I think), are answered as a blog entry. Isvari wanted me to share my Tamarind Rice recipe. My recipe looks exactly like the picture below.
I don't have the original photos from my cookbooks. They are securely kept in a vault at my publishers. My scanner is not working, so I have used a picture from cookingand me.com.
And here's that delicious recipe, originally given to me by the wife of a South Indian Hare Krishna devotee friend Vijay Gopikesh, many years ago, when I was collecting recipes for my second cookbook Cooking with Kurma.
South Indian Hot, Sweet-and-Sour Tamarind Rice
This is a well-known and favourite rice dish amongst the Iyengars of South India who are followers of the Ramanuja Sampradaya. The recipe is over 1000 years old and is traditionally called puliogre. Makes enough for 4 or 5 persons.
1 walnut-sized ball of seeded tamarind pulp, ½ cup hot water, 3 cups water, 1½ cups basmati rice, ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns, ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds, 3 tablespoons dried coconut, 2 teaspoons rasam powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons peanut oil, 2 tablespoons raw peanut halves, 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds, 8 - 10 small curry leaves.
Combine the ball of seeded tamarind pulp with the ½ cup hot water and set aside to soak.
Bring to the boil the 3 cups of unsalted water in a small saucepan. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy saucepan and lightly toast the rice.
Add the boiling liquid to the rice. Stir until the water returns to a boil; then reduce the heat to a simmer, put on a tight-fitting lid, and leave undisturbed for 15 or 20 minutes or until the rice is dry and tender. Remove the rice from the heat and set aside, covered.
Squeeze and strain all the pulp from the soaking tamarind with the aid of a seive. Keep all the liquid puree and discard the dry pulp.
Dry-roast the cumin seeds, black peppercorns, fenugreek, and sesame seeds in a small, heavy pan over moderately low heat. Stir constantly for about 3 minutes until the sesame seeds become aromatic and the spices darken a few shades.
Remove the seeds and spices from the pan, allow them to cool, and then grind them in a small coffee grinder or blender until they are powdered. Combine them with the coconut, mix well, and place them in a small bowl.
Combine the tamarind puree, rasam powder, salt, and sugar and simmer the mixture over moderate heat in a small saucepan until slightly thickened (about 3 - 5 minutes). Remove from the heat. Add the ground spices, seeds, and coconut mixture into the tamarind syrup and mix well.
Heat the peanut oil in the small pan in which you roasted the spices. Place over moderate heat. When the oil is hot, add the peanuts and stir-fry them until they are golden brown (about 2 minutes). Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Continue heating the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds crackle, pour the contents of the pan into the tamarind syrup and mix well.
Finally carefully fold the peanuts and spicy tamarind syrup into the cooked rice and serve immediately.
Jeanne (above, top row, third from right) and Sandra (above, bottom right) and I had been corresponding about this for the last year. It was Jeanne that finally 'ran with the ball' and arranged everything - the venue (her lovely home in the woods), and the crew (her yoga friends, and friends of friends).
Some of the girls decided to get a better view of the fresh cheese as it pressed itself to perfection.
A granite mortar makes a great panir-cheese press.
One of the girls brought in a huge basket of Tuscan Cabbage, one of my all-time favourite vegies. I brought some home.
The feast, as usual, was memorable. A truly groaning banquet table.
As this tired little Kurma loaded his luggage into the car to the train station, I espied some frogs in the Aloe Vera. Farewell froggies, farewell Berry. Such is my Minestrone life...
Very well thank you! My snow peas, that is. I've been experimenting with new things in my micro-garden.
They're in a large terracotta pot (no more spare ground space) so they won't be a colossal vine, but my gardening is all about the pleasure and convenience of growing things that can be picked and offered with love.
Holy cow, whats Chrissies beef? From The Times, November 7, 2009
"Sitting on the floor of a cattleshed, at the business end of a cow, Chrissie Hynde is trying to get to grips with a set of udders. Are there four of them? she shouts above the Hare Krishna devotional music blaring out of a CD player in the corner. After a few moments of grappling, milk comes squirting into the pail between her feet. Awesome! cries the lead singer of the Pretenders. I bet Jordan cant do this... read the whole article...
BBC News, Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Curry spice 'kills cancer cells'
An extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric can kill off cancer cells, scientists have shown. The chemical - curcumin - has long been thought to have healing powers and is already being tested as a treatment for arthritis and even dementia.
Now tests by a team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre show it can destroy gullet cancer cells in the lab. More...
Why not gift your loved ones a Kurma cookbook or two! Or a 20-hour Kurma DVD cooking compendium.
I can autograph them for you, and post them anywhere in Australia.
Contact Kurma now: kurma.acbsp@pamho.net
This photo has been floating around my desktop for a few weeks now. It was taken at a private cooking class in Melbourne a few weeks ago. I'm showing the host's husband how to form balls of chapati dough in preparation for rolling them into flatbreads.
If you'd like to invite your friends to a cooking class at your home, read this.
Flesh of Your Flesh - Should you eat meat?
by Elizabeth Kolbert for The New Yorker, November 3, 2009
"Americans love animals. Forty-six million families in the United States own at least one dog, and thirty-eight million keep cats. Thirteen million maintain freshwater aquariums in which swim a total of more than a hundred and seventy million fish.
Collectively, these creatures cost Americans some forty billion dollars annually. (Seventeen billion goes to food and another twelve billion to veterinary bills.) Despite the recession, pet-related expenditures this year are expected to increase five per cent over 2008, in part owing to outlays on luxury items like avian manicures and canine bath spritz.
