[bblost]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Strange why you say this!
I've been using this for years and find it to be the perfect starting point to make the best, most pungent mustard sauce you can imagine!
Also, to sprinkle as powder in various sauces and dressings.
What exactly did you find 'horrible' about it?

How exactly do you use this?

I followed the instructions on the box. Added some water and let it sit for a while.
Then pasted a little on long bun and made a sandwich.
The filler was grated beetroot, cabbage and carrots. Slightly cooked.


This was so pungent that I had to scrape it of the bread to eat the sandwich.

I am used to heavy spice levels but this was a killer.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by bblost

...
I am used to heavy spice levels but this was a killer.

Hehe, that's exactly the reason I make my own mustard sauce! I like it to be 'killer' and with virtually none of the 'sour' that vinegar brings!

As I suspected, your objection/dislike has more to do with personal preference and is not to do with the quality of the product!
If you find the basic sauce too strong you really ought to mix a considerable quantity of mayonnaise into it.

I make the basic mix with chilled water; beat it till my eyes tell me to stop! Eyes will water profusely, letting you know the maximum potency has been reached.
At this point, add in just a wee bit of vinegar to help retain the pungency. Add salt, mustard oil, a bit of turmeric, some red chilly flakes, some crushed garlic and you're done! Haha, I mean that in more than the one sense; many people will really be 'done in' with this potent mix!

[bblost]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

I make the basic mix with chilled water; beat it till my eyes tell me to stop! Eyes will water profusely, letting you know the maximum potency has been reached.
At this point, add in just a wee bit of vinegar to help retain the pungency. Add salt, mustard oil, a bit of turmeric, some red chilly flakes, some crushed garlic and you're done! Haha, I mean that in more than the one sense; many people will really be 'done in' with this potent mix!

Now that I have this box at home and the above steps.
What would be a good thing to eat this "sauce from hell" with.

[anupmathur]

Haha, I have it with toast, butter, Marmite, fried eggs and sausages at breakfast!
This mustard will go very well with pork chops and with grilled chicken breasts! Of course, only if you are a spice and chilli junkie!
Mixed in small quantities with Ketchup, it brings a new dimension to french fries; yes, the jolly old English chips!
Added to mayonnaise in trace quantities it creates a wonderful potato salad (with chopped hard boiled eggs).

There are other additives and accompaniments like Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco that need to be pressed into service too!

[V-16]

Try adding some Honey to the Mustard. It lifts the whole sauce. ANother good option is getting the Bengali Mustard "Kasundi" Its ready to eat and can be used as a source for great fish curry. Just add slit green chillies (de-seeded) to the paste and cook. Add as much water as you want (for the required consistency) and season. Kasundi should be available at most super markets.

Adding mayonnaise makes for a delicious dressing for salads. The homey mustard dressing would be great for salads too.

Originally Posted by Mpower

As in Tuna tartare?
We get something called 'Tuna Melt' in our cafeteria. Shredded tuna with melted cheese and the whole thing is put into a pannini press. I can also taste the mayo in it. YUMMY! ..but I'm not sure where the shredded tuna comes from.

The shredded Tna is mostly from a can. You get two kinds, one in oil and the other in Brine. Choose any it really does not make a difference.

Originally Posted by Wolfheart

Anyway most restaurants in Mumbai pass off artificially colored pulav as Biryani. As a gimmick they'll serve it in an earthern pot and people pay big bucks for it (for eg. Urban Tadka). Unfortunately a lot of people in Mumbai don't know what a real Biryani is.

That is so right. Unfortunately, even Delhi Durbar does not serve authentic Dum Biryani. Bombay needs a great Biryani and Haleem place, like in Hyderabad

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Here is another great egg recipe for breakfast. Use it over toasted bread or over chappati.

Buddy congrats on getting the consistency of the scrambled eggs just right. The basic mistake almost everyone does, that includes restaurants too, is that they over cook their eggs. A scramble should be soft and thought not runny but delicate, not entirely set, with a souffle consistency.

The Parsis make a great Indianized scramble called the Akuri. Eggs, milk, chopped coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, green chillies, onions, chopped tomato, ginger and garlic.

Stir the chopped onions with some oil and saute it till translucent, add tomatoes and chillies, ginger and garlic and cook till mushy. Add the masalas, and stir for a few minutes,add eggs with some milk and coriander beaten in and whisk till the scramble consistency is attained. remove to a plate immediately as an extra few minutes will harden the soft eggs.

Enjoy with crisp Brun pav or a Baguette or crusty bread

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by bblost

... This was so pungent that I had to scrape it of the bread to eat the sandwich. ...

Mustard's pungency is completely different from other teekha stuff that we eat. The closest comparison is with Wasabi (try a small bit without dilution). Both of these act on the sinus, and not on the tongue - of course they have a flavor of their own. Dijon, English and other such mustard sauces moderate the mustard's chemicals before consumption. Raw mustard like Weikfields' is not for the uninitiated - and never trust ANY of their recipes printed on the carton/box of ANY of their products.

Originally Posted by V-16

... Bengali Mustard "Kasundi" Its ready to eat and can be used as a source for great fish curry. ...

Sacré Bleu!!! Gogi-paji, if you are referring to the semi-thick gravy used with Hilsa etc. the mustard paste has to be as pungent as @bblost experienced. It is moderated with either khus-khus or tomatoes for the faint-hearted. Kasundi, OTOH, is best used as an accompaniment to fries, cutlets and chops. A well made Kasundi is quite tart - it is partly fermented & moderated before bottling.

A (home style) use of Kasundi is in 'xx bhatey' - xx refers to karela / red pumpkin / potato etc. cooked in the rice (while making rice), and eaten mixed with hot rice with chopped onions & chillies and a healthy dollop of Kasundi. The simpler version of this uses pure mustard oil instead of Kasundi.

