Farine Rava refers to coarse wheat semolina, known by various names like Rava, Sooji, Suji, or Farina, a staple in Indian and global cuisines, used for dishes from savory Upma and Dosa to sweet Halwa, prized for its quick cooking time and versatility in adding texture and a mild, nutty flavor. It's essentially durum wheat ground to a sandy texture, rich in protein, iron, and fiber, making it a nutritious ingredient for various sweet and savory preparations.
Key Characteristics
Source: Coarsely ground durum wheat.
Appearance: Pale golden, sandy texture.
Flavor: Mild and slightly nutty.
Texture: Coarse, grainy.
Common Uses
Savory: Upma, Rava Dosa, Idli, pakoras, bhajis, and noodles.
Sweet: Halwa (sweet porridge), Kheer, Ladoo, and puddings.
Health Benefits
High in protein, iron, magnesium, and fiber, which aids digestion and fullness.
Other Names
Indian: Sooji, Suji, Rawa.
Western: Semolina, Farina, Cream of Wheat (when from common wheat).
How It's Used
Often sautéed with ghee (clarified butter) before adding liquids for dishes like Halwa.
Forms the base for crispy dosas or fluffy upma.
Sooji மோர்களி ingredients :
Anil Roasted Rice Sooji - 250 grams
Dried Curry Leaves and Coriander - 1 cup
Mustard Dhal Mix - 4 tsp
Cut Brown Shallots - 2 cups
Dried Chillies - 4 torn
Milky Mist Curd - 1/4 kg
Water : Gangajal from Viswamithra Temple Musiri Koodankulam
Salt as per taste
White Peacock - 1/2 kg
Priced at 6000 per kilogram
White peacock meat, while rare and often illegal to hunt due to protection laws (like India's Wildlife Protection Act), is a lean, gamey meat similar to turkey, historically served as a luxury food in medieval Europe and occasionally farmed today for exotic markets, typically roasted or prepared in pies, though conservation status makes it generally inaccessible.
Legality & Availability
Protected Species: In India and many other places, the Indian peafowl (including white variations) is protected, making hunting and trade illegal.
Farmed for Meat: Some farms raise them for meat, selling to high-end restaurants or exotic food enthusiasts, but it's not common poultry.
Historical Delicacy: It was a status symbol in ancient Rome and the Middle Ages, often served elaborately, but was replaced by turkey after the New World discovery.
Taste & Texture
Lean & Gamey: Described as lean with a distinct gamey flavor, similar to other game birds.
Like Turkey: It's in the same family (Phasianidae) as turkeys, making turkey a good comparison for texture and cooking.
Preparation
Roasting: Often roasted, similar to turkey.
Pies & Sausages: In historical times, it was used in pies or made into sausage due to lack of refrigeration.
Legs: The legs can be cooked confit (slow-cooked in fat) to make them tender.
Nutritional Value
A source of lean protein, B vitamins, iron, and phosphorus, similar to other poultry.
The doum palm fruit-dates are edible. In Eritrea its name is Akat, or Akaat in the Tigre language. The thin dried brown rind is made into molasses, cakes, and sweetmeats. The unripe kernels are edible. The shoots of the germinated seeds are also eaten as a vegetable.[6]
COPRA
In Egypt, the fruit is sold by snack street vendors, and in herbalist shops. It is popular among children, gnawing its sweet yet sour hard fibrous flesh beneath the shiny hard crust. Occasionally, its pulp is roasted with sugar and made into a cold summer drink, similar to how Carob drink is made in Egypt. In Diu, Una and Saurashtra region of Gujarat (India), the tree is known as Hoka Tree and the red ripe edible fruit is known as Hoka. In the northern part of Nigeria, among the Hausa people, it is known as Goruba. In south-eastern Niger, its fruit pulp is known as bri and a traditional well-known millet pancake is made with this pulp as seasoning, called massan bri.
A commercial drink in Niger, called Torridité Glacée, is made from this fruit, somewhat reminiscent in taste of ice coffee or milk chocolate.[5] Apart from the use of the fruit as food, juice is extracted from the young fruit and palm wine is prepared from the sap.
Egyptian tombs
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Doum palm was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, and the seed was found in many pharaoh's tombs. On September 24, 2007, it was announced that a team of Egyptian archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass, discovered eight baskets of 3,000-year-old doum fruit in King Tutankhamun's tomb. The fruit baskets were each 50 centimetres high, the antiquities department said. The fruit are traditionally offered at funerals.[7]
