If you are a coffee drinker, you must try the South Indian Filter Coffee. It beats any Latte or Cappuccino hands down.
The filter referred to here is typically a stainless steel cylidrical contraption that comes apart in two halves. The top half has a pierced bottom with several tiny holes. The coffee beans are ground and the ground powder is filed in the top half. The top half sits snugly on the bottom half which receives the coffee drips. There is a lid to cover the top half. A pierced disc with a stem is placed on the coffee powder inside the top half of the cylinder.
If all this sounds difficult to visualize, please google for some pictures. There are several on the web!!
The top half is loaded with the coffee powder, the pierced disc with stem placed on it and then hot water is added to it. The coffee slowly drips into the bottom half. One can also add some chicory powder to the coffee powder. This adds to the flavor and taste of the coffee. The resulting decoction is so strong that one cannot drink this coffee black. Add one-fourth to one-third decoction and three-fourth to two-third milk, depending on how strong the decoction is.
Add some sugar, milk, and decoction and then mix it by pouring it back and forth between two cups till you generate a lot of froth. The higher you pour the liquid from, the more the froth it generates. This action aerates the resulting liquid and that actually enhances the taste a lot
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South Indian Filter Coffee
Drumsticks grow on a tree
These drumsticks are for real. The botanical name for this tree is Moringa Oleifera. Referred to as "Murungai" in the native Tamil language, this tree bears a vegetable that resembles a drum stick, the percussion instrument. It is a long green pod and inside the pod are seeds embedded in an edible flesh. Both the fleshy vegetable and the leaves of the tree are extremely nutritious.
The leaves are asignificant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron, and potassium.
A traditional dish in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is the Adai, which is made from various lentils and shaped like a pancake. The similarity ends there, The Adai tastes a quadrillion times better than a pancake. The drumstick leaves are added to the Adai batter and when the Adai is made, these leaves are embedded in it and cooked. The drumstick pod, which is a foot to a couple of feet in length, is chopped into small 3 to 4 inch pieces and cooked with sambhar. A variety of other dishes are also made with drumstick vegetable and the leaves.
A future post will deal with making Adai incorporating drumstick leaves.
Curry garnish
Ingredients
1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds,
1 teaspoon urad dal, 1 teaspoon chana dal
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Preparation
Heat the sesame oil in a special ladle (copper bottom) or in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and chane dal to it. Just shake / stir the contents around in the ladle. The mustard seeds begin to pop within a couple of minutes. The garnish is now ready to be added to any stir-fried or steamed vegetable(s). Add salt to taste.
Typically for making various vegetable curries, I would also recommend adding a couple of pinches of turmeric powder and coriander powder or coriander seeds that have been crushed.
Top 7 ways to eat a tomato
7. Eat a salad with diced tomatoes thrown in
6. Topping on a pizza
5. Have a veggie wrap / sandwich with tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, olives, cheese and chick peas
4. Pasta with diced tomatoes thrown in
3. Tomato Sambhar
2. Tomato Rasam
and the best way to eat a tomato .....
1. Slice a raw tomato, sprinkle some black pepper and enjoy!
