Simon Majumdar

Dimple is one of the few Indian places in NY I approve of and since I am coming into NY on the 15th for a few days and then again on the 28th for Book fair, please count me in if it is in any of those weeks. Heck, I might even bring some rabri, mishti doi and ras malai with me for us all to sample S

My one and only contribution to this thread 1) Steve - I have met you. You are far too old to say "whack" it is like watching my dad dance. 2) A J Leibling's Sweet Science was the first book I brought back into my reprints programme and is the second greatest book on sports after Plimpton's Paper Lions. I have no other comment S

I think Australia is an excellent example of a country taking on the best of its immigrant culture ( Canada is another, Vancouver in particular ) because it has no hang ups. The Australia I visited in the late 80's was as depressing a place to eat as London. Certain places in Australia now are among the best in the World. I am no fan of Sydney. It is a small town that can't get over the fact and I think its restaurants reflect that. They shout and scream like a kid seeking attention and suffer from that. Melbourn on the other hand is a wonderful place. instead of trying to be a "world class city" whatever that means it is content to be a superb Australian city and consequently excels at so many levels, food included. And when you are there you don't have to watch them let f**king fireworks off that damn bridge and expect us all to go "ooh" and "aagh"

Anyway I've off for some Friar................. That is what they call, I believe, an overshare. I am worried that two such young folks have to live out their domestic existence in front of an audience of virtual chums. I normally have to pay good money for that..... S

Scott Interesting post I had a good meal there, but I have to say that if we had been in & out in 90 mins I would have felt a bit pissed off ( that was the source of one of my dislikes of La Regalade ) I didn't try the pasta, Dr Atkins precludes, but the dishes I saw looked interesting. With hindsight the portions are small ( with the exception of the beef I have which was ample ) Robin's sweetbreads were small nuggets rather than a large piece and compared unfavourably to Foiliage. I will definitely try LL again as we had a great meal there. S

Suvir Kedgeree is the British take on Kitcharee. It is made with boiled rice, flaked smoked haddock, chopped boiled eggs, a little curry powder and lots of butter. It is traditionally served as a breakfast dish ( as it has huge restorative powers after a night on the tiles ) and was very much part of an aristocrats start to the day. I once went out with a lady of title and went "down to the country" to stay with them. They were so upscale that I was called by her father's Gentleman's Gentleman to see if I would be sending my luggage in advance! As all I had was a duffel bag, I did not think this was necessary. The food they served was very much Anglo Indian as the grandfather and patriach had served under Mountbatten ( which sounded quite painful to me ) and still lived on the food he had eaten there. The cooks prepared cold cuts with wonderful chutneys, Mulligatawny soup and a butter chicken dish which was as memorable for its alarming red colour as its taste. Breakfast was a major thing and included eggs, Kedgeree, Kippers, Devilled kidneys etc etc. The Kedgeree was the perfect thing for recovering from when the Gentlemen had left the room to drink lots of port and talk about "Inja" ( say it out loud in a crusty english accent ) There is a great cookbook called "Cooking for the Sahib" which I will try and dig out. S p.s the Sweetings soup is sufficiently spicy. Many varieties are to allowing for a softies fear of heat

Suvir I have served two lentils at dinner on many occasions as I think they can be two quite different dishes. The red lentils I make just with a little turmeric and ginger and onion and then sprinkle a tiny amount of my own gara masala on top. I also make it the Bengali way ( runny and with lemons in it as it cooks ) The yellow lentil is made with a cumin and cinnamon and I am rather liberal with the ghee before serving which makes it a very rich dish and not to everyone's liking, so I like to have an alternative S

