rajsuman

This does not exclude Monica, Rajsuman and all the other ladies here. Sorry. No need to be sorry, I don't like ketchup at all. My husband and son are great fans so we always have an industrial-sized bottle at home. I cook some of those Indo-chinese dishes with it but I won't eat it as an accompaniment. Gimme chilli sauce/mint chutney/tabasco any day, but please NO ketchup! BTW, I absolutely love tomatoes in everything I eat, I don't know why I don't like ketchup. Perhaps it's too sweet for me. I'm not a great fan of imli ki chutney either. Suman

I'm so jealous- both my grandmas had all the recipes in their heads - my big loss. I once bought a totally useless cookbook from a second-hand shop just for the nostalgia factor. It is a stained, much-used copy with remarks pencilled in the margins. Have never cooked from it and I don't suppose I ever will. Suman

Funny, just opened another Natco Palak Paneer can - the paneer was nothing like I mentioned above. It was quite ordinary. Maybe they came from two different batches. Suman

Roomali Roti? Or is that too ambitious for the home cook?

Happy Diwali everyone! It's going to be hectic over the next few days, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post. Got guests coming too over the weekend. I was just wondering if anyone else celebrates the custom of eating fish during Diwali. We wouldn't dream of touching anything non-veg. on other religious holidays, but during Diwali fish (no chicken or meat) is a must. I know Bengalis consider fish vegetarian, so they would probably eat it and that Andhrites (some of those I know anyway) also follow this custom. Anyone know the reason behind this? Have a joyous one. Sorry about your grandmas Suvir. Suman

If you're still counting, I have a modest collection of 72, not counting my 'Oxford Companion to Food'. Suman

Yes, even I was thinking of chocolate burfi - that can't go wrong, can it? the cake and the chiwda sound lovely too. How old is your son, Monica? Thanks. Suman P.S. Confession: I'm seriously addicted to this forum! I get withdrawal symptoms if I can't get a fix on a daily (hourly is even better) basis

Hi, I'm organising a Diwali party at my son's school, which has children from many different ethnic backgrounds. Would anyone have suggestions on what I could make for the snacks (one savoury, one sweet perhaps)? I keep changing my mind because unlike at birthday parties, this one will have to be more traditional - I'm not sure if all the children will like Indian sweets. I'm kind of leaning towards tiny samosas (ambitious, because I haven't the time/patience/energy to make so many) and burfi, perhaps. Any advice greatly appreciated. Suman

Edited to add in a bit more: Actually I just tried them, they broke up in the syrup. I was pretty convinced too that it shouldn't matter. Now I have to be creative and come up with ways of convincing my son they're meant to be that way. Suman

Any known substitute for the kachri?

Hi all, I'm planning to make GJs for Diwali (recipe from Neelam Batra's cookbook). She uses non-fat milk powder and butter. I have full-fat milk powder (Nido) at home. Will it make a difference? Need I modify the recipe to accomodate this change? Thanks Suman

And I can't wait to try your version Monica! I must remember to add mints to this week's shopping list.

Vikram: By fenugreek, I presume you mean the seeds? The herb would seem unusual (to me anyway). Can't wait to try it. My mother makes two kinds of garlic chutney: Wet and Dry. In both cases the garlic is sauteed gently in ghee (oil will not give you the same flavour) until golden, removed from the ghee and cooled. It is then ground with roasted coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind and salt. The only difference between the two chutneys is that you do not overprocess if you need it dry. Garlic is a very sticky thing, so it will make everything clump together. Just add more water and grind to a finer paste if you like your chutney wet. I love garlic, so I can't wait to try all the versions mentioned here. Suman

In his book 'The Bombay Brasserie' , Chef Udit Sarkhel suggests a way to recreate a tandoor at home. It involves getting your oven very hot, putting live coals in a roasting tin and placing the tin in the oven. I haven't mustered enough courage to try it yet. I've read of cases where people roll tins (with food inside)over gas fires to recreate the tandoor effect. Suman

Hello Episure, Could you please elaborate? You've got me curious as a cat! Suman

Hello Vikram, Nice article! Perhaps you should write a book on the subject (or recommend one that you know of). Yes indeed I meant the Mangalore/Udupi/Kerala style of cooking. Thanks for making the distinction. As for the other Tulu dish, EPisure, wouldn't it be great if we all had the recipe? Suman

