Aryan Cuisine

Kewra water is an extract that is distilled from pandanus flowers. It is a transparent liquid, almost similar to rose water. Although pandanus trees grow almost everywhere in tropical Asia, kewra water is still mainly a Northern Indian flavoring that is not used anywhere else. In Western cooking, kewra water makes a fine alternative to the flower essences like rose or orange essence. It can be substituted with kewra essence, which is more concentrated. How to Select Kewra water is available in bottles only in selected food stores or supermarkets. You can check online order from the various companies. Some brands of kewra water are artificially flavored, so check the label. It is available throughout the year Culinary Uses · It is used to flavor meats, drinks, and desserts in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh specially the northern part and Southeast Asia. Sweets like ras gullas, ras malai and many more bengali sweets can be dipped or soaked in kewra water to gi...

Kalpaasi (‘Kal’ as in culture, ‘paa’ as in pa and ‘si’ as in see) – a peculiar spice with a peculiar shape, can be found along with other spices if you get a whole curry masal packet (kari masaal jaamaan/saamaan) Parmotrema perlatum, commonly known as black stone flower or kalpasi, is a species of lichen used as spice in India. Kalpasi is mystery flower - Alternatively known as daagar ka phool, patthar ka phool or 'black stone flower', kalpasi is a kind of lichen. Though not much is known about its production, many believe that a few places in Tamil Nadu - Ooty and Kodaikanal - harbour this rare spice. However it’s not a peculiar spice for the Tamilnadu folks, especially for the Chettinadu locals. You can get Kalpasi separately too. In the US, in the India grocers near my home, I found it with the name dagad phool. In Tamil, ‘Kal’ means stone and ‘paasi’ means light green moss that grows on rocks in running streams or rivers or...

What Is Black Rice/Forbidden Rice? Black rice is the name of a range of rice that belongs to the Oryza sativa L. species. This indica species of rice grows best in tropical zones like China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, and North East India. The two main varieties of black rice found in the market are Indonesian black rice and Thai jasmine black rice. The fact that rice is consumed in high quantities in Asian countries has been found to be associated with their lower rates of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This phenomenon has been credited to the high antioxidant content of black rice. Since black rice has a pigmented bran fraction, its extracts are used as a natural coloring agent in foods like bread and liquor. As for the name ‘forbidden rice’, there is a lot of speculation about its origin. However, the most popular (and plausible) reasoning is that it was reserved only for Chinese royalty and common folk were banned from eating it du...

The word Nihari comes from the Arabic word Nahar which means morning, thus the very name Nihari implies it is to be consumed early in the morning. Nihari is rumoured to have taken birth either in the back alleys of the Jamia Masjid in Delhi, where the Dehliwallas hail from, or as most Lucknawi loyalist believe in the kitchens of the Nawabs of Awadh, in the latter part of the 18th century at the decline of the Mughal Empire.  Nihari is a Pakistani breakfast dish popular with Muslims in India as well. Extravagantly spiced beef shanks are slow cooked, often overnight and eaten after early morning prayers. A jumble of tender meat and rich bone marrow is served in a thick, exuberant gravy topped with a slick of flavourful fat. Common accompaniments include green chillies and shards of pungent fresh ginger to cut the richness and add freshness. This rich curry is eaten with rounds of white bread, fresh from the tandoor, ever-so slightly sour from the ...