Dal (also spelled Dahl or Daal, or Dhal)

Dal (also spelled Dahl or Daal, or Dhal) is a preparation of pulses (dried lentils, peas or beans) which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these pulses, an important part of In

dian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, West Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine. It is regularly eaten with rice and vegetables in southern India, and with both rice and roti (wheat-based flat bread) throughout northern India and Pakistan.
Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat. Sri Lankan cooking of dal resembles that of southern Indian dishes.
In South India, dal is often used to make sambar, a spicy soup of red lentils and vegetables cooked with tamarind, asafoetida and some vegetables. It is eaten with rice and rice dishes. In West India, dals are used to make curries to be eaten with rice.
Dals are also used to make fermented preparations such as idli, dosa, in south and coastal India. In East India, rice is also the main accompaniment. In Sri Lanka, dal is most often consumed in a curry made with coconut milk.
Dal preparations can be eaten with rice, as well as Indian breads in North India. Dal has an exceptional nutritional profile n so is an excellent source of protein.
Toor dal is yellow pigeon peas, is available either plain or oily.
It is the main ingredient for the South Indian recipe called sambar.
Chana dal is produced by removing the outer layer of kala chana (black chickpeas) and then splitting the kernel.
Kala chana are small chickpeas with brown skins.
Kabuli dal, known for its black coat, is an average-sized chickpea.
Mung dal is known as mung bean.
Lobiya dal the black-eyed bean.
Urad dal, sometimes referred to as "black gram", is the main ingredient of the South Indian dishes like idli and dosai.
Masoor dal is red lentils.
Rajma dal is kidney beans.

Croutons are small, crisped pieces of bread...

Croutons are small, crisped pieces of bread...
Most Soups seem incomplete without putting a little something extra on top such
as garnish or an accompaniment. 
A crouton is a piece of sautéed or rebaked bread, often cubed and seasoned, that

is used to add texture and flavor to salads, notably the Caesar salad, as an accompaniment to soups, or eaten as a snack food. The word crouton is derived

from the French language meaning "crust". Most people consider croutons to come invariably in the shape of  small cubes.
Making croutons is simple as small cubes of bread are coated in oil or butter (which may be seasoned or flavored for variety) and then baked. Or they may be fried lightly in butter or vegetable oil, until crisp and brown.
There are several dishes that are typically served with croutons, including soup and salad.
Croutons are crunchy bite-sized pieces of bread. The bread that is used to make croutons can be any kind of bread, including white, rye, wheat, sourdough and French.
Today, they are commonly used in salads and soups to provide a crunchy texture 

as well as better nutrition.

Burmese cuisine

Burmese cuisine includes dishes from various regions of the South-East Asian country of Burma (now officially known as Myanmar). Owing to the geographic location of Myanmar, Burmese cuisine has been influenced by China, India and Thailand.
Burmese cuisine is characterized by extensive use of fish products like fish sauce and ngapi, so Seafood is a common ingredient.
In Burmese cuisine, Khow Suey, is a noodle dish that comes from the mountainous Shan State. It is a one-dish soup meal made of egg noodles and curried beef or chicken with coconut milk, served with a variety of contrasting condiments. A squeeze of lemon also adds tanginess to Khow Suey.

A food craving is...

A food craving is an intense desire to consume a specific food, stronger than simply normal hunger.
Food cravings don't dictate everything we eat.
Just about everyone gets food cravings, but gender differences do exist. In general, women are more likely than men to experience food cravings.
So why do people generally crave items high in fat and calories? The answer lies in the brain. Fatty, sugary

 foods release chemicals called opioids into our bloodstream & opioids bind to receptors in our brains and give us feelings of pleasure and even mild euphoria.
DID U KNOW . . .
We acquire food cravings and the desire for high-calorie nutrition
in the womb. At some point during the second trimester, a fetus's senses of taste and smell develop.
Babies are also born with a preference for sweet tastes, which follows many people into adulthood when food cravings occur.
As we age, it's all about the sensory memories that we form in relationship to food. Thus our food cravings are physiological ways to seek out familiar pleasures.

WHAT IS ' COUSCOUS?

