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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y
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Cabbage: Cabbages are large heads of compact leaves. These are mostly green in color but red and white colors are also available. Buy only fresh and firm with unblemished leaves. Store in refrigerator in freezer bag.
How to use :-
-- Trim the cabbage, discard any wilted leaves.
-- With a sharp knife cut into quarters and cut a wedge around the core and remove it.
-- On the chopping board hold the cabbage leaves flat and cut into finest possible slices. Discard coarse stem. |
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Chicken: Chicken is the most popular and versatile poultry meat. Available whole or into various cut pieces.
For cooking curry best is the Cornish hen weighing about 18 to 24 oz. For roasting, use chickens which are 10 to 12 weeks old and weigh about 6 lbs. For making soup and shredded chicken use chicken drumstick or breast pieces. |
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Carrot: Carrots are root vegetables and are available throughout the year. These are bright yellowish orange in color and have a sweet flavor and crisp texture. Do not buy if cracked or droopy.
For storing remove the leaves from the top and keep in kitchen bag in the refrigerator.
For cooking remove the outer skin by a peeler and either dice or cut in thin strips. |
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Celery: Celery is a salad plant and has long slender green stalks that surround the central pale green central heart joined to a bulbous base. It can be eaten raw or as a dressing for salads and sandwiches or as a flavoring in soups. Cooked celery add delicate texture to soups, stocks and stews. Select moist and rigid stalks and store in freezer bag in the refrigerator up to 10 to 12 days.
How to use :-
-- Peel the strings from the celery stalks with a vegetable peeler.
-- Cut each stalk across into 3-inch pieces, then cut each piece lengthwise into 2-3 sticks
-- stack the sticks and cut across into medium dice. |
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Cardamom: A very rich aromatic spice used entirely for flavoring in Indian preparation like pulao, biryani, curries. These are also used for some Indian and Western types of sweets and cakes. The smaller variety with light yellowish pods are generally used.
The small black round seeds which grow inside the hush like pods are best purchased whole. A few are to be ground using a mortar and pestle before using it in any preparation for its best exotic taste and aroma. These can be ground in a spice grinder and kept in an air tight container also for using as required. |
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Cayenne Pepper: Cayenne pepper are bright red in color and are derived from grinding dried Cayenne red chilies. This spice is very hot chilies.
Care is required in handling powdered red chilies. Wash your hands with warm soapy water. Ensure that you do not touch your eyes or other sensitive areas after handling chilies.
Preparation for use:-
Discard the tough bottom end about an inch. With a peeler cut thru outer skin up to about the middle of the stem. |
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Coconut Milk: Coconut milk is made by extracting milk from fresh grated coconut soaked in hot water. It is also available in tin. But best used as fresh. |
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Cilantro: Cilantro or Green Coriander leaves are the small stalks of coriander plant. The fresh green leaves are used for garnishing a variety of Indian dishes. These are available through out the year. A few stalks are normally chopped before using for garnishing. Can be kept in a freezer bag in the refrigerator up to a week. |
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Cooking Oil: Cooking oil e.g. vegetable oil is used as the cooking medium for all types of cooking. Oil is extracted out from varieties of seeds such as corn, sunflower, canola, peanut saffola flower, Soya bean, mustard etc. These oils are double refined and are neutral in taste and can be heated to high temperature. |
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Coriander Seeds: A small, round, light yellowish seed of the coriander plant, which is also called 'cilantro'/'Chinese parsley'. Used as spice having a sweet appetizing aroma in most Indian and Middle eastern dishes. Also available in powdered form. Store in air tight container. Use only dry spoon to remove from the container. Green coriander leaves are also called 'cilantro' is used for garnishing varieties of dishes. Coriander seeds and green coriander leaves are indispensable items in Indian preparations. |
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Cumin Seed Powder: Cumin seeds (Jeera) are the seeds of the caraway family. Two types -- black and white are available. White ones are generally used in curries and other large varieties of food. The black ones known as 'Shah Jeera' is more pungent and mostly used in pulao and biryani. Available as whole or in powdered form. Store in air tight container in dry place. Do not use wet spoon in the container for taking out for use. This spice is widely used in most Indian, Pakistani and Bangladesh dishes, also in Middle Eastern, North African preparations., used in Spanish stews and American pies |
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Cloves: Cloves are very rich aromatic spice used in curries, gravies, puddings, sweets, soups, sauces etc. They are available as whole and may be crushed lightly before use. Store in air tight container. |
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Coconut: Coconuts are the fruits of a long tree which grows along coastal areas of Asia and Africa. It has a hard brown shell and white kernel inside. The kernels can be cut with a knife or the kernel can be grated. Green coconut has a sweet water which is a very good healthy drink. Coconut is one of the most favorite fruit and is widely used in various forms in many preparations from curries to candies to cookies. |
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Cream: Cream is a milk product and classified by its butterfat content. Heavy cream has about 36% and light cream has 18- 20% butterfat content.
