rajsuman

Thanks for the tempting offer,Bhasinji. I would have taken it up in a flash, except that there's this small problem of me living thousands of miles away from you. Still, maybe I can persaude my husband to take our next holiday in Virginia. Suman

You're right, there IS a fish market in Dublin. Just found out, thank you. Can't wait to go there. Suman

correction:678 actually. I thought I had 43, but ended up counting 47.

What kind of fat would you recommend adding to the lean mince?

Hi, Currently I get my supply of seafood from Superquinn, and even though their selection is better than any other supermarket, I'd like to have more variety. For example, my fav. are sardines and tiger prawns, but it's not often I get to see them in Superquinn. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks, Suman

My mom loves to cook and my dad loves to eat and try new dishes. So my brother and I grew up eating different things. Of course, 70% of the time, she cooked Konkani dishes. But the rest of the time, it could be anything:Chinese, Punjabi, Gujarati, Pakistani, Italian. I guess that's why I'm more of a home-foodie rather than a restaurant-foodie, i.e., much as I love eating out, ultimately I want to cook those foods myself at home. Things I didn't like growing up: Milk (still don't) and Chicken(I loved the curries that it was cooked in, but I couldn't bring myself to like the chicken). Other than that, I don't remember hating anything else. I must ask my mom - perhaps she'll remember something I don't. Suman

Yes, I use the broccoli stems too. Prefer them to the florets in fact. There is a supermarket here where you can chop off extra-long stems of broccoli into a container. People who own rabbits can take the stems home free for their pets. Naturally, every now and then I pretend to own a rabbit or two. Monica I know the dish you're talking about. It's delicious. I think it's called Kutter or something. I have the recipe for it somewhere. Gingerly, my mom's friend makes these bhajiyas (fritters) with the peel of the raw banana. I haven't tasted it, but my mom said they were very nice. Suman

Hi Monica, I could send you a copy if you like. My parents are coming over mid-August, if they manage to track it down in Dubai (that's where I bought it from), I will have no problem sending it to you. Just don't blame me if your hubby files for divorce. Suman

Sorry Pan! I try as much as possible not to use totally Indian terms or at least provide a translation (e.g my other posts today), but sometimes(read: nearly always) when the kids are simultaneously demanding attention, my main aim then becomes to finish my reply asap. Triphala is a spice related to the Szechuan peppercorn I gather. It has been discussed in more detail elsewhere on this forum. I might be wrong to assume not many Indians know the meaning of sukke. 'Sukke' means dry and could be used to mean any side-dish without any liquid in it, but from where I come from it usually means a dry vegetable dish with a ground coconut masala. Suman

Things that normally get thrown away but in fact taste pretty good: Cauliflower stalks (the outer green ones): My mom puts them in Ghashis (Konkani curries), although they do have to be cooked properly. Undercooked they taste like cowfeed, overcooked they taste really horrible. Cauliflower stalks(The inner white ones ):My mom fries some jeera, green chillies, haldi, add the chopped stalks and fries them until tender, but not too soft. She then adds coriander leaves and lemon juice. It should be hot and sour. My friend from Andhra makes a chutney with it (I love the way they make chutneys with any vegetable imaginable)- she lightly fries them and grind them with chillies, roasted gram and tamarind and then adds a tadka of garlic and urad dal. Wonderful! Yellow cucumber peel upkari: In our family this is known as koira upkari, which translated means a stir-fry of kachra (rubbish). But that is such a misnomer, because it is a lovely and nutritious way to use up all the yellow melon peels. Heat ghee, add mustard and crushed red chillies, then add the finely chopped peels and fry until done. Ridge-gourd peel chutney: jeera, green chillies, coconut, tamarind and roasted ridge-gourd peels. I've also heard of chutney being made out of okra trimmings. Tamarind seeds: I've seen them being roasted, shelled and chewed on like supari. It is sometimes soaked in yogurt to soften it and add flavour. Kharbooj seeds: Charmagaz is one, but we love them washed, dried, roasted in a bit of oil, then seasoned with salt and chilli powder. Goes very well with any good book. That's my list - now let's hear yours! Suman

Anyone interested in producing restaurant-like food at home should get hold of 'The Super Indian Cookbook Vols I & II' in addition to Prashad. The only catch is, it's not easily available and you need to know someone in Dubai to obtain it. Like many of my other cookbooks, this came free with some magazine. It has a good selection of recipes and wonderful pics, plus all the recipes I've tried have received much praise. Edited to add this link: http://www.godubai.com/telelife/book.asp?m_id=2444 Suman

Thanks for all the tips! In the end I didn't have much time except to infuse it in hot water. Indiachef, I would have thought it strange too, this addition of triphala in a sukke. But that's the way they do it in Kumta and it really works, especially if you use ghee for the tadka. I'm so glad that my sister-in-law lives in Kumta, because that way I get to taste all the fantastic regional food, particularly seafood. FYI Episure: A bendi is much like the Konkani ghashi, except that it is hotter, thinner and more sour. Dried beans are cooked (potatoes, bamboo shoots or spinach may also be added to complement the beans) and a paste of roasted dried red chillies, coconut and tamarind is added. The dish is simmered then a tadka of fried crushed garlic is added. Suman

