Author Archives: Kurma dasa, AU

Kurma Cooking DVD sets Special Offer – Special Offer for Christmas
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My 20-hour, 11-disc Cookery DVD Collection is on special for just $60 for the pre-Christmas months of November and December. This is inclusive of postage and handling, anywhere in Australia. Hurry since stocks are limited!!!

Respond to this post now to take advantage of the great offer! Please note that this offer is only for those residing in Australia.

Kurma DVD:

The set includes:

INDIAN ENTREES Includes scrambled Panir cheese; sweet and sour glazed carrots; North Indian red bean curry (Rajma); green beans sauteed in yogurt and poppy seed sauce, and many more recipes. Colour 111 min.

SOUPS, RICE, SAVOURIES & CHUTNEYS Includes whole green mung bean and tomato soup; creamy vegetable soup; rice pilaf with nuts and peas; deep fried cauliflower balls in tomato gravy (kofta); apple chutney; fresh tomato and cucumber Raita, and many more recipes. Colour 111 minutes.

BREADS, DRINKS & DESSERTS Includes basic unleavened whole wheat breads (chapatis); flaky pan-fried breads stuffed with green peas (parathas); sweet yogurt smoothie (Lassi); rose sherbet; classic semolina Halava; traditional vanilla sweet rice, and many more. Colour 109 minutes.

EAST MEETS WEST LUNCH, BUFFET & DINNER Includes tofu steaks; rainbow brown rice; potato and cottage cheese rolls with cranberries; baked, stuffed avocados… Colour 90 minutes.

ASIAN-STYLE LUNCH, BUFFET & DINNER Includes Indonesian vegetable stew; Thai vegetable curry; Malaysian hot noodles with tofu; vegetarian spring rolls & more. Colour 82 min.

MEDITERRANEAN LUNCH, BUFFET & FEAST Includes Italian fried corn bread (Polenta); Turkish nut pastries in syrup (Baklava); spinach filo triangles (Spanokopita); Moroccan couscous with vegetable sauce; stuffed vine leaves (Dolades); and many more mouthwatering recipes. Colour 90 min.

NORTH INDIAN LUNCH I, II & SOUTH INDIAN DINNER Includes cauliflower and potato supreme; peanut and coriander chutney; savoury wholemeal pancakes (Dosa), and many more recipes. Colour 90 min.

MEXICAN-STYLE BUFFET, MIDDLE EASTERN ENTREES, ITALIAN LUNCH I & II Includes vegetarian chili; baked, stuffed cheesy corn breads (Enchiladas); Israeli chickpea croquettes (Falafel); Lebanese bulgur wheat salad (Tabbouleh); eggplant Parmagiana; potato dumplings with tomato sauce (Gnocchi), and more. Colour 120 min.

SUMMER PATIO LUNCH I, II & III; THE COMPLETE GOURMET MEAL Includes ricotta cheese-filled pastries (Calzone); summer chilled fruit soup; sweet potato pie; baked cheesecake; savory samosas; fresh coriander chutney, and more. Colour 120 min.

INDIAN FEAST I, II & III Includes Bengali royal rice; yeasted, puffed fried bread (Khamiri Poori); date and tamarind sauce; curried chickpeas; tomato, peas and home made curd cheese (Matar Panir); and many more. Colour 90 minutes.

THE VEGETARIAN SMORGASBORD, PICNIC & CHILDREN’S PARTY; HOME-STYLE LUNCH Includes potato & pea croquettes; vegie nut burgers; asparagus & tomato quiche; North Indian potato salad; carob fudge cake; shepherd’s pie; steamed cauliflower salad with eggless mayonnaise, and many more recipes. Colour 120 minutes.

All About Ghee
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Ghee – An Ayurvedic Perspective

(from http://www.amritaveda.com/learning/articles/ghee.asp)

“The milk of cows is considered to possess the essence or sap of all plants
and Ghee is the essence of milk… When we consider Ghee we are in the company of superlatives. In India, Ghee has been so highly regarded for so many things, for so long, that one is slightly embarrassed to enter into
this crowded river of praise.

