Author: PK
-
Dagarful (Parmotrema perlatum)
Dagarful, also known as Dagar Phool, Black Stone Flower or Kalpasi, is a lichen used in Indian cuisine. It has a flavour similar to cinnamon and you can use that as a substitute if you have to.
I have to agree with Rick Stein though, it is transformational and brings something to curries that I can’t quite put my finger on. In Australia it really isn’t hard to source and it is so worth the effort.
Give it a try,
PK
Links:
- see more dagarful posts here
- go to all ingredients
Written by
·
-
PK’s Small Batch Hard Ginger Beer
Not much tops a nice cold glass of home made ginger beer on a hot Perth summers day. In this recipe I use a small 2L fermenting jar with a built in one way airlock. It makes just the right amount to share with a few friends over lunch.
As with my hard apple cider I don’t do a secondary fermentation and that means a flat beverage. I don’t mind and on the plus side I can simply take a jar that has been fermenting for about 4 weeks and chill it a few hours before I need it. No mess, no double handling and no decanting necessary.
The amount of ginger you add is entirely up to you so add more if you crave that ginger kick. I keep getting accused of under doing it by my family :).
Note: Please only follow this recipe if you are of a legal age to drink in your country. Don’t attempt this in an air tight glass jar, it will explode!
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp of finely grated or chopped fresh root ginger (add more for an increased kick!)
- 1 small lemon or lime
- 1 Tbsp honey
- ~6 raisins (to add some wild yeasts to the mix)
- 1 teabag (to add some extra tannins to the mix)
- ~ half a sachet of yeast (I use whatever is available, in this case bakers yeast)
- 1 cup raw sugar
- chili powder or chopped fresh chili to taste (optional)
- boiling water (to sanitise everything)
- cooled boiled water
- Equipment
- a small bowl
- a fork
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a teacup
- a juicer for the lime
- a 2L fermenting jar with a built in one way airlock or similar
Steps:
- Sterilise everything with boiling water. I fill the fermenting jar with boiling water an let it sit while I prepare everything else. When it is cooled somewhat I empty it out. I also run boiling water over the fork, knife, measuring spoons etc.
- I also take some of the boiled water that has cooled to the point of being warm and get my yeast mix started. Bubbles let you know it is working.
- Finely chop the ginger root and add to your now sterilised fermenting jar. I used about 2 Tbsp but you add lots more.
- Make a weak cup of tea and allow it to cool before adding to the jar.
- Juice your lemon or lime and add the juice to the jar.
- Add the 6 raisins, 1 Tbsp honey, 1 cup raw sugar and chili (optional) to the jar.
- Fill with the fermenting jar with the now cooled boiled water, leave a bit of room at the top. Give it all a good stir with a fork.
- Leave the fermenting jar somewhere out of the way, after the first night mine was outside in the shed for a month.
If you ask me, cloudy is good 🙂
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
OUR OTHER HOME BREWING POSTS
GREAT WAYS TO PRESERVE YOUR HARVESTS
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
- Ingredients:
-
Dr C’s Roast Onion and Pumpkin Pizzas
My scrumptious roasted onion and pumpkin pizzas with spinach and crumbled feta.
Simply mouth watering,
Dr C.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE FROM DR C
PIZZA , PIZZA, PIZZA
ITALIAN CUISINE
15 MINUTE MEALS
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Dr C’s NoRecipe Roast Onion and Pumpkin Pizzas
My scrumptious roasted onion and pumpkin pizzas with spinach and crumbled feta.
Simply mouth watering,
Dr C.
Written by
·
-
Cardamom Green
Most of us have used or eaten the ground powder, seeds or pods of Cardamon , perhaps without knowing so. Also called Cardamon or Cardamum it is an essential spice especially in Indian, Middle Eastern and South East Asian cuisine.
There are two types, large brown pods and small green pods, from two different plants. The green pods are the most commonly used in the modern era and are from South East Asia.
Raw, I get an earthy grassy then menthol flavour.
The seeds:
Links:
- see more green cardamon posts here
- go to all ingredients
Written by
·
-
2L Fermenting Glass Jar With Airlock
The addition of a food grade one-way valve turns this preserving jar into a small batch fermentation vessel. It should cost less than $30AUD pre-made and you can make your own if you buy the airlock for around $10AUD.
Perfect for making thinks like:
- cider
- ginger beer
- kimchi
- sauerkraut
- kombucha
- vinegar
Tip: Never fill a cold glass vessel with boiling water without warming it in a bath of hot water from the tap. It will crack otherwise.
Enjoy,
PK
Related Links:
- see PK’s Small Batch Hard Ginger Beer
- see more preserving posts here
- see more equipment posts here
Written by
·
-
Lemongrass
I first learnt about this flavoursome member of the grass family when I started cooking the Thai classic soup, Tom Yum Goong. I have been growing it ever since for use in sauces, soups, salads and fish cakes.
The plant itself looks and smells amazing and is a natural mosquito repellent to boot :).
Taste/Aroma:
Lemongrass has a mild citrus taste and freshly cut stalks smell (to me anyway) like citrus, roses and herbs.
The stalks are particularly fibrous and are in this respect unpleasant to eat unless you remove the outer few layers and then the top two thirds of the stalk.
You then finely dice, grate or crush the bottom whiter part.
You can of course bend or bruise the whole stalk and use it to flavour soups and sauces, removing the stalk before serving.
Stalks:
Plant:
Harvesting Months:
- All months
Planting/Care:
It is really easy to grow and although you can buy plants from the nursery it is just a easy to get a few stalks with roots attached and plant them. Do this around November if possible. Mine is in the ground but it will do you proud in a pot too.
One way to harvest lemon grass is to pull sharply from the base. You are likely to get some roots and this will help it last longer. I have it on good authority that the Malay way is to cut the base of a stalk with a knife. New stalks will then grow from the cut.
Either way you will get new stalks growing for a continual harvest.
Regrowth if you use a knife instead:
Related Links:
- see more lemongrass posts here
- go to all meal ingredients
- go the Grow It Perth calendar
Written by
·
-
PK’s NoRecipe Nachos
This is one of my favourite family meals. Everyone gets their own dish of the nacho base and once these come out of the oven, we put our favourite toppings on.
The secret to making awesome nachos is to layer the corn chips then some nacho sauce then some cheddar cheese and repeat. Pop them in a say 180 °C until the cheese has melted and that is it.
There is only one other rule to making awesome nachos: Sour Cream!
Magic 🙂
Enjoy,
PK
Pair this with my guacamole (see PK’s You..Can’t.. Handle..The..Gwock).
Written by
·
-
PK’s Simple Nachos
This is one of my favourite family meals. Everyone gets their own dish of the nacho base and once these come out of the oven, we put our favourite toppings on.
The secret to making awesome nachos is to layer the corn chips then some nacho sauce then some cheddar cheese and repeat. Pop them in a say 180 °C until the cheese has melted and that is it.
There is only one other rule to making awesome nachos: Sour Cream!
Magic 🙂
Enjoy,
PK
Pair this with my guacamole (see PK’s You..Can’t.. Handle..The..Gwock).
Written by
·
