Kurma

My blog drought is well and truly over. A triple-header is a sure sign of an information downpour.

If you're astute (and let's face it, the world needs more stutes), you would have noticed that I'm not teaching at Tamworth as advertised for this weekend. The hosts have put the dates back until later in the year.

So tonight I will head to Govinda's for a night of bhajan and kirtan. And tomorrow after a long day's fasting, I will celebrate the Appearance day Festival of Lord Nrsimhadeva, the fierce but loving half-lion avatar of Krishna.

Since this evening's chanting will conclude in a feast upstairs in Govinda's dining area, I decided to cook a late/breakfast/brunch to keep me going until then.

And yes, It looked so nice that I decided to whip out my camera.

Alongside the ultra ruby-red pomegranate and freshly crushed pineapple and mandarin juice is: pan-fried tofu, fried trellis tomatoes, smashed potatoes roasted in herbed olive oil, with butter-leaf lettuce, fresh basil & pickled cucumbers on homemade sourdough toast.

Archana from Lucknow UP, India writes:

"I want to know what is difference between rack salt and black salt (kala namak)?"

My reply:

"You mean rock salt, not rack salt, yes? Rock salt is mined from the earth as opposed to sea salt which comes from the sea. Black salt, kala namak is a variety of rock salt mined in Bihar Province from volcanic deposits, hence the sulphur flavour.

For more on black salt....

And if you care for a little more than just black salt...

Gesundheit!

Seriously....

N from Panchkula, India writes:

"What is the common name of cereal Nachni? I had read somewhere that it is added to wheat flour to make it more nutritious."

My reply:

"Nachni is also commonly known as Ragi, a popular Maharashtrian cereal.

English name: Finger millet
Botanical name: Eleusine coracana
Sanskrit: Madhuli
Hindi name: Madua or mangal
Tamil name: Ragi

In many households, the flour of sprouted ragi is introduced as the first semi solid food for babies.

100 grams of ragi has 328 kilo calories of energy.

A gram of ragi has 72% carbohydrate, 3.6% fibre, and 7.3 grams of protein, vitamin B and a good combination of minerals, especially iron, calcium and phosphorus.

More importantly, ragi contains methionine, an essential alpha amino acid that is not present in other cereals like polished rice or maize. Deficiency of methionine causes impaired growth."