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Rushina

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Everything posted by Rushina

  1. This mornings papers say that 1 in 3 dead is a child. Fresh water wells have been filled by seawater. Local newspapers are a mosaic of tragedy. People are washing up miles away from their home. A blow to anthropology is that the indegineous protected tribes of the Nicobar Islands are feared to have been dealt a death blow if not wiped out. Sri Lanka reports that Land mines have been pulled out by the tsunamis and there is no way to find out where they have been depositted. Aid is getting there, Tons of food water and blankets have been airlifted in but it's not enough. The hygiene and sanitation is beginning to be an issue. I have no words to express my feeling, I just read the papers, watch the news and pray. Rushina
  2. I now have 20 books on Indian Cooking, added the 50 curries book. I highly recommend it! Rushina
  3. Just doing an edit on this post I could not get my hands on The turmeric trail, Ain e akbari – abul fazl, Oxford companion to food and Historical companion to Indian food by Achaya (though Vikram has promised to help me out with atleast a couple of those.... I did get Ultimate Curry Bible, Vikram also gave me Food in History - R. Tannahill So my total stands at 19. (Total cookbooks number 36.) Will recount post the birthday... Rushina
  4. Monica, I would like a recipe for the curry leaf chutney too. Rushina
  5. For Gautam and everyone else, Indian Chinese is a result of two different influences, niether of which have anything to do with Calcutta. It started when, a Delhi socialite discovered sichuan food and introduced it to one particular Delhi restaurant. As Monica said (the article was probably one of Vir Sanghvi's), The main onus for creation of what we call Indian Chinese food can be laid at the feet of Mr. Nelson Wang owner of China Garden restaurant. He deep fried and masallafied the stuff and served it up. I am sorry this post is vague, but I have put down what I can remember from Vir Sanghvis column. The said column has been compiled into a book in which Vir classifies this food as Sino Ludhiana. I will reread the relevant columns and post in detail again. Rushina
  6. plain old sugar - yummy oh and a recent experiment - nutella - absolutely awesome! Rushina
  7. I like em boiled with a bit of salt Rushina
  8. yeah those two will grow anywhere. When they are in season, they are all over our garden in Dehra DUn. Oh and lemongrass Rushina
  9. Hey Monica those corn cups are now available at every mall Crossroads, Big Bazaar etc. I make a great version at home as well, so we can include it at the Eg get together.... (the one we will have when you are here...) Rushina
  10. Okay here is something that my mom in law would probably flip out on hearing but while I lived in Chandigarh (about two years) we always got the freshest produce. I could neve bring myself to throw away green Kaddu peels, Green pea pods and the like, I used to boil them into a stock that I served as clear soup in the winter and /or used to thin gravies or cook rice. Rushina
  11. Some Chinese restaurants in Bombay serves a dish called corn cream / corn anyone heard of it or got a recipe? Rushina
  12. Got it in one.... but you only grate of the kernels, stop when you reach the cob. Rushina
  13. Vikram - not one powerful sister, just have many (MANY) brothers. Actually my birthday comes up right after rakhi. (Rakhis on the 30th and my bday is on the 9 sept.) so its kind of a combined thing. Raghavan - I am really looking forward to reading it. I read a few rave reviews of it on Amazon, that is what made me go for it... Which parts of India are you visiting on your trip? Rushina
  14. I do not have any brand I favour really. the one I am using at the moment is MDH. I think it is a little spicier than the others. tryska - this says it all. however I usually add a bit of turmeric with it for added color and red chilli powder as well. I find the red chili powder accentuates the spicyness of the masalla. I think though the main thing that it has going for it is the aroma that is released when u add ot to food. Has anyone tried it yet? Rushina
  15. Hi Monica! THis thread is now applicable. Monsoons are in Mumbai! It has not stopped raining for 3 days! been eating lots of spicy stuff! Atte ka halva/ Pakoras/ hot and sour soup / rajma rice/ kheema pav..... Rushina
  16. FYI - Edible gum, almost always is Included in the diet of a new mother. Rushina
  17. Late but there… My list…. 1.) Historical Dictionary of Indian Food K.T.Achaya. 2.) The Story of our food also by K.T.Achaya. 3.) The Indian Kitchen, Monisha Bharadwaj – One of my favourites… 4.) Prashad Jiggs Kalra – Will I ever cook from this book? I do not know but it’s a good one to serve as a benchmark to measure food against. 5.) A Taste of India - Madhur Jaffrey. I like this book for the its easy recipes. I have an old publication (found it for some Rs. 25 at the local raddiwalla). It even inspired me enough to cook from it. 6.) The Kashmiri cookbook by Sudhir Dhar – An okay book but I have it on authority that the recipes while they might be cooked by some Kashmiris are not the authentic ones. 7.) Flavours of Delhi - Charmaine O'Brien – This one makes for a very nice read. It is also very informative. 8.) The Essential North-East Cookbook by Hoihnu Hauzel. I bought this out of sheer curiosity as to wht cuisine becomes as it travels to this part of the country. 9.) The Gujerati Cookbook – My mother gave me this book when I was getting married. Inside she had inscribed “Rasoda ni Rani Banje”, the exact translation of this is be the queen of your kitchen. The symbolism behind it (this is my personal opinion) stems from the fact that most Gujeratis are food obsessed and the life revolves around the kitchen. They also predominantly live in joint families meaning multiple women in the kitchen.(yes the Saas – bahu thing) The daughter in law that ruled the kitchen ruled the house and was a favourite and would be loved and happy. I think it is a fond wish from a mother to her daughter for a happy life as the daughter sets up her own home and life. 10.) The Essential Andhra Cookbook, Part of the Penguin series – I lived in Hyderabad for two years and enjoyed the local food (Andhra as well as Mughul). This was a happy addition to my bookshelf as I could not replicate some of my favourites. The only thing I have cooked out of it has been the Mirch ka Salan which I have always loved. 11.) The Calcutta Cookbook, Meenakshie Das Gupta, Bunny Gupta, Jaya Chaliha This was the first book I bought when I got interested in the history of Indian food. I was not disappointed. It has also converted me to breaking raw eggs into my egg curries as opposed to boiling them and adding them later. 12.) Curries & Bugles by Jennifer Brennan. 13.) Parsi food and customs - Bhicoo J. Manekshaw. 14.) Anglo-Indian Food and Customs - Patricia Brown. 15.) Recipes of India Timelife - Vikram forgot to tell u when I spoke to u last night, after I read your post on books I went thru mine and discovered that I HAVE THE RECIPE BOOK FOR the Timelife book on India. (what say we do a swap) 16.) The Smasung book of Indian Microwave cooking 17.) Tarla Dalals Indian Vegetarian cooking – The first Indian Cookbook I ever owned… 15.) Not a cookbook but food related --- The Good Food Guide Mumbai – Rashmi Uday Singh. Since I live in Mumbai this was an obvious choice. Covers eating out with contact info reviews on food and just about everything, including catering in sources for ingredients nightlife etc… 17.) Rude Food: Vir Sanghvi. A compilation of Vir Sanghvi's columns on food. Had many guffaw moments with this book. Also garnered many jewels of information like the origin of Chicken Manchurian. Do books that are not on my shelf count – