Sandra Levine

Mmmmm.

Blue Heron -- yes, I use Major Grey's Chutney for the salad.

Of course, cilantro. How could I have forgotten. Thanks, Suvir.

Just checked my 1988 Larousse Gastronomique. The article talks about the skin, etc., as above, then continues, "It should be washed several times to get rid of the smell of ammonia, which is most marked when the fish is quite fresh." I knew I saw that somewhere! I reiterate, rather than worrying how many hours ago the fish was swimming, smell it. The nose knows.

Blue Heron, my "curried" chicken salad is very similar to the Mark Bittman recipe above, without the yogurt and with mango chutney. The secret to a good salad is to balance the "curry" flavor with the chutney. Make the dressing separately and balance the ingredients before adding the chicken. There is nothing Indian about this dish except the name "curry" but it's good.

Cones on Bleecker St. in Greenwich Village also has delicious, authentic gelato in a wide variety of flavors that change in part almost daily. The owners are Argentinian-Italian. There is a little explanation of the difference between ice cream and gelato that I regret no paying more attention to, but it did say something about a higher proportion of milk and less air than ice cream. I agree that gelato seems to carry flavor better than ice cream. I love their dulce de leche and ginger flavors -- ginger actually comes in both gelato and sorbet, but Steve P., I'm in total agreement with you about the superiority of Bertillion's passion fruit sorbet to any other sorbet flavor. The only one that has ever come close was the mango sorbet Rachel brought to the NY eGullet potluck.

It is urea, not urine that is part of the flesh. Urea is only one component of urine, and has many cosmetic uses -- it is almost always listed as an ingredient in moisturizer, for example. BTW, I not make up the the (mis)information about the freshness of skate. When I was learning to prepare it, I consulted a number of sources and one of them stated something about the ammonia smell disappearing after a while after the fish is caught. I will try to find that book again (so I can avoid it in the future!) Fresh or not-so-fresh, the nose knows.

Basildog, I yield to your expertise, but maybe there is some sort of (other) cycle in which the ammonia waxes and wanes. I found an interesting site that tells some more about skate and other fish:lots of fish tales

Did it smell a little ammoniated before you cooked it?

I didn't know skate was an either love-it or hate-it proposition or, alternatively, an acquired taste, because I love it so much, but aparently it is. To me it occupies a place somewhere between shellfish and fin fish, although I compare it to neither and simply enjoy its unique qualities as they present themselves. You say the taste was "strong." Skate, when extremely fresh, has a ammoniac character that disappears when the fish is a day or two old. Maybe your skate was, paradoxically, too fresh. How did you prepare your skate?

Welcome to eGullet, Gumbo. I notice that you did not say where you are from on your profile. If you are from New York, I have some suggestions for ready-made purchase (not from a jar.) If you live elsewhere, and really, really want to make gefilte fish, I will consult my mother-in-law, whose version is highly regarded and will post it on the board. IMHO, the effort to make the stuff is not worth the result, but I'll try to help.

I used to love the lamb dishes in creamy, nutty sauce -- korma, pasanda. roghan josh -- but I consider these, alas, too rich for me to eat until I lose those 30 pounds I keep talking about. Lamb is my favorite red meat, but for the time being, it will have to be plain grilled chops. Hmmm. A dry rub with an interesting masala would be nice. I swear, I am going to cook something this week. I mean it.

I've never made lamb in an Indian manner, but this thread is inspiring.

Suvir, you mention both garam masala and chaat masala. Is there a different kind of mixture for chaat? Or, does the name refer to a chaat that is itself a mix of various ingredients?

Fresh lychees.

Poland Spring when I can't get NYC tap, filtered or not. I don't like bubbles unless they are surrounded by Champagne.

And in France, they do the same thing with chocolate instead of cheese and call it pain au chocolat.

Cabrales, this is what you've been looking for.

That could be a great movie.

I love M.F.K. Fisher, but she may be best in small doses. She can be repetitive, although that is not necessarily negative for me. Think of children who like to hear the same story told over and over with exactly the same words. In general, I wonder if men are less drawn to her writing than women?

Thanks, Suvir. I have a couple of Jaffrey's books and I use them a lot, or used to use them when I cooked more than I do now. I've never had any trouble with them, but I rarely follow any recipe exactly. Mrs. Singh's style is more difficult to follow, but I loved the way my rabri turned out.

The Time-Life Cooking of India can often be found in used book stores or through an internet search for used books. It was my earliest introduction to Indian cooking. I dearly wish that the whole series sould be re-released in some form. I know I would appreciate a large volume of just the collected recipes, although I treasure the slipcased volumes I had the vision to buy at the time. Suvir, can you be more specific about the differences between Sahni and Jaffrey? Which one tends to help the Western cook produce food that is similar to what one might have in India? (A roundabout way of asking which is more authentic.)

Thanks, Aurora. This one's a keeper.

Oops. William Warner.

One of my favorite books in any category: Beautiful Swimmers -- Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay