Main Ingredients

BASIC COOKING INGREDIENTS 

In the Vedic scriptures it is stated that the Supreme Lord has provided ample varieties of foodstuffs for all living creatures and that one should take only that which is allotted to him by the Lord, not more. For humanity the Lord has set aside simple foods such as grains, vegetables, fruit and milk products, and he has requested that we offer Him such pure and nourishing foods.  In this way, there are hundreds and thousands of palatable dishes that may be prepared and then offered to Lord Kåñëa.

Listed below are some of the ingredients most commonly used in preparing Kåñëa prasädam.

  white flour (unbleached if available)
  whole mung beans *
  chick-pea flour, sometimes called besan or gram flour *
  whole chick-peas
  yellow split peas
  split, cleaned urad dahl *
  split, cleaned mung dahl *
  farina (cream of wheat)
  powdered milk
  almonds (raw and shelled)
  walnuts (raw and shelled)
  peanuts (raw and shelled)
  sugar
  white rice flour *

* Most of these ingredients are readily available from regular grocery stores. The items marked with asterisks would more likely be found at Chinese food stores or Indian specialty stores.

HKC 1.1: SPICES

SPICES

Spices determine the taste of a preparation, and they are the jewels of cooking for Kåñëa. Foodstuffs are spiced in three different ways.

Massala is prepared by heating ghee in a pan, adding spices, and cooking them until they become fragrant; then the vegetable is added to the ghee and spices. Most of the vegetable recipes are cooked in massala. Chaunche is prepared by heating a small amount of ghee in a small pot. Spices are added and cooked until fragrant, and the contents of the pot are added to an already cooked preparation, such as dahl or chutney. The third process is to add certain uncooked spices to a preparation. This is usually done in savories such as samosa or kachoré filling because they will be deep-fried. Using uncooked spices keeps the taste fresher after the deep-frying. Adding or omitting a spice varies the taste quite a bit. Crushed or whole chilis or ground cayenne pepper have no taste; they provide the heat sensation. After preparing certain dishes several times, you will become familiar with the spices and be able to make up your own massala or chaunche.

Hot and spicy preparations should not be mixed with unspiced preparations. Salt should never be put into milk or butter. Salt may be added to yoghurt, however. Some spices are sweet, and some are pungent. For instance, luglu would never be made with asafoetida. In preparing prasädam it is a good policy to stick to paramparä (disciplic succession) and not experiment too much on one's own.

The spices that are mentioned here also have a role other than taste. They serve certain functions for maintaining good health. Turmeric is a blood purifier, chili peppers aid digestion, asafoetida is an anti-convulsant, ginger controls the intestines, etc. If possible, spices should be bought whole and ground at home in small quantities. The taste of freshly ground spices is incomparable.

Some of the common spices used in prasädam preparations are listed below:

ground allspice, asafoetida, whole anise seed, ground black pepper whole caraway seeds, whole cardamom pods, cayenne, crushed chilis, ground cinnamon, whole cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, whole cloves, ground coriander, ground cumin seeds, whole cumin seeds, fresh ginger, ground ginger, dried mango powder, ground nutmeg, whole peppercorn, rose water, saffron, whole sesame seeds, ground turmeric.

Most of these spices are available at supermarkets and spice shops, but some will have to be purchased at Indian specialty stores. If there are none in your area, you can probably have these spices shipped to you. Asafoetida and mango powder will have to be purchased from a specialty store, and ginger root may only be available in a Chinese food store.

SPECIALLY PREPARED INGREDIENTS

HKC 1.2: SPECIALLY PREPARED INGREDIENTS

There are a few basic recipes which are used over and over again in preparing food for Kåñëa's pleasure. Yoghurt, curd, bean sprouts and such rare and costly ingredients as ghee may be simply and inexpensively prepared from the recipes given here. Generally we do not use commercially prepared cheeses, buttermilk or sour cream because many commercial products contain a nonvegetarian stabilizer called rennet which is an extremely impure ingredient. Generally, sour cream and yoghurt marked "kosher" or "pareve" do not contain this, but it is always best to check carefully. Even if rennet is not listed on the label, it is a good idea to call the dairy company that makes the particular product and ask if rennet has been used. In any case, it is not difficult to make cottage cheese, cream cheese, yoghurt and other such preparations, and this is a good opportunity to render service to Kåñëa by cooking for Him with devotion.

BEAN SPROUTS

  1 cup mung beans

Soak whole mung beans overnight in a sufficient of amount of water to allow for expansion. Take a large 2 gallon glass jar and punch holes in the tin cover. Place beans in the jar and fill the jar with lukewarm water. Turn upside down and allow the water to escape by itself through the holes in the lid. When the beans have been "irrigated," shake out excess water and place the jar in a dark warm place. Every four hours, irrigate them in the same way, each time returning them to a warm dark place. Leaving them overnight without irrigation will not harm them if you have tended them regularly all day long. In two or three days they will be nice bean sprouts, like the ones sold in the store, but more flavorful and much cheaper. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for about a week and still retain their freshness.

COCONUT MILK

Coconut milk is prepared by adding 1/2 freshly grated coconut or 1/4 Cup commercially grated coconut. Then heat to the boiling point and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain milk through cheesecloth to remove coconut pulp.

