Glossary

Tamil: vathal

The most common vathals are manathakkali, sundakkai. You can even use moong dal vathal (Hindi : moongwadi) or the likes.

also called drumstick
Tamil : Murungakai
Telugu : Munakaya

The immature green pods are most used part of the tree. The leaves are highly nutritious, being a significant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron and potassium. The flowers are also cooked and relished as a delicacy.The green pods are cooked and the pulp inside is scraped out and eaten with the seeds.

Tamil : Pottukadalai
Telugu : Putnalapappu
Hindi : Dahlia

Tamil: Dratchai
Hindi: Kishmish

In the most basic terms, a raisin is simply a dried grape. All raisins can be stored tightly wrapped at room temperature for several months. For prolonged storage (up to a year), they should be refrigerated in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Raisins can be eaten out of hand, as well as used in a variety of baked goods and in cooked and raw dishes. They have a high natural sugar content, contain a variety of vitamins and minerals and are especially rich in iron.

Tamil: Vendaya keerai/ Vendayam
Telugu: Menthulu
Hindi: Methi /dhana methi

Slender, annual, herbaceous legume or its dried seeds, used as a food, a flavoring, and a medicine. The seeds smell and taste strong, sweetish, and somewhat bitter, like burnt sugar. The herb is a characteristic ingredient in some curries and chutneys.

Telugu : Sonti
Hindi : Saunt

Ginger is a plant that grows the best in the warm climates of China, India, and Jamaica. Commercial Ginger is called black or white, according to whether it is peeled or unpeeled; for both kinds the ripened roots are used, after the plant has died down. The black are scalded in boiling water, then dried in the sun. The white (best) are scraped clean and dried, without being scalded. Ginger flowers have an aromatic smell and the bruised stem a characteristic fragrance, but the root is considered the most useful part of the plant, and must not be used under a year’s growth.

Tamil: perichambazham
Hindi: Khajoor

With a history stretching back over 5,000 years, this venerable fruit grows in thick clusters on the giant date palm, native to the Middle East. The name is thought to come from the Greek daktulos, meaning “”finger,”" after the shape of the fruit. Dates require a hot, dry climate and-besides Africa and the Middle East-flourish in California and Arizona. Most varieties range from 1 to 2 inches long and are oval in shape (though some are so chunky they’re almost round). All dates have a single, long, narrow seed. The skin is thin and papery, the flesh cloyingly sweet. Dates are green when unripe and turn yellow, golden brown, black or mahogany red-depending on the variety-as they ripen. They’re generally picked green and ripened off the tree before drying. When fresh, dates contain about 55 percent sugar, a percentage that increases dramatically as the date dries and the sugar becomes concentrated. Fresh dates are available in some specialty markets from late summer through midfall. Dried dates are available year-round and are sold packaged-pitted and unpitted-and in bulk, unpitted. Chopped dried dates are also available in packages. Choose plump, soft dates with a smooth, shiny skin. Avoid very shriveled dates or those with mold or sugar crystals on the skin. Store fresh dates, wrapped in a plastic bag, in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Dried dates can be stored, airtight, at room temperature in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months or up to a year in the refrigerator. Dates are a good source of protein and iron.

Tamil: patta
Hindi: dalchini

Bushy evergreen tree (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) of the laurel family. Native to Sri Lanka, India, and Burma, cinnamon is also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The light-brown spice has a delicately fragrant aroma and warm, sweet flavor. It was once more valuable than gold. Today cinnamon is used to flavor various foods. In Europe and the U.S. it is especially popular in bakery goods. The oil is distilled from bark fragments for use in food, liqueur, perfume, and drugs.

American: yogurt
Tamil: thayir
Telugu: perugu
Hindi: dahi

A custardlike food with a tart flavor, prepared from milk curdled by bacteria, especially Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.

Tamil: ulutham paruppu
Telugu: mina pappu
Hindi: urad dal

picture is that of the whole urad dal, recipes listed mostly have the skinned variety as ingredient. If using the whole (sabut) dal, soak and skin the dal – a lot more work!

Black lentils commonly known as urad dal are used in its whole form in North Indian cookery, whereas split black lentils are used in the South. Found all over India, black lentils grow in small pods. When ripe, the seed pods are picked, dried and threshed or beaten to separate out the lentils. These are further dried and either left whole or split. Whole black lentils are small and oblong. The black seeds are sometime flecked with dark green or gray.When black lentils are split, they are creamy white and matte. The lentils are sometimes split with the skin left on. Split black lentils have a subtle and flour like aroma. The taste is quite bland. Urad dal is used on a daily basis in South Indian houses to make batters for idlis and dosas and is also an important ingredient in tempering for most South Indian dishes. Split black lentils are eaten with rice or added to hot oil along with mustard seeds and onion before adding the vegetables