Ghee2:

This is what I have heard:

The ingestion of Ghee is like offering the finest of fuels into the fires of digestion (Agni). In accord with this, Ghee builds the aura, makes all the organs soft, builds up the internal juices of the body (Rasa) which are destroyed by aging and increases the most refined element of
digestion (Shukra or Ojas) the underlying basis of all immunity and the “essence of all bodily tissues”.

Maya Tiwari calls Ghee the “single most ojas producing food on earth”. Ghee is known to increase intelligence (Dhi) refine the intellect (Buddhi) and improve the memory (Smrti).

Although Ghee kindles or increases the digestive fire (Agni) on which all nutrition depends, it does so without aggravating Pitta – the elemental functioning of fire within the body. In fact, Ghee cools the body, essential in much of today’s world in which everything is overheating.

Ghee causes secretions and liquification in the dhatus – bodily tissues – that dissolve wastes allowing the functional intelligences of the body (doshas) to carry away toxins (Ama) (also known as aam). The ingestion of Ghee is used in Panchakarma specifically to first penetrate into and then dissolve ama in the dhatus, allowing the wastes to be then carried to the intestinal tract and then expelled.

It is traditionally considered, that the older Ghee is, the better its healing qualities. 100-year-old Ghee is highly valued in India and fetches a very high price. Such Ghee was often kept in Temples in large vats and families often pass on aged Ghee to their next generation to be used as medicine.

more ghee: Qualities of Ghee

Ghee is known as a substance that gives longevity… This is because it has
opposite qualities (heavy, slow, oily, liquid, dense, soft), and thus
pacifying effects, to the light, dry and rough qualities of Vata dosha. It
is the increase of the qualities of Vata that are synonymous with aging.
Ghee, in a very sure and steady way, slows the aging process by balancing
the living one.

Ghee has the quality of snigda, oiliness, and unctuousness. It is smooth, lubricated and nurturing. Ghee is thought to make the voice soft and melodious.

Ghee is Guru, heavy. It increases the qualities of Kapha and decreases Pittaand Vata, which are both light.

Ghee has the quality of mrdu, softness. In Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments, Ghee is the oil used on the eyes. In Netra Basti, a small dam is built around the eyes and filled with warm Ghee. Then, you open your eyes to its soothing softness. It seems after that treatment, that you see the world though a soft diaphanous curtain of love and loveliness.

more ghee: Healing Properties of Ghee

In ancient India, wells full of Ghee were especially for those who suffered
wounds. When a surgeon cuts open a body, he only does so knowing that the
body will be able to heal itself. The surgeon cannot do this. Ghee is known
for the quality of Ropana – healing, and its effectiveness in facilitating
recovery from wounds. In Ayurveda, when a person has a chronic peptic ulceror gastritis, Ghee is used to heal that ulcer inside the intestinal tract.

Ghee works wondrously on bedsores for the elderly or debilitated. It can be
applied for broken bones and bruises. It is highly effective for all sorts
of skin rashes. It is also used on burns of both fire and chemicals. Once, I
accidentally got some sandalwood oil in my eye. It burned intensely and I
was unable to wash it out with a variety of eyewashes. I spent hours in pain
and finally I remembered to use Ghee. Almost immediately, the Ghee pacified
the burning and the eye irritation ceased.

Just recently, a friend of mine who is a yoga instructor had a pressure
cooker blow up in his face, giving him second and third degree burns. He
immediately put some Ghee on his face and went to the emergency room. They
told him that he would be scarred for life, that the burns would take
several months to heal and that he should take steroids to help him (the
body shuts down the production of testosterone after burns). He declined to
take the steroids and continued to put on the Ghee, twice daily. After six
days, he was completely healed without scarring.

Those with obesity should be very frugal in their use of Ghee and those with high ama should not take Ghee at all.

