The Spices Of India

Shalimar Spices and The Dosa Factory in Central Square, Cambridge.

We continue our Tastes Of India series today after our brief trip away for the Thanksgiving holiday. Today we are going to delve into the spices used in Indian cuisine and their holistic value. Our tour guide is Ranveer Brar, Corporate Chef of One World Cuisine, who hosts a weekly spice tour at Shalimar Spices and Foods in Central Square, Cambridge. Our exclusive private tour was the same as that offered to the public each week on Saturdays at 11:00 am. The tour costs $20 and includes a lunch at Dosa Factory, where you can select and sample dishes using the spices you have just examined and learned about.

Ayurveda is a centuries old practice (3700 years actually) of using foods holistically, to heal and strengthen the body. Spices are revered in the ayurvedic tradition because of the therapeutic value they bring to a meal. There are almost no dishes in ayurvedic cooking that are not embellished with the aroma, flavor and healing properties of spices.

Combining spices to offer the benefits of synergy and balance is an integral part of this ayurvedic, holistic cooking. Spices are a quick way to incorporate the six ayurvedic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.


Basmati is the rice of choice in Indian Cuisine.

Let's briefly explore the basics of Ayurvedic Cooking. It incorporates the five elements: air, fire, water, earth and ether (space). It holds that there are three Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These correlate to three body types. The Pitta would be the slender, high metabolism body type with the dominant element of fire. (This would be me for all those readers who wonder how I eat so much and stay so thin). For balance the Pitta would eat foods with the element of water. The Vata would be the stocky type and would eat foods with a fire element for balance. The last is the Kapha, or muscular body type.


Tea is a very popular drink in India but before the British Colonization it was virtually unknown in the subcontinent.

The tour, which provides informative handouts, explores many of the most commonly used spices such as turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, coriander and fennel. Any foodie would love to just wander around this store for hours looking at all the exotic ingredients.


Rich, clarified butter. Think of the fun one could have experimenting with this!


Colorful candy spices.

It is suggested, of course, that freshly ground spices be used. Mostly in seed form, the optimal flavor is achieved by first toasting the seeds on a shallow pan in a 325 Degree Farenheit oven for just a few moments. Purists will then grind the seeds with a mortar and pestle. Most people will use an electric grinder. A coffee grinder is ideal but you'll want to keep one just for spices!


Chickpeas are often ground and used as a thickening agent in soups and sauces.


Fresh herbs and ingredients.

Some of the spice mixes suggested are (all are in ratios):

For lamb: Cinnamon 1 part, Black Cardamom 1 part, Coriander Seeds 2 parts, Cumin 2 parts and Dry Red Chiles to taste.

For chicken: Mace 1 part, Fenugreek Leaves 12 parts, Coriander Seeds 3 parts, Cumin 2parts and dry red chiles to taste.

Keeping in mind how busy people are these days there are a variety of pre-made spice mixes available as well as sauces and gravies.


Fenugreek seed, a common spice used in Indian Cuisine.


The firm cottage cheese used in many Indian recipes.

This cheese is not the curds of cottage cheese most are used to but looks and feels much more like a firm tofu.


Delicious Dosa with dipping sauces at Dosa Factory in Cambridge.

The Dosa, again, is a rice flour crepe that can be filled with many ingredients. This is a Masala Dosa filled with potato, curry leaf and spiced onions.


Side dishes at Dosa Factory.

The side dishes are Samosa, potato filled fried pastry and the Paneer Pakora, which features the cottage cheese pictured above.

In our next installment we will be exploring the tandoor oven more closely, bake some naan bread and prepare tandoori chicken. In the meantime, you'll want to put Shalimar Spices on your foodie compass.

Shalimar India Food and Spices
571 Massachusetts Ave Cambridge, MA 02139
617.868.8311

SWEET New Flavors

SWEET Cupcake Bakery, Harvard Square location.

SWEET Cupcake Bakery introduced their brand new holiday flavors yesterday so we, of course, were invited to be among the first to review the selection with our panel of cupcake gourmets. Remember, SWEET does cupcakes and cupcakes only. The new flavors include: Gingerbread, Candy Cane, Chocolate Ganache, Snowball, Black Forest, Butterscotch, Chocolate Pomegranate, Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Mint, Pumpkin Ginger and Eggnog. The flavors are available through December 24th.


