Mustard can elevate almost any food from hot dogs to sauteed spinach. And it’s rather simple to make
My grandmother recently taught me how to make teliya bataka, a signature Kutchi Bhatia recipe she learnt from her mother. It’s an instant pickle in which mustard is rubbed with water until it froths and releases a pungent smell and then tossed with cold cooked potatoes, oil, turmeric and salt. Ever since then, I have taken to making homemade mustard. People rarely make mustard from scratch. But it’s actually quite simple.
The trick is to manipulate the pungency of mustard seeds. You can use one type of seed (or powder) or experiment till you find a blend that gives you the pungency you desire. Pick from white, brown, or black or make a mix. The reaction of white mustard is milder than brown or black. I use a mix that is two parts kadia, the split mustard Gujaratis use for pickling and one part brown whole mustard seeds. I soften the whole mustard by soaking it in either water, vinegar or beer. (I’ve even used Naga chilli flavoured vodka.)
I strain and grind the seeds to a paste. To this I add freshly powdered split mustard and cold water. What gives mustard its bite is the chemical inside the seeds reacting with the cold water. Heat damages this reaction, so to make a hot mustard you must use cold water. Warm water will give you a more mellow mustard.
Now in about 10 minutes you should have the reaction that will create the pungency. Left alone, the bite of your mustard will fade in a few days, or even hours. If you want to preserve and ‘set’ its bite you need to add an acid, usually vinegar. But remember: always add water or a non-acidic liquid first and let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes. Add the acid (vinegar, verjus, lemon juice) when the pungency peaks. Then add the salt — about one to two teaspoons per cup of prepared mustard — not just for the flavour but also because it is a preservative. Once made, your mustard will never spoil. Mustard is one of the most powerful antimicrobial plants in existence and the combination with vinegar and salt makes it so potent that nothing can survive in it. They say mustard will never go bad, only dry out. Finally, leave your mustard to set in the fridge or in a cool place for a day before you dip into it. It will be slightly bitter at first. But that’s an initial by-product of the mustard reaction that fades in a day.
Valued for its medicinal qualities and flavour, mustard is used round the year as an ingredient in daily meals. Its preservative qualities make it a major ingredient in pickling while its astringent properties make it an important digestive.
In fact in the north, Holi, which signifies the change of season, is celebrated with a sharp drink made with fermented mustard and local black carrots called kanji. Punjabis swear by sarson ka saag — a dish of cooked mustard greens that is typically had in the winter — and north Indian cuisine actually relies more on cold pressed raw mustard oil for that pungent mustard flavour than the seeds themselves.
Entrapping the pungency of the kanji into a magical condiment that can zing up any meal is a specialty of Bengali cuisine. Bengalis are fond of kasundi, a mustard paste that is served as a dip for fried foods or a condiment for simple meals such as rice and boiled potatoes or sauteed leafy greens. Made of black or brown mustard crushed and pounded with green chillies and salt, kasundi is never ground in a mixer. It’s traditionally ground using a sheel-nora, a stone mortar and
pestle, that draws out the flavour of mustard by agitating the inherent oils in the seeds.
These oils contain chemicals and enzymes that, when combined with water or vinegar, react to liberate compounds called isothiocyanates, which give mustard its heat. That’s why when you mix dry mustard with water, the heat of the mustard paste starts out low but slowly increases, reaching a peak in about ten to 15 minutes.
Mustard pastes and sauces are an important part of cuisines the world over. Commonly paired with meats and cheeses, mustard is a popular addition to sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs. It works as an excellent emulsifier in stabilizing a mixture of two or more unblendable liquids such as oil and water which is why it is often added to dressings and marinades. And because mustard curbs the tendency to curdle it, is an important ingredient in hollandaise and other glazes, sauces and soups.
English mustards are made with both white and brown mustard seeds, are pungent, hot and among the strongest, which makes them great in sandwiches paired with cold meats or with oily fish preparations. French mustards, usually made with brown mustard seeds and wine vinegar or grape juice, have a milder flavour that is ideal on cheese platters and in salads, especially those made with seafood. And it must be said that Moutarde de Dijon is my favourite of the French offerings for its grainy quality. There is something infinitely pleasing about seeds popping in the mouth. German mustards or senf made with brown mustards seeds, vinegar and sweetened with brown sugar or honey are milder still (although there are strong German mustards as well) and ideal in frankfurters and even hot dogs. American mustards made with white mustard seeds are the mildest.
While there are many other ‘national’ types of mustard, look out for deli style mustards on your travels. Nani’s teliya bataka actually took me back to my visit to Terra Madre, the slow food showcase in Italy last year where I discovered countless lesser known mustards from all over the world. Some were traditional, such as horseradish mustard and mustard made with Irish whiskey. And then there were the relatively new innovations flavoured with all sorts of things from beer to curry powder. Closer home, I am very partial to I2Cook Pink Mustard. This is a deli style whole grain mustard made from organic ingredients in small batches by enterprising food blogger, Megha Goyal, of the blog I2cook.
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