Ghee increases the overall strength, luster and beauty of the sarira – the
body. Let us look at a variety of ways:

Used on the skin, Ghee softens and strengthens, protects and nourishes. Up
until the last generation in India, there used to be men who gave Ghee
massages on the street. It was always the preferred substance for the skin,
but since it was more expensive than oil it has come to be used only for
internal purposes. For generations, Indians have used Ghee for cooking and
as an added measure on top of their food and as a medicine.

In India, medicinal ghee is passed on from one generation to the next. It was used for old and young, for new babies (Mothers in India will massage their children with Ghee) and for those in the last days of their life. I massaged my
Father’s body with it before he died – He loved it. Sometimes, when he could
not sleep, I rubbed it on his feet and temples and it soothed his agitation.
It is considered it one of the best substances for self-massage (Abhyanga).

more ghee: Many Uses of Ghee

For Body Massage-Abhyanga. Apply ghee all over the body, rubbing into
head, chest, limbs, joints and orifices. This will bypass the digestive
system and allow the qualities of Ghee to penetrate directly into the deeper tissues. It is said that 60% of what is placed on the skin is absorbed into
the body. We literally “eat” what we put on our skin. Western science has
discovered that massaging the skin creates endorphins or peptides, which
enhance the body’s immune system. Peptides are thought to be the vehicle
that the mind and body use to communicate with each other, a literal
chemistry of emotion. According to the Charak Samhita, regular Abhyanga
slows the aging process.

Ghee is used in Purvakarma (early Panchakarma) where a small amount of
Ghee is taken first thing in the morning by the practitioner to oleate the
internal organs and “dissolve” the ama or toxic wastes in the tissues,
allowing them to be carried to the digestive tract for elimination.

Ghee is used as a carrier or “yogavahi” for herbs and bhasmas because of its supreme penetrating qualities and thus ability to carry these substances deep into the dhatus or tissues. One or two teaspoons first thing in the morning followed immediately with hot water will promptly produce a bowel movement. It will also warm the body quickly. Two spoonfuls of Ghee in warm (non-homogenized) milk before bedtime is soothing to the nerves and lubricates the intestines and facilitates a bowel movement in the morning.

Ghee is excellent for cooking and sautéing or stir-frying. Ghee has one
of the highest flash points of all oils and is very difficult to burn. In
India, it is said that food is incomplete without the use of Ghee.

Ghee is excellent for a gargle (gandush) to improve the health of the teeth and gums.

Ghee can be used as a bath oil. Take two tablespoons of Ghee and mix
with several drops of an essential oil of your choice.

Ghee is excellent for scrapes and both chemical and heat or fire burns.
Ghee can be used in the eyes for tiredness or fatigue.

Ghee is an exquisite facial moisturizer.

In India it is said that if a few drops of ghee are placed in the
nostrils then nosebleed can be checked. If this is done twice in a day, then
headache can be relieved.

more ghee: How Ghee is Made

Ghee is the most refined end product of milk. (When you make Ghee, you are
concentrating the quality of the milk you started with. This includes,
antibiotics, hormones (rGBH), chemical pesticides, etc. For this reason,
always use the best milk/butter you can find.) When you milk a cow, you get
whole milk. If you let this milk sit for a while, cream rises to the top. If
you skim off the cream and then churn it, after a while and all of a sudden,
the fat globules will begin to stick to each other and form butter. What is
left over is buttermilk.

In the west today, very little butter is churned the old fashioned way. Most
modern dairies, even many “organic” ones, no longer churn their cream to
make butter. In a typical dairy in America, the cream is now pushed
(extruded) through a fine mesh screen in which the heavier and larger
molecules of butter are held on one side of the screen while the smaller
molecules of buttermilk pass on through.