Candy Cane, Gingerbread and Traditional Vanilla cupcakes from SWEET.

Our taste test panel included Lindsay Paterson, James Faria, Amanda Tuohey, the camera shy Mary Tuohey and myself. We each tasted a variety of cupcakes and rated them accordingly. Not everyone agreed on the best flavors but we certainly concurred that the frostings were creamy, rich and excellent across the board.


(L-R) Lindsay, James and Amanda.

Mary rated the Chocolate Mint (creamy mint buttercream swirled across chocolate cake with chocolate shavings) as her favorite with the Black Forest (chocolate cake filled with cherry preserves topped with fresh whipped cream and topped off with a chocolate covered cherry) as her second choice. The sweet mint frosting proved a strong flavor note.

I chose the Chocolate Ganache (Belgian cocoa based chocolate cake finished with a rich Callebaut chocolate ganache topped with chocolate curls and edible silver leaf) and the Chocolate Raspberry (chocolate cake filled with raspberry jam and topped with a rich chocolate buttercream frosting and a fresh raspberry) as my top two choices. In both cases the chocolate was decadently rich without being overpoweringly sweet and the raspberry was an irresistible combination.

Amanda's favorites were the Chocolate Ganache and the Black Forest. Both Amanda and I tried the Eggnog as our first taste and were a little disappointed. The cupcake was certainly good but the unmistakable eggnog flavor that we both were expecting just wasn't there. Amanda also noted that the cookie straw was a bit stale.

Lindsay's clear number one choice was the Pumpkin Ginger (pumpkin cake with a fresh ginger buttercream and crystalline sugar crumble). Running a close second was the Chocolate Mint. Lindsay also liked the Candy Cane (chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream frosting drizzled with chocolate and bits of peppermint candy crumble). The crumble here is not the rock hard candy cane confection we may be most familiar with but more a soft and buttery version of the sprinkle. Nice touch!

James went with the Pumpkin Ginger and Black Forest as his favorites. The pumpkin cake flavor reminded both of us of a version of carrot cake, but better. James was also a fan of the Candy Cane sample.



And the overall winner is ... Pumpkin Ginger! The Black Forest ran a very close Second Place.

SWEET now has locations on both sides of the river, making it a convenient holiday shopping place to relax and refuel. Stop by, tell them The Boston Foodie sent you and let us know your favorite flavor.

SWEET
Back Bay: 49 Massachusetts Avenue Boston 02115 617.247.2253
Harvard Square: Zero Brattle Street Cambridge 02138 617.547.2253

Scotch Whisky Tasting

Simon Brooking, Master Ambassador, Beam Global and Alistair Longwell, Distillery Manager

My new friends Alistair and Simon flew in from Scotland and kidnapped me for lunch to experience their latest, treasured whiskys recently. Only The Boston Foodie gets a chance like this as they chose TBF as the exclusive local blogger to visit with. Simon even lit up a bit of peat while we discussed our trip to Edinborough. I broke into a cold sweat, afraid we'd set off all of the smoke alarms at the Top Of The Hub.

The two represent Ardmore and Laphroaig Whisky of Scotland. Ardmore is a Highland whisky produced in the north and the nose and flavor are distinctively smokey with heather undertones due to the peat from the area. Yes, they still use peat fires to dry the barley for these brands. Laphroaig, on the other hand, is a Lowland whisky, with its distillery in the south and on the coast. The peat used here produces a saltier, almost briny undertone to the, again, smoky taste. Their Single Malt is whisky that's been aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels. It has a smoother, cleaner and more refined touch to the palate. We tasted eight different whiskys through the course of our lunch and my favorites were the Ardmore 30 and Laphroaig 25 with the latter getting the edge as top choice.

Check out their website, complete with video tours from Alistair here.

Horrible pic but a great afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving All

I know we are far more prone to complain about all of the little things we do not like as opposed to really articulating the very many things we should be grateful for but take for granted. An early morning walk along the shore to see this pretty much sums up how lucky I am. The clouds receded for a brilliant, few seconds of sunrise. So, let's get on with it, leave complaints aside, be thankful and enjoy every, beautiful moment.

