v. gautam

Dear Percy, Thank you so very much for another impeccably executed recipe. Your photographs and the trouble you take to so faithfully represent a tradition surely bespeaks of a ‘vohu manah’. Thank you for remembering this memorable dish that I tasted but once; even then, I was entranced by the delicacy with which the whole mangoes combined with the meat, the delicate golden skin of Alphonsos adding an ineffable quality and fragrance to the whole. Perhaps no other mango could have managed the like. Do you suppose that this dish derived from one originally using fresh apricots? [bTW, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, at Rutgers and elsewhere, have fruiting varieties of Iranian apricots, should you be interested in tasting some.] P.S. Do you remember the Dr. Writer's brand of Alphonso slices? How do the brands now available taste to you?

i love this: discovering two of my favorite people to have the same mental age as myself, between 2-4, would you say? p.s. should it not be "there is no cure FOR episure'? p.p.s. 'beaten peddy' seems to me, judging from the directions to soak and drain, to be chivda/poha. What on earth are 'peas balls', though? i dread to ask, it may set off the Teriible Two on a fresh round of punning! g

Fish rolls, Kolkata style A. The shrimp filling In the US, frozen, cooked cocktail shrimp available in supermarkets or the small, peeled, raw frozen shrimp sold in blocks in some Asian/Chinese groceries seem to the most economical [~$5/lb] and convenient for this recipe. 1lb or 500 grams of either type of shrimp. Prepare garam masala powder [cinnamon/cassia, green cardamom, cloves, lightly roasted and ground fine] and roasted, ground cumin seed powder. ½ -3/4 cup onion, minced fine 1-2 tsp root ginger, minced fine 2-4 thai green chilies, minced fine brown sugar or cane jaggery, to taste sea salt, to taste turmeric powder, ¼ tsp Hungarian (unsmoked) mild or hot paprika, to taste dry, unflavored breadcrumbs, preferably not from a can [you will also need breadcrumbs for frying the fish rolls] a few raisins, tiny corinth type, optional fresh cilantro or dill leaf Preparing the filling The shrimp, in its frozen state, should be pulsed in a food processor (or chopped by hand in a semi-frozen state) to coarse granules. Over moderately high flame, in a non-stick pan [heavy bottomed, with cover], heat ghee or neutral vegetable oil mixed with some cultured butter [pure butter is fine as well] sweat the minced onions until translucent, limp and have surrendered a fair amount of their moisture. Add minced ginger and chilies, stir till fragrant, a few seconds. [ A few small Corinth type raisins may now be added, for those who like such] Add comminuted shrimp, stir. Add turmeric, paprika, salt, sugar or jaggery, stir until moisture exudes and the mass smells fragrant. Add a judicious amount of breadcrumbs so as to soak up some but not all the moisture. Be wary of overwhelming shrimp flavor with too much stodge; use your judgment. If there is a lot of moisture, the shrimp-breadcrumb mass can be cooked uncovered; if less moisture present, use a cover. You want to end up with a reasonably moist mass without too much cooking, which will destroy shrimp flavor; nor should you have uncooked bread flavors predominate. The end result should be slightly or even moderately sweet, and according to your desire, with either more or less piquancy showing up from the chilies. With a light hand, season with powdered garam masala and roasted cumin. Add a little chopped dill or cilantro. Be careful: all of these should be understated and not overwhelm the shrimp flavor and aroma. Let cool until the filling can be handled. To be continued, shortly: B. th fish fillets; C. the final assembly and frying. p.s. Episure, did you receive my message?

recipe by saturday, usa; promise!

The meat should be cut into rounds and flattened as in scallopini; mince will not give an ‘authentic’ texture. The marinade is thus: red onion ground 5 parts by volume, ginger root ground 1- 0.5 part by volume, depending on how strong/old it is; a few Malabar peppercorns, 2-3 green thai chilies, a few sprigs of cilantro; all blended together. Salt, tiny pinch sugar. This is also a good marinade for the Bengali ‘cabin’ style fish fry. [there is also an excellent fish roll enclosing a spicy shrimp filling; more on that if there is interest--a different marinade]. Roll scallopini in flour, egg wash, flour, egg wash—proceed with farcha style, no vermicelli. Here are some of the Ur- ‘cabins’ of North Kolkata serving Bengali interpretations of ‘english’ foods. Basanta Cabin, intersection of Cornwallis & Beadon, opp. Hedua, [not the other branch near Medical College] specializes in kobiraji cutlet Dilkhusha, near Shyamacharan De St.—excellent cutlet, dimmer debhil [“deviled eggs” but more like scotch eggs ], prawn cutlet Chachar Chop [Cornwallis? Forgotten the exact street address] and also India Hotel (Amherst Street)—for best mutton ‘chop’, fish fry. Anadi Cabin, intersection of SN Banerjee Rd (Corporation St.) and Chowringhee—moghlai paratha (try both double and single for different textures), other chop-cutlet g