I recently asked an Ayurvedic Teacher (Vaidya) about what difference this makes. He said that butter made without churning is lacking in a quality of fire (Agni). He even went further in his consideration of difference; the home-based Indian culture churns their cream with a hand churn, rolling it back and forth between their hands. This back and forth action, he said, imparts a particular balancing quality to the Ghee – instead of the one way churning of a gear driven churn.

As I have pointed out above, most of the butter made in the West today is not
even churned. When we consider the process of butter and Ghee making at this level, we are in the realm of subtlety, but it is in exactly this realm (the
subtle) that what is pure and purifying (sattvic) is found.

There is one very important difference in the way Ghee was and is made in
India. The Indians start out with milk from a cow, just like in the West.
But, they do not let the cream rise to the top and skim it off as we do in
the West. Instead, and here comes the key difference – they culture the milk
with yogurt, allowing it to sit for 4-5 hours, just before it becomes
completely soured. Then they churn the whole milk. From that point on, the
process is more or less the same.

This culturing with yogurt introduces another form of fire (agni) into the
substance of refining the milk into butter and then Ghee.

As I have said, in my recent visit to modern day India, it was very hard to
find high quality and pure cow Ghee. The commercial milk, cream and butter
there are now homogenized and pasteurized or now ultra-pasteurized (This is
a process whereby milk is heated to a higher temperature than pasteurization
for a shorter period of time. This kills and destroys various living
substances/enzymes in the milk thus prolonging shelf life. Ultra pasteurized
milk can keep un-refrigerated for over a month). According to Ayurvedic
Vaidyas I have consulted with, all of these factors increase the Vata (air
and ether/destructive, catabolic, drying, rough) qualities in what was
originally a very Kapha (earth and water, building, oily, tonifying,
anabolic) substance – milk. Some of these processes, like homogenization, make
the milk, and thus the cream and butter, indigestible. One of the things you
can look for in milk and cream is the sticky quality (picchila), one of the
gunas of Kapha. It will be lacking in processed milk products.

In the West, like India, there is a similar theme to the story. Although
organic dairies are appearing all over the country, many of them make their
butter by extrusion. Furthermore, they homogenize and ultra-pasteurize their
milk (This is certainly not true of all milks available, but, like in
Vrndavan, India, the tides of ignorance are increasing and the quality of
milk and nutrition is decreasing,

Now, back to making Ghee. Once you have obtained your butter, you heat
it in a stainless steel or enamel pot, bringing it to a boil. I believe that
it is best to make your Ghee in stainless steel heavy pots, rather than
aluminum because of the toxicity. It is best even to avoid thin stainless
steel. This is because a heavier pot will distribute the heat of the fire
more evenly, surrounding the Ghee.

Always try to use real fire rather than an electric range (This is again in the realm of subtlety and sattva that I referred to earlier). There is a quality of Agni that lends itself and pervades a substance cooked on flame that is not there when cooked on electricity. Because I could not understand the difference between the “heat” of a fire and the “heat” of an electric range, I asked several
Vaidyas about this in India. They all simply said that fire was a superior
(more sattvic) way to cook food. While I personally still cannot explain
that to anyone, that is the way I do it.

It is very clear to me that it is most important to create and enjoy a
beautiful and positive environment when you are making Ghee. This subtle
recommendation is perfectly in line with cooking Ghee on an open fire – “it
makes a difference”.

Once the Ghee begins to boil, turn it down to the lowest flame at which it
will continue to boil. As it boils, moisture evaporates off it and it will
begin to “clarify” – the butter will turn from cloudy yellowish liquid to a
more golden color. Whitish cloudy milk solids will rise to the top and sink
to the bottom. Do not stir it. After an hour and half to several hours,
depending on the amount and the size of the pot and the amount of Ghee
compared to the flame, your Ghee will be ready.

The moment Ghee is “ready” is very critical. If you cook the Ghee too little, you will be left with moisture in the Ghee and it will lack the exquisite taste and qualities that it can develop, also, it will tend to spoil or sour. If you cook it too much, it will burn and impart a certain nutty flavor to the Ghee. This does
not ruin the Ghee at all, but it is to be noticed, so that over time you can
capture the “perfect” Ghee to be experienced between these two “extremes”.

