you know i'm biased given my roots, but i love this idea for a cookbook and think it has a lot of potential ! It reminds me of Mark Diacono's book "Sour" published a few years ago.
I wrote an article on savory rhubarb recipes a while back and one of the dishes I come back to is pickled rhubarb - so good on a cheese plate or tossed in a grain or lentil salad.
Another great post and a “quirky” cookbook I would gladly own and use over and over! I discovered khoresh last year when I was looking for a savoury use for rhubarb. So delicious! It opened up a whole world of how Persian cooking uses this most wonderful ingredient.
At this time of year I also make a big mason jar of rhubarb shrub. It’s a great alternative to a G+T (gin, soda water and the shrub), with sparkling wine or just sparkling water.
Even with this dreary rain we’ve been having, it really is a season of possibilities, isn’t it?
I’m about to make some rhubarb tonka bean shrub and had the same idea re using it for a g&t of sorts (already do that with the juices leftover from roasting or poaching rhubarb)
That is a brilliant idea… I bought green tkemali when I was in Tblisi and I’m almost out…! I love Chakapuli and I can’t imagine this without the tkemali sour edge🙏
You can also use gooseberries, tomatillos, cranberries...to make tkemali. Once you have that tart fruit element, the seasonings make the rest happen pretty effectively.
This might be the sweetest sour idea I’ve read in a long time. It makes me happy to pucker up.
I’ve been writing about amba this week and found myself thinking along a similar vine—tamarind, pickled mango, verjus, rhubarb... so many ways cultures have reached for brightness.
Your idea has bite and breadth. I hope you keep going with it.
Thankyou Elli. Once I started thinking about it, over two years ago, it seemed so obvious as an idea. And thrilling too, with depth and great possibilities.... The Subcontiinent is such a rich source of every kind of culinary imagination and solution, including tart-acid-sour.
You actually got me thinking…why do particular condiments to go with certain Menus, and not others; and then again, how to mix and match the unexpected (for example, fenugreek goes well with white asparagus, instead of Hollandaise…)
I love it too, although it is very noticeable through the skin when you are a regular user. I will tell you a funny anecdote. At some point, my dad`s doctor prescribed fenugreek pills for his heart disease. It was never the same for my dad, without the smell and taste. Good luck with hulba. It`s nectar of the gods.
I love imli (tamarind water) in dishes like dal or baingan. It’s very Karachi (Hyderabadi) and I love it. New way of cooking, for to a Punjabi like myself.
Back in the 70s I used to use umeboshi plums from Erewhon to make tkemali at The Hermitage. Throwing one of those - pitted - into anything but especially a lamb dish unsalted, always elevated it more than I thought possible. With dill and garlic it's heaven. I used to make a lime and rhubarb mousse with sour cream that I served on buckwheat blinis for brunch. If you quickly cook the blinis in raw sugar in a pan it forms a sweet crunch that provides a shocking counterpoint to the fruits acidic creamy mouse. Wonderful. I used to weigh out my rhubarb, and then add 5% sugar and macerate, the put the entire thing over a container to collect all the juices. They made the most amazing syrup. That in vodka as a brunch cocktail is also off the hook. The bar used to make mimosas with it a few weeks a year only. Kvasiert is such a niche taste, though, in the US, although sour candies do have their fans. But if you know it and understand it, you crave it. Especially now.
I think this is a wonderful idea for a book! There are so many different souring agents - each bringing slightly different flavours and effects to a dish - and I would love to read more about all the different ones that exist and how they are used across the globe.
you know i'm biased given my roots, but i love this idea for a cookbook and think it has a lot of potential ! It reminds me of Mark Diacono's book "Sour" published a few years ago.
I wrote an article on savory rhubarb recipes a while back and one of the dishes I come back to is pickled rhubarb - so good on a cheese plate or tossed in a grain or lentil salad.
Another great post and a “quirky” cookbook I would gladly own and use over and over! I discovered khoresh last year when I was looking for a savoury use for rhubarb. So delicious! It opened up a whole world of how Persian cooking uses this most wonderful ingredient.