It is very far from fusion food. Fusion food is ( and let's not get into a whole thread about fusion- hell we might attract Plotniki and then what chance would we stand ) the result of a three week trip by a backpacking sous who comes back with a tin of tamarind and thinks " I'll bung this on some prawns" Anglo indian food is the result of the hundreds of years of occupation of the sub continent by thousands of brits. It is a result of a) Their desire to create the dishes they ate at home using local ingredients b) The attempts by local cooks to do the same c) The need to adapt to local circumstances eg The prevalence of malaria leading to the need to take plentiful amounts of Quinnine ( sp? ) which was most palatable in Indian Tonic Water leading to the creation of the Gin & Tonic. d) Those who "came home" trying to recreate the dishes they had tried in India. e) Mixed Marriages - of which there were thousands. I can speak from a much later generational experience of this as I come from a mixed family where a very english upbringing was mixed with a very Indian table. My mother could/can move from making the most welsh of cakes ( Piklets, for eg ) to the most authentic of Bengali dishes and I still think that fishsticks with Dhaal is the ultimate comfort food. Anglo Indian cooking ( it is not a fully formed cuisine - if we refer to the Plotniki scale of culinary evolution ) is as relevant to the development of Indian food as that of the portugese in Goa or the Kerulan Christians. And also, let's not forget that some of these dishes, if well made are excellent. If you doubt this, I urge you to try the Mulligatawny Soup at Sweetings in the City of London or the Kedgeree which is part of the 10 deadly sins breakfast at Simpson's on The Strand S

If I am making dinner for friends, I try and prepare at least six dishes sometimes more. I have a few staples Mustard Fish ( recipe on another thread ) Red Lentil Dhaal Yellow Lentil Dhaal Kasmiri Chicken ( an anglo indian Korma ) Vindaloo ( Hot & Sour Goan style ) A Hot prawn dish of no particular provenance Dry Vegetable ( with patch puron spices ) Dhansak Plain Boiled Basmati Rice Breads ( usually Chapati and Roti ) I think this gives a variety of regions and styles and also a good supply for Veg'n and Non Veg'n alike The key ( as with all cooking I guess ) is freshness, but I think people forget that the spices must also be as fresh as possible. I hate using powders and try and grind as much as possible as I go. I do not buy any of the ingredients until the day. I tend to make these meals in other people's kitchens as my flat is quite small and we always eat family style, sometimes sitting on the floor which is a great way to eat and reminds me of sitting on those vast beds we used to take our meals on in Calcutta with 20 of us all fighting for the food while the servants ran round topping everybody up. To drink, we stick to Lassi ( two types; a salty one with cardamom and a sweet one with Mango ) or bottles of Cobra. Would love to know what aothers do S

No A chicken brick is a lidded clay pot that was a pre requisite in all 1970's UK homes along with bean bags. It is actually quite a good way to cook tandoori food. excellent for prawns I think I saw one in The Pottery Barn in Toronto so I think they do sell them S

Suvir The dish is called Maschher Sorshe Jhal or just Maschher jhal. I think that covers a wide range of dishes but that is what we called it Let us never underestimate the importance of Jhol to Bengali culture S Tony - congratulations, The first time I have heard the words "chicken brick" since 1977

I am happy to say that Ras Malai is very easily available in London and at a very good quality. That doesn't help you guys much though I have tried to make them on occasion and found it reasonably easy just using a jersey milk ( I am not quite sure what you would use in the US ) this is a whole milk with a thick cream. Perhaps you could use half and half. I bring this up to a rolling boil and then add lemon juice ( or citic acid ) and then take off the heat and stir until the chenna ( curd ) forms. I then collect and strain this in muslin under a running tap and then squeeze until almost dry. I then mix in some flour ( about a teaspoon ) and knead gently. There is a particular type of Indian flour which I can't remember but corn starch works as well. I make these into little balls and then heat them through in a sugar syrup ( just sugar and water boiled together ). When they are warmed through, I add a little rose essence. I have not made this for a while but it got a good reaction when I did. I served with a reduced cream with cardamom and pistachios. I am sure that this is not quite recipe book standard but it is a close approximation of what I have had from the Pradeep Sweet mart ( Near Northwick Park Hospital ) undoubtedly the best Indian Sweet Shop in London. S

I am again going to get all Bengali on your behinds. The most memorable dish I have EVER eaten of ANY cuisine is Bengali mustard fish. it contains only Mackerel - in small steaks ( or any firm boney river fish if you can get it ) Ginger powder Mustard powder Freshly powdered tumeric Er that's it From watching my mother, I have learned that less is indeed more. I make a mix of a tsp on the ginger, mustard and tumeric and roll the fish in it and leave in the fridge overnight or for a few hours. I then put two teaspoons on a vegetable oil in a hot pan and fry off a little more of the mixed spices until they lose their rawness. I then add the fish and do the same until they take a little colour all over. Finally, add water to barely cover the fish and simmer on the lowest heat until the fish is cooked. That's it. It sounds too simple but with a small bowl of plain boiled rice and perhaps a simple chapati it is a dish from the gods. S

"How to write..." books are one of my great bugbears. If you want to write, then write. If it comes out crappy write some more and keep writing. it's like sex. You don't get any good at it by reading about it ( God knows I have tried ) you have to keep doing it. Classes are valuable in that you have the chance for other ears than your own to hear your work, but you can't teach writing. You either can write or you can't. If you can write, a great teacher ( I spent some time with some superb teachers and I can't write. I can rant and I write a few articles, but I am not a writer ) can show you how to bring it out, but that is a one on one. It cannot be recreated in a book. I see hundreds of m/s every year and you can always tell which ones come from those who have bought these waste of trees. They are always immaculate, double spaced nicely bound by kinko's and of far less interest than the ones that look like they have been scrawled in crayon. Sorry, this has got nothing to do with food. it just hit a nerve S

It is never too early to be selling Co-editions Suvir. I am working on books with my US clients for 2004. The costs on such things are so high, particularly with the exhorbitant fees we have to pay our authors that in the UK at least, we have to make sure to run at least the US edition along side our printing to make it work. Such grubby things as business aside, I am more dismayed to think that I will have to wait over a year to have your recipe for Lamb Biryaani.

Perhaps then. Yvonne, I can reciprocate for the delightful luncheon that you and your estimable SO treated me to at the twilight of last year? Then if any of the other inert NY'ers care to join us, we can take it from there S

FWIW I will be in NY ( I think ) from the 2-9th April and would be up for meeting any and all of you if you could bear it. Please count me in if it is on one of those dates S

Tony I don't want to revisit the Michelin thread but my real problem with Zaika was that they had gone full pelt to achieve their star and to some extent thrown the baby out with the bathwater. I felt ( and I may be being unfair ) that they had shoehorned both the menu and their ways of cooking into a format that did not suit either the ingredients or the dishes to satisfy criteria that neither was ever meant to satisfy. An example of this was a Korma. First of all, and I struggle to remember the exact name they gave the dish, they seemed afraid to call it what it was, I am guessing for fear that it was too redolent of a curry house meal. What was served was inexact having neither the richness nor the subtlety of this most kasmiri/moghul of dishes. This showed a lack of precision in the kitchen. How it was presented also gave me problems. Big white plate, small white portion but that is more my problem than theirs. I knew that would be the case before I went in. So they have made hay from being an "Indian" restaurant with a star when what they are is a Michelin restaurant drawing on Indian influences. They seem to take from India but not give back. "dishonest" is an emotive word and may be out of place here. But, what I wanted from Zaika was something more revelatory in the cooking rather than amuse and starched linen. The Bombay Brasserie is not hugely better but it is up front in what it does. The Cinnamon Club sufffered from the same problems. Of all of them, Mela was the most satisfying in that it has exceptionally able cooking and is presented in a way which would be recognisable to most Indians. I forgot to mention The Parsee in my original post. I found it very good in some ways ( the closest to a "real" Dhansak I have had in London) a pleasing environment and efficient service. It is worth a try, if a trip to Highgate is not too much of a trudge S

Suvir I am sure that the meal was presented and received with great humility, but it sounds anything but humble. As I said before, your book could not be in better hands. When is it planned for publication and do they know to whom they will be selling the rights in the UK? S

I would avoid Zaika. I found it a dishonest place both in the style and cooking. Cinnamon Club likewise. The whole idea of fusion alarms me and this is the worst example in London I would agree with Mela - an excellent example of Indian food prepared by someone who really cares about the ingredients and cooking. Any place that cares enough to make Rabri fresh every day wins in my book. Red Fort is good but innordinately expensive. Bombay Brasserie is much beter at their lunchtime buffet than in the evening ( and I normally hate buffets ) Hope this helps S

Suvir Would you be happy to share with us the dishes you cooked for P at your dinner last night. It would be an interesting contrast to my own experience at one of London's oldest Indian restaurants last evening ( see UK board ) I would love to know what dainty dishes you put before the Queen of US cookery publishing S

