Steph & Seb cooking

channa dal  = chana dal = gram dal

Caramel vinegar Put the sugar, vinegar, star anise and cinnamon in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, or until syrupy. Stir in the chicken stock and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Add the orange juice and peel, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until thick and syrupy. Season to taste.

What you end up with after the squashing and squeezing is a thick purée of tamarind pulp along with the veins, seeds, and membranes. Some people run the tamarind pulp purée through a sieve to separate out the pulp. When you deal with large amounts of tamarind purée, this makes more sense. However, I prefer to grab a handful of the tamarind purée and squeeze it really hard. The tamarind pulp purée will seep through your fingers as you tighten your fist while the veins, seeds, and membranes stay inside. Then you keep the purée and throw away the junk in your fist.*

The first whistle takes the longest, about 7 minutes, and indicates the cooker is fully pressurized, after which the heat is reduced, and the time is counted beginning with the next whistle. These cookers operate with oscillating pressures, cycling through building pressure and then releasing it with a whistling sound of escaping steam. Cooks in India rely on the whistle noise as a handy built-in timer.