After the Ghee is done, you skim off the top light crust of whitish milk
solids. These and the heavier ones at the bottom of the pot are
traditionally used to make sweets. Children in India love them and always
plead with their Mothers to have the leftovers when Ghee is made.

Then, you pour the golden, sweet-smelling liquid through layered
cheesecloth – to catch any last impurities into a bottle, leaving the
slightly burned milk solids (caramelized lactose) on the bottom of the pot
you cooked it in (Ghee has no lactose or milk sugars in it). Be sure to not
close the glass jar into which you pour the hot Ghee until it comes to room
temperature. The reason for this is that there should not be any moisture
from condensation that may form on the inside of the jar. It is moisture
that spoils Ghee, allowing a mold to grow and causing it to go bad. This is
the reason that you always use a clean and dry spoon to take your Ghee out
of its container. It is also a reason not to refrigerate your Ghee. One,
because it is not necessary and two, it causes condensation to form inside
the jar as you take it in and out of the refrigerator.

more ghee: Time and Season

It is best to make Ghee on the waxing fortnights of the moon as the moon
represents the Mother and nurturing and all the best qualities of milk and
butter are energized at this time. Regarding time and season, the quality of
Ghee will change as the time of year and the diet of the cows change. Not
all milk cows in the West are given green pastures to graze on. Even those,
which are allowed to graze in the fields, often do not do so all year round.
In winter, there are many days that the cows are not able to go out in the
pastures and there is more hay and silage in their diet. This will change
the quality of the milk, butter and Ghee. I have noticed that the more the
cows graze in the fields on grass, the more yellow is the Ghee. This
“yellow” is the result of more chlorophyll in the butter.

The making of Ghee is a very beautiful and peaceful experience. The sound of softly boiling butter, the pouring of the thick golden liquid into bottles … this wonderful smell permeates the space.

more ghee: Cows and Buffalos

In India, Ghee is made from both Cow and Buffalo milk. If we consider the
qualities of both of these animals, we can see why the Ghee of Cows is to be
preferred. If we look at the bodies of a Buffalo and a cow, the buffalo is
more heavily muscled; it is a denser animal in its makeup. Cows have a more
moderate make-up of fat. The Ghee of a Cow is in liquid form at body
temperature. The Ghee of a Buffalo is still slightly solid. Buffalo will eat
almost any food, even spoiled food, while Cows in their natural environment,
will turn away from such fare. Buffalos are often quite dirty and smell more
strongly than Cows. Cows tend to be clean and like little dirt on their
bodies. Cows smell quite good as I have experienced, when I stopped to pet
and smell them on the streets of India where they roam about, ubiquitously,
slowly and peacefully. Finally there is the striking difference in
temperament between a Cow and Buffalo. Cows are far gentler in nature.
Buffalos are comparatively more stubborn and aggressive. Because of these
qualities and more, Buffalo milk and Ghee are considered more
dulling (tamasic) while Cow milk and Ghee are considered more pure and
purifying (sattvic).

When I asked my Indian acquaintances why there is a growing use of Buffalo
milk and ghee over Cow milk and Ghee, they all said, “It is because the
Buffalo give more milk”. Furthermore, the Indian peasants seek the
nourishment of Buffalo Ghee, which has a far higher fat content than cow
Ghee.

Even in Vrndavan, the home of Sri Krishna, where he himself was a cowherd,
protector of the cows (Govinda) and the divine lover of the
Gopis, cowherdesses, I was usually unable to find anything but Buffalo Ghee
in the marketplace. You can tell the difference because Buffalo Ghee is
white and Cow ghee is yellow.

Cow Ghee is used in lamps in temples and pujas all over India. It is said
that the light of a Ghee lamp is more beautiful and brilliant than any other
light. The light of burning Ghee is said to ward off negativity and evil
influence.