I have been to The India Club 1112 times. Last night was the first time in 20 yrs that they took me by surprise. For those of you who don’t know it The India club is the former canteen for the workers at the Indian Embassy and for the last 70 years has been offering authentic ( whatever the hell that means ) Indian food to an eclectic mix of students, lecturers, embassy workers and business people. I first discovered it when I was at King's College next door. The food was better and a good deal cheaper than the school refectory. I suspect that is still the case. Accessed via the entrance of a rather grubby hotel called The Strand Continental on the south side of The Aldwych, the "Club" is actually a members club but you don’t need to join nor pay a fee. I am not sure how that makes it a club but it does boast a bar which has not been decorated since Ghandi was a nipper and serves imported Cobra beer in impossibly large bottles. The room is a perfect example of school dining room chic c1950 and like the bar, probably last saw a lick of paint by way of celebration of Indian independence in 1948. There was much outcry in 1987 when the plastic stackable chairs gave way to a job lot of Velour covered chairs which had been rescued from a village hall. Like the decoration, the food hasn’t really changed since it opened. It does some things very well ( Dosai, Chicken Do Piaza, Bhuna’s) it does some things perfectly OK ( Dry Vegetable Curry, Dhals , Chapathi ) it does other things appallingly badly ( Nan bread ) but you know what you get when you walk in the door. A meal for two will set you back a paltry £30 and you will have tasted food which has a damn sight more to do with India than the slop at your local curry house The real fun of The India Club is the service, always amiably chaotic, it excelled it self last night as the waiters (all of whom have been there for as long as I can remember ) struggled to get to grips with their new hand held electronic ordering pads , just like the ones they have in Rules. Now to understand the full meaning of such a change, an electronic ordering system at The India Club is like putting the rocket from an Apollo space shuttle in an Austin Maestro. It is like getting Sinatra to overdub Popstar, Will’s first single, it is like the Gods giving man fire. Who knows what damage it will do. We spent a good 20 minutes as the hapless waiter struggled with the thing. At other tables regulars and waiters alike were staring at these devices as if they were straight out of Star Trek, which indeed they might have been. In the cash office, the owner sat happily in front of the computer screen that received all the orders totally oblivious to the chaos around him. In the end we got our food and it was what it always is, good and cheap, but it does go to prove that time waits for no man. Not even The India Club Strange times indeed. S

like all McD openings in countries where such things are alien, the opening of the first store brought huge crowds who queued peacefully for a slice of american life ( Lamburgers?) Same in China. Same in Moscow ( I was in Moscow when that happened, very bizarre. The average queue for a burger was three hours and there were 50,000 applications for every job ) The growth of fast food outlets has grown with the growth of the indian middle classes. It is not uncommon for both parents to work etc etc so a fast food meal is often a boon and for the children it is a slice of Americana on their doorstep. The ones in Delhi are run in exactly the same way as all McD but with a local twist ( in this case a small shrine, I think to Ganesh ) and with some local produce. I think they serve Limca and Thumbs Up Cola. It is, I guess on the one hand producing local employment. On the other hand it is a sign of increasing globalization in a country that fought against it for so long. And, let us not forget, that the fastest of fast food is street food and no one does that better than the Indians. What I would give for a bag of Luchee ( Sp?) and Tamarind water right now S

Life is just fine without a trip to France, but it is so much better with one. As long, that is, as you leave out Paris. ( light blue touch paper and stand well back ) S

Calabres - I would never question the relevance of French cookery but I will leave superiority to a discussion on semantics. It is entirely down to tastes and occasions. Steve - I think the example of Club Gascon is an excellent one. Would such a place exist without French influence? Of course not. The whole menu is rooted in French style and ingredients. Would such a restaurant exist in France? Once again, of course not, the way in which the food is served and ( quite frankly ) the prices would be alien to most French diners. Could such a restaurant have come to be outside London ( even in NYC ) I doubt it. It is gimmicky and hype driven ( or certainly was when it opened 3 or so years ago ) in a way that NYC has grown out of and that Paris would not be able to cope with . The lucky ( or well judged ) thing in this case is that the gimmicks and hype are overtaken by the excellence of the food. Tony - to say that French food has had no influence on Spain, Portugal etc is to forget the history of the 18th & 19th Century. Napoleon boasted at one time that all the countries of Europe ( Britain included ) were French because all the royal houses had French chefs. S