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Glossary

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A
Allspice	A spice made from the dried berry of allspice tree. Substitute equal quantities of cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves roasted together and ground.
Alu Bhaji	Saut�ed spiced potatoes.
Anise Seed	Substitute saunf.
B
Baste	To moisten food periodically with a liquid, such as a sauce or hot fat, during cooking. This is usually done by spooning the hot liquid over the food.
Batter	A mixture made from flour and a liquid such as water, milk or egg which is thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon.
Beat	To mix with an instrument such as a spoon, whisk or electric beater using a regular, rapid, rhythmic movement.
Besan (Bengal gram flour)	Besan used in all the recipes has been ground from pure chana dal (Bengal gram). If you use commercial Besan, water quantities may have to be reduced if besan is diluted with ingredients other than chana dal. Our testing indicates that diluted Besan takes less water than given in our recipes to reach the desired consistency.
Biryani	A spicy rice dish layered with mutton, chicken, seafood or vegetables. See recipe Mutton Biryani.
Black-Eyed Beans	Dried small whitish beans with distinctive black �eye�. Similar to chowli, lobia or ravan.
Black Olives	Available in tins in some markets. May be omitted.
Blanch	To plunge food in boiling water. To blanch almonds: Pour boiling water over nuts, cover and allow to cool. Slip off skins. To blanch and peel tomatoes: Immerse tomatoes in rapidly boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes and remove. Allow to cool. Remove core and skin.
Blend	To combine two or more ingredients till they mix thoroughly.
'Boiled' Potatoes cooked in a Hawkins Pressure Cooker:
Size of the Potato (Whole, Unpeeled) Water Quantity Pressure Cooking Time (Small � 75 g) 1 cup 6 minutes (Medium � 100 g) 1 cup 10 minutes (Large � 150 g) 1� cups 15 minutes
Method: Pour water in cooker. Put grid in cooker. Place potatoes on grid. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure (first whistle) on high heat. Reduce heat and cook the required time. Remove cooker from heat. Release pressure by slight lifting of vent weight. Open cooker.
Boiling Onions	Substitute small white onions.
Burgundy wine	Substitute any dry red wine.
C
Candied orange	Preserved dried peels coated with sugar. and lemon Peel
Caraway Seeds	Substitute black cumin seeds(Shahajeera).
Celery	A green vegetable. Stalks used for flavouring. Available in some markets.
Chapatti	Unleavened Indian Bread made with whole wheat flour dough.
Chervil	Aromatic herb. May be omitted
Chilli Powder	Commercially prepared combination of red chilli powder, cumin, salt, allspice, oregano, cloves and coriander. Mildly pungent.
Chives	Substitute tender green portion of spring onions (green onions).
Chorizo Sausage	Substitute any spicy or cocktail sausage.
Cognac	Substitute any brandy.
Colander	A perforated bowl-shaped utensil for draining off liquids and rinsing food.
Cooking soda	Sodium Bicarbonate.
�Cornflour� (Cornstarch)	The starch of corn very finely ground; used as a thickener. Available in grocery shops in plastic packets.
Cornish hen	Substitute small chicken weighing approximately 500 g.
Corn Meal (Makai ka Atta)	Flour made from pure maize (corn) which has been ground fine.
Currants	Substitute Munaka or Seedless raisins.
Curry powder	Commercially prepared combination of coriander, cumin, cloves, turmeric and red chilli powder. Available in some markets.
D
Dal	Various dried edible seeds such as lentils; curries made from these seeds.
Deep-frying	Cooking in hot fat or oil deep enough in a utensil to cover the food to be cooked.
Dough	A mixture of flour and a liquid such as milk or water which is stiff enough to knead or roll.
Dried basil leaves	Substitute tulsi leaves.
Dried Dill	Substitute fresh dill. May be omitted.
Dried Marjoram leaves	Aromatic herb. Imparts a distinctive flavour. Available in some markets. May be omitted.
Dried oregano	See Dried Marjoram leaves.
Dried Rosemary leaves	See dried Marjoram leaves.
Dried Tarragon leaves	See Dried Marjoram leaves.
Dry Sherry	A type of wine. Substitute water.
Dum	Cooking in steam and simmering on very low heat in a closed vessel during the final stages of cooking.
Dum Aloo	A dum cooked dish of small whole potatoes in thick gravy.
Dum Gosht	A dum cooked dish of mutton in thick gravy.
E
Eggplant	Aubergine, Brinjal or Baingan.
F
Fennel	Substitute saunf.
Firni	A smooth pudding of milk and ground rice. See recipe Firni.
Floured board	A flat smooth piece of rigid material (such as wood or marble) used for rolling or shaping the dough, also known as chackla, dusted lightly with flour to prevent dough sticking.
Fresh white Breadcrumbs	Fresh crustless bread torn into small pieces
G
Garbanzo Beans	Chickpeas, whole white gram or Kabuli channe.
