More cool stuff for Indian cooking

[Jenise]

As explained to Paul in another thread, I found the Kashmiri red chile needed to really and truly duplicate the Qorma recipe I liked and posted about earlier this week. At the same store, I also found several really cool things, like fresh curry leaves, a variety of eggplants and a ten pound bag of aged basmati rice. Those I only owned for about an hour because all were taken away at the border. Come to find out, eggplant of any kind from anywhere is an absolute no-no for importation--and I thought I was safe as long as I avoided meat, fruit and potatoes. Wrong-o! Rice, apparently, can only be from the U.S. or Asia so buh-bye Indian rice, and curry leaves are from the citrus family so goodbye to those too. DAMN.

Fortunately they were not familiar with methi or pinda squash or I might have lost those as well. Actually, I wasn't familiar with them either, I just bought them because they looked cool, and I described them as honestly as possible as 'watercress-like' and 'squash', which passed. They also didn't mind the moong beans, the green cardamom pods, or the bulk cinnamon bark.

So just now I looked up both methi and pinda. Come to find out, and Paul I'm sure will know this, but 'methi' are fenugreek leaves. And here I've been looking for fresh fenugreek leaves for a long time! I'm ecstatic about having them, and will do a curry or two with them this week. The pinda are also something quite different--small gourd-like things. The traditional cooking method, best as I can tell from Google anyway, is called Stuffed Pinda. One cuts off the stem end, then makes two cuts, like a plus sign, almost to but not through the bottom and then spoons in a dry spice mixture, browns them with chiles and garlic and various things, and adds tomatoes to stew them in. The outer shell remains firm, and the inner part becomes soft and luscious. Can't wait to try them--there's no squash I don't love.

I can get most of that stuff at Patel Cash and Carry and the other dozens of Indian shops. You may know that my part of NJ has (I think) the largest Indian population in the US so it's all here, gold bangles, silk saris, etc. Not sure about the Pinda squash but they might be there.

India is part of Asia, very strange that they took away your rice because these local stores have maybe 20 kinds of Indian basmati rice. Three Rivers is a good brand.

Sometimes if you are a "cop" you just need to flex your muscles I think. I doubt if those border guys actually knew the details of the law. Just had to throw their weight around.

Sorry to hear that they confiscated so much of the produce that you bought at the border. But maybe now that you know what to look for you can find an Indian grocery store in Canada that carries them. Or a mail-order place to buy from.

Yes, methi is fenugreek leaves. Fenugreek is a plant in the legume family and resembles clover or alfalfa. Like the seeds, the leaves and stems of the plant have a somewhat bitter aromatic character. I find that fresh fenugreek has a subtler character than the seeds.

Regarding the squash, did you mean 'tinda'? Small, round, and gourd-like?

Too bad they took away the fresh curry leaves. Those are a staple in a lot of dishes from South India.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Sorry to hear that they confiscated so much of the produce that you bought at the border. But maybe now that you know what to look for you can find an Indian grocery store in Canada that carries them. Or a mail-order place to buy from.

Yes, methi is fenugreek leaves. Fenugreek is a plant in the legume family and resembles clover or alfalfa. Like the seeds, the leaves and stems of the plant have a somewhat bitter aromatic character. I find that fresh fenugreek has a subtler character than the seeds.

Regarding the squash, did you mean 'tinda'? Small, round, and gourd-like?

Too bad they took away the fresh curry leaves. Those are a staple in a lot of dishes from South India.

-Paul W.

I have dried fenugreek leaves that I LOVE, didn't find the fresh to have the same character at all, not recognizable as same at least the leaf I pinched off in the store. Maybe the stems show more of that, or perhaps it will pop out when cooked. Can't wait to try, either way.

Yes, tinda. Did I say pinda? I was combining tinda+the 'p' from punjabi.

And I could cry over the curry leaves. I use some dried which are very good, but of course fresh would be better. As to the rice, I bought it in Canada that's why the U.S. (where I live) took it away from me. I'll have to buy some in Seattle.

[Jenise]

I can get most of that stuff at Patel Cash and Carry and the other dozens of Indian shops. You may know that my part of NJ has (I think) the largest Indian population in the US so it's all here, gold bangles, silk saris, etc. Not sure about the Pinda squash but they might be there.

India is part of Asia, very strange that they took away your rice because these local stores have maybe 20 kinds of Indian basmati rice. Three Rivers is a good brand.

Sometimes if you are a "cop" you just need to flex your muscles I think. I doubt if those border guys actually knew the details of the law. Just had to throw their weight around.

Lucky you, Frank. The agriculture cop told me "only US and Asia". But she meant China, Japan or Indonesia, as My Handy New Brochure actually names India as a prohibited source. Ditto Iran and "other Middle Eastern Countries" not mentioned by name. And she was definitely flexing her muscles on the corn. I forgot to officially declare it, but only because I was so busy listing the things purchased at the Indian store--I knew corn was okay and had bought it at a roadside stand several hours earlier, so wouldn't have even thought it had to be mentioned.

Let me know if you can't find curry leaves there. There might be a way to solve that problem.

Aargh !!! So disappointing. Hoping that the US connections come thru for you