Chutney is loan word incorporated into English from Hindi. It is derived from caṭnī , a term for a class of spicy preparations used as an accompaniment for a main dish. Chutneys usually contain an idiosyncratic but complementary spice and vegetable mix.
The cayenne pepper – also known as the Guinea pepper or bird pepper or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper – is a hot, red chilli pepper used to flavour dishes and for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum related to bell peppers, jalapeños, and others.
A caper is a perennial spiny bush that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and big white to pinkish-white flowers. A caper is also the pickled bud of this plant. The bush is native to the Mediterranean region. The plant is best known for the edible bud and fruit (caper berry) which are usually consumed pickled.
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates.
A sambal is a chilli based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. It is typically made from a variety of peppers, although chilli peppers are the most common. It is sometimes a substitute for fresh chillis. It can be extremely spicy for the uninitiated.
Tahini or sesame paste is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. Middle Eastern tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds.
This is is the term generally used to describe a cake that is made without flour, though modern foodies tend to talk about, e.g. ‘flour-less chocolate cake’ instead of ‘chocolate torte’. I like to use ‘torte’, as I think it is more correct, and definitely sounds more ‘posh’ than ‘flour-lessR …