At this time of year I also make a big mason jar of rhubarb shrub. It’s a great alternative to a G+T (gin, soda water and the shrub), with sparkling wine or just sparkling water.
Even with this dreary rain we’ve been having, it really is a season of possibilities, isn’t it?
Your comment about rhubarb shrub reminds me that I forgot to mention the rhubarb sharbat in my Persia book... It makes such an excellent drink
Time for a new book! 😊
I’m about to make some rhubarb tonka bean shrub and had the same idea re using it for a g&t of sorts (already do that with the juices leftover from roasting or poaching rhubarb)
That is a brilliant idea… I bought green tkemali when I was in Tblisi and I’m almost out…! I love Chakapuli and I can’t imagine this without the tkemali sour edge🙏
You can also use gooseberries, tomatillos, cranberries...to make tkemali. Once you have that tart fruit element, the seasonings make the rest happen pretty effectively.
Dear Naomi,
This might be the sweetest sour idea I’ve read in a long time. It makes me happy to pucker up.
I’ve been writing about amba this week and found myself thinking along a similar vine—tamarind, pickled mango, verjus, rhubarb... so many ways cultures have reached for brightness.
Your idea has bite and breadth. I hope you keep going with it.
Warmly,
Elli
Thankyou Elli. Once I started thinking about it, over two years ago, it seemed so obvious as an idea. And thrilling too, with depth and great possibilities.... The Subcontiinent is such a rich source of every kind of culinary imagination and solution, including tart-acid-sour.
You actually got me thinking…why do particular condiments to go with certain Menus, and not others; and then again, how to mix and match the unexpected (for example, fenugreek goes well with white asparagus, instead of Hollandaise…)
I love the idea of fenugreek with white asparagus... but how? I don't think I've ever seen a fenugreek sauce recipe.
check this out. it`s a 200 year old recipe. If you have questions, feel free to ask. https://beyondbabylon.substack.com/p/hulba-the-ancient-superfood-youve?utm_source=publication-search
Thank you! I will definitely try it this spring when white asparagus is back in season.
I love fenugreek, both the seeds and the leaves. It's one of my favorite flavors and I find it quite addictive.
I love it too, although it is very noticeable through the skin when you are a regular user. I will tell you a funny anecdote. At some point, my dad`s doctor prescribed fenugreek pills for his heart disease. It was never the same for my dad, without the smell and taste. Good luck with hulba. It`s nectar of the gods.
I will upload it in a moment.
I love imli (tamarind water) in dishes like dal or baingan. It’s very Karachi (Hyderabadi) and I love it. New way of cooking, for to a Punjabi like myself.
I agree about tamarind in dal... I don't think I've used it in baingan...will try!
Thanks!
The dish is called bagharay baingan. Very typical dish in KHI and beyond (Hyderabadi).
Back in the 70s I used to use umeboshi plums from Erewhon to make tkemali at The Hermitage. Throwing one of those - pitted - into anything but especially a lamb dish unsalted, always elevated it more than I thought possible. With dill and garlic it's heaven. I used to make a lime and rhubarb mousse with sour cream that I served on buckwheat blinis for brunch. If you quickly cook the blinis in raw sugar in a pan it forms a sweet crunch that provides a shocking counterpoint to the fruits acidic creamy mouse. Wonderful. I used to weigh out my rhubarb, and then add 5% sugar and macerate, the put the entire thing over a container to collect all the juices. They made the most amazing syrup. That in vodka as a brunch cocktail is also off the hook. The bar used to make mimosas with it a few weeks a year only. Kvasiert is such a niche taste, though, in the US, although sour candies do have their fans. But if you know it and understand it, you crave it. Especially now.
I think this is a wonderful idea for a book! There are so many different souring agents - each bringing slightly different flavours and effects to a dish - and I would love to read more about all the different ones that exist and how they are used across the globe.