COTTAGE CHEESE (Panir)

Heat 1 pint milk in a saucepan. When it boils, add 1/2 teacupful of yoghurt which has been made a day or two in advance. Bring to the boiling point again. When solid lumps are formed, strain through a fine cloth. The whey (excess liquid) can be used in soups and breads. Press the cloth bag containing the panir with a heavy weight so as to squeeze out all whey.

CREAM CHEESE

Allow fresh cream to sour at room temperature. This will take about 2 days. Pour the soured cream into a clean cheesecloth bag and let the liquid drain. Remove solid cream cheese from the bag.

CULTURED BUTTERMILK

  3 1/2 cups fresh or skim milk
  1/2 cup buttermilk

Shake the whole milk and the buttermilk together in a quart jar or milk bottle. Cover the jar or bottle and set it in a warm place (perhaps near a hot water heater) overnight or for 10-12 hours. The temperature should be about 80-85 F. When milk has coagulated, shake or stir well and refrigerate.

CURD (A light natural cheese)

  1/2 gallon whole milk
  2 lemons
  large square muslin (18" x 18")

Bring milk to a boil, being careful not to burn it. Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemons and strain it. When the milk boils, add the lemon juice. The milk will curdle. Remove it from the heat and cool it. Then again bring it to a boil. This will nicely separate the curds and the whey. Use the muslin square to line a colander, and pour curds and whey through it. Allow it to drain a few minutes, then tie up the curds in the muslin. Hang this bag up to drip, using a good heavy string. Different preparations using curd call for different amounts of dripping time. Curd is the basis of many different delicious preparations. It has no substitute.

GHEE

  3 lbs. sweet butter, as fresh as possible

Used for deep-frying and regular cooking, ghee is the best cooking medium; it has the most delicate flavor and has no substitute.

Place the butter in a heavy pot. It is easiest if the liquid fills between 1/2-3/4 of the pot when the butter has melted. Let the butter melt on a medium flame until it begins to foam up. Take a large spoon and a bowl and skim the foam off into the bowl. Lower the heat and keep cooking Gradually the butter will clarify and the solids will keep rising to the top. The solids will begin to be crusty rather than foamy. Be very careful not to burn the ghee. Keep skimming every 10 minutes or so until the ghee is an amber color and no more solids rise to the top. (Preparation time is from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours). The few impurities which remain at the bottom can be strained by pouring the ghee into a container through muslin Ghee can be stored indefinitely without refrigeration. The solids can be used in making bread, biscuits, steamed vegetables and cereals.

BASIC MASSALA

  Heat 1 Tablespoon ghee
  Add 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
  Brown cumin seed and 1 teaspoon crushed chilis.
  Cook until brown.

GRAM MASSALA

  1 Tablespoon cloves,
  2 Tablespoon cinnamon
  1 Tablespoon ground coriander
  1 Tablespoon ginger
  1 Tablespoon nutmeg
  2 Tablespoon ground cumin

Mix together all spices.

There are many different mixtures of spices, and they are all called gram massala. You can purchase Indian spices at specialty stores. When you are familiar with the different spices, you can prepare your own.

KHOYA

Boil milk fairly quickly in a pan for 1 hour, stirring continuously as it thickens. When cool, the residue is khoya, which becomes stiff and is used in pastry and sweetmeats. 1 pint milk makes about 3 oz. khoya. The cooking and stirring process takes patience and time.

SOUR MILK COTTAGE CHEESE

  1 qt. raw milk
  (sour or clabbered whole milk)

Heat milk over hot water until lukewarm. It should curdle and thicken. Remove it from the heat and stand it in a warm place for curd to collect. Pour cheese into cloth-lined strainer. Drain whey. (If milk was very sour, rinse with cold water and drain again). Hang until all whey is drained off. Moisten with cream or sour milk.

TAMARIND WATER

  lump of tamarind about the size of a walnut
  5 oz. hot water
  sugar or molasses for sweet and sour sauce (optional)

Soak the tamarind in hot water. When the water is cool, squeeze and strain into a cup. This amount is equal in sourness to the juice of 2 lemons. To increase sour taste, increase amount of tamarind used. Tamarind can be bought at an Indian specialty store.

[Kåñëa is notorious as a transcendental butter thief because He used to break the butter pots of His mother and distribute the contents to His friends and playmates.]

YOGHURT

  one gallon whole fresh milk
  1 pint prepared yoghurt (plain)

Bring milk to a full boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from fire and place in refrigerator or sink with cold water to cool. When milk has cooled to a little warmer than normal body temperature, stir yoghurt until very smooth-no lumps-and add to the milk. Stir and mix thoroughly. The yoghurt tends to stay on the bottom of the pot, so carefully stir the bottom. On your stove, pile 4 burner rings one on top of another and make sure they are very steady. Turn on the pilot light to medium, or use the smallest flame in the ring, and place the covered pot of milk and yoghurt on the burners. Leave covered and maintain the temperature at approximately 110 F (use a cooking thermometer), only until the yoghurt thickens. Place the yoghurt in a convenient container in the refrigerator until thoroughly cool. Do not put it in the freezer. When it is cold, it is yoghurt.

Take out 1 pint and set it aside for use in starting the next batch. You should make yoghurt about twice a week to be sure the culture doesn't weaken. If one gallon is too much, then make 1/2 gallon and use 1/2 pint yoghurt for starter. Yoghurt should be stirred very well before it is offered, and sugar should be added to sweeten it. There are many prasädam recipes requiring yoghurt. Every month or so, or if the yoghurt starts turning out thin and watery, you should purchase fresh yoghurt at the store to use for starter.