1. The Best-ever Cook's Collection - Indian Shehzad Hussain and Rafi Fernandes 2. 50 Great Curries of India - Camellia Panjabi 3. Dakshin - Chandra Padmanabhan 4. Gulf News Cookery Book Volumes 1 to 6 10. Khaleej Times Cookbooks 4 Volumes 14. The Super Indian Cookbook Vol. I & II 16. Fresh Flavours of India Das Sreedharan 17. Prashad Cooking with Indian Masters Jiggs Kalra 18. The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking - Yamuna Devi 19. Flavours of India - Madhur Jaffrey 20. A Taste of India - MAdhur Jaffrey 21. The Indian Menu Planner 22. A Cook's Tour of South India - Vimla Patil 23. Indian Recipes - Premila Lal 24. Cook and See Vols I, II, III 27. Indian Cuisine Dal Roti - Vimla Patil 28. Taste of Rajasthan - Nita Mehta 29. Taste of Gujarat - Nita Mehta 30. Chatpatatta Khana - Rano Suri 31. The Curry Secret - Kris Dhillon 32. Bengali Cooking Seasons and Festivals - Chitrita Banerjee 33.Tandoori Curry Cookbook - Pat Chapman 34. Cooking the Punjabi Way - Aroona Reejhsinghani 35. Coastal Fiesta - Traditional Mangalorean Delicacies 36. Dakshin Bharat Dishes - Jaya V. Shenoy 37. A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food - K.T. Achaya 38. Home Encyclopaedia - J.B. Lobo 39. More Paneer - Nita Mehta 40. The Snack-time Cookbook - Indra Khosla and Smiti Munwani 41. Delights from Goa - Aroona Reejhsinghani 42. Karnataka Sangha Dubai Cookbook 43.The Sumeet Cookbook 44. Food of Kerala (lent it to a friend, and can't remember the author's name ) 45. Party Cooking - Tarla Dalal These, though not strictly Indian cookbooks, still qualify I think. 46. Chinese Cooking for Indian Homes - Shailaja Abhyankar & Poonam Anand 47. Eastern Vegetarian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey (lots of lovely recipes, but unfortunately I've only tried Indian ones) Suman

674 so far. Pat, that's the reason I asked. I thought it said 'kodava' and now I've GOT to add it to my already-too-long wish list. A Coorgi friend in college used to bring this heavenly bamboo shoot pickle from home. Simply superb! Milagai, I'm writing this in the selfish hope that I might get to see your collection. Go to www.egullet.com, click on 'Image Gullet', upload your images and copy the img tag, then paste it into your post. My list of cookbooks coming up. Suman

Hello Lakshmi, Tarladalal.com would be a great place for all-vegetarian recipes although only a limited number of recipes are accessible free of charge. sanjeevkapoor.com also is accessible via paid membership only. I have the book that gingerly mentioned, but that doesn't contain a huge selection of vegetarian recipes. If you're looking for one particular dish, the best thing to do would be to post its name here, so we can all collectively brainstorm. Hope this helps. Suman

Hi, I want to cook a version of mushroom sukke that my sister-in-law makes. I need to use triphala for it. The only way I've seen it being used is in its whole form. They boil it in water and use the water to flavour the dish or use it in tadka. I want to know if I could roast it up and powder it - I have a limited stock, so can't afford to waste it on experimentation. That's also the reason I'd rather not use them whole and then discard them if I can help it. I know this has been discussed elsewhere and remember Episure mentioning roasting and grinding it. I wonder if the flavour is more potent when you grind it? Can you grind it finely to a powder? Will the ground spice lend a bitter taste to the dish or a produce a tingling sensation in the mouth, the kind you get when you suck on a szechuan peppercorn? And you're right Episure - this spice deserves more recognition than it gets. I absolutely love its aroma and the flavour it lends to the dish. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks, Suman

527! Sleepy dragon, it was great taking a peek at your collection . What is the one third from the top? What are Smita Chandra's books like? Suman

When I tasted it I figured that it would go well with some sweet condiment. Didn't have chundo , so used imli ki chatni instead. Tradional or not, the kids loved it.

Ah! Now the world makes sense again! And my DH can't handle my mere 43+!

While we're on the subject, is besan made from plain chana dal or roasted chana dal (the kind used in chutneys in the south)? Suman

405 already! Those little hands belong to my 17-month old daughter, who justs insists on being in front of the camera/mirror all the time. Such vanity! Heaven knows she doesn't get it from her parents! Monica, how can you resist opening the boxes? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I had a few untouched cookbooks lying around like that. I even spent a whole day at the hotel browsing through my newly acquired cookbooks when I was supposed to be sightseeing in LA! I know, I'm quite insane....at least here on eGullet people understand my need to do such crazy things. Edward, like I said, 'Indian everyday' is from the library. I tried a few recipes, but none of them were very nice, and not just from the absence of fat. I also got annoyed with the wrong hindi names of the dishes (there were many, but I can't remember a single one). If 'Paneer ka Mithai' (I'm not sure this dish exists in the book - I'm just giving an example) is correct then I must re-sit my hindi exams. Suman

I've tried to make from my memory the same vada-pav and lasanchi chatni that we used to get in the school canteen in Thane. No luck yet. That red-hot chatni particularly was fabulous. Can you imagine such spicy stuff in European/American schools? Suman

Inspired by a similar thread under 'General Food Topics', I wanted to know how many Indian cookbooks we collectively own on this forum. I have 43 right now, but I'm sure more will turn up from under the bed etc. I'm particularly curious about your collection Vikram, because you seem to own every Indian cookbook under the sun. Here's a picture of my very modest collection (a few on the left haven't come in the shot) This is in the kitchen, although there are not that many Indian books here ('Indian Everyday' is from the library) except the small booklets at the end.

Thanks to Gingerly and Rushina for taking the trouble to type out the recipe. I used a combination of several recipes to come up with this: I have never eaten handvo before, so I have nothing to compare its taste to, but it came out really well. And the mom in me liked the fact it's an all-in-one nutritionally balanced meal. I guess it's goinng to be a regular in our house. One more question before I go: Is semolina ever added to it? Suman