WHAT IS ' COUSCOUS?
Bina Trivedi asked " Please can you give the Indian term for Couscous? And also recipe please."
Couscous is a North African Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it.
Cous

cous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
and Libya.
North African Berber are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Most Berber-speaking people
live in Morocco and Algeria.
Cous cous is a species of pasta originating in North Africa. Rather than being in the form of noodles or extruded shapes, cous cous
is granular. The raw pieces are roughly the size of coarse sugar grains.
http://www.dunx.org/persona/food-couscous.html
Numerous different names and pronunciations for couscous exist around the world. Couscous seems to have a North African origin. Archaeological evidence dating back to the 10th century, consisting of kitchen utensils needed to prepare this dish, has been found in this part of the world.
METHOD OF MAKING . ..
The semolina is sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form small pellets, sprinkled with dry flour to keep them separate, and then sieved. Any pellets which are too small to be finished granules of couscous and fall through the sieve will be again rolled and sprinkled with dry semolina and rolled into pellets. This process continues until all the semolina has been formed into tiny granules of couscous. This process is very labour-intensive. In the traditional method of preparing couscous, groups of women would come together and make large batches over several days.
These would then be dried in the sun and used for several months.
Properly cooked couscous is light and fluffy, not gummy or gritty. Traditionally, North Africans use a food steamer called ' kiskas ' in Arabic or a couscoussière in French. The base is a tall metal pot shaped rather like an oil jar in which the meat and vegetables are cooked as a stew. On top of the base, a steamer sits where the couscous is cooked, absorbing the flavours from the stew.
The lid to the steamer has holes around its edge so steam can escape.
Couscous is among the healthiest grain-based products.
Couscous is similar to pasta; it is made of semolina, although it
can also be made with barley or corn.
Read more: Http://Www.Veria.Com/Eating-Healthy/Couscous-Health-And-Taste-In-A-Versatile-Pasta-Like-Food#Ixzz24Mao5oOc
The preparation of couscous is one that symbolizes “happiness and abundance,” in the words of one culinary anthropologist.
Another useful link....
http://showmethecurry.com/salad-raita/couscous-salad-healthy-lunch-recipe.html

Dulce de leche a thick, milk-based caramel sauce . . .

Dulce de leche a thick, milk-based caramel sauce . . .
Dulce de leche is a sweet prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from caramelised sugar. Literally translated, it means "candy of milk" or 

"candy [made] of milk", "milk candy", or "milk jam" in the same way that "dulce de frutilla" is strawberry jam. It is popular in South America, notably in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. In Chile and Ecuador, it is known as manjar. In Peru, Colombia and Venezuela, it is referred to as manjar blanco or arequipe, depending on regional variations. In Brazil, it is known by its Portuguese name doce de leite. Dulce de Leche is believed to have been created in Argentina in 1829 in Cañuelas, Buenos Aires.
A Mexican version called cajeta is made from goat's milk.
The most basic recipe calls for slowly simmering milk and sugar, stirring almost constantly. Much of the water in the milk evaporates and the mix thickens; the resulting dulce de leche is usually about a sixth of the volume of the milk used.
How to Make Dulce de Leche (Thick Caramel Dessert Sauce)
http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/desserts/ss/DulceLecheStep.htm

ALOO, CHOLA AND CHANA BIRYANI

ALOO, CHOLA AND CHANA BIRYANI
INGREDIENTS
3- 4 cups Rice cooked [ with some salt, 2 cloves,
1 bay leaf, 1 cardamom n a small piece cinnamon].
Also need:
1-2 Potatoes boiled,

1\ 4 cup Chola boiled,
1\ 4 cup Red gram chana.
For the gravy, grind to a paste..
1 Cut Onion,
2- 3 Tomatoes,
3- 4 tomatoes,
1-2 green chilly,
1 tsp Ginger n Garlic paste
1\2 tsp Turmeric powder,
1 tsp Red Chilly powder,
1 tsp Shahi Biryani masala,
1\2 tsp Garam masala.
Salt to taste.
METHOD
1 While cooking rice add few cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf 

   and cardamom.
  Add the spices also add some salt.
  Allow the rice to cool down.
2 Grind in a mixer jar the tomato, onion, garlic and all
   the above mentioned to a fine paste.
3 Put a pan to heat, add oil and the paste and stir until it 

   leaves the side of the pan.
  This is the gravy part for this biryani.
  Check the salt.
  Tip: One is add 2 tsp sugar, if wish to lessen , sourness of the tomatoes.
  If want less spicy then also avoid the green chilly
  and red chilly powder.
 In another pan take 1 tsp oil and add the boiled, cut potato pieces, also

 add boiled chola n chana.

Also sprinkle salt, red chilly powder n little chaat
masala.
Either layer and assemble the biryani, as shown in
the picture. The middle layer is gravy on it potatoes,
chola and chana with a layer of rice on it.
or
Just mix the cooked rice, gravy and boiled chana, chola, potatoes.
Serve with a Raita and Papad.