South Asia Cooking !

[tamicatana]

Thought people might be interested in thinking about South Asian food for cruising staples.

The dal recipes of India are good examples. The western twist is to use Rotel canned chopped tomatoes instead of fresh. Rotel has seasonings in it that work well with these recipes. Dal (lentils) keep well, as do the seasonings prevalent in Indian cooking, including ghee. You can add masala seasoning mixes to all sorts of other recipes to wake them up - not just for Indian food. Indian dals are great choices for thermal or pressure cookers. In fact, pressure cookers are quite prevalent in India (recipes are described in cooking for 'n whistles' instead of n minutes.)

chapati, naan, roti, unleavened breads that are easy to make and cook quickly.

some good general sites
Indian Cuisine - Indian Food - Step-by-step Indian Cooking and Recipes
Indian Food Recipes, Indian Food Recepies, Indian Cooking, Indian Cuisines

cookbooks: "The Indian Slow Cooker," Anupy Singla. I pressure cook these recipes, works just fine
"How to Cook Indian: More Than 500 Classic Recipes for the Modern Kitchen"
Sanjeev Kapoor



There's lots of Vietnamese folks around here, and I've been learning about Viet food from them.

Banh Xeo is so very good and also would work well on a boat. You can substitute any sort of filler for the crepe, and rice flour holds up well. Local herbs could substitute for the Thai basil and mints, and lettuce leaves. Actually I don't even care if I have the wrap, the crepe itself is so good. A friend of mine likes his Banh Xeo dipped in Italian dressing instead of nuoc cham

Vietnamese recipes in general
All Vietnamese Recipes and Cuisine - The perfect introduction to the world of Vietnamese recipes and cuisines.

Another good thing is Goi Cuon, which is rice paper rolls, you might be familiar with them as 'summer rolls.' The rice paper keeps forever and they're thin and stackable in storage. Just dip in water and they soften. I have a handy little tray to lay them on for rolling, but a friend uses a damp towel. You can stuff 'em with whatever is around.

Nuoc cham sauce is so very good, I put it on all sorts of stuff. It's simply fish sauce (which is also good to have around and keeps well), lime juice, sugar (or combine those by using Rose's) garlic, and water. I like to add a little chili sauce aka Sambhal Oelek, another good staple that keeps well. Nuoc cham is good as salad dressing, you can use it on chicken, beef, fish, I love this stuff so much I could just drink it straight.

Banh Mi. You think a po'boy is good eatin', you'll slap your Mama when you try a Viet sandwich
Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches

South Asian staples store very well. Keep in mind these folks' climate is hot and refrigeration is relatively new for them so the food culture works great for boats.

btw, Carib food is right up there too, but it seemed redundant to go on about it. just thought I'd add a fave site
http://www.trinigourmet.com/

enjoy

[storyinframes]

Cuisines from Indian subcontinent are plenty and readily available on Internet. The real taste of Indian cuisines lies in the way of cooking with all the assorted condiments/spices etc. they are added for a certain purpose. And whatever you cook don't forget to keep some turmeric by your side. It is a great antiseptic apart from adding flavour

[tamicatana]

Last night we ate another favorite, idlis. They're little rice-and-lentil cakes. Eat 'em with chutney or sambhar (a stew-like dip). I buy premix, Gits is a good brand, but a search will find recipes. Premix is far, far easier, stows easily, lasts.

There is such a thing as a dedicated idli cooker, but it's really a pressure cooker, just very low pressure.


the little trays for poached eggs would work nicely in a pressure cooker, or you can put the batter in a pan in the pressure cooker.

[Sailor g]

I love Indian & Vietnamese food. Thai also. However, I've never tried to cook them because they seem intimidating- with ingredients like galangal. I have great restaurants around so I haven't had to try too hard either. I'm sure i can get the spices. What would be a good starter meal?

[LadyEmma]

Thanks for the ideas. I always keep a bag of red lentils around and add them to all sorts of recipes, so it's good to see some that they are actually meant to be used in!

Slightly off at a tangent, but still thinking about lentils, I use them in all sorts of Italian meat sauces and stews. They melt away to nothing, but thicken up the sauce and bulk it out & add vegetable protein at a tiny cost. And they keep forever!

[tamicatana]

Got roti?