To whip cream: Chill cream and put in deep chilled bowl. With a hand held electric grinder beat to required consistency - light and soft, loose folds to stiff peaks. You can add sweetening or flavoring agent during whipping. |
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Curry Patta: Fresh curry leaves are a signature seasoning in South Indian cooking. Related to the neem plant, the small trees thrive in tropical climates, and produce dark green leaves that look like small bay leaves with 10 to 20 on an 8-inch-long sprig. The leaves have a distinct bitter-sour flavor, and can be frozen to retain their original flavor. |
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Cashew nut: Cashew nuts are kidney shaped nuts having a sweet taste. Can be taken as it is or roasted. For roasting, spread cashew nuts on a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit and bake for about 6 to 7 minutes turning occasionally. Remove from oven, cool and store in a air tight container. These are also used in candies, cakes, sweets and rich curries or rice preparation. |
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Chicken Stock: Refer recipe for details |
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Cucumber: Cucumber is a green vegetable with a soft bitter skin. Outer skin is normally peeled off and the flesh is taken raw in salads or can be cooked. |
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Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the inner tender bark of the cinnamon tree. It has very rich aromatic flavor and is added to savories like pulao, biryani, meat and many sweet dishes. It is available as whole dried strips of about 3 inches or in powdered form. It is best used after lightly crushing before use and discard the pieces before serving. |
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Corn Flour: A refined starch made from maize. It is used as a thickening agent in soups. Add about 2 tablespoon corn flour to 1/2 cup of cold water and stir and mix. When added to boiling soup it thickens the soup. It is also used in puddings, sweets and for preparing batter for frying |
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Chili Oil: For a special brunch entree, scramble with eggs, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, and jack cheese. Or swirl into a pot of black beans and serve with tortillas, shredded chicken, avocado, and tomatoes. |
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Chili Sauce: Spicy chili sauce. Add to cooking to add piquancy or serve as an accompaniment. This spicy sauce goes well with crispy fried snacks like pakoras or samosas or with stir-fried noodles. |
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Cumin Seeds: Cumin seeds (Jeera) are the seeds of the caraway family. Two types -- black and white are available. White ones are generally used in curries and other large varieties of food. The black ones known as 'Shah Jeera' is more pungent and mostly used in pulao and biryani. Available as whole or in powdered form.
Store in air tight container in dry place. Do not use wet spoon in the container for taking out for use.
This spice is widely used in most Indian, Pakistani and Bangladesh dishes, also in Middle Eastern, North African preparations., used in Spanish stews and American pies |
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Cheese: Cheese is a processed milk product and is one of the most widely used food product. Available in numerous varieties to suit every taste and flavor. Danish and Italian cheese are world famous. The most common varieties are blue cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta, cream, cheddar, Swiss, Monterey jack, Romano, assadero etc. etc. |
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Cauliflower: Cauliflower has a white compact head with tightly clustered florets. It is available all the year round. Buy only fresh without brown patches. For cooking slice off at the base of individual florets, Store in freezer bag in refrigerator. |
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Crab: Crabs are found in fresh or salt water yield succulent white meat. Crab meat is also available frozen. But for best taste and flavor use fresh crab from fish market.