Garlic	A clove of garlic is one of the small curved segments which make up one whole garlic bulb. Small cloves specified in the recipes weigh about 1 g and measure about 2 cm from tip to tip and about 1 cm at the widest part. If you have larger cloves, adjust the quantity appropriately. Large cloves can be five times larger than small cloves.
Ghee	Clarified butter.
Ginger, fresh	Peel off the smooth brown skin before grating or chopping. The recipes give the weight as well as the length of fresh ginger required. Since the width and thickness of ginger pieces vary, the width of a piece of ginger is taken to be 1 inch/2.5 cm for quantities specified in the recipes. A 1 inch/2.5 cm long and 1 inch/2.5 cm wide piece of ginger is taken to weigh 1/3 oz/10 g.
Grate (Kasna)	To reduce food to fine particles by rubbing it against the surface of a grater (an abrasive implement with sharp edged slits and perforations).
Green Olives	Fruit of the Olive tree. Available in bottles in some markets. May be omitted.
Green Pepper	Capsicum or Simla mirch.
Grind	To crush into bits or fine particles by rubbing between two hard surfaces. The traditional way to grind fresh herbs, dry spices, pulses, coconut etc. is to use grinding stones (a hollow or flat stone slab and a stone roller called sil batta) or mortar and pestle.The modern and easier method is to use any of the various electric mixers, blenders or grinders. Dry spices may be ground to a powder in a mortar and pestle, an electric coffee grinder or other spice grinder and a mixer-grinder. Place spices in grinder and operate machine until the spices are the required texture. �Wet� ingredients such as chillies, garlic, ginger, coconut and onions � and whenever liquid is added � can be ground with a sil batta, in small electric choppers, mixer-grinders or food processors. For small quantities use the mixer�s small grinding attachment. Cut food into small pieces or grate for easier grinding. When using an electric chopper, blend on high speed about a minute. Stop. Stir the ingredients preferably with a rubber spatula, scraping mixture from the sides of the jar. Continue electric mixing at high speed, stopping the machine and stirring occasionally until the mixture is the desired consistency. Adding liquid enables chopped items to become a smooth paste. Some recipes require grinding both wet and dry ingredients into a paste. If you do not have a powerful machine for grinding, it may be easier to grind the dry ingredients separately (for instance, in a spice grinder) and add them to the wet ingredients while they are being ground (for instance, in a mixer-grinder). A little experimentation with your equipment will show the easiest way.
Gur	A light brown solid, unrefined sugar from sugar cane. Sometimes loosely called jaggery � though jaggery is made from palm sap.
H
Halibut	Substitute rawas (Fish).
Halwa	A thick pudding of cereals or vegetables cooked in ghee and sugar.
Hariyali khoya	Cow�s milk which has been boiled down until all moisture has been removed; specially required for gulab jamuns.
K
Ketchup	Substitute tomato ketchup.
Kheer	A creamy milk pudding of rice, vegetables or cereals.
Khichdi	A soft rice and dal dish cooked with or without vegetables.
Knead	To work dough with hands by pushing into the dough, folding it over and pushing again until dough is resilient, smooth and satiny.
Kofta	Deep-fried balls of minced vegetables or meat.
Kohlrabi	Knolkhol or ganth gobi.
Korma	A vegetable, fish, chicken or meat stew with a yogurt-based gravy.
L
Lemon Extract	Lemon essence.
Ling Cod	Substitute any white firm-fleshed fish.
Long-grain white rice	Polished Basmati rice is one type.
Low fat cottage cheese	Substitute paneer or tofu (soyabean paneer).
M
Mango powder(Amchur)	Unripe mango which has been dried and then ground. It imparts a sour, fruity flavour. May be substituted with lemon juice.
Maple Syrup	A sweet syrup made from the sap of the sugar maple tree.
Marinade	A liquid mixture usually of vinegar, oil, sauces and various spices in which fowl, fish or meat is soaked before cooking to enrich their flavour or tenderise them.
Marinate	To soak in marinade.
Mava (Khoya)	Milk which has been boiled down until all moisture has been removed. Available at dairy shops.
Milk	The milk used in these recipes is fresh whole milk.
Moong dal	Split, skinned green gram; also known as yellow dal
Muslin	A thin, plain-weaved cotton cloth.
Mussels	A type of shellfish with bluish-black shell. Substitute lobster or clams.
Mustard powder	Commercially prepared yellow powder made from mustard. Available in grocery shops.
P
Pakora	Pieces of food dipped in batter and deep-fried.
Paprika	A mild, powdered seasoning made from sweet red capsicums. May be omitted.
Paratha	Layered unleavened Indian bread made with whole wheat flour dough and ghee.
Parboiled rice(Usna chawal)	Unpolished rice which has been partially boiled, then dried and de-husked.
Parsley	A green herb used mainly as a garnish. Available in some markets . May be omitted.
