Posted on: Thursday, November 1, 2001

Classic dishes are a spicy starter

By Joan Namkoong
Advertiser Food Editor

A white, steamed rice-and-bean cake. A spicy stew of yellow beans and vegetables reminiscent of a curry. A generous dousing of coconut-yogurt chutney.

This might sound like an adventurous lunch in a small, ethnic eatery somewhere off Beretania Street, but it's not.

This is breakfast.

The Mulki family of Kailua often sits down to a leisurely Sunday morning meal of idli sambar, the traditional fare of south India, their homeland.

Idli, puffy steamed rice cakes, left, are complemented by a sambar of beans and vegetables, right, and a yogurt and coconut chutney, center. At bottom left is the idli in its steaming dish. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Jay Mulki, a native of Mangalore along the southwest coast of India, is enthusiastic about sharing Indian food with others.

"This is the signature dish of southern India, served throughout India," he said, as he offered me a sample.

Idli, the rice-and-bean cakes, are fluffy, porous and slightly grainy in texture. They are also soft and bland, the perfect complement for the spicy sambar and for soaking up the stew's aromatic yellow sauce.

A light-green coconut chutney — actually a dipping sauce made with yogurt — is served alongside. Its cool smoothness accents the warm, flavorful idli sambar.

As a young man, Mulki moved to Bombay, a cosmopolitan city, where he met his wife, Myra, who originally was from Goa, a coastal town north of Mangalore that was once a Portuguese colony. Mulki wanted to study for an MBA at the University of Hawaii, so the couple moved to Hawaii 16 years ago. Today, he is manager of energy services at Hawaiian Electric Co.

"I eat only Indian food at home," said the trim Mulki, an avid runner who considers Indian food healthy and nutritious. "A typical dinner might consist of chicken or fish, vegetables, a curry, rice and pickles. Sometimes my children want to eat other things."

	Indian food facts
•	There's more to Indian food than curry, naan, tandoori chicken and chutney. The Indian subcontinent is a vast territory: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma and India i in each, geography, religion and culture shape different diets.
•	Diet is prescribed by religious beliefs: Hindus and Sikhs don't eat beef; Muslims don't eat pork; certain Hindus are strict vegetarians who don't eat any animal products. Some vegetarians won't eat food that resembles meat's fleshlike color, such as tomatoes, watermelon and red beets. Still others will not eat onions or garlic, which are associated with the cooking of meat.
•	Geography plays a role in what people eat. The temperate climate of the north is ideal for the rearing sheep; lamb is important to the dishes there. Legumes, grains and vegetables flourish in the northern plains, along with goats and chickens. Bread from abundant wheat crops is the starch of choice in the north; the rest of the subcontinent relies on rice. Along the coastline, fish and shellfish form the basis of the diet. Coconut is a key ingredient in the daily diet of the people who live along the southwestern coastline.
•	The most notable characteristic of Indian food is its use of fragrant herbs and aromatic spices, according to Julie Sahni in her book "Classic Indian Cooking." Some herbs and spices are used for their aroma, others for their color-enhancing properties and still others as souring agents. Spices add heat to food, or may be used to thicken or tenderize a dish.

Daughters Shruti and Shilpa are as multicultural in their tastes as their age counterparts: They like spaghetti, musubi and Chinese food.

Like many people in India, the Mulkis are Hindu and refrain from eating beef. But, like most Hindus, they do consume dairy products: yogurt, butter and milk. And they eat fish and chicken.

"In the south (of India), the Hindus, who are typically vegetarian, eat fish and dahi (yogurt)," explained Mulki, whose hometown on the coast saw an abundance of fish and seafood. "I grew up eating fish and a very nice brown rice; this was the staple of our diet. We had lots of crabs, shrimp, sardines; on special occasions we had chicken."

Akule, big-eye scad, is comparable to the fish Mulki used to eat in India.

"My wife prepares akule very well. She blends together coconut, a little turmeric, tamarind and garlic. The fish is cut into pieces and the seasonings and fish are cooked together with some water. It's very flavorful."

Vegetables in the south Indian diet include plenty of string beans, pumpkin, okra, squash and cabbages.

"We also eat the pods of the marungay tree," said Mulki.

The pods are from the same tree used by Ilocanos of the Philippines, who favor the green leaves. South Indians, who call the pods "drumsticks," strip the pods and eat the tender meat inside.

"Every meal will have pickles, served alongside rice," said Mulki. Spicy pickled mango and other pickled vegetables are made during the rainy season in India, and preserved with salt, herbs and spices.

Grated coconut, chili pepper, onions, garlic and salt are the basic seasonings of southern Indian food.

The Mulki family in their Enchanted Lake home:(from left) Myra, Shruti, 17, Jay, and Shilpa, 9. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Like others in our health-conscious society, Mulki and his wife have made adjustments: "We've cut down on the coconut because of the cholesterol. And our food isn't as spicy these days. My girls are not as used to spicy food."

Making idli sambar is simple.

The batter for the rice cake should be started a day ahead: Soak rice and beans in the morning, blend in the evening and allow to ferment overnight. Then, steam or fry in the morning.

The Mulkis vary their breakfast repertoire with other Indian specialties: Dosas are fried cakes; uttapa is a specific one made with the same idli batter and onions, accompanied by a chutney. Poori bhaji, a fried wheat bread eaten with spicy potatoes, is a typical breakfast dish eaten in Maharastra or Bombay. A soothing accompaniment to these savory breakfast dishes is chai, tea steeped in water and milk and flavored with sugar.