[vasoo]

How to make juicy chicken breasts? I tried it a few times and it turned out very hard crusted coming out of the oven/MW. I marinate them in some masala for at least one hour before grilling/baking.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Mustard's pungency is completely different from other teekha stuff that we eat. The closest comparison is with Wasabi (try a small bit without dilution). Both of these act on the sinus, and not on the tongue - of course they have a flavor of their own.

That is what happened.

No burn in my mouth, but my nose felt like it was gonna blow.
Did not expect a reaction with such a high level of intensity.
In fact I did not even know this.


My earlier experience with mustard has been in the form of ready made sauces. They are a lot milder compared to this.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by vasoo

How to make juicy chicken breasts? ... very hard crusted coming out of the oven/MW. ...

You are cooking them too long at too high a temperature. There are baking times and temperatures given on the 'net, usually linked with size/weight.

If you don't want to take a risk with undercooking, mix some green papaya paste into the masala marinade (or use a commercial meat tenderizer - these use green papaya extract: papain). Using fresh ginger paste in the masala also helps tenderize the meat. Tenderizing reduces cooking time, and hence reduces loss of liquids -> moist roast chicken!

Originally Posted by bblost

... my nose felt like it was gonna blow. ...

I had the same experience with fresh Wasabi the first time in Japan! My palate is quite accustomed to the pungency of mustard - I must have had the same experience as Wasabi during childhood.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by vasoo

How to make juicy chicken breasts? I tried it a few times and it turned out very hard crusted coming out of the oven/MW. I marinate them in some masala for at least one hour before grilling/baking.

'Brining' does wonders.
Soak the chicken in a litre of water with two tablespoonfuls of salt and about as much sugar, for two hours. Then wash under a running tap and sear both sides well in a very hot, dry non-stick frying pan.
Apply your seasonings and wrap in aluminium foil. Cook for a max of 20 minutes in a 200°C oven.
Should turn out perfect!

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

You are cooking them too long at too high a temperature. There are baking times and temperatures given on the 'net, usually linked with size/weight.

If you don't want to take a risk with undercooking, mix some green papaya paste into the masala marinade (or use a commercial meat tenderizer - these use green papaya extract: papain). Using fresh ginger paste in the masala also helps tenderize the meat. Tenderizing reduces cooking time, and hence reduces loss of liquids -> moist roast chicken!

..

You may be right. I tried to cook it for about 12-15 mins at high temp. Will try out a lesser duration/lower temp settings this weekend. I have used ginger paste, lemon juice, a bit of masala powder and salt for marination and grilled after applying some olive oil.

[DerAlte]

A simple test is to prick the chicken with a toothpick while cooking - if the juices that run out are pink, it is underdone. As soon as these juices run clear, the chicken is done.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Mustard's pungency is completely different from other teekha stuff that we eat. The closest comparison is with Wasabi (try a small bit without dilution). Both of these act on the sinus, and not on the tongue - of course they have a flavor of their own. Dijon, English and other such mustard sauces moderate the mustard's chemicals before consumption. Raw mustard like Weikfields' is not for the uninitiated - and never trust ANY of their recipes printed on the carton/box of ANY of their products.

Sacré Bleu!!! Gogi-paji, if you are referring to the semi-thick gravy used with Hilsa etc. the mustard paste has to be as pungent as @bblost experienced. It is moderated with either khus-khus or tomatoes for the faint-hearted. Kasundi, OTOH, is best used as an accompaniment to fries, cutlets and chops. A well made Kasundi is quite tart - it is partly fermented & moderated before bottling.

A (home style) use of Kasundi is in 'xx bhatey' - xx refers to karela / red pumpkin / potato etc. cooked in the rice (while making rice), and eaten mixed with hot rice with chopped onions & chillies and a healthy dollop of Kasundi. The simpler version of this uses pure mustard oil instead of Kasundi.

Absolutely, im not refering to the curry as in authentic Bengali Fish Curry or any Bengali food. I use Kasundi to make a mean fish curry or a great continental mustard sauce/gravy. I dilute the sourness and pungency with fresh cream and soem sugar. For an Indian taste i'd use fresh coriander or green chillies and for a more Continental taste will use fresh Dill or parsley. Its funny how just a herb can take you from India to another Continent or Country. I use Kasundi to add to the Crumb fried fish when marinating the fillet. Not to mention adding a dash of Kasundit o mayonnaise makes a delicious mustard mayonnaise. Add some chopped garlic ( i prefer mine slightly sauteed and then choppped) to make a delicious Mustard Aioli! The uses are limitless, depends on one"s personal taste i guess.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by V-16

..... Add some chopped garlic ( i prefer mine slightly sauteed and then choppped) ....

Do try slow roasting the garlic!
The whole head with a slice cut off from the top (not the root end) to expose the cloves, sprinkle some salt and olive oil and roast in a 120°C oven for an hour or two, or till whatever looks right to you. Prepare a whole batch and keep in the fridge.
Slow roasted tomatoes and onions are also heavenly!
Roasting lifts many vegetables to a whole new level; especially cauliflower and broccoli.

[V-16]

Agree completely Anup. It gets the bang out of the Garlic and makes it sweeter. Also so squishy. One can just squeeze the garlic out by pressing on the bulb. It becomes like a paste. I use roasted garlic when I make a regular Pesto sauce or a variation, a red pesto with roasted garlic, tomatoes and red bell peppers. Bloody awesome. Just add grated Parmesan and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a hint of Basil, besides the usual suspects.I avoid using raw garlic in any form if it has to be eaten without cooking. Raw garlic is too pungent for me.