We have so many customers who say theyd eat macaroni and cheese before theyd cut back on their dogs, a Colorado pet-store owner recently told the Denver Post. In a survey released this past August, more than half of all dog, cat, and bird owners reported having bought presents for their animals during the previous twelve months, often for no special occasion, just out of love. (Fish enthusiasts may bring home fewer gifts, but they spend more on each one, with the average fish gift coming to thirty-seven dollars.)
A majority of owners report that one of the reasons they enjoy keeping pets is that they consider them part of the family.
Americans also love to eat animals. This year, they will cook roughly twenty-seven billion pounds of beef, sliced from some thirty-five million cows.
Additionally, they will consume roughly twenty-three billion pounds of pork, or the bodies of more than a hundred and fifteen million pigs, and thirty-eight billion pounds of poultry, some nine billion birds. Most of these creatures have been raised under conditions that are, as Americans knowor, at least, by this point have no excuse not to know barbaric."
Wow! It's almost a week since I last blogged! How time flies when you're having fun.
Today in this big dry land downunder there's a full moon in the sky. It's the last day of the Holy Vedic Month of Kartik, and it's also the day when half of Australia goes completely mad with gambling and drunken reverie - Melbourne Cup Day.
My Dad has gone out to join his friends in the excitement of sitting in front of a TV in a sweaty dark room watching horses run around a field, while on the track, intoxicated socialite ladies try to poke out each others' eyes with fashion stilettos and bash each other with champagne-soaked Armani handbags; and here I am, all alone, catching up on my blog, sweet incence wafting, delightful music filling the airwaves... It's a scorching hot day, so I know where I'd rather be.
The classes are racing by. Last Thursday I spent an enjoyable night demonstrating Vegetarian World Tapas at Foodstuff in Mona Vale, an upmarket gourmet food store in the upmarket Northern Beaches suburb of Mona Vale. Always a blast.
My weekend was spent in Wauchope, at a cookery retreat in the countryside of New South Wales. The still life platter above is part of my mis-en-place for the Turkish Rice Pilaff.
The complete menu: Kurma's Spice Trail, including BBQ Asparagus served with Balsamic-infused Semi-dried Tomato & Macadamia Pesto & Shaved Grana Padano, Turkish Rice Pilaf with Thyme, Currants & Pine Nuts, Crisp & Spicy Delhi-style Eggplant, Cauliflower & Potato Fritters (Pakoras) served with Fresh Lime Wedges, Classic Fresh Panir Cheese with Spinach & Cream (Palak Panir), Tender Hot Buttered Wholewheat Flatbreads (Chapatis), Orange-infused Hot & Sweet Apple Chutney, and Pakistani-style Cardamom & Rose-scented Creamy Vermicelli Dessert (Kheer Sevian).
In a moment of sheer brilliance, I decided to try adding icy cold soda water to my dry pakora batter mix. The result was sensational! Here's our grand Pakora Platter, featuring eggplant, sweet potato, potato, red pepper and cauliflower pieces battered to perfection.
The milk for my panir cheese-making was delivered fresh from a nearby cowshed still warm from milking. Big slabs of tender cheese were pan fried and slathered in our spice-scented creamed spinach for the best country-style Palak Panir I have ever made.
Okay, I know you're wondering who that dog is above, and what she's doing. That's Tilley the sheepdog, a resident of our Wauchope event. I always tell my students how fresh whey (the residue from panir cheese-making) is adored by animals like cats and dogs. To demonstrate, I filled up Tilley's bowl with warm whey and she slurped it all up in about ten seconds, licking the bowl and licking the ground where a little bit was splashed.
And that's it for me this afternoon. It's 18 minutes to "Cup" time. All of Australia will fall silent as the horses thunder around the track, and then the two mile (3200 metre) equine scamper will be over for another year.
Was googling myself again this morning. Yes I know, I should stop it or I'll go blind.
Found this four legged version of myself.
Fetching.
Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet
The Times, 27 October, 2009: People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the worlds resources. A vegetarian diet is better.
"Hydrogen is a light, odorless gas, which, given enough time, turns into people."
John P. Wiley Jr, (quoting Edward R. Harrison, Smithsonian Magazine, December 1995)
The house starts to fill! The tiered seating faciltated a perfect view of the cooking, with the aid of overhead mirrors.
Crisp wanton pastry sheets filled with whipped cream and mangoes made for a crunchy dessert! Here's Greg with his resounding bite.
All eyes on Greg as he took the plunge.
Pretty bogus captions, I know. Greg did assure me that he didn't mind being recorded mid-bite for posterity. He got his wishes fulfilled.
I had a great day. It was my 10th year at Cooking Coordinates, and my 18th class there. For me, the "icing on the cake" was this letter.
"Hi Kurma
I attended your class in Canberra today... thank you, it was wonderful. I'm writing to you so that you might post this little tip on your website.
I had an unfortunate accident today, where I spilled your delicious Chickpeas in Tomato Glaze all down the front of my white skirt. The lady next to me, and your assistant both told me that I would never get the stain out due to the turmeric. They suggested I consider dying my skirt yellow!
When I got home after the class, I poured pure Eucalyptus oil straight onto the stains. I let it soak for a few minutes and then poured soda water on top and used paper towel to dab the water off.
I then put the skirt into the wash and when it came out the stains were completely gone - not even a yellow tinge. I thought you and your readers might be interested given how often you cook with turmeric.
I am told that it works well with other stains too, eg. red wine. The trick is not to do anything to the stain before pouring the Eucalyptus oil on. I usually use Eucalyptus oil instead of fabric softener... no chemicals, your clothes are soft and they smell fantastic (it also helps keep the moths away).
Thanks again for a wonderful day,
Tamara"