• • •

Idli (Rice cakes)

• 3 cups rice
• 1 cup urad dal (split black beans)*
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Soak the rice and dal separately for about 7 hours. Rinse well, put both in a blender and blend with hot water for about 15 minutes. Batter should be thin but feel grainy to the touch. Pour batter into a bowl, cover and let stand overnight, about 12 hours.

Stir batter and pour into lightly greased ramekins or custard cups for steaming. Place on a steaming rack and steam for about 20 to 30 minutes, until batter is firm, like a cake. Remove cooked idli from pan. Place dishes upside down on a towel. Place a cold towel on top of dishes to promote cooling. Remove steamed cakes from dishes. Serve warm with sambar or chutney or with a little butter sprinkled with sugar.

• • •

Uttapa (Rice pan cakes)

• Idli batter (recipe above)
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• Butter or peanut oil for frying

Add green pepper and onion to idli batter. Heat a non-stick frying pan and add a little butter or oil to the pan. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan. Cover pan and cook for 5 minutes or until done. Serve with chutney.

• • •

Sambar

• 1 cup of split yellow peas (can be found at Down to Earth, a natural foods store in Mo'ili'ili)
• 1 tomato, coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 marungay beans (can be found at Down to Earth, a natural foods store in Mo'ili'ili) or 1 cup string beans, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (can be found at Down to Earth, a natural foods store in Mo'ili'ili)
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder (can be found at Down to Earth, a natural foods store in Mo'ili'ili)
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Coriander (Chinese parsley) for garnish

Cook the split peas in water until soft. Add remaining ingredients and cook until vegetables are soft. The mixture should be the consistency of soup. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with coriander.

• • •

Coconut Chutney

• 1 cup fresh coconut
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 green chili pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 piece ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Garnish: Curry leaves, coriander (Chinese parsley) leaves or mustard seeds

Place ingredients except garnish in a blender and blend until smooth. Garnish and serve.

• • •

Poori (Fried bread)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Warm water
• Oil for frying

Combine flours in a bowl. Add butter and salt and enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead dough and let dough rest for about 30 minutes. Divide into 20 portions.

Roll each portion into a 3-inch circle. Heat about 1-inch of oil in a deep frying pan or wok. Oil should be very hot. Fry the circles of dough, one at a time, until it puffs up, about 30 seconds. Turn over and fry until golden. Drain and remove from oil. Serve hot with bhaji.

• • •

Bhaji (Potato dish)

• 3 large potatoes
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese mustard seeds (can be found at Down to Earth, a natural foods store in Mo'ili'ili)
• 2 chili peppers, chopped fine
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch cubes or slices.

In a frying pan, heat oil and the mustard seeds. When the seeds crack, add onions and garlic. Fry until onions turn pink.

Add potatoes and saute for a minute. Add chili pepper and water and season with salt. Cover the pan and cook, covered, until potatoes are done. Garnish with curry or Chinese parsley leaves. Serve with pooris.

• • •

Chai

• 2 cups water
• 3 tea bags
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 teaspoons sugar or to taste

Bring all ingredients to a boil; turn off heat and let tea steep. Serve hot.

• • •

Spicing up the meals

Myra Mulki uses a variety of spices.

Ingredients for idli sambar, a south Indian breakfast specialty, include kabocha pumpkin, coconut, rice and split black beans, split yellow peas, onion, tomato, coriander and spices. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Tamarind: Pulpy pod of the tropical plant (Tamarindus indica), native to India. Brownish-black pod tastes like a sour prune and is used as a souring agent throughout the southern and southwestern regions of India. In the north, it is used in relishes and with vegetables, lentils and beans. The pulps of tamarind pods are sold in cake form; reconstitute in water, using a 1-inch-diameter ball of tamarind pulp to 1/4 cup water. Strain and use juice.

Fenugreek: An annual herb (Trigonella foenumgraecum) of the bean family. Brownish-yellow, rectangular-shaped seed is used as a spice; aromatic and bitter in taste. Dried leaves are used in dishes and as an herb.

Coriander: Both leaves and the seeds (Coriandrum sativum) are used. Leaves, also known as cilantro or Chinese parsley, are very fragrant and used as garnish. Seeds are ground for spice mixtures.

Turmeric: A relative of ginger, gives a characteristic yellow color; a key ingredient in commercial curry powders. Also has a woody aroma and is used in various preparations, especially those containing onions and tomatoes. Religious and social rituals use this spice, considered sacred among Hindus.

Chile: Powdered chile pepper adds heat to Indian dishes. Dried whole chiles are used as garnish.

Asafetida: A combination of dried gum resins from the roots of several plants. A lump of asafetida is brown and odorless. Powdered, it becomes buff-colored and very aromatic. When a pea-size lump is crushed and fried for several seconds in hot oil, it gives off an onion-like aroma.

Cumin: Nutty-flavored cumin is widely used in Indian cooking. White cumin — the same as in Mexican, Spanish, African and Middle Eastern cooking — is yellow-brown and is used whole or in powdered form. Black cumin, a rare variety, has a delicate texture and mellow flavor.

Curry leaf: Native to South India and Sri Lanka, bright green curry leaves (murraye koenetii) have a bitterish taste and a sweetly pungent aroma like lemon grass. Used in cooking in the south as coriander is used in the north.

Source: "Classic Indian Cooking," by Julie Sahni (William Morrow & Co.)