| 4.06.08 - As
the former head cook at both the old and new Chicago temples and
the first head cook at Kalachandji's Restraunt in Dallas, Texas, I
still have my personal cook book and I would like to share it with
you. But
before all of that I was on the crew that helped put the St. Louis
temple together and was very much involved in opening their
Govinda's Restaurant. Let's see, Maha Mantra das was the
pujari, Chota Haridas the head cook, Ganapati Swami and
Tripurari Swami the
temple leaders. As for myself (Rohini-suta dasa), I was in
charge of the everyday setup and running of the restaurant.
Each time we
were open I would take note of how our guest liked what Chota had
prepared. This was back in the late 70s. Sometimes the
prasadam was out of this world. This is when I started my
private collection and began to call the ones I wrote down,
"home-run recipes." This is a photo of my cookbook
...the very
one I had back then.
Just an idea for
you, but this diagram (behind the first page) is something I drew to help me in Chicago
when I was drafted to be the new head cook. It really comes
in handy to "see" the overall meal plan.
I had never
cooked before Chicago, but nevertheless, the following day (Sunday), by
myself, I cooked everything for about 500 guest and devotees.
I still remember the main dish that I prepared: Peas and Peanuts
(....see page
37), straight out of the old
Hare Krishna Cookbook (click
on book - opens .pdf file).
|
Fancy
Rice - Carrot and Star Anise
Let me
begin by giving you something simple yet very opulent.
A recipe for rice. But not just any old rice.
This is rice with bits or orange-colored, carrot cubes,
flavored with star anise.
What makes
this rice so nice is exceptional smell and color. The
star anise gives it a liquorish aroma and the bits of carrot
the color. You want to serve a meal where each dish is
different in taste, smell, color, texture and temperature:
variety in other words.
I am not
going to tell you how much to make (so many cups of..) -
just the ingredients. However, I always use basmati
rice & 1 tsp. of salt per cup of dry rice. This
applies whether you are making a cup of rice at home or 16
cups of rice at a temple. Measure carefully.
Not a rounded tsp. of salt.
Peel your
carrots and "slice and dice" them to create little cubes -
about 1/8" square. Most wont be perfect cubes.
Some will be little slivers. This is OK. Throw
the raw carrot cubes in hot ghee/oil. They should go to the
bottom and shortly float to the top and sizzle. Take
them out when cooked and drain.
At some
time (before or during) you should start your rice. Just
throw in a few star anise (whole) with the rice, cold water,
and salt ...bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a very
low flame. Cook for 20 minutes exactly. When
done open, add some butter, add the orange-colored bits of
fried carrot, then use a fork to fold in everything and sort
of fluff it all up. All rice taste best if butter is
added whole at the end and folded in.
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Damodhar
Deckers
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coming soon
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