The Upside Of Down

Sheryl Julian, Boston Globe Food Editor, serves up her freshly-made hummus and copies of her book: THE NEW BOSTON GLOBE COOKBOOK.

There is always a silver lining. Even in this economy a smart local retailer will kick off the holiday shopping season with lots of delicious, healthy and festive food.


TAGS Hardware at Porter Square.

I remember being taken to Tags Hardware by my grandfather when I was just a wee lad. I marvelled at all the lumber and shiny tools. He liked the quality. As a finish carpenter and furniture maker, he was always teaching me that quality was in the details. Today there is no lumber but the cookware/bakeware section is among the best in the area.


Vegetable and Cheese Quesadilla!

A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu (London and Paris) and former Deputy Director of L'ecole de Cuisine La Varenne, Paris, Ms. Julian was here, in our neighborhood shop. A wealth of knowledge, she was visiting partly as a true foodie and partly to sign copies of the hardcover: THE NEW BOSTON GLOBE COOKBOOK.


Harney & Sons, healthy, organic tea done right.

We watched the demos and tasted everything. We shopped with neighbors and hoped someone might leave that Le Creuset set under our tree! And we all enjoyed the upside of a down economy.


The TAGS celebration cake.



Sweet apple-raisin crepes.

This event was co-sponsored by Porter Square Books, an independent bookstore of total quality.

Tonight's Feature Presentation

After all the parades, football, eating and visiting with family and friends this week there will come a time when you will want to just sit down and relax a bit. If you are too worn out to get out of the house or even pick up a good book we've got a few great suggestions, as always. So, plan ahead and ... Welcome to Tonight's Feature Presentation.

Lot's of people take in a film after a fine meal. It's even better at home where you can snack on that bit of leftover chutney on a cracker and a small glass of wine. We suggest FAST FOOD NATION. A fictionalized, biting satire, it might be a little slow-moving but at this point, hey, what isn't? Quite funny in spots, poignant in others, this movie will certainly take you to places you have never been before, something a good film should do.


The documentary FOOD,INC. is a real eye opener.

If you want the real deal, however, this is it; a well-researched documentary and a shocking eye-opener. It will satiate your intellectual needs after a few days of work in the kitchen and you will now join my little bandwagon of those who talk about agribusiness and corporate food. This is the kind of film that is bound to influence your every food decision from the moment you see it.

Yes, there may be a lighter fare of cinema this holiday season but nothing more important than these two selections.

Holiday Family Fun

The 65-foot tugboat from the award-winning PBS children’s television series “Theodore Tugboat” will transport a fully-decorated Nova Scotia evergreen, as well as a plaque honoring the City of Boston for its goodwill towards Nova Scotia following the 1917 Halifax Explosion. The public will be invited onto the boat for tours and photos with the boat’s crew. Afterward, Theodore Tugboat will cruise the harbor with invited guests.

The boat is open to the public for FREE dockside and harbor tours on November 28-29 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Seaport World Trade Center
One Seaport Lane
Boston, MA 02210


For the first time this year, Upstairs On The Square is opening on Sunday afternoons for tea in the elegant pink and gold Soirée Room. So head to Harvard Square and this bejeweled dining room for Sunday afternoon tea. There's nothing like one of Deborah's famous pecan milk chocolate turtles to help you feel better. After spending some dough you can digest some in the form of the wonderful Christmas cookies. And show your local shopping receipt and receive a superb peppermint treat ... the perfect way to end a Sunday afternoon.

Sunday Teas in the Soirée Room at Upstairs On The Square
December 6, 13, 20, 27 (2:00 to 4:30 pm)
$28 Tea/$35 Tea with Sparkling Wine Kick

The U.K. War On Brussels Sprouts

No doubt many a mother will be admonishing her children this Thanksgiving to "just try" the brussels sprouts. Perhaps this was not the case for a young man many years ago in the U.K. Take in point Royal Navy Commanding Officer Wayne Keble OBE, in charge of the illustrious U.K. Ship the HMS Bulwark. He was reportedly heard to recently say that sprouts were the devil's vegetable and should be banned from the Captain's table. This prompted a movement, begun by a blogger of course, to gather recipes for preparing the under appreciated vegetable and petition for reconsideration.