How to extract crab meat :-
Twist off the legs and claws. Remove the triangular shell- flap from underside. Separate the top shell and body. Scrape the gray intestine and any orange roe. Discard the feathery white gills. Break the body and take out the meat. With a mallet or nut cracker crack the legs and claws and scrape out the meat |
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Coriander Powder : Coriander powder (Dhania Powder) is one of the most basic spices in Indian cooking. It is used for its distinct but gentle flavor and fragrance in curries. It can be either cooked with the masala or added towards the end of the cooking process with very different results. Dhania powder is also one of the ingredients used in curry powder and garam masala. |
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Curry Powder: This is an aromatic spice blend to make all kinds of curries. It is made of all the main spices used to season curries including powdered coriander, red chilies, cumin and turmeric. This curry powder may be used to season meat or vegetable curries. |
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Chicken Drumstick: Cut and dressed leg pieces of chicken. |
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Cake Fruits: Small red and green fruits used in the cake. |
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Cajun Seasoning: Bring the tantalizing flavor of Cajun to your cooking. Use this spicy blend of red pepper, onion, garlic and other spices when broiling or grilling.
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Chaat Masala: To make the innumerable variety of chats, chat masala is indispensable for getting the tart and spicy flavor. Sprinkle the masala over fruits, boiled potatoes, or steamed vegetables and toss with lemon juice for an easy snack. |
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Charoli Seeds : Also known as Chironji. Charoli is tiny and resembles a small bean. It tastes sweetish, and almost musky but not really nutty. Used primarily as a garnish.
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Chironji seeds: Sunflower Seeds |
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Chitol Macch: This is a special kind of fish called Chitol and is available in Bangladeshi Market. This is available in paste format or as full fish. The paste is used for making muthias (balls) and then can be cooked in a curry. The fish pieces specially near the stomach called peti are also used for making delicious curry. |
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Chicken Masala: In this blend, the flavoring agents marginally predominate the taste elements. Consequently the blend is less steeped in pungency. |
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Castor Sugar: Castor or caster sugar is the name of a very fine sugar in Britain, so named because the grains are small enough to fit though a sugar "caster" or sprinkler. It is sold as "superfine" sugar in the United States. Because of its fineness, it dissolves more quickly than regular white sugar, and so is especially useful in meringues and cold liquids. It is not as fine as confectioner’s sugar, which has been crushed mechanically (and generally mixed with a little starch to keep it from clumping). If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own by grinding granulated sugar for a couple of minutes in a food processor. |
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Cocoa: Cocoa is a fine-textured chocolate powder that is available sweetened and unsweetened. Dutch-process cocoa, an unsweetened type, is specially treated to make a dark-colored, mellow-flavored product. |
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Colocasia: Hindi Name is Arbi. The root is like potatoes, but much sweeter & cooks easily & faster too. The leaves which are heart-shaped are cooked like vegetable. Rich in starch & vitamin C. Grows in moist shady places throughout the year. Native of South East Asia. |
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Chipotle Chili: Chipotles chilies peppers are smoked jalapeno chili peppers and are also known as chili ahumado. These chilies are usually a dull tan to coffee color and measure approximately 2 to 4 inches in length and about an inch wide. As much as one fifth of the Mexican jalapeno crop is processed into chipotles. |
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Cooking Oil Spray: Cooking spray is oil, usually olive oil, in a pressurized can. It comes out in spray form, and available in various flavorings. |
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Chuka Soba Noodles: These curly noodles make a prettier presentation whether your meal is Asian or not. Chuka Soba noodles are available in most supermarkets and all Asian markets. Also look for Japanese Buckwheat noodles if you can't find the Chuka Soba. |
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Cooking Wine: A good cooking wine is one that isn't packed
with residual sugar (unless the recipe calls
for a sweet wine) or oak. They are plenty
of viable candidates under $10, and your
local wine retailer would be your best
source |
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y
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