ASHNA's RASOI

Hi All,

I am starting this thread ASHNA's RASOI as a tribute to my Grandmother and as an appreciation of our seniors and various members who have shown us path to this beautiful way of winning hearts....Its an important saying in India that "the way to man's heart is through his stomach" but I would say that this is true for every one and not just man....

My taste buds developed eating the most delicious traditional food in the heart of India, New Delhi. My parents loved to host dinners and get-togethers and we were surrounded by farm-fresh produce and much of the Halwai activity. As a child, I hung around my grandmother’s kitchen and my participation was limited to tasting the variety of food.

According to me, the basics of an Indian meal, despite of all the contrasts and contradictions, are similar. There will generally be some lentil, regional vegetables, pickles, chutneys, rice or bread, possibly a meat or fish dish for non vegetarians, served at every meal. Desserts give sweetness not only to the meal but also in our life. Food is eaten with fingers, using pieces of bread to mop up the vegetables and curries. I remember reading somewhere “trying to eat Indian food with cutlery is like trying to make love through an interpreter”. With due respects to the author of that line, I completely agree! The meal is completed with a digestive like “Paan ”, areca nuts, sugar coated fennel seeds and many others. (Paan is made of betel leaves, which are filled with all kinds of ingredients to create this legendary digestive)

I hope you will try my recipes and enjoy them too. By the time you get done you will have sampled a large number of regional cuisines to your menu that are distinctly different in terms of their taste cooking methods & presentation. I am here in this thread just trying to give you a glimpse of what lies in my kitchen "ASHNA's RASOI ". There is so much more. The information here is a mere starting point into the cuisine of a very diverse country- our country INDIA and addition of International cuisines like Mexican, Italian, Chinese etc.

I would be more than happy to reply your queries and problems to the best of my knowledge, experiments and experience....

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!
Ashna.

 

Hello Chitra Ji,

Sure you can take names from my column. I would be more than happy to help you with North Indian side of information to the best of knowledge and collection.

Regards,
Ashna.

 

Hi Shalini,

Thanks for your apprecitation.

Regards,
Ashna

 

Ask Ashna

Hi All,

I am starting this thread as an effort to answer your queries. I am sure there can
be many solutions to one problem so I am inviting all of the members too to
join me in answering questions and queries raised by any of the members.

Regards,
Ashna

 

meenaprakash
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Karnataka, India
Posts: 301

query - spice rack
Hi Ashna,

Nice to see another rasoi - a different one in that.
your initiatives are highly appreciated.

I've a query on ur spice rack. for anardhana, can I dry the seeds of pomegranate in sunlight and store it for further use. can I use the yellow tissues that act as compartments or only seeds??? whats the storage period for these???? do I powder it or store & use as seeds???

Pls do enlighten on this. I've never used anardhana in my cooking and would like to try it out..

thank you in advance.

 

Anardana- pomegranate seeds

Hello Meena,

To dry all spices or any cooking ingredients like red chillies, pomegranate seeds, methi leaves its always good to keep them inside in shade for 2 days and then dry them in sun.

We use just seeds for the purpose of cooking and not the tissue. It can be used as whole or in powder form as required.

Good Readymade Anardana seeds /Powder are available under brands MDH Everest, Maharaja etc