Monday, May 19, 2014

Alchemy



When it comes to food, I'm an alchemist. I experiment with ideas nobody else considers. Ideas that sound bizarre. Sometimes they don't work, but sometimes they do. I created a nice one over the weekend.

Recently I bought Dundicut peppers, which are dried chili peppers from Pakistan. I've never used them before and was unsure how. My first attempt, simply popping them into a dish, was disappointing. Dundicuts are reputed to be very hot, but dropping them into a dish added neither ...flavor nor heat. In response, I did some research and learned to crush them before use. That releases oil inside which is where capsicum and taste reside.

To try the Dundicuts in different ways, I crushed up a dozen peppers (in my very cool marble mortar-and-pestle) and added some garlic powder for extra flavor. This created a powder potent with pizzazz.

I sampled the mixture in ordinary vegetable dishes and it works nicely. Then, this morning, I took a risk. I tried adding the mixture to something none of you would try -- Greek yogurt. It's delicious! An explosion of tempting flavor in creamy texture. I ate it straight but you could easily dab it onto other food for a topping of moist flavor.

Ya never know until you try...  Do you experiment with cooking?

10 comments:

  1. Sounds good! I agree, you never know until you try things. Yes, I always experiment with cooking because I was lucky enough to have a mum that was an international caterer and excellent cook.

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  2. Ahh, spicy and creamy---sounds delish! I do experiment with cooking, sometimes I have successes and sometimes, spectacular failures!! Like the nutmeg pasta dish I once made...completely inedible!

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  3. Yum! I experiment a little, but the X-man is way better in the kitchen than me.

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  4. I experiment sometimes, when I feel like cooking, LOL ! I missed a few posts and I had the chance to read them all today ! Loved the one about the memoir of that old friend of yours, and how handsome you are in that pic ! The dress in the previous post is totally something I'd wear, instead, and I am glad your friend didn't get injuried in that motorbike accident ! Said that, I will be back to commenting under the right post, LOL. Kisses

    Fashion and Cookies

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  5. I like how you experiment. Andthis sounds delicious, I would probably dip my chips in it or use it as a side for tacos!

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  6. I bet it is delicious in yoghurt! I also really like dark chocolate with chili or salt - the combination of sweet and something unexpected is just so good!

    Have a great day,
    -Kati

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  7. You're a kitchen magician! My husband has similar adventures in the kitchen ... one of my favorite creations of his is an Indian-spiced tofu and egg dish. I wonder how your seasoned yogurt would go with something sweet and decadent, like a flourless chocolate cake?

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  8. I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy-hot food.

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  9. What a fabulous sounding flavour combination. I've always had more of a savory than a sweet tooth, so putting something zingy like peppers with cool, refreshing yogurt calls out to me every bit as much, if not more, than had you described an homemade ice cream, say, that you'd whipped up.

    ♥ Jessica

    *PS* Thank you deeply for the excellent advice (re: my new Etsy shop). I have taken it to heart and completely agree that I must keep work and pleasure as separate as possible. Yes, in both my blog and shop, the two overlap in some capacities, but I suspect my blog will be more pleasure and the shop more business, so I should start drawing that line in the sand (between the two spheres) right here and now.

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    1. While we care deeply about both sides of our life, our work carries stress with it that can be debilitating, so if you let that consume you, it will. I realized this when I became constantly obsessed with work-pressures even during time off (weekends). We need to escape work-pressures every so often to stay sane.

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