123 replies to this topic

[gingerly]

more tales from laloo land

Lalu's kullhar breaks even

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's decision to replace plastic cups with earthern ware is expected to generate business worth Rs 16 billion for potters during 2004-05 if properly implemented, a study has said.

[Episure]

Vir Sanghvi looks at Gujaratis and their food in a different light

The point about the Indian lack of gastronomic adventure is not that we are so rooted in our own cuisine but that we want the same familiar rubbish that we get at our restaurants. Why is it that every Indian restaurant at every hotel – and probably every coffee shop these days – has to include some variation of butter chicken or navratan korma on its menu? Why is it that when Indians decide that they will be adventurous on holiday, they go to a Chinese restaurant and order the gobi Manchurian and prawns in garlic sauce that they could easily get at their neighbourhood chop suey place?

[mike k]

From Friday's NRA SmartBrief:

Hooters to open in India
Hooters girls are being exported to India, as Hooters inks a deal to open between five and 10 Indian franchise locations. This is the company's first foray in to the South Asian market, but it has several international locations, including restaurants in Singapore and Taiwan. MSNBC

"The outfits don’t change. We make some allowances for local menu," said Mike McNeil, vice president of marketing for Hooters of America . "We might have the steak sandwich, but you might also be able to get fish and rice or curried chicken or something like that."

The steak sandwich might not fly. Hindu diets specifically prohibit beef. McDonald's India, for example, offers a Chicken Maharaja Mac as well as the vegetarian McAloo Tikki Burger.

[gingerly]

http://autofeed.msn....b8b97cbe9a.aspx

India launched its latest assault on the lucrative taste buds of Britain this week when a Bangalore distillery unveiled its own brand of single malt in Scotland

,

It will be distributed in Britain by Glasgow-based Premier Scotch Whisky, which is owned by Alastair Sinclair.

Sinclair first came across Amrut in the mid-1980s when he was working as a consultant to the spirits industry. Since then, he said, Amrut had invested a lot of money in the distillery, which had resulted in "a very fine malt whisky indeed".

[tanabutler]

Thread to Metropolitan Home magazine with Suvir Saran: big congratulations again for this beautiful piece, with so many recipes.

[Edward]

FYI-

The latest issue of Gourmet magazine is about films and food. It features an article about Bombay-nothing new to any of us, but was still kind of cool. It also features a recipe and photo of puris from their "way we were" page-Madhur 1974 article.

Even better than this though. The new Savuer has a beautiful article about Lucknow and its Nawabi cuisine.

[Episure]

I guess there are more vegetarian savvy people here than on any other Forum. So, why dont you all show off your skills.

Is $7,000 Hiding in Your Kitchen?

Recipe Contest Challenges Cooks to Get Creative With Canned Mixed Vegetables

Is your favorite canned mixed vegetable recipe profitable? If it's quick and easy, original, and uses seven ingredients or less it could be worth $7,000.

That's the payoff the leading producer of canned mixed vegetables is offering to busier-than-ever cooks with this fall's Veg-All Makin' It Easy Recipe Contest.

With a 78-year history of making home cooking more convenient, Veg-All's latest recipe contest challenges cooks to develop homestyle creations that make it easy to bring nutrition-packed vegetables back into today's hectic lifestyles. Entries are being accepted from September 1 to November 30, 2004.

"A lot of people think they don't have time to prepare nutritious meals," says Tom Erman, vice president of marketing for the Allen Canning Company, "but with no washing, slicing, or dicing required, time-savers like canned mixed vegetables make home cooking possible on any schedule. We're challenging cooks to take the convenience of Veg-All, add six more ingredients, and make creative, quick, and easy new recipes."

Those who take the challenge seriously will find that mom was right: It does pay to eat your vegetables. With a grand prize of $7,000 and seven $1,000 first prizes, nutrition is not the only reward in a can of mixed vegetables!