Ghee is nourishing and healing. Ghee is steady and dependable and always
supportive of life and living. Ghee brings an excess of goodness wherever
and whenever it is appreciated and used. I am thankful for a substance that
of all the foods I know is most like a Mother.”

(from http://www.amritaveda.com/learning/articles/ghee.asp)

Kurma’s Spring Garden – ‘The Bean Within’
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broad-beans:

My dwarf heirloom variety of Aquadulce broad beans are maturing nicely. Broad beans, sometimes known as fava beans, are enjoyed in many cultures the world over. They are a labour of love to grow, taking at least 120 days from sowing to fruiting. I have 100 plants in various stages of fruition in different spots in my garden, all sown from scratch – literally a couple of large handfuls of dried beans. The flowers are beautiful, and hopefully each will manifest a bean pod after dropping off.

broad beans:

When small, as some of mine are now, you can eat them whole, and they’re sensational. When mature they are big, puffy pods, much bigger than other beans. These large pods – from six to 10 inches long on average – need to be peeled to get to the beans. Apart from the patience in waiting for them to grow, the last labour of love part is that one can (or should) peel the beans again, a second time to reveal the bright green bean within.

A Right Royal Rollickingly Robust Rajma
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Rajma could be described as the North Indian equivalent of Mexican chili. My version is laced with cubes of protein-rich homemade panir cheese It is robust, nutritious, filling and spicy. Rajma is the name of the bean (red kidney) from which this spicy stew is made, and also the finished product.

rajma:

Ana C from Melbourne writes: “I would like to know if you can give me a good Rajma recipe. I tried it at a friend’s place and I totally loved it. Thank you.”

Here’s my recipe:

Punjabi Red Bean Curry (Rajma)

Although ideal for a winter lunch, Rajma can be served successfully with any bread or rice selection and as a part of almost any menu. Serves 6-8 persons.

For the beans:

2 cups dried red kidney beans,
3 small bay leaves,
1½ teaspoons turmeric,
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.

For the spice paste:

1 tablespoon cumin seeds,
1 teaspoon fennel seeds,
½ teaspoon ajowan seeds,
3 tablespoons shredded fresh ginger,
2 tablespoons coriander powder,
1½ teaspoons garam masala,
1½ teaspoons turmeric,
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper,
2–3 teaspoons salt,
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice.

The remaining ingredients:

fresh panir cheese, made from 1.5 litres milk, cut into
1.25cm cubes,
5 tablespoons ghee or oil for frying the panir,
4 medium-sized tomatoes, diced into
1.25cm cubes,
2 tablespoons tomato paste,
1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves.

To prepare the beans:

Soak the beans in ample cold water overnight. Drain.

Place the beans in a large saucepan of ccold water and bring to the boil over high heat. Add the bay leaves, turmeric and cayenne, reduce the heat and simmer the beans, covered, for 1– 1½ hours, or until the beans are soft and tender, but not broken down. Note that bean cooking time varies immensely for different varieties of kidney beans, so check them carefully.
Pour the cooked beans through a colander, being careful to collect all the cooking liquid in a bowl underneath — you’ll need it later. Transfer the beans into a bowl.

Separate ½ cup cooked beans, mash them to a puree and set them aside in a small bowl.

To prepare the spice paste:

Combine the cumin, fennel and ajowan seeds in a coffee mill or mortar and grind them to a powder. Transfer the powder to a small bowl. Combine the shredded ginger with ½ cup water in a blender and process to a smooth liquid.
Add this ginger liquid to the bowl of powdered spices. Add the coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt and lemon or lime juice, and stir to mix well. The spice paste should have a consistency of thin cream. Add a little water if it is too thick.

To fry the panir cheese:

Place 2 tablespoons ghee or oil in a heavy non-stick frying pan and set it over moderate heat. When the ghee is hot, add the panir cheese and stir-fry for 5–7 minutes, carefully turning the cubes with a spoon to brown them on all sides. Remove the pan from the heat and set the panir cheese aside.