Roti: whole wheat flour ('atta' or 'chapati flour'), water, oil, salt. Salt and oil are optional.

Here's some nice vids on how to mix the dough and roll 'em out

How to make dough for Roti/Chapati (Indian Bread) - YouTube

How to make Roti at Home (Indian flat bread) - YouTube

[NatKat]

For Sailor G:
I just posted a sambar recipe on the "Favorite Recipes" thread. It is 100% zero refrigeration ingredients so perfect boat food. Have made it twice on anchor. You might wish to give it a try.

[Sailor g]

Tamicatana & NatKat

Thanks for the ideas and recipes!! I can't wait to try them. You guys are awesome!

Gloria

[tamicatana]

just wanted to revive this by mentioning the Indian pressure cookers I've bought. PRESTIGE brand, available via AMAZON.com

I have a 2L "Popular" which is aluminium
and a 6.5L "Deluxe" which is stainless

They're neat pots. Very simple. Just a main valve (whistle) and an emergency blow valve. That's it.

Indian pressure cookers have a 'whistle' feature which is less a 'whistle' per se than a 'blast' as pressure is released. The design is such that when the cooker reaches pressure, the top valve releases automatically, all at once. POOF! it's quite a surprise the first time you experience it. Then you turn the heat down, and listen for it to blow again. Food is timed 'per whistle', ergo for 'x whistles,' starting with the second whistle.

The volume listed INCLUDES the volume of the lid, so size your choice accordingly. See the Amazon reviews.

The PRESTIGE cookers are available at Amazon for far less than the Western brand-name ones. Parts are available at Amazon too.

I have not been impressed with my FAGOR 'Rapida' and am in hopes these PRESTIGE cookers will perform better.

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Sailor g

I love Indian & Vietnamese food. Thai also. However, I've never tried to cook them because they seem intimidating- with ingredients like galangal. I have great restaurants around so I haven't had to try too hard either. I'm sure i can get the spices. What would be a good starter meal?

Have a look at The Curry House The recipes are easy and very tasty.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by NatKat

I just posted a sambar recipe on the "Favorite Recipes" thread. It is 100% zero refrigeration ingredients so perfect boat food. Have made it twice on anchor. You might wish to give it a try.

Nat, I just tried to locate this thread, but got distracted .
I thought the easiest way to find it would be to look at your recent posts, but I must have missed it because I somehow reached an old post of yours in this thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...e-55767-6.html

Of course I could not resist reading all 200+ entries. I had a lot of laughs amongst other things . I will revive this thread later today to give others some entertainment as well .

Still haven't found your recipe though LOL!

[boatman61]

Been eating Indian/Pakistani food all my life... not saying its all I eat but it is my favourite food... can't beat the all natural ingredients which all have benefits... Turmeric is anti-carcinogenic as well as a natural antibiotic like chilli's... cumin, cardamom, garlic, ginger etc are also beneficial for your health... lentils are loaded with protein... onions are one of the heaviest vitamin loaded things going... beats an apple by 10 to 1...
You can keep your canned food.... apart from fruit and tomato's

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Turmeric is anti-carcinogenic as well as a natural antibiotic like chilli's... cumin, cardamom, garlic, ginger etc are also beneficial for your health... lentils are loaded with protein... onions are one of the heaviest vitamin loaded things going... beats an apple by 10 to 1...
You can keep your canned food.... apart from fruit and tomato's

+1

And cinnamon is actually an even more potent antioxidant than turmeric. I have half a teaspoon of each most days. Seems to be working so far .

[frank_f]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Been eating Indian/Pakistani food all my life... not saying its all I eat but it is my favourite food... can't beat the all natural ingredients which all have benefits... Turmeric is anti-carcinogenic as well as a natural antibiotic like chilli's... cumin, cardamom, garlic, ginger etc are also beneficial for your health... lentils are loaded with protein... onions are one of the heaviest vitamin loaded things going... beats an apple by 10 to 1...
You can keep your canned food.... apart from fruit and tomato's

I'm pretty sure it's in the CF rules and regs that you can't make a claim like this and not supply recipes.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by frank_f

I'm pretty sure it's in the CF rules and regs that you can't make a claim like this and not supply recipes.

Veg, chicken, meat, fish..... pick one and I'll knock one out for ya...