Thursday, August 18, 2011
I'm a month in to my residence in Bangalore, and I've just now started missing some culinary American staples (not stopless).
Which is bad, because I really don't know how to cook. And even if I did, it's hard to find the Indian equivilant of some everyday American ingrediants.
So here's the story - I've been craving a good meal of biscuits and gravy. Or even a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit (McDonalds only serves McMuffins here - yuck). I'd even take the Chick-Fil-A version of a chicken biscuit.
But they are not to be found. I had to make them myself. I found a recipie online, made of Crisco, flour, and buttermilk. So I went to the store.
Flour - check. Plain white flour is very easy to buy here. It was available at the little store just outside the apartment.
Crisco - sort of check. I found some vegetable oil mix with the same consistency. After a lengthy discussion with the grocery store employees, I had to admit this was the best it could get.
Buttermilk - Check. Oops. Uncheck. The only buttermilk I could located was "Spiced Masala". Which sounded a lot more like premixed egg nog than I was willing to experiment with. I finally decided to "make" my own with regular milk and vinegar. I wasn't looking for perfection, just a close approximation of a biscuit.
The Result - massive fail. Despite several adjustments to my toaster oven, they all came out hard on the outside, and terribly soggy on the inside. Back to the drawing board.
I tried a new recipe today made with flour, sugar, egg, baking powder, ghee (butter), and milk. It turned out better, though the biscuits barely rose in the oven at all, and they're pretty dry. Which means I need to learn how to make sausage gravy. Wish me luck.
Which is bad, because I really don't know how to cook. And even if I did, it's hard to find the Indian equivilant of some everyday American ingrediants.
So here's the story - I've been craving a good meal of biscuits and gravy. Or even a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit (McDonalds only serves McMuffins here - yuck). I'd even take the Chick-Fil-A version of a chicken biscuit.
But they are not to be found. I had to make them myself. I found a recipie online, made of Crisco, flour, and buttermilk. So I went to the store.
Flour - check. Plain white flour is very easy to buy here. It was available at the little store just outside the apartment.
Crisco - sort of check. I found some vegetable oil mix with the same consistency. After a lengthy discussion with the grocery store employees, I had to admit this was the best it could get.
Buttermilk - Check. Oops. Uncheck. The only buttermilk I could located was "Spiced Masala". Which sounded a lot more like premixed egg nog than I was willing to experiment with. I finally decided to "make" my own with regular milk and vinegar. I wasn't looking for perfection, just a close approximation of a biscuit.
The Result - massive fail. Despite several adjustments to my toaster oven, they all came out hard on the outside, and terribly soggy on the inside. Back to the drawing board.
I tried a new recipe today made with flour, sugar, egg, baking powder, ghee (butter), and milk. It turned out better, though the biscuits barely rose in the oven at all, and they're pretty dry. Which means I need to learn how to make sausage gravy. Wish me luck.
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2 comments:
The reason your biscuits are flat is that they did not have enough time to rise. In order to get over the "dryness", you need to use lard, which I am sure you do not have access to. Increasing your "crisco" may work, but do it little by little. Also be careful that you do not over work the dough. You will also get good results by adding yeast. I can send you some if you would like.
Anna--(not the protestor)
My second batch came out a lot better, but I'm really not a fan of the lard (Crisco) here. It's very bitter, and while it does a better job to make the biscuits rise, it doesn't taste as good. My third try I think I'll try half ghee/half lard (crisco) and see if that gives me the best of both worlds. If not, my boss at Hillcrest says I can get the cafeteria's for dirt cheap!
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