dish

By JANET K. KEELER

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

deconstructing

explanations from the inside out

curry powder

This amalgam of spices puts the distinctive punch in Indian cooking. Among the most common ingredients are ground cardamom, mace, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek, red and black pepper, and turmeric.

Westerners buy prepared curry powder in jars, but cooks in India generally make their own, adding more or less of a certain spice according to their families' tastes and what they are cooking. Blends made for meat curries might be different from those made for fish dishes. The word curry comes from the Tamil word kari, which means sauce. Tamil is the language spoken in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The best curry powders are made with whole spices that are first roasted and then ground. The type of curry powder we buy in American stores is probably the mild Madras powder, a blend popular in southern India. Curries can be hotter or sweeter depending on the ingredients.

You will find curries in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, but the tradition began in India, where many spices were first cultivated. In Southeast Asia, curry paste, made from lemon grass, garlic, onions, chilies and cilantro, among other ingredients, is more common than curry powder.

this web site cooks

http://www.recipecontests.com

Feel like putting your recipes or culinary skills to the test? You are sure to find a cooking contest to satisfy competitive urges at Recipecontests.com.

The site gives information on contests sponsored by foodmakers and trade groups, including rice growers, buttermakers and beef ranchers. If you have a supply of dandelions and know how to cook them, you might be able to bring home the $500 first prize in the National Dandelion Cookoff. (More about that at http://www.edibleweeds.com.)

cooking class

To cut down on cleanup time, Woman's Day magazine suggests that when measuring shortening, first line the cup with plastic wrap.

constant comment

"How can you be expected to govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese?" Charles De Gaulle, the late president of France

Turkey a la Spam

You can add roast turkey Spam to the many varieties (regular, less sodium, lite, smoke-flavored) already on the market. If you're not a fan of Spam already, then the new turkey variety will probably not win you over. It's still Spam, no matter how you slice it.

decadent valentine's dip

Hershey's has an idea for an easy dessert fondue to celebrate the day of hearts today. Combine 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips or peanut butter chips with 1/4 cup of milk and one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and microwave 1 to 11/2 minutes on high until mixture is melted and smooth when stirred. Pour into a fondue pot or warmer and serve with poundcake pieces, marshmallows, strawberries, pretzels, corn chips or crackers.

coffee, tea or ph.d?

You may soon notice a difference in the food served on airplanes, thanks to Surrey University in England. The professor who becomes "the airline food chair" will get a $750,000 sponsorship from the International Flight Catering Association to study airline catering, Business Traveler magazine reports.

for the happy couple

Cookbooks make great wedding or shower gifts for couples just starting out, as well as for those who already know their way around a kitchen. Here are some titles to consider:

Essentials of Cooking by James Peterson (Artisan, $40, 1999).

The Essential Kitchen: Basic Tools, Recipes and Tips for a Complete Kitchen by Christine McFadden (Rizzoli, $29.95, 2000).

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Companion, edited by Chuck Williams (Time-Life Books, $24.95, 2000).

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