easyguru

Besides the food and drinks in Parsi weddings, what I remember most from handful I atended was a freaky group which perform songs. They were just out of the world.

I have seen it in all the Indian grocery store in New Jersey. Both the forms amba haldi( orange in color) which is used in pickles in Maharashtra, Gujarat and South India and the traditional raw turmeric is availalble in many Indian shops. Now the difference between raw and the powder. The raw turmeric is processed to get the powder. The process removes unwanted flavors from the turmeric and gelatinizes the starch in it. The raw turmeric is boiled in vats in alkaline media like soda bicarbonate , then dried, and then converted to powder. There is a distinct flavor difference after this process. Most of this happens in South India. The amba haldi is primarily used in pickles and has a sour taste. It is also widely used in ayurvedic medicines. It is also known as mango ginger. Mango Ginger pickle recipe http://www.bawarchi.com/contribution/contrib3666.html

Does anyone also have movies or books that might educate me culturally? I loved "A Suitable Boy" but was very troubled by "God of Small Things". Really enjoyed "Monsoon Wedding"... I think that is the extent of my cultural knowledge. I'm going to the book store today to pick up "Interpreter of Maladies" as well as look through their travel section on Delhi and see if I can find "flavours of Delhi". Books India: A Million Mutinies Now, by V S Naipaul and look at books by Gita Mehta.

CONQUEST OF DIABETES BY DIET AND EXERCISE by Dr. H.B. Chandalia and Ms. Sonal Modi Is one of the best book on diet planning for Indians with diabetes. Dr Chandalia is one of the acknowledged expert in the field of diabetes in India. He has a clinic in Mumbai where they advise on diet. The book also gives substitutes for many commonly consumed foods. You can find lot of information here http://www.diabetes-india.com/template.php...html&title=Home http://www.diabetes.org.in/

Good article Doc. I think there is also a bigger trend you need to look at within India. Indian traditional cooking techniques and recipes are evolving rapidly at least in the metros and in some cases smaller town due to: 1 Rapid spread of eating out. Families are replicating what they eat out and in the process are creating new recipes. Take dosa or idli for example, I never remember as a kid it being cooked in a maharashtrian family, but now its almost like a weekly affair. In this process many ingredients are added or there is a cooking method twist which gives you completely different taste. I have tasted variations of sambars, pav bhaji, paneer bhurji, butter chicken, where you can hardly make out what is the origin of that recipe. 2 Processed food availability: Take the simple example of pickles, today you have such a wide variety available that the homemade pickle is now being supplemented with the store bought and in many cases the recipe modified to mimic the store bought. Or take curry powder, how many families in Mumbai still make it at home. I remember as a kid summer use to be the time when the home made masala used to be made. Now I don't think my family has made that kind of masala in years. Lot of Diaspora is still stuck with the past. Recently I was at my wife’s aunts place in New York and the topic of chapattis came in for discussion and she said the chapattis do not taste so good because it is made from readymade atta. I said now lot of people in India use readymade atta and she was like its not possible. Her daughter who is born and brought up here wanted samosa recipe, I said forget it no one makes it at home in India and she was surprised. 3 Greater Mobility and intercaste marriages: This creates some interesting food improvisation. In our family we have kashmiri, sindhi, maharashtrians, Caribbean’s and because different family members have spent time all over India and outside India the traditional food and recipes have undergone sea change. I have noticed the same in so many families of friends and associates. Also once you start living in a cosmopolitan colony there is an active exchange of recipes which transforms cooking habit. 4 Adoption of western/eastern foods in Indian cooking: This is again a more urban phenomenon. Look at pizza, on my last visit to India I saw almost every shop in Bombay and Pune carrying pizza bases, which people use to make their own pizza. Noodles is another ingredient which is being Indianised. You can go to any grocery shop and see how many non Indian food items are stocked, its amazing. So Indian food of today is vastly different from the Indian food of few years ago.

It might be urad dal.

Pickles Stone grinder Home made masala Gajalee masala (from Gajalee restaurant in bombay) Small amount of curd to seed home made curd Dagad Phool ( this is a spice used in maharashtrian kadhi not available here) Mithai

Stella Artois. Amongst Indian beer Kingfisher. One thing I noticed on my recent visit to Mumbai was that most restaurants serve Foster beer. Another beer I like is Gymkhana. I first tasted it in Leela in Mumbai.

If you go to any big vegetable market in Mumbai like Dadar market you will find many vendors selling gavati chaha leaves. It comes in a nicely tied bundle.

Gavati Chaha looks like the thai lemon grass but it is much more aromatic( they are essentialy same but there is a slight hint of ginger taste to the Indian one). In many families and even in ours when we were growing up everyone use to plant the gavati chaha in a pot. So that it was fresh. There is some seasonality to it so most families would dry the leaves and store for later use.

Here is a version of Masal tea which is common in many Maharashtrian families. Gavati Chaha ( lemon grass) 2 leaves Cardamom 2 crushed sunth (dried ginger) 1 tsp Tea 2 tsp Sugar as per taste water 1 cup whole milk 1 cup Heat the water, tea, sunth, gavati chaha, cardamom, sugar together in covered pot till it comes to boil. Add milk and again heat till it comes to boil. The sunth can be replaced with ginger.

Hi Monica I am currently based in New Jersey. Previously spent years in Bombay, Delhi, Pune. I like cooking and eating out.

Vikram- Dining Out In Bombay By Frank F Conlon is the article you are refering to in Consuming Modernity.