To assemble the dish:

Heat the remaining ghee or oil in a saucepan over moderate heat, and add the spice paste. Fry the paste for 1 or 2 minutes over moderate heat, or until it begins to stick. Stir in the tomatoes and continue to cook the mixture for 5–8 minutes, or until the tomatoes are reduced to a thick paste, and the ghee or oil starts to separate. Add the reserved mashed beans and stir well until they are fully incorporated.

Drop in the cubes of the fried panir cheese, the cooked beans, tomato paste and 1½ cups of the reserved bean cooking liquid, or more if a thinner consistency bean dish is required. Allow the beans to come to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for another 10–15 minutes, or until the panir cheese cubes are soft and juicy. Stir in the chopped coriander leaves, and serve hot.

One Thousand Year Old Recipe
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I get dozens of recipe requests weekly. Some enquiries are redirected to my recipe page. Others are advised to search my cookbooks.

And some, like this one from Isvari Rani Dasi (from India I think), are answered as a blog entry. Isvari wanted me to share my Tamarind Rice recipe. My recipe looks exactly like the picture below.

tamarind rice:

I don’t have the original photos from my cookbooks. They are securely kept in a vault at my publishers. My scanner is not working, so I have used a picture from cookingand me.com.

And here’s that delicious recipe, originally given to me by the wife of a South Indian Hare Krishna devotee friend Vijay Gopikesh, many years ago, when I was collecting recipes for my second cookbook Cooking with Kurma.

South Indian Hot, Sweet-and-Sour Tamarind Rice

This is a well-known and favourite rice dish amongst the Iyengars of South India who are followers of the Ramanuja Sampradaya. The recipe is over 1000 years old and is traditionally called puliogre. Makes enough for 4 or 5 persons.

1 walnut-sized ball of seeded tamarind pulp,
½ cup hot water,
3 cups water,
1½ cups basmati rice,
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds,
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns,
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds,
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds,
3 tablespoons dried coconut,
2 teaspoons rasam powder,
1 teaspoon salt,
2 tablespoons brown sugar,
3 tablespoons peanut oil,
2 tablespoons raw peanut halves,
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds,
8 – 10 small curry leaves.

Combine the ball of seeded tamarind pulp with the ½ cup hot water and set aside to soak.

Bring to the boil the 3 cups of unsalted water in a small saucepan.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy saucepan and lightly toast the rice.

Add the boiling liquid to the rice. Stir until the water returns to a boil; then reduce the heat to a simmer, put on a tight-fitting lid, and leave undisturbed for 15 or 20 minutes or until the rice is dry and tender. Remove the rice from the heat and set aside, covered.

Squeeze and strain all the pulp from the soaking tamarind with the aid of a seive. Keep all the liquid puree and discard the dry pulp.

Dry-roast the cumin seeds, black peppercorns, fenugreek, and sesame seeds in a small, heavy pan over moderately low heat. Stir constantly for about 3 minutes until the sesame seeds become aromatic and the spices darken a few shades.

Remove the seeds and spices from the pan, allow them to cool, and then grind them in a small coffee grinder or blender until they are powdered. Combine them with the coconut, mix well, and place them in a small bowl.

Combine the tamarind puree, rasam powder, salt, and sugar and simmer the mixture over moderate heat in a small saucepan until slightly thickened (about 3 – 5 minutes). Remove from the heat. Add the ground spices, seeds, and coconut mixture into the tamarind syrup and mix well.

Heat the peanut oil in the small pan in which you roasted the spices. Place over moderate heat. When the oil is hot, add the peanuts and stir-fry them until they are golden brown (about 2 minutes). Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Continue heating the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds crackle, pour the contents of the pan into the tamarind syrup and mix well.

Finally carefully fold the peanuts and spicy tamarind syrup into the cooked rice and serve immediately.