The recipe as promised: Kori Ghashi 1 chicken, about 1 kg, cut into pieces 1½ coconut for milk ½ coconut, grated 15-20 red chillies 2 level tbsp. coriander seeds 1 level tsp cumin seeds 10 seeds fenugreek 1 tsp peppercorns ghee for frying and tempering 3 onions, chopped ¼ tsp turmeric pdr 6 flakes of garlic 1 tsp butter salt to taste ½ tsp garam masala Extract thick and thin milk from the coconut (about 2 cups thick and 3 cups thin). I frequently used canned coconut milk instead. Roast the grated coconut until brown. Fry ingredients from red chillies to peppercorns in a little ghee. Fry separately 1 chopped onion until light brown. Grind the coconut, the spices and the onion with the turmeric and garlic to a very fine paste. Combine the masala with the thin milk, chicken, 1 chopped onion, butter, salt to taste and cook until the chicken is done. Add the thick coconut milk, lemon juice and simmer for a few minutes. Tempering: Fry the remaining chopped onion in ghee until brown. Add the garam masala powder and pour over the curry. Serve with roti, kori-roti, idli, dosas, appam or rice.

Hello Bhasin, That recipe is not a Konkani recipe (as I said before, many recipes in the list are not konkani). I wonder if there are any traditional chicken recipes in Konkani cuisine? My grandma never cooked chicken and I don't remember ever eating a Konkani chicken dish. I must ask my Amma. However the Bunts (Tulu-speaking community) in Mangalore make some lovely chicken dishes - two of my favourite are kori ghashi and kori sookha. The ghashi is a curry they eat with a thin crisp wafer-like bread called kori - roti. It is a must-try! I'll post both chicken recipes soon. Suman

Thanks for all the lovely suggestions. Can't wait to try them all!

I know I promised to share recipes, will do that too, but look what I just found right here on this forum: a recipe for a pomfret curry just the way we would make it (although we would call it Maanji ghashi rather than amboteek) http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=40&t=24477& Suman

Hi, Some of the most memorable dishes I have eaten in Indian restaurants had a smokey flavour to it. I can still almost taste the mixed dal I ate in a small restaurant in Edinburgh, the aloo gobhi and a mushroom rice here in Dublin , the smokiness enhancing their flavour superbly. I know that they must be using their tandoor to get that flavour, but is there any way to recreate it at home? I neither have a tandoor nor a BBQ, so I was delighted when Sanjeev Kapoor showed a way to cook 'Dhungar Dal' on Khana Khazana. The results were quite disappointing - there was no smoke flavour at all. These are the things I have tried: - Cook dal, place a piece of foil on top. Now put a piece of live coal on the foil and pour a few drops of ghee onto the coal. Cover tightly and allow to smoke for a few minutes. This is Sanjeev Kapoor's trick, but it didn't work for me. - I roasted the uncooked dal, even burnt it a bit on purpose, and then cooked it. This tasted burnt (and why wouldn't it? ) rather than smoked. - I added liquid smoke to my aloo gobhi, but the flavour of the liquid smoke goes better with Western dishes, definitely not with Aloo gobhi. - My bharthas and naans are good enough because I char them over the gas fire. And as I write that it occurs to me that perhaps I could char the aloo/gobhi a bit too. But how do I do the dal? Suman

We Konkanis use them in three ways as far as I know: - in sambhars and coconut based sauces - make a side dish with mustard, dried red chillies, tomatoes, aubergine/eggplant/brinjal and the drumstick of course. - coat pieces with a batter of besan,rice flour, hing, chilli powder and salt and then deep-fry them. Suman P.S. They should have the provision for a salivating smiley, because that's what I often do when I am on this forum.

Hi tryska, I'm sorry I can't remember. It was at least six or seven years ago. Wish I could have been more helpful. Do let us know how the recipes turn out. Suman

Thanks Episure! Will let you know how I get on. If I could help it, I'd be hanging around this forum 24/7...Yes I agree with you - Irish people are the nicest I've ever known. Have you been here? You sound like you're a bit of a globe-trotter. Suman (must get myself a nice signature..)

And what unusual things do you bring back from India? I've brought varak, copper vessels, the traditional butter-churner (mathani, even though I don't use it - mainly for decoration purposes), dried rose petals, bamboo shoots in brine, raw mangoes in brine.... Still on my list/wish list: Hyderabad ka potli masala, brass vessels, the black claypot my grandma used to make her famous fish curry in, surahi (a bit far-fetched I know)