deliad

You can also try lentils. Cooked dry moong dal with a little masala is a good option.

I'll add to the list: Green chillies (Jalapeneos or whatever), boiled eggs, lotus roots (Bhein), Ghiya (Indian gourd), bread pakoras (both plain and stuffed with potatoes) and a few more i can't remember now We usually serve them with mint chutney and tamarind/date chutney and of course ketchup.

I got the brand name now. It is "Mid America Farms" made by Kellers Creamery. Also need to correct that is from PA and not WI. These people own some other brands also like Plugra, Borden, Breakstone and others. You can check www.kellerscreamery.com

I dont. Here in the US, We usually buy the salted butter in bulk from Costco wholesale store. I forget the brand but it comes from Wisconsin. Feels, looks and tastes exactly like Amul. Both my daughter and wife prefer that as compared to Smart Balance that I take. We tried the store branded stuff earlier and some are OK, some are not. But this one beats everything else. I'll get the brand name tomorrow. In fact we get the unsalted one also to make Desi Ghee also at home. Turns out great. Of late, we have tried the White Whipped butter also. This one reminds me of my mother's home made butter made from heavy cream. We have tried both Breakstone and Land-O-Lakes and frankly, I did not find any difference. Both taste good. Heavenly with Tandoori paranthas. Cheers,

Care to share your recipe? Yes this should be worth the wait-- on a new thread please Alright, Alright.. On popular public demand I'll do it but after the July 4th weekend. Cheers,

Well, you roast depending on what you are making. Usually for sweets, like Barfi, Laddoo or Halwa, you roast besan and for savoury items like Pakora, Cheela, Dhokla, or parantha you dont. But roasting besan brings such wonderful flavour in the besan and the entire home...Mmmm..Mmmm..Mmmmm.. Very well roasted Besan halwa is my weakness, Ofcourse, now we make it with Splenda. Cheers,

Sandeep, Welcome to the forum. In addition to Madina Market, there is also Star Groceries in that area. It is, I think on Grant St, just one street behind Elden. The store is not directly visible from main Elden st, so it may be hard to locate. Just do a Google for address. I have found their mutton to be better on most occasions. Their prices are also a bit cheaper that others. I have seen another one in Sterling, on the road that connects Herndon and Sterling, but have not tried yet. Hope this helps. Cheers

tryska, One good source is www.patelbrothersusa.com. They carry all brands and have Vadu mango pickle from both Priya and Bedekar. I have tried Priya before and it was good.

Paan is an assortment of ingredients (mostly aftermints) wrapped in the paan leaf (also known as Betel Leaf). It is usually consumed after meals. Tradition has it that it helps in digestion. The ingredients are Chuna (edible lime), Katha paste, Saunf (fennel seeds), Supari (betel nuts), Elaichi (Green cardomom) and optionally Rose petal sweetner (Gulkand). Picture of Paan leaf Forgot to add, Yes you can buy all the ingredients in Indian grocery stores. Paan is a big hit in all our home parties.

Frying may be too oily but the same result can be achieved by shallow frying or searing. It is actually a good idea to sear paneer cubes on atleast 2 sides. It gives them a little hardiness and it becomes easy to handle it in the recipes like Palak paneer or Shahi paneer. We usually sprinkle a little oil spray and sear 'em on a skillet. Sprinkle some salt and you can just eat those like snack. Cheers,

Swati, I have the recipe and pictures that we took a few days ago. I wil post it ASAP. Cheers.

Eggplant recipe added Baingan Kachri Cheers

Baingan Kachri - Eggplant A simple to cook eggplant recipe with loads of indian spices. 1 Medium sized Eggplant 1-1/2 T Cooking Oil Masala Mix (See method) Ingredients: Medium sized eggplant - One Cooking Oil - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp Masala Mix - 1/4 tsp ginger powder - 1 tsp turmeric powder - 4 tsp coriander powder - 1 tsp salt - 1 tsp mango powder (amchur) - 1/2 tsp cumin powder - 1/2 tsp ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp garam masala - 1/4 tsp red chili powder (optional) Method: 1. Wash and wipe the eggplant. Cut slices approx. 1 inch thick. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 2. Score the eggplant flesh in a checkered pattern 1/2 inch deep. Make sure you do not score too deep. Pic 4 Pic 5 3. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each slice and rub it gently. Leave it for 15 minutes. This is done to extract any bitterness of the eggplant Pic 6 Pic 7 4. Gently press each slice between your palms to extract any water. Pic 8 Pic 9 5. Heat one tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and place the slices scored side down Pic 10 6. Cook on medium heat for about 12 to 15 minutes till they are well browned Pic 11 7. Turn them over very gently and sprinkle the "Masala mix" liberally on each slice and dab it gently to cover completely. Notice that the scores have opened a little and will allow the masala mix to be absorbed Pic 12 Pic 13 8. Cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat to brown the flat side. Drizzle some additional oil if needed Pic 14 9. Turn the slices again with masala side down and cover the pan with a lid. continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes until well done. Pic 15 Pic 16 Serve with plain chapati or parantha or naan. Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetarian, Indian ( RG1049 )