You can read all about it and join in the vegetable fray by clicking here. Then, support the cause by sending in your favorite recipe. If you are not a fan (shame on you) check the recipes for one you may want to try yourself. I am the first to admit that I, too, am a convert to the joys of the brussels sprout.

Sustainable Seafood At Turner Fisheries

Chef Armand Toutaint of Turner Fisheries.

We were invited this week to Turner Fisheries at The Westin in Boston to taste their new menu options featuring sustainable seafood. Of course, sustainable seafood is the very important movement to prevent overfishing while still meeting the growing world demand for seafood, something we fully support as some species are in serious jeopardy of becoming extinct. Turner Fisheries follows the recommendations researched by the Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists. You can learn more about this movement and how it relates to your favorite seafoods and consumption by clicking here. Our host for the evening was Chef Armand Toutaint, who explained the dishes and the importance of sustainability for us all.



Our first tasting included Turners "Hall Of Fame" Clam Chowder, Fried Island Creek Oysters with Organic Creamed Spinach and Pancetta Hollandaise, Beet Tartare with Braeburn Apples Balsamic, Rocket Greens and Aged Goat Cheese Brulee and Seared Diver Scallops with Bosch Pear Chutney. There wasn't a bad taste in this suite. The chowder was one of the best we've had, the fried oyster was neither heavy nor mealy. The beet tartare was a perfect combination for the creamy goat cheese and the scallops perfectly seared. Our favorite here, however, was the chowder.

Next up was the Lobster Pappardelle (not pictured) with Crispy Pork Belly, Cured Tomato, and Edamame and Chervile Cream. Served in a boat, the pasta was perfectly al dente and the accompaniments worked very well with the sweet, subtle and ample lobster meat.



The next three dishes: Loch Duart Scottish Salmon with Laughing Bird Shrimp Fried Rice, Jicama Empire Apples and Tamarind Reduction, Hooked Gulf Of Maine Haddock with Blue Crab Skin-On Yam Hash and Fennel Buerre Blanc and Seared Ahi Tuna with Orange Sesame Crust, Lentil Succotash and Ponzu Glaze. While all of these were excellent our standout favorite was the tuna.


White Chocolate Mousse Terrine with Caramel, Toffee and Baileys

The dessert spoke for itself. Beautiful on the plate, the mousse was light and airy with a subtle, refined sweetness and plated with a delicious hint of huckleberry sauce.

The meal was accompanied by Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay, in particular, was a real standout and both are sustainable products.

Although Turner Fisheries has been around for years this menu is sure to attract renewed interest and kudos to the management for fully embracing the very important sustainable food movement. All of these dishes are now featured on their menu.

Turner Fisheries of Boston
10 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02116-5707
Tel.: 617.424.7425

The Tastes Of India III

Raj Kachori.

We continue our series on Indian Cuisine this week with a look at several of the most popular dishes. Pictured above is the dish Raj Kachori. As a note, the Raj Cuisine is a group of dishes of Indian food as known to the British. I knew well from my travels that Indian Cuisine was the most popular food in London. I never made the connection until it was pointed out by Ranveer Brar, Corporate Chef for One World Cuisine and my guide, that India was in fact a British Colony and much of the food was adopted and adapted by British culture.

This dish consists of vegetable, semolina and chickpea pastry in a creamy mint sauce. The previous dish I had tasted had been dipped in the tamarind chutney discussed in last week's post, which provided a bit of heat on the tongue. This was the perfect dish to follow as I immediately found it cooling to the palate. It was made to be that way and is often eaten on hot humid days. That brings up the whole history of holistic eating, which often symbolizes Indian Cuisine. Ayurvedic Cuisine, common in India, is the art and science of creating dishes to promote health and well being. We will discuss this in more depth later.


Dosa.

This is the Dosa, a long, cylindrical rice crepe. The Dosa Masala, here, is filled with potato and served with condiments for dipping. A coconut chutney and lentil soup called Sambar served as the dipping sauces here.


Chicken Tikka Masala.