Not at all. Just that there are relatively few Indian vegetarian restaurants in Manhattan, and the types of foods that they serve are not necessarily well duplicated by their non-veg cousins. Leaving them out makes for a very unbalanced picture of what Indian cuisine is like. Additionally, the 4 vegetarian places mentioned represent the top echelon of their kind in Manhattan. At least 2 or 3 of them should be included in your cut, in order to include a representative sample of the diversity of Indian cuisine. Re Angon: With all due respect to the hard work and tremendous initiative of the Bangladeshi restaurateurs in Manhattan [note: not NYC], many of their interpretations of the 'standard' 'North Indian' menu fall short in execution; this can be problem even with bona fide Indian or Pakistani chefs. [i am not trying to imply that Angon does not do standards well; just that even the most miserable Bangladeshi "indian" place could turn out excellent bangladeshi food, if only the customer would be willing to give it a try] On the other hand, the same Bangladeshi contingent could probably turn out superior renditions of their own cuisine, should the American consumer approach it on its own terms: bony fish and meat on the bone; a range of textures, including chewy/fibrous, etc.; no prejudices set in place by self-styled critics/judges of subcontinental regional styles who may have no real expertise whatsoever. Keeping all this in mind, i presumed to suggest some preparations that a Bangladeshi chef like Shrimati Mina might excel at. I would hope that an American sitting down to a strange tasting dish would then understand it to be a true and excellent example of its kind. He/she may not like it, but will have at least met an authentic, well-prepared dish from the native repertoire of the chef. It will be like meeting a Bengal tiger face to face, claws, teeth, musky smell and all, not a sanitized stuffed doll or a calendar picture! Hopes this helps you

Would anyone know if levo-sucrose is produced commercially? Any other information about food uses of levo-sucrose? TIA g

andiesenji, hope your medical tests bring you welcome relief. Noticed the khaman dhokla packet; these are some of the healthiest foods one can eat, provided the toppings and final tempering are temperate! How do you like yours? Have you tried it the 'raswali' way, accompanied by a sweet-sour tamarind sauce? Do you ever make dhokla from scratch?I have several recipes that use a range of split legumes. Sorry, this is way off-topic, but could not resist. Both dhokla and couscous depend on steaming, to provide dishes that are high in complex carbohydrates and relatively low in fats and calories. In The Dictionary of Fermentd Foods, steamed preparations of grains and pulses get high marks for nutritional benefits; have you seen this book? g

Dear JJ, As a restaurant claiming Tamil vegetarian antecedents, Chennai Garden should be judged (from an a la carte menu, but not buffet) on the authenticity in flavor, texture, accompaniments etc. for at least the following dishes: Plain dosa Plain paper butter dosa Paper butter masala dosa Plain rava (semolina) dosa Chennai idli Medu vada Sambar [pigeon pea dal that accompanies all of the above, and is itself a meal, with rice) Fresh chutney If I am not being presumptuous, it would be wonderful if eGulleteers wishing to familiarize themselves with the authentic elements of this cuisine were to persuade Ms. Ammini Ramachandran [Peppertrail; an eGulleteer and denizen of Manhattan] to organize an eating/teaching meal, at Chennai Garden or a venue of her choice. Well-versed about the fine points of Tamil vegetarian cookery, this food historian and writer is exceptionally knowledgeable as well about the vegetarian cookery of the various communities of Kerala. A better teacher and guide would be hard to find. Re: Angon, in addition to its standard menu, I hear that Chef Mina is open to special requests, preferably made in advance. Why not challenge her skills and your taste buds by requesting dishes central to her native cuisine? You may be helping New Yorkers enter an entirely unknown world of tastes and flavors! The Muslim cuisine of Bangladesh has sub-regional styles and corresponding specialties. However, a Bengali seeking to test the chef’s skills, after ascertaining whether her pleasure lay in home cooking or in the style of grand feasts, might well opt for some of the following: 1. Ilish maaccher Shorsher Jhaal (peti): a thin stew of mustard paste with the belly cuts of Hilsa fish, Tenualosa ilisha. 2. Ilish maaccher paaturi (peti) : belly cuts of Hilsa with mustard paste wrapped in banana leaves and roasted in embers. 3. Chitole maaccher peti: the belly of Citala citala scraped into a mince, formed into balls and cooked in an appropriate manner. 4. Paangaash fish (Pangasius pangasius) from Bangladesh, not Thailand, cooked in an appropriate manner. 5. Mourala maaccher tok: Amblypharyngodon mola, a whitebait sized member of the carp family, fried nearly crisp and stewed in a sweet-sour sauce; with plain rice 6. Bhuna duck accompanied by Bhuni Khichuri 7. Chevon rezala ; braised goat in a milk sauce with red/green chilies [make sure the goat is young, fresh-killed; see what cuts she uses: ideally, the bony foreshank and seena, breast, are to be preferred over the hindquarter; Nigerian Dwarf breed is best, followed by Boer, then Spanish; frozen feral goat from Oceania may not hit the spot. 8. Kacchi biriyani: biriyani made from marinated goat meat and partly cooked rice finished together in the same vessel. 9. Lau-er ghonto: bottle gourd, Lagenaria 10. Kochoor loti: taro stems 11. Chhola-r (booter) dal: chickpea dal; also Lemon mung dal. 12. Dimer halua with porota: egg halvah with paratha, a sweet or brunch dish. The fish and meat dishes should be tasted on separate occasions. To jgould, Sorry, have not been to either Sapphire or Amma. Have forgotten to add Vatan to the list of vegetarian restaurants; it serves very good authentic Gujarati food.

Chennai Garden for south Indian vegetarian. Two vegetarian places frequented by Indians, serving sweet-sour chaat, and other special items from Gujarat: Sukhadia 17 West 45th St. (between 5th and 6th Avenues) 212-395-7300 http://www.sukhadia.com/index.asp Dimple on 30th (between 5th&Bwy) Babu for some foods in the Calcutta style: try bengali puris called luchi, braised chevon called kasha mangsho; spiced potatoes called aloor dum. A fellow bengali whose judgment i am inclined to trust writes {in another forum, http://www.anothersubcontinent.com/forums/...t=0entry12909 } "The food...excellent. aloor dom...somewhat sweet in the Bengali style... absolutely delicious. the kosha mangsho ...a divine eating experience... Slightly oily, not too hot, luminously spiced. ...entirely satisfied with the luchi accompaniment to both dishes...the tomato chutney was better than my Mom's"...

Thank you, Monica. Bloviatrix, Above and to left of cucumbers: small, green (unripe) papayas? Near cabbages, bitter melon. g

here's one more source for relatively decent prices on bulk chocolate: http://gourmail.com/price.htm

To Pan and others, re: relief agencies in India, in addition to the others mentioned, Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, Haora, West Bengal is the address of a very well-reputed and completely non-sectarian group with more than a century's record of superb relief work on the ground. They have a major presence in Chennai [i.e. many capable, willing hands], one of the worst-affected areas in India. They also run a large orphanage in Chennai, and i am sure that that facility will soon need every penny it can get. In spite of being a religious organization, they are absolutely non-sectarian and very honest with relief funds. I do not belong to this group and actually have major differences of opinion, so i hope that my emphatic recommendation has some added value for this reason alone. One US Branch in NYC is :The Vedanta Center, 34 West 71 St Street NY 10023 phone: 212-877-9197; 212-873-4738 The senior monk, Swami Tathagatananda, was in charge of the Chennai orphanage before coming to the US, and will be able to directly answer your questions. p.s i believe that The Vedanta Center is a 501c US non-profit, so that your donations are fully tax deductible; please check, i'm not sure. I am sure that all monies go 100% into relief, no overheads whatsoever. p.p.s For Sri Lanka, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Bhavana Society Rt. 1, Box 218-3 High View, WV 26808 USA Tel: 304-856-3241 Fax: 304-856-2111 Email: info@bhavanasociety.org Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Wednesday, Friday 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Any feedback on the "Sani-Tuff" board by Teknor, used extensively in Chinatown roast meat places, [as far as one could see]?

Shun Hop Sing? A great seafood place used to be located downstairs from SHS.

in bengal, the slicing of the stem is quite a chore: using a sharp blade avery thin slice is cut---you will immediately notice stringy bast/phloem fibers--these are long, and are entwined around the forefinger of the 'cutting' hand, and pulled; next slice, repeat entwining and pulling. When all the slices are done, stack and finely slice on the tangential plane or radial plane of the cross-section. sometimes, depending upon banana cultivar, the finely chopped stem is briefly blanched to remove bitter/astringent compound. n.b. your hands will stain purplish, and you may need to rub oil on the cutting hand--be careful of blade slippage; use an appropriate food service glove [not latex or vinyl, but protective mesh] if available clothes will also stain--use an apron slices of thor are good in a shukto, a bitter-sweet vegetable stew; see chitrita banerji for a useful recipe; 'Dakshin' by Chandra Padmanabhan has some south indian recipes as well

Have 2 very ignorant questions: 1) helenjp speaks of mochi-grade millet and awa-mochi: could you please explain what mochi-grade millet would be, and elaborate a little on this particular dish, which sounds wonderful. Could it be made from ingredients available in the US? 2 a) our local markets stock refrigerated, rectangular packages of mochi that look grayish and seem to be pretty hard. How would one go about using this form in sweet and savory dishes? 2b) our local asian grocery stocks what they call cantonese shao bing, which is a mochi cake filled with sweet bean paste, probably pan-fried; to eat, one needs to heat it up a bit. if left too long in the microwave oven, it baloons up and collapses. i would like to learn some more about making these, that are quite different to another sweet called beijing shao bing sold at he same place, but made of flour and whatnot.