Baingan Kachri - Eggplant A simple to cook eggplant recipe with loads of indian spices. 1 Medium sized Eggplant 1-1/2 T Cooking Oil Masala Mix (See method) Ingredients: Medium sized eggplant - One Cooking Oil - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp Masala Mix - 1/4 tsp ginger powder - 1 tsp turmeric powder - 4 tsp coriander powder - 1 tsp salt - 1 tsp mango powder (amchur) - 1/2 tsp cumin powder - 1/2 tsp ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp garam masala - 1/4 tsp red chili powder (optional) Method: 1. Wash and wipe the eggplant. Cut slices approx. 1 inch thick. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 2. Score the eggplant flesh in a checkered pattern 1/2 inch deep. Make sure you do not score too deep. Pic 4 Pic 5 3. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each slice and rub it gently. Leave it for 15 minutes. This is done to extract any bitterness of the eggplant Pic 6 Pic 7 4. Gently press each slice between your palms to extract any water. Pic 8 Pic 9 5. Heat one tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and place the slices scored side down Pic 10 6. Cook on medium heat for about 12 to 15 minutes till they are well browned Pic 11 7. Turn them over very gently and sprinkle the "Masala mix" liberally on each slice and dab it gently to cover completely. Notice that the scores have opened a little and will allow the masala mix to be absorbed Pic 12 Pic 13 8. Cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat to brown the flat side. Drizzle some additional oil if needed Pic 14 9. Turn the slices again with masala side down and cover the pan with a lid. continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes until well done. Pic 15 Pic 16 Serve with plain chapati or parantha or naan. Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetarian, Indian ( RG1049 )

It is not really the reason to come there, but more like, while we are there we'd like to have a few Indian meals as that is what we enjoy the most. The real reason is to see, feel and enjoy the sights and sounds of Hawaii. Thanks for the info, it is useful. Cheers,

I would categorize our use as follows: Light Snacks: - Bread Pakoras (fritters), Plain bread dipped in besan batter and deep fried - Variety of sandwiches, plain or grilled sandwiches with tomato, cucumber and chutneys - Tiranga (Tricolor) sandwiches, Triple deckers, one layer of cream cheese, one layer of green mint chutney and one layer of tomato sauce, cut into triangles. A must have on India's independence day. All colors resemble the indian flag, hence the name Tiranga. Heavy Snacks: - Stuffed Bread Pakoras, Two slices of white bread with spicy potato filling in between, dipped in besan and deep fried. - Braed Rolls, Dipped white bread in water, squeeze, stuff with potato filling and deep fry. Desserts: - Bread pudding, Bread left to dry out and then made into a milk based pudding. Will have to get the details from my SO - Shahi Tukda, Fried white bread then dipped in sugar, cardomom syrup. sprinkle with crushed pistachio.

We are planning to be in HNL in the 2nd half of Aug. Need some recommendations for Indian food near Hilton village resort in Waikiki. The reason for asking nearby restaurant is that I am not planning to rent a car for the entire week but will do that for a couple of days. Would also appreciate your suggestions for 1 or 2 sight-seeing trips within the island for the days when I do rent the car. We have 2 kids 11 and 13. For the rest of time, we are simply planning to enjoy whatever activities Hilton and Waikiki have to offer. Thanks.

pretty much the same as in you freeze them raw, or you freeze them cooked? and yeah - i can see samosas blistering - it is because the moisture crystallize, i'm guessing and then boils off when you friy them.question for those of you who cook and then reheat breads in the micro - don't they get tough? i reheated parathas in the micro last night, for about 45 seocnds, but by the time i got to the end of my meal the paratha was rock hard. Instead of reheating for 45 sec. @ 100%, try 30 sec @ 50%, turn over, 30 sec again @ 50%. Much better results IMHO

Excellent points Dr. Josiam, I fully agree that a major opportunity is being under-utilized for the "Indian Food to Go" segment. It is relatively much easier to do it here in USA, where the focus is mostly on "productizing" and "standardizing" the offerring. (McDonalds, Burger King etc).. so it is easy to get skills, products and processes to execute these ideas. In UK, there are a few examples that can lead the way. There was a thread a few months ago in eGullet about tiffinbites.com in UK, which has started this concept of Indian takout food and I believe is doing good there. Do you know of any F&B /Catering schools who offer courses on food product development/packaging etc. If they do, then they need to include Indian flavors also. Thoughts??

Is Karanji and Gujhiya the same thing. We have made Gujhiya a few times, especially around Holi. This one looks like it.

I hope it is Bus (on wheels) and not Bus (Enough!!!)

Anil, These are great soul foods. I will add however, the Kaali daal (Slow cooked Maa & Rajma) from the local tandoor wala and maaro a desi ghee/pyaaz tarka on that and take that as an accompaniment with the Patiala peg. Cheers!!!

Oh, Yeah!! How could I forget that. Now that I think hard, in addition to Suraj Kund, we also used to go to Purana Qila (Old fort) near the Delhi Zoo, Okhla Canal, and more recently, Appu Ghar.

Monica, It is wishful thinking but I would think that the goverment should concentrate on bringing potable water, good roads, electricity and other infrastructure to millions of villages that still dont have it rather than helping private NRI restaurant owners to find cooks Finally, after so much struggle, the living standards of Indian population in India has begun to go up and government's time effort and money is better spent there. Just my thought!!