How to Enter
To enter the Veg-All Makin' It Easy Recipe Contest, entrants should:
-- Develop and submit an original recipe using Veg-All 15 ounce Original
Mixed Vegetables.
-- Submit entry on a 3"x5" recipe card and include: Recipe name; complete
listing of recipe ingredients with U.S. measurements (must be 7
ingredients or less to qualify); step-by-step instructions for
preparation, mixing, cooking/baking, prep/cook time and temperature
requirements; number of servings yielded; serving suggestions; and any
other pertinent information.
-- Submit the following on a separate 3"x5" card: Entrant's full name,
home address, telephone number, and e-mail address (if available).
-- Limit of two entries per household. Only one entry per envelope.
-- Include one UPC from a 15 ounce Veg-All Original Mixed Vegetables
label.
-- All entries should be typed, or hand printed in ink. Entries must be
received no later than November 30, 2004, and mailed to:

Veg-All Makin' It Easy Recipe Contest
P.O. Box 109
Anaheim, CA 92815-0109

Judging Criteria


Recipe entries will be judged by an independent judging organization and an experienced home economist based on the following criteria:


-- Taste - 50%
-- Originality - 25%
-- Appearance - 25%

Prizes

One grand prize of $7,000 cash and seven first prizes of $1,000 cash will be awarded, for a total of $14,000 in cash prizes.

Veg-All, a mix of seven delicious vegetables in a light onion broth (carrots, potatoes, celery, sweet peas, green beans, corn, and lima beans), is the leading brand of canned mixed vegetables in the United States. The brand is packaged and distributed by Allen Canning of Siloam Springs, Ark., and was first introduced in 1926. For more information log on to http://www.veg-all.com/ .



Web site: http://www.veg-all.com/

[Episure]

Bhasin's Delhi Club.

Lunchtime finds a much-abbreviated menu of salads, sandwiches using naan as bookends to fillings, and a curry of the day. Hope to find either saag gosht (tender lamb buried in gingery spinach) or pista korma (chicken draped in a creamy beige blanket of ground pistachios, fennel and cardamom). Both entrees are offered at night, and both are likely to leave you swabbing their bowls for the last drop of sauce with the excellent breads here, the best of which are lightly stuffed with cottage cheese or fresh mint. Another winning main dish: tender lamb chops in a brick-red sauce that's at once fruity, tart and fiery. The perfect antidote to the flames is Indian ice cream -- dense, chewy, rich with the flavor of nuts and cardamom and absolutely irresistible after the first bite.

[gingerly]

coals to newcastle?looks like it!

A coalition of 93 UK-based Indian food manufacturers are planning to sell India samosas made in the UK. Not just samosas, chicken tikka masala, naan, kebabs, or any item that is par for the course at any eatery in India.

Edited by gingerly, 11 September 2004 - 11:55 AM.

[Monica Bhide]

"No kitchens are no entry for outsiders " -- here is the link to an interesting piece in the Hindustan Times --

http://www.hindustan...88,00180007.htm

[foodietraveler]

We recieve copy of magazine in mail Friday. Reading magazine i found Indian Home Cooking and Suvir Saran again. I miss cover mention of article.

Very nice photographs and recipes. Well written article, so Indian. Makes me homesick.

More recipes for me to try and now I have to go buy Monica Bhide in Bon Apetit magazine.

[Episure]

Monica congratulations!

Monica Bhide's book - The Spice is Right is featured in the latest issue of India's favourite women's magazine FEMINA.

An absolute down- to- earth Indian cookbook for the hard- pressed- for- time, health conscious cook. The highlight of the book is that it's organised into menus. So, let's say you pick a topic- 'Seafood Special" or 'An Intimate Dinner For Two'(and there are many such brilliant options), you wouldnt have to ponder on drawing up the menu! It's all right there - a spread for a complete meal. Read, cook and set the table!

And wait... another good part - each menu concludes with a section on what to do with the leftovers. The idea stems from the author's dislike for wasting food. So, if you're bound to love this idea, if you hate wasting, too!

Buy Monica's book through this egullet amazon link The spice is right

[foodietraveler]

I finally open the newspaper to read story on Kishore Kumar and as flipping the page, I find big article on Suvir Saran. Photo from book of squash recipe, photo of Suvir and photo of book image. Big story and very nice about his chef at home.

Cooking for Panditji - Aseem Chabra

"One of New York's hottest chefs thrives on inspiration that goes way back to his childhood. Aseem Chabra gets a taste of what makes Suvir Saran sizzle."

No online version or else I give link here.

You can subscribe to India Abroad by going to www.indiaabroad.com

Monica Bhide and Suvir Saran make us proud. They are all over.

[gingerly]

next-chutney marie?

The enthusiasm for Indian food is touching such heights that even the French food snobs can no longer resist its lure. The age-old Indian chutney, which is believed to have found its way to France through Britain, is being hailed as a symbol of modern cuisine by the French. Chutney and pickles are hitting supermarket shelves in a big way. .

India is a lot nearer that you think," said Le Monde. "It is just on the other side of the Channel. It is in England that all the Indian foods exported to France are made." Parisian gastronomes say the chutney is an evidence that British taste may not be as bad as they thought

According to the L'Express, three years ago it could only be found in a handful of specialist stores. French people had heard of it only through pupils who returned from language courses in Britain with tales of how they were forced to eat cheese with a spicy condiment

.

[Episure]

the southern coastal region called Chettinad flaunts another cuisine that thumbs its nose at Tamil vegetarianism.

Of more interest are the chicken choices that show a Chinese influence, perhaps partly a result of the Chettiar diaspora. One such is chicken 65 ($7.95), a heap of crispy fried drumsticks that benefit from a gingery marinade. Multiple stories circulate as to the origin: (1) It was invented at a café on Highway 65, (2) There are 65 grams of chile for every kilogram of chicken, and most unbelievably, (3) It was invented in 1965 at the behest of a British traveler. Indo-Chinese dishes can often be identified by their non-Indian names: ginger chicken, chili chicken, etc.

Groan, yet another version of Chicken 65!

[Episure]

Rajeev Patgaonkar is one of the Kellogg Center's premier chefs

His expertise even took him to kitchens in the Saudi royal family's palaces.

Secret of Indian cookery. It's the spice box - and a coffee grinder .

"The coffee grinder is an indispensable tool if you're going to make your own powders," she said. "After you finish with one spice, you wash it or wipe it down, and it's ready for the next spice. Once a week, or once in two weeks, I grind my fennel, coriander, cumin and even black pepper, and then it's ready to go."

[Episure]

Sizz’l-n-Spice, downtown Detroit’s’s new Indian restaurant

. The teeming hordes of Compuware and other downtown businesses are coming for owner Ragu Rao’s brilliant concept of the carry-out buffet: all you can stuff into a box for $4.95 (vegetarian) or $5.95 (carnivores).

The lunch buffet offers at least 13 items to choose from, including tandoori chicken every day, salad and dessert. Those with a longer lunch break can choose the all-you-can-stuff-into-yourself, sit-down deal, at $7.95.

[gingerly]

http://autofeed.msn....e69f63b0d9.aspx

Pop star Michael Jackson has hired the Indian manager of a top curry house in Scotland to be his personal chef during a visit to Britain in November.The superstar has asked Raj Bajwe, 41, to fly to London next month to cook his favourite Indian meals

Reports say that Raj, manager of Glasgow's award-winning Cafe India, will prepare Jackson's favourite vegetarian dishes including 'Saag Paneer', 'Allo Golu', 'pakora', fried rice dishes, 'chapatis' and 'naan' breads

"His favourite Indian dish is 'Saag Paneer', which is spinach cooked through with cheese. He just loves that. He also likes 'Allo Golu', which is a spicy potato dish.

[Episure]

Monica Bhide profiles chicken curry versions in the washington post

Just as many states, regions and sub-regions in the United States have their own version of barbecue, every state and sub-region of India has its own version of chicken curry -- which translates literally to "chicken in a spiced sauce."

Home to more than a billion people, speaking more than a dozen languages and of hugely different ethnicities, India has at least 35 recognized cuisines. Each cuisine is greatly influenced by local ingredients, geography, history and religion.