Thanks for your responses. I am afraid i did not make myself clear; just as chinese tuffles are deemed to be inferior to the black and white truffle of france/italy, are the chinese cepes inferior [or deemed inferior] to european boletus? i hear the south american boletus are supposed to be inferior to the european, partly because they are dried over smoky fires. What i find is that china has become a major supplier of cepes/porcini/boletus to the american restaurant trade, and advertise various categories, such as picked on such and such a month, as a yardstick of flavor. The chinese product is much cheaper than the european. Would someone be familiar with the comparative qualities of the different sources, i.e. european versus chinese? i am told that for morels, the terroir is not as significant, and morels from the Himalayas are as superlative as thosefrom anywhere else. Is there any reason for boletus from china to be less tasty than the european?

You are right in the translation: i was punning on a sloka by Sankara that had your name in it: gItA sugItA dhItA kimanyaih ..., i.e. what need for other elaboration, sastras I was trying to say, use the already-prepared rasgullas that you will find in NYC, then when you are confident about the basic kheer, flavorings etc., only then turn to the much more difficult task of making your own rasgullas, then stewing them. one more, begging your pardon, but your name is as beautiful as it is auspicious: gItA gangA ca gAyatrI govindeti hrdisthite caturgakAra samyukte punarjanma na vidyate [Please tell your husband he should never forget this, especially if he ever takes issue with your cooking adventures!! ]

What is your opinion of Chinese boletus, especially B. edulis?

re chocolate in mole and biryani meat marinade, if you deconstuct mole you get a chili + chili seed masala a garam masala + sesame a fried onion-garlic gravy a catalan/arab thickener of fried bread and nuts, with fried plantains added in mexico. Some of these, including nuts, fit into a qorma-kaliyah meat preparation, which is what the meat half of biryani basically is. So, if chocolate+ cinnamom +almond [the mexican drinking chocolate] fit in well with mole, why should it not equally complement the biriyani base? One is told that the Aztecs enjoyed their chocolatl as a hot beverage, both regarding temperature, and the admixture of red chile pastes. It is only in its later European redaction has chocolate been relegated exclusively to the sweet. I have found many Europeans/Americans taken aback by the presence of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom in savory dishes as these primarily signal 'dessert' in their taste memory;likewise, it was years before i could tolerate the heavy-handed use of cinnamon in sweet breads, pastries, pies etc.

Geetha, As rasamalai basically comprises rasagullas stewed in kheer, as an initial foray would suggest that you purchase some rasagullas or even chamchams.Then make kheer using 1-2 quart whole milk + 1-2 pints half and half. Reduce by half, stirring continuously to crate thin ribbons [use a heavy bottom non-stick vessel, preferably one reserved only for milk] . Now drop in rasagullas with syrup, simmer [not boil] gently a few minutes, adding crushed green cardamom, and even saffron if you wish. There is your rasamalai; serve at room temp; if refrigerated, rasagullas will get hard. kimanyai sastravistaraih?

The North Star dining hall at Robert Purcell, Cornell, is worth a thought, esp. with teens; one price, huge number of choices: sushi, pizza, hot sandwiches, 'mexican, pastries, etc. interesting company too! Convenient parking, and easy access w/o going through CU or the city of Ithaca

Sometimes, one has found that the ambient conditions contribute greatly to the enjoyment of particular types of sherbet/soft drinks. In the parched dry heat of the North Indian summer, several things like rooh afza, watermelon, lemonade etc. take on a magical quality which is attenuated when the rains set in, or say, in winter. So, some of your enjoyment will also depend on the climate at Bandung; one hears that it is relatively temperate and moist? If that is so, please factor in this 'ambient condition' variable when judging how satisfactory these packaged drinks were for you. On cold days, blanched almonds ground with milk, strained, heated and flavored with saffron, crushed peppercorn, sugar and cardamom will seem appropriate; this is also not too different from the 'thandai', except for being a hot beverage.

suggest googling for Garden Web : Asian Vegetables forum. There you will meet many Californians who can give you expert guidance as to local conditions, planting dats etc. Best of Luck.