Buttermilk (South-Indian style)

Well, the CC has been working a lot from home, and he's been making this in large quantities to have some with lunch, etc.

It's amazingly simple.

Buttermilk in India doesn't refer to the same thing as here. It's basically 1 part yogurt blended with 2/3-1 part water (depends on whether you like it thick or watery.)

You need to good "Greek-style" yogurt for this. Most of the yogurt in this country sucks, and if the CC may say so in the pop-vernacular, "it sucks ass!"

The difference in this recipe is the addition of mustard seeds, and curry leaves.

Recipe

Fry some mustard seeds, add the curry leaves and fry for a bit. Toss it in with the yogurt, and water in the blender, and blend it.

It'll last as long as yogurt lasts so you can make quite a bit of it, and store it.

The Science of Skimming

The CC would like to talk a little bit about the science of immiscible liquids, and how it applies to cooking.

Basically, oil and water are immiscible. Also, oil is far less dense that water which means that if you slowly pour oil into water, and wait for a while, all the oil will rise to the surface.

This is precisely what makes vinaigrettes so unstable. Over time, the oil and the vinegar separate out.

(And no, the CC is not going to talk about the theory of statistical mechanics that makes this happen. Not unless he is drunk in which case he bears the right to pontificate about all kinds of scientific and cooking topics.)

Suffice to say, that a gentle heat speeds up this process of separation (more molecular kinetic energy for the science types.) However, extreme heat (in the form of boiling,) or extreme shaking (which is the same thing science-wise) breaks up the two liquids into small drops which then appear to mix (emulsification.)

Please note that the two liquids haven't really mixed. They are giving the appearance of having mixed, and will separate out once again if left alone (again, think vinaigrette.)

So a very slow heat that prevents boiling will allow all the fat to come to the surface from which it may be skimmed off.

A reader of this blog was very surprised when she clearly saw the two liquids separate when the CC made dinner, but it's elementary science not magic.

However, the trick, as always, is very very low heat, and patience. Sadly enough, in the modern world, the latter seems to be in short supply.

Asparagus and Leek Soup

A very classic recipe. A tad early but they somehow had good early spring asparagus at my grocery store.

Ingredients

6 leek tops (cut in rounds)
3 pounds asparagus (you're only going to use the tips)
2 cups broth (use "neutral" broths like a light vegetable broth, or a chicken broth)
2 cups water
1/4 cup coarse parmigiano-reggiano (you can use stuff that's slightly past its prime)
rosemary
salt
pepper
lemon juice (?)

Recipe

Fry the leeks, until they are soffrito. Add the asparagus tips, and fry until it turns bright green. Add the rest of the ingredients, and simmer on extremely low heat for 20-25 minutes or so.

Skim, baby, skim!

Dump the stuff in a blender, and pass through a sieve if you want a smooth soup.

Sometimes I add a little lemon juice to brighten up the flavors.

Serve with a crusty baguette.