[Geetha]

I wonder if there is a pointer here

The so-called Punjabi food, now unfortunately known as Indian food all over, uses a mishmash of tomato and onion for anything that goes into a cooking pan. The subtle flavours of each dish, or shall we call it, its individuality, is mercilessly drowned. This is a tendency, which has started making inroads into Bengali cuisine also, and certainly in the presentations of professional caterers of Bengali food. An overdose of coriander leaves is also not infrequent. It is time that we take serious notice and not let our cuisine be debauched

My my

Edited by Geetha, 21 October 2004 - 05:27 PM.

[cherimoya]

There is an article on "Fragrant Feasts of Lucknow" in the current (October 2004) issue of saveur.

Roohi

[Episure]

Suvir's Devi Restaurant, 212-691- 1300, the city's newest high- end Indian restaurant,

Or just stop in for a saffron martini and either a chai panna cotta or mango cheesecake. I couldn't find anything there that didn't taste wonderful.

[deliad]

Nimmi Paul of Kerala to showcase Indian cooking in USA.

Link

http://timesofindia....show/905765.cms

[Episure]

Bombay to Watsonville

Lil India, Nijjar's newest restaurant, brings mostly northern Indian curries, clay pot foods and tandoori dishes to East Lake Village in what is most likely the first Indian restaurant in Watsonville's history.

"A lot of people said that with the Latinos here and the Mexican restaurants, an Indian restaurant wouldn't make it," Nijjar said.

But two weeks into serving more than a dozen different dishes, Nijjar has found the Indian food business in Watsonville thriving. In such a short time, several customers have even become regulars, she said.

[Episure]

Hungary for Curry

Around 360 guests sampled food from some of Budapest's best Indian restaurants,

Dishes of India Sparkles with Innovative Wine Dinner

Dishes of India sparkled last week as it hosted a special Four-Course Sparkler Dinner. Conducted by John Barth from Virginia Imports, it featured sparkling wines from Italy, France, Spain, Napa and Sonoma, coupled with special menu items from the restaurants.

[Monica Bhide]

The Economic Times features Monica's Choice

[Episure]

Fiery combination

When Indian spices team with Chinese fare, the `tangy fusion' causes culinary sparks to fly

By Monica Bhide, Special to the Tribune. Monica Bhide is author of "The Everything Indian Cookbook: 300 Tantalizing Recipes--From Sizzling Tandoori Chicken to Fiery Lamb Vindaloo."

These dishes belong to a cuisine popularly known as "Indian Chinese," a blending of Chinese cooking styles and Indian tastes. For years Indian Chinese has been included in many restaurant menus in India and is popular at roadside eateries as well. Unlike the Chinese cuisine served in traditional Chinese restaurants, this style has a strong bias towards spicier, more pronounced flavors.

New York-based Indian food writer Aminni Ramachandran agreed.

"Indian Chinese is gaining popularity because most Indians associate Chinese food with the type of Indian Chinese they had back in India," Ramachandran said. "The authentic Chinese served at various Chinatowns in the U.S. is very different in taste. For a long time there were only the tandoori-type Indian restaurants in the United States.

"In recent years Indian regional food has become more popular. And for people of Bengal, Mumbai and Delhi who have grown up enjoying the Chinese cuisine in India, these fusion Chinese Indian restaurants are in essence another regional cuisine restaurant."

[Edward]

meant to post this before but forgot....this is an article Vikram wrote for the year end edition of Economic Times that has some commentary from me....

economictimes

[Episure]

Tantric pleasures the palate

The cuisine of the moment in Boston is Indian. Who would have guessed the home of the bean and the cod would become the home of the dhal and the naan with a spate of new, hip Indian restaurants?

    For years, the only Indian food available in these parts was the Moghul cooking of Northern India, with its tandoori roasts, biryanis and pullaos. The vast majority of Indian restaurants were dimly lighted, often down-at-the-heel affairs with virtually identical menus. But India is a huge country with many distinct regional cuisines. So when local Indian restaurateurs began opening stylishly decorated, upscale restaurants featuring authentic dishes from such places as Kerala, Goa and Hyderabad, discerning diners couldn’t get enough.

    The latest entry is Tantric Bar & Grill at the Transportation Building in the Theatre District.

[whippy]

Pierce Brosnan, Restaurateur