Hiya, Foodies/Magi:

All right, I guess getting to the party late is better than not getting there at all, but I've just discovered this stuff. It was the missing link in my homemade masalas.

Fenugreek is this weird little spice that looks like really coarse sand, but when ground (and roasted in in ghee or olive oil, optional) and stirred into dal, biryani, murg, whatever, it adds the missing flavour that's been elusive until recently in my Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. And, yeah, I know about cardamom and asoefetida, thanks.

Scuzzi, I got some Morroccan chicken in the oven that needs to cozy up to some couscous and mint leaves. Chow!

Uh, I mean, "Ciao!"

Leland

I am blessed with an abundance of Middle Eastern and North African markets where I can get these spices very affordably. As one writer put it, "our country's inadequate support of unpopular regimes has given the Washington area a wealth of wonderful ethnic markets and restaurants."

Wait 'till you try Ethiopian food!

In a pinch - no pun intended - you can substitute turmeric.

Bill: No kidding? You know, I never woulda made that connection, but yeah, that makes sense.

Ross: I'll check into Ethiopian food, 10Q.


This stuff is flippin' awesome...it's easily the equal of cumin and coriander seeds as far as flavour-boosting ability goes.

Ross, if we can keep everyone from every country they feel oppressed in with in the states of Virginia and Maryland then they are welcome to add to your blessed ethnic market mix and shut that writer up.

It turned out to be the missing ingredient in my Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) recipe - I use both the seeds and the dried green (kasuri methi). I was trying to copy the Butter Chicken from a local restaurant and something seemed to be missing odor-wise. I thought it was just the accompanying Naan, and it turned out to be the fenugreek. Once I added it, the dish looked, smelled and tasted identical to the restaurant's. I made some chapatis and that completed the tableau.

That is a beautiful thing Dr Hackenbush.

Leland,
Do you cook Persian food? I've cooked a lot of Persian food, going through 2 cook books and cooking every recipe, from kukus to torshis! I love Persian food. The most ancient Persian history is what got me on the path to cooking, learning all about the culture and even into collecting artifacts, some going back 5500 years! My knowledge of their very ancient history broadened into quite a pursuit.
I love Fesenjan, ghormeh sabzi, Drinking tea with the sugar in my teeth, having Jegarek with green onions, savory goat cheese with sweet tea. I love the winter foods and summer foods and sweet and sour. Dugh, low fat buttermilk with dill weed mixed in, with some water. Hummmm.