Chicken Tikka Masala is the most popular dish served at Indian restaurants. It's easy to see why. It contains chunks of deliciously cooked and subtly spiced chicken floating in a creamy tomato sauce flavored with fenugreek. The sauce reminded me of a creamy, slightly sweet tomato soup with no trace of the acidity sometimes found in tomato sauces. This was an instant favorite with me, which is typical to those new to Indian Cuisine.


Saag Paneer.

The second most popular dish is Saag Paneer. The same gratifying cubes of perfectly cooked chicken are here in a creamed spinach sauce. Cottage cheese is used to provide the creamy base, a common ingredient in Indian cuisine. The Naan bread is used to scoop up mouth-watering bites of both these dishes. This was the best creamed spinach dish I have ever had, hands down.


Biryani.

Biryani is a rice dish served with vegetables, beef or lamb. It contains onion and mint in a unique combination. As a big fan of stir fry cooking I found this to be very close to that. Fantastic tastes here.


Tandoori Chicken.

Another very popular dish is the Tandoori Chicken. The amazing smoky flavor from the tandoori ovens provide a crispy skin matched with the flavorful, almost buttery, moist meat of the chicken. Indian food often strives to add some component of crispy texture as many of the dishes are sauce based. The distinctive red color of the skin is often enhanced with a drop of food coloring, rarely used with meat but it does make for a burst of interest in the presentation. This is commonly served with a yogurt sauce.


Poppadum.

Poppadum is, again, a crispy ground lentil pancake often eaten as snacks and prepared here in strips served with a creamy yogurt dipping sauce. This is more of a Western India inspired dish and often eaten as a snack to be enjoyed with drinks in the same way tapas would be enjoyed in Spain.


Dessert: Rasmalai and Gulab Jamin.

Desserts in India are rare treats. The history and culture of India dictates a tradition where desserts were only eaten by royalty. With that in mind there is no doubt that they were incredibly rich and sweet, usually served in several small bites.

Here we have Rasmalai, on the cooler end of the flavor spectrum, a rich reduced milk cheese which is then cooked in milk. I found this very similar to some sweetened ricotta dishes I have tasted in Italy. The other was Gulab Jamun, a warm and dark condensed milk and flour beignet with syrup. This had an incredible bread/cheese flavor and pleasingly rich texture with a rich but not cloyingly sweet syrup.

In our next post we will look at the importance of holistic eating which is prevalent in Indian Cuisine.

Technique Restaurant

We had always wanted to attend Le Cordon Bleu, the intensive College of Culinary Arts where many of the world's greatest chefs have studied. So, last week we decided to stop by for a visit.



We weren't there so much to enroll as to visit the student run restaurant, Technique, which we've been curious about for months now. Located at The Athenaeum in Cambridge, just a few blocks from the Galleria Mall, the room is comfortably spacious with a modern industrial feel featuring exposed brick, sleek, dark wooden tables and gleaming open kitchens. While I admit that some of the servers do have that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look about them, the service was still on par with other local restaurants and better than most.


Sauteed Scallops with Gnocchi

The real star is, of course, the food. Gourmet meals at rock bottom prices is especially attractive these days. Everything on the luncheon menu looked so good it was hard to decide what to order. The Grilled Pork Chop, Fines Herbes Spaetzle, Brussel Sprouts, Pearl Onions and Sauce Robert sounded good. Then there was Spiced Lamb Loin, Savory Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Bread Pudding, Parsnips and Marjoram Jus. Other entrees included Poached Monkfish, Slow Roasted Salmon and a selection of Brick Oven Pizzas, Sandwiches, Appetizers, Soups and Salads. Entrees ranged in price from $15-$19 each. There is also a nice wine list and full bar service.



We decided to go with the Sauteed Scallops, Potato Gnocchi, Pumpkin Brown Butter Puree, Honshimeji Mushrooms and Pine Nuts. Everything was as fresh, flavorful, well-prepared and plated as one would get at any top rated upscale restaurant in Boston. The pillow-like mini gnocchi were expertly turned out and the scallops as perfectly sauteed as the photos attest.


The spotlessly clean open kitchen at Technique.

Technique is open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday. We highly recommend that you stop by and support the students of Le Cordon Bleu, Boston.





Technique
215 1st Street
Cambridge
617.218.8088