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PANELA: Oblong loaves of hard dark-brown Colombian sugar, sold in 1-pound - 10-ounce boxes containing 6 loaves. Store in a dry place in a tightly covered container. Substitute dark-brown sugar or Piloncillo
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PANSIT: Wild rice noodles used in Filipino cooking. Soak in warm water for 15 minutes until supple, and drain before using
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PAPAYA (pawpaw, lechosa, fruta bomba): Large cylindrical melon like fruit of a tree native to the West Indies. Papayas range from 3 to 20 inches in length and may weigh as much as 10 pounds. The skin is thin and smooth and, when the fruit is ripe, both skin and flesh are orange yellow to deep
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PAPPADUM: Flat lentil wafers that puff up when deep-fried. Used in Indian cuisine
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PAPRIKA: The appealing orange-reddish powder made from ground varieties of dried peppers has a slightly sweet taste. The flavor and color depend on the selection of peppers. Hungarian paprika is the most highly regarded. Paprika may be used to flavor egg, fish, potato, and other vegetable salads, and is a popular salad garnish.
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PARSLEY: A delicate, mild green herb of the carrot family, it is grown in many varieties, of which the two best known are curly and flat-leafed, or Italian, parsley. It is the best known and most widely used of all herbs and goes well with almost all salads. Parsley is also a popular salad garnish.
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PASTELES (ayacas): Puerto Rican specialty made of a stuffing of meats with raisins, olives, capers, almonds in cornmeal or mashed plantain wrapped in a plantain leaf and steamed. Found in all Spanish-speaking islands
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PASTEUTOS (pastelillos, pastechi, patty): Small meat-filled turnovers baked in a pastry crust
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PASTITSIO (Greece): A layered casserole of macaroni and chopped meat, topped with a cream sauce
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PATE EN POT: Traditional dish of the French islands; a very thick soup made of finely chopped lamb and innards and vegetables
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PATIS: Philippine fish sauce, a salty clear brownish liquid used like soy sauce as a universal condiment. Sold bottled in some Oriental specialty stores
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PAWPAW: Name for PAPAYA on English-speaking islands
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PEPPER: The world's most widely used spice is available in two varieties. Both derive from the dried berries of an East Indian woody vine. Black pepper, available whole as peppercorns, or ground, is the whole berry. White pepper is the ground, milder inside of the berry. It may be used interchangeably with black pepper but in larger quantity. Its special use is to flavor foods and dishes of light color for which the dotted appearance of black pepper is undesirable. See CHILIES AND PEPPERS.
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PEPPER POT: In Trinidad, a highly seasoned stew made with meat, game or fowl, and thickened and flavored with CASSAREEP. In Jamaica, a spicy soup made with meat or fowl and vegetables
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PERNOD: Anise-flavored aperitif, made in France
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PEYCHAUD BITTERS: Spicy red flavoring introduced to New Orleans in the 1790s by A. A. Peychaud, an apothecary. Other kinds of bitters may be substituted for Peychaud
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PHOA: Rice that has been pounded into ragged-edged translucent flakes. Deep-fried, phoa is eaten as a snack
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PHYLLO : The paper thin pastry dough essential to Greek cuisine See FILO.
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PICADILLO: Highly seasoned hash like meat dish made with raw ground beef or cooked beef. The Cuban version, with olives and raisins, is especially famous
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PICKAPEPPA: Brand name of two Jamaican sauces: Pickapeppa sauce, a sweet mango sauce, and Pickapeppa hot pepper sauce, a hot chili sauce resembling Tabasco
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PICKLED DUCK EGG YOLKS (salted eggs): Yolks of duck eggs precooked and soaked in brine for a month or more. Sold in packages of 4 in Oriental specialty stores. Store in refrigerator or freezer. You may also buy whole pickled duck eggs, sold singly, and hardflavor. cook them; do not substitute hard-cooked fresh egg yolks
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PICKLING SALT (Korean): A coarse salt used in making Korean delicacies like Kimchee. Substitute kosher salt if necessary
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PIGEON PEAS (gandules, goongoo or gunga peas): Round seeds the size of a small garden pea. Young pigeon peas may be eaten green, but the seed is usually used mature and dry, when it is brownish in color with flecks of gray. Canned green pigeon peas are sometimes available in Latin American markets; the dried variety is generally available See BEANS.
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PILAFI: Rice boiled in broth, usually with onion and other flavorings
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PILAU (pilaf, pelau): An Asian dish consisting of rice cooked with meat, fowl, fish or seafood
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PILONCILLO: Cone-shaped loaves of hard dark-brown Mexican sugar, often 1 inch at the base and 1 inch high, sold by weight at Latin American groceries. Store in a dry place in a tightly covered container. Substitute dark-brown sugar or panela
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PIMENTO: See ALLSPICE.
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PINE NUTS (pinon seeds, pignon, pignoia and Indian nuts): A white, cylindrical soft-textured nut, tender and not highly flavored, about ¼ inch long. They are used extensively in Italian and Middle Eastern cooking and are widely available, either in jars or by weight
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PINK BEANS (rosadas): Oval, pale pinkish-tan, about ½ inches long
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PINTO BEANS: Light pink, mottled with brown, about ½ inches long
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PIONONOS: Puerto Rico's deep fried plantain rings filled with spiced ground beef
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PISTACHIO: Olive-shaped nut about ½ inches long, native to the Orient and the Mediterranean. The inner kernel is green and delicately flavored; the easily split outer shell is naturally tan but frequently dyed red with vegetable coloring or turned white with a heavy
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PLANTAIN (platano, platanos): Fruit belonging to the same family as bananas and similar in shape but larger (9 to 12 inches long). Sometimes called cooking bananas, but coarser and not so sweet. Must be cooked before eating. Available in most Latin American fruit and vegetable markets in all degrees of ripeness from greenish yellow to yellow to brown. They may be cooked whatever their color; recipes will specify ripeness desired. They continue to ripen at room temperature, but when fully ripe may be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for two or three days. After peeling, remove the fibrous strings before cooking. No substitute
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POI: Pounded taro root, mixed with water to the consistency of thick cream.
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POLOURI: Small fritter of Indian origin made with split-pea meal
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POMEGRANATE: Thick-skinned reddish-brown fruit about the size and shape of an orange, the fruit of a tropical Asian and African tree. The outer rind is not edible, but the crimson pulpy seeds inside have an agreeable acid flavor and are eaten fresh or are dried for future use
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POMELO: See SHADDOCK.
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POMERAC (Otaheite apple): Pear-shaped red fruit about 3 to 4 inches long with white flesh, eaten raw or cooked and made into jams
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PONCE: Pig's stomach is filled with a spicy meat-and-yam mixture and steamed to produce an oversized sausage called a stuffed ponce
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POPPY SEED: Tiny white seed with a sweet, nutlike taste, from a plant of the poppy family. It is about the size of the familiar blue-black poppy seed, but does not have a similar flavor, so the two kinds of seeds may not be used interchangeably
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POTATO STARCH OR FLOUR: Starch made from dried potatoes ground into flour. Find in Scandinavian shops or some delicatessens
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PURSLANE (rosemoss): The reddish-green stems and brightly colored leaves of garden purslane or rosemoss are eaten as a salad or added to mixed green salads in Europe and sometimes in America.
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PY MEI FUN: See RICE STICK NOODLES.
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