Patty	A small oval or round flattened cake of chopped or minced food.
Pecans	Substitute walnuts.
Pepper	In the recipes the word pepper refers to ground or powdered kali mirch.
Phulka	Puffed unleavened Indian bread made with whole wheat flour.
Pilaf/Pilau	A spiced rice dish of fried raw rice, vegetables, seafood, chicken or meat, cooked together with minimum water.
Pimiento	A variety of sweet red pepper usually pickled. May be omitted.
Poha	Puffed rice; a dish of puffed rice, onions and potatoes.
Port Wine	A sweet, fortified wine. Substitute water.
Pound	To strike repeatedly with a meat hammer or rolling pin.
Powdered Sugar	Icing sugar.
Pur�ed	To pur�e is to rub food through a sieve or blend in an electric blender until the food is pulpy. If using a blender to pur�e tomatoes, remove cores first. Alternatively, tomatoes can be grated to make a pur�e. Discard the hard skin and core, if any.
Puri	Deep-fried puffed unleavened bread.
R
Rabri	A pudding of milk, which has been thickened by evaporation.
Rasogolla	A sweet dish of fresh milk cheese (chenna) balls cooked in syrup.
Rawa/Sooji	Semolina � grainy, pale-yellow meal derived from hard wheat.
Red chilli powder	Whole dried red chillies which have been ground.
Red pepper	Red capsicum, lal Simla mirch. Substitute green capsicum.
Red Snapper	Substitute any white firm-fleshed fish.
Refined flour (Maida)	A white flour made from wheat which has had the bran and germ removed before grinding.
Roti	A general term for Indian unleavened breads.
S
Sage	See Dried Marjoram leaves.
Samosa	Pastry cones stuffed with vegetables or meat, sealed/closed and deep-fried.
Sarson ka Saag	A dish of Pur�ed mustard leaves.
Saut�ing	Frying in a small amount of oil; shallow frying.
Scald	To heat liquid to a temperature just below the boiling point and stop.
Seasoning Salt	Commercially prepared combination of salt and several spices. May be omitted.
Sevian Kheer	A pudding of milk and vermicelli.
Shred	To cut or tear into long irregular strips.
Sieve	Utensil having a perforated or meshed bottom for separating solids or coarse material from liquid or fine particles.
Sift	To pass dry ingredients through a sieve.
Simmer	To cook gently just at or below the boiling point; adjust heat so that bubbles form, rise and break very slowly.
Sole	Substitute Pomfret.
Sour Cream	Cream which has been allowed to sour by being cultured with a bacillus similar to the curd bacillus. The cream used should be unpasteurised.
Sour Curd	Curd which is more sour than normal. It generally takes at least a day after curd has set and been refrigerated to become sour enough for Dahi-Imli kadi. The hotter the weather while curd is being set, the faster curd sours. Curd progressively sours the longer it is kept. The degree of sourness is to an extent a matter of personal taste; adjust the storage time of the curd to suit the sourness preferred.
Stir-frying	Frying in a small amount of oil, stirring at least two-thirds of the cooking time.
Sweet Potato	Shakarkand.
T
Tamarind	To extract pulp: Place a sieve over a stainless steel or non-metallic bowl. Put soaked tamarind into sieve, reserving liquid. Push tamarind through sieve, adding a little of the reserved liquid from time to time. Scrape pulp off sieve into the bowl. Using all reserved liquid, keep rubbing tamarind till all pulp has been extracted. Discard tamarind in sieve.
Tempering (Tadka)	Heating oil in a pan, adding spices and/or herbs and quickly pouring oil mixture onto a food; the oil mixture prepared in this way.
Thali	A round, flat, metal plate with a short straight rim; used for food preparation, serving or eating.
Tomato paste	Concentrated tomato pur�e. Available in tins in some market.
U
Upma	Semolina/sooji seasoned with spices and herbs, often cooked with onions and vegetables.
V
Vanaspati	Hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Vanilla extract	Vanilla essence.
Vegetable Bouillon	Dehydrated vegetable stock. Available in grocery shops.
W
Wada	Deep-fried balls/patties of ground dal or of mashed vegetables coated with batter.
Wheat flour (Gehun ka atta)	Flour made from whole wheat (usually a variety low in gluten), very finely ground for making Indian bread. Outside India, this flour is called 'chapatti flour' and is available in East Indian food stores. A fairly close substitute is whole wheat pastry flour. Regular whole wheat flour gives heavier roti and is stiffer and more difficult to work with than 'chapatti flour'. If regular whole wheat flour must be used, sift it several times through a very fine sieve (to get a fine flour and to remove bran) and substitute refined flour for half the whole wheat flour in a recipe. Once adept at handling the dough, you may decrease the quantity of refined flour to suit your taste.
Wild Rice	Substitute long-grain rice.
Z
Zucchini	Substitute bottlegourd, lauki, dudhi or ghia.