Saturday, August 27, 2011

Top Recipe Secrets




Can you get at Coke’s legendary formula?
Nope!
Coke's proprietary blend of oils and extracts (dating back to 1886) is among the 10 most highly valued trade secrets and the only written copy is deep in a vault at Atlanta's SunTrust bank - so you’d have to be a bank robber to get at it.

How about Bush’s Baked Beans formula?
Nope, again!
If you’ve seen the ads for Bush’s Original Baked Beans, you know your only hope is to become a Dog Whisperer. Then you can get it out of Jay Bush’s Golden Retriever, Duke.

Here Dukey, Dukey.  Here Dukey, Dukey...good luck with that.

How about Thomas' English Muffins?
Nope Again!
Only 7 Thomas' executives know the exact combination of dough, humidity and baking technique necessary to reproduce these famous muffins.

How about KFC or Slim Jims?
Nope and nope, again!
All we know is one involves 11 herbs and spices and is prepared by hand and the other involves 32 spices and a lactic acid culture. Although, an enterprising soul, Ron Douglas,used some devious methods to try to crack the KFC code - including lying about his wife's food allergies. You can read about it here.

How about Khichdi?
Fortunately, some fantastic recipes like Khichdi are public knowledge and you don’t have to break into bank vaults, become a dog whisperer or tell any lies to get at them.

Even though they are centuries older than Coke, Bush’s Baked Beans or Thomas English Muffins.

Khichdi is a venerable Indian recipe that has provided sustenance to the people of India for centuries. It is a comfort food for Indians - you can think of it like Mac and Cheese for Indians – only made with rice and lentils, not pasta and cheese. Do I hear vegans and people with wheat allergies going “YES!!!!”

Note: this version of Khichdi is taken from a book of vegetarian recipes my sister Angela put together for our family a few Christmases ago (picture depicted above). Thank you, Angy.  Also, Kedgeree is just an Anglicization of Khichdi.

Here we go...


                        Spring Kedgeree with Cashew Nuts

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice (available in Indian stores): One and a half cup
Masoor Dhal (red lentil – available in Indian stores): ½ cup
Onion: 2 (finely sliced)
Ghee (clarified butter – available in Indian stores): 3 Tablespoons
Curry Leaves (available in Indian stores) - optional
Cashew Nuts: ¼ cup - optional
Mint and coriander leaves: ½ cup - chopped

Preparation:
Soak rice and masoor dhal in a little water for half hour separately.
Drain rice and dhal.
Heat ghee, butter or cooking oil in a frying pan and brown one onion with the curry leaves in the oil.
Add the rice and lentils and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Boil 4 cups of water in a large casserole dish and add the rice, lentils, onions and curry leaves from the frying pan. (Note: water must be at least three inches above the rice).
Add salt to taste.
Simmer the kedgeree for half an hour until the grains are cooked and the water is absorbed.
Brown some onions and cashew nuts and add this to the cooked rice and lentils.
Add chopped mint and coriander leaves

Enjoy!

P.S. 1:  When I make Khichdi, I use turmeric, pepper corns, cumin and other spices. You will find many different recipes for Khichdi if you do a Google search on it.

P.S. 2: Per Wikipedia, Khichdi is described in the writings of Afanasiy Nikitin, a Russian adventurer who travelled to South Asia in the 15th century.

P.S. 3: We have some family recipes which have attained cult status and are classified secrets known only to the preparer – such as Mohammed’s Biryani and Eggplant Curry, which many readers of this blog need no introduction to.

P.S. 4: I realize I still love advertising as much as ever, whenever I get delighted by ads I discover by accident.  I came across the Slim Jim Center for Male Spice Loss ads recently and I found the concept and the ads hilarious and so perfect for its target of male teens and young men.  Here’s the link for all you advertising junkies.

11 comments:

ajay said...

Yummm, Minoo. Can't wait to try it out !

Anonymous said...

Yummy post Minoo!
How about NEER DOSEY with Carrot/beetroot sweet side dish!?!
Aarathi

Anonymous said...

PS:This post is appropriate at this juncture.
'Anna' may resume eating solids with this harmless,humble(if you don't use Cashew) dal-chawal dish.

Minoo Jha said...

You know, I don't believe I have ever tried neer dosa with carrot/beetroot side dish. It sounds yummy. I must look up the recipe and try it

Minoo Jha said...

Ajay, let me know how it goes when you have tried the recipe

Minoo Jha said...

This is a curious comment. I can't tell whether 'Anna' refers to elder brother or to the English name Anna. I am also curious as to the exception to Cashew.

Anonymous said...

I meant Anna Hazare,who was on hunger strike fighting CORRUPTION in India.(He's still at it sans the strike)
Cashew nuts are still a rich man's luxury in India,Minoo ji.
As far as the side dish to neer dosa,sugar crysals take the place of green chillies used in regular carrot sabzi.It is called carrot SWEET-PALYA here.
looking forward to more posts about 'good writing'.

Anonymous said...

PS:Corrigendum
The word crystals is wrongly spelt as crysals,sorry!
Phew!

Minoo Jha said...

Thanks for the insight on Anna Hazare. I immediately went and did a Google search on him since I have not been up to date on happenings in India and was quite, quite fascinated. I am going to include him in a post.

Also, I looked up recipes for neer dosa and beetroot palya and am planning on making those one of these days.

Aarathi, also thanks for the insight on "cashews". I haven't been back in India for so long - almost a decade and a half, so I had forgotten that all nuts other than peanuts are expensive in India. 'Food' comprises 30% of the monthly household budget in India, whereas only 10% in the US, and incredibly enough, Aarathi, 0% if you are below the poverty line in the US. If you are, you qualify for free food stamps (government aid) which will cover you for all the food you need and more every month. Currently, I believe about 15 million Americans buy food with food stamps.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Minoo for the information.
[According to The national Geographic Channel:]It's sad to know that Americans below the poverty line are served with food prepared from the discarded meat which contibutes to their (consumers')obesity. I read the same onlne while searching for an American NGO working for the school dropouts of her community.
Is it true?
Aarathi.

Minoo Jha said...

The food stamps are given in the form of a debit card which you can use at the grocery store. The obesity problem is related to high calorie foods being cheap in the US and portion sizes being enormous. Even those in my family have had to struggle to keep our weight down after moving here and have to watch what we eat. Sedentary lifestyles have also contributed to the obesity problem.