Onion Stories

These days I have too many deadlines. Normal life’s deadlines and then the food blog event deadlines!
My guests have not yet left and I wish I had 10 hands. Don’t mistake me, I love to entertain and to have lot of guests at home. But with guests, your routine revolves around them and even a simple breakfast gets too complicated with choices.

I missed the JFI this time too, but didn’t want to miss this simple and wonderful event hosted by dear Mythili - Mistress of Spices.

I was thinking to write about black pepper, but was pretty sure there will be couple of posts about it. So, wanted to blog about something simple, yet different and to break some rules ;-). So, next on my list, my favorite…Onion.Yeah, I know, I know what you are thinking.
Agreed onion is not ‘technically’ considered a spice in Indian terms, but the dictionary definition of spice qualifies onion also. I didn’t know ginger and garlic were spices too. But they are considered spices in this part of the World, so onion is a spice/condiment too. I mean without onions can you imagine any tasty food? (I hope I am not disqualified, maybe I will bribe Mythili) :-)

Now, the story of how Onions spice up my life and maybe yours too…Onion seems like a harmless vegetable, but once you start peeling them, you will know how fiery it can be. There is no other vegetable that makes you cry…out of love of course!Back home, the first thing mom-in-laws do, to test the new bride is to make her peel an onion. If the new daughter-in-law sobs uncontrollably, it is assumed she has never entered the kitchen and don’t know the difference between turmeric and chili powder. If she manages to shed only a few tears, she has done some cooking, but need to be ‘taught’. If she doesn’t shed a tear, the new daughter-in-law is strong willed and is a wonderful cook. (I am just kidding okay. I am silly!)

Now on to some serious stuff:Each link below points to different sources.Onion is savaala in Malayalam, venkaayam in Tamil, and piyaaz in Hindi
I didnt write the generic, botanical, latin, german, klingon names...I mean if I can't pronounce it,why write it? :)(From comments: Generic Name for Onion in Malayalam is Ulli, Big Onion is Savaala, which is derived from Spanish word Sabola. I wrote savaala since the picture showed savaala and generally I have heard my folks and friends call shallots ulli and savaala for big Onion and all other Onions. Thank you!)

Onion is grown everywhere in this World and is a cool season vegetable. It was cultivated as early as 5000 BC. Excerpt from the link: In addition, the onion was useful for sustaining human life. Onions prevented thirst and could be dried and preserved for later consumption when food might be scarce.

There are many Onion varieties available. Ranging from the tiny shallots which are extremely powerful in its medicinal properties to the sweet Vidalia, cultivated only in Georgia, U.S.A.Onion can be eaten raw and also cooked, grilled, roasted, juiced, mashed to a paste, even dried and can be stored in dry powdered form. It is the base for many wonderful sauces and gives you the ‘oomph’ in your dishes. However if you eat them raw, you might lose your friends :-)

Onion is great in improving your circulation and has many more medicinal properties. My mom would use a lot of onion in her dishes reminding us, “This is good for the heart”. She uses so much onion in her curries, sometimes I even mistake many of her dishes as onion curry with so many pieces floating on top. I do think she was solely responsible for creating that onion scarcity one time in India, which even pulled down a Government!

Also did you know, Onion is good for lustrous hair? My grand-mom used to prepare special hair oil with shallots and pepper. My mom never learned the recipe (great!) and she has lustrous hair but not us!

Lastly, Onion mixed with other herbs is an excellent insect/pest controller to spray on your plants. You can sow onion seeds, near your other vegetables plants to wade off insects; pests etc since they can’t stand the smell.

Guess the spice? (Kudampuli)

This is also from in-laws (another nice sweet aunt) who make sure we have two or three kilos of this when we travel back to U.S. The only worry I have at customs is whether they will throw the whole bag out. I am pretty sure, if they ever do that, I will choose the spice bag than U.S. entry :-)

This is a must-use, very important, cholesterol lowering ingredient if you are from central Kerala. Most homes have jars full of this dried and if properly dried it will store for years. It turns from parrot green to blackish black when dried.

Yes, it is the favourite kudampuli. A friend of mine from Trivandrum actually ate this when I made fish curry for her. She didnt know that this should not be eaten. It is just to sour the fish curry.

I have had fish curry from Goa and they put kokum in their fish curries too. They even make some drinks with this I think. But I think kokum and kudampuli are not same,but they are cousins for sure.

Husky Rice

Just when you think you have heard it all, there comes another simple thing you have never ever heard of or even remotely imagined...I was so surprised to see the purple potato.

Then I thought, hey why don’t I turn the limelight onto the coloured rice I eat. Introducing…tada…wholesome "Kerala red rice" or Kerala Double boiled rice (I am not sure whether par-boiled is same as double boiled)Names: Kerala kuthari, Chambavari, Palakkadan Matta (കുത്തരി, ചമ്പാവരി, പാലക്കാടന്‍ മട്ട )

I think only people from Kerala eat this. Once you get accustomed to this, which we are -- 'forcefully' fed by our adoring mothers with ghee and mashed dal and veggies from your 6 months of life, you can never eat 'white rice' and feel satisfied. The red rice I eat is boiled with the husk and thus it maintains its fiber. White rice is scrubbed and polished and made hip, but sadly it loses all its nutrients. But the fun part is when my cousins visit us from outside Kerala; they find it very difficult to eat.

“Too big, too big” they would fuss… Ah! Sissies!

(I have seen Bhutanese red rice at Organic Food Stores. No, No, we are not the same dear!)