| Betty Crocker Goes Indian (Recipes) |
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The face on the cover of Betty Crocker's newest cookbook doesn't look much like the familiar food icon. Instead, it's the face of Raghavan Iyer, a Bombay-born cooking teacher, food consultant and caterer, who created the recipes for Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking, which was recently published. "People don't associate Betty Crocker with India," Iyer acknowledged. "It's an oxymoron." The idea for the book came from a chance encounter, said Lois Tlusty, publications manager in the Betty Crocker kitchens at General Mills in Golden Valley, Minneapolis. "A couple of years ago, Raghavan and I were at an event and got to chatting about whether Betty Crocker was ready for Indian cooking and we decided 'yes.' " Iyer had already started a manuscript. "When our publisher came to town, we had Raghavan prepare a lunch for us and the publisher was so impressed with the food that she said, "Yes, send us a proposal'," said Tlusty. Betty Crocker has had previous forays into ethnic cuisine, including a cookbook on Mexican fare, as well as several Italian and Chinese cookbooks. All three cuisines are relatively familiar territory for Americans. But Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking is an exploration of a cuisine and a culture that is unfamiliar to many Americans. "What surprises people," said Iyer, "is how simple it is, and how approachable." If Betty Crocker was the symbol of the traditional American homemaker, then Iyer may be the symbol of how much America has changed. He lives in Minneapolis with his partner, Terry Erickson, a Norwegian-American from a small town in Minnesota, and their newly adopted 2-year-old African-American son. Betty Crocker's image also has changed over the years. In 1996, the newest version was unveiled, based on a computer-generated composite of the faces of 75 women of different races and ethnic backgrounds. To bridge the gap between culinary cultures, Iyer offers two types of dishes: simple ones, prepared with three or four ingredients, and complex recipes, such as lamb biryani, made with 30 ingredients. He insisted that General Mills did not ask him to tone down or simplify his recipes for the American palate. "They really gave me carte blanche," said Iyer. "There were no restrictions." As a cooking teacher, though, Iyer has a good grasp of what an American audience is likely to enjoy, and most of the recipes are neither very difficult nor overly exotic. For beginners, he offers a list of basic ingredients for the Indian pantry, most of which are available in any well-stocked supermarket or natural foods store: spices such as cumin, coriander, cloves and dried chiles, rice, beans and lentils, and familiar vegetables, herbs and fruits. He also includes a list of ingredients for the complete Indian pantry, which includes traditional fare less likely to be found in all grocery stores, including dried fenugreek leaves and dried mangosteen slices to red bananas, garbanzo bean flour, and green and fresh mangoes. For Americans who know Indian cooking only through Indian restaurants, Iyer's recipes may come as a surprise: lentil dumplings in tamarind sauce, tapioca pearls with peanuts and potatoes, lime-flavored rice noodles with cashews, or eggplant stew with coconut. Many Indian restaurants in the United States feature a limited selection of North Indian dishes, adapted to American tastes. But India actually has many regional cuisines that differ greatly in their ingredients and flavorings. Although Iyer was raised in Bombay, his heritage is Tamil, from the south of India. The cuisine of the south is mostly vegetarian, often very spicy, and includes many noodle, dumpling and crepe dishes. Although he developed and tested all of the recipes in the book, he has not tasted all of them. Raised in a Hindu Brahmin family, Iyer is a strict vegetarian and relies on friends to taste the dishes that contain meat or seafood. All of these recipes are from Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking with recipes by Raghavan Iyer.
Basmati Rice with Green Beans Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked basmati or regular long-grain rice
2 Tbs. clarified butter (also called ghee) or vegetable oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
4 cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
Two 3" sticks whole cinnamon
2 dried bay leaves
1 medium onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves Note: To make clarified butter, melt butter and skim off any foam from top. Pour off the clear (clarified) butter and discard the milky residue. Clarified butter can withstand higher cooking temperatures than regular butter. Preparation: Place rice in medium bowl; add enough cold water to cover rice. Rub rice gently between fingers; drain. Repeat 4 or 5 times until water is clear; drain. Cover rice with cold water; soak 30 minutes. Drain; set aside. Heat clarified butter in heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, peppercorns, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves; sizzle for 30 seconds. Add onion; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is partially brown. Add rice; gently stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, taking care not to break the tender rice grains. Stir in 1-1/2 cups cold water and the salt. Heat to boiling, stirring once; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook uncovered 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has evaporated. Spread green peas and mint over top of rice; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes; remove from heat. Let rice stand covered 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff rice with fork or spoon to release steam. Serve with peppercorns, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves left in, but do not eat them. Servings: 6 Makes 6 servings.
Spiced Eggplant with Peanuts Ingredients: 4 medium Asian eggplants or 1 medium eggplant (1-1/2 lb. total)
1 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
3/4 cup water
2 Tbs. mango powder
Juice of 1 medium lime (about 2 Tbs.)
1 Tbs. coriander seeds, ground
2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp. garam masala (see Note)
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro Note: Garam masala is an Indian spice blend that typically contains ground roasted cumin, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves and cinnamon. Preparation: Cut each eggplant lengthwise in half; set aside. Place peanuts, 3/4 cup water, mango powder, lime juice, ground coriander seeds, ground cumin seeds, salt, ground red pepper, garam masala and ground turmeric in blender. Cover and blend on medium speed until a smooth paste forms. Spread peanut mixture evenly over cut sides of eggplant. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Carefully place eggplant in skillet, cut side up; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 7 to 10 minutes or until eggplant is tender. (If using regular eggplant, cook 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender.) Carefully remove eggplant from skillet. Serve sprinkled with cilantro. Serves: 8
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)
RESOURCES :
Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking
Model: 0764563157
Author: Raghaven Iyer and Betty Crocker
(2001)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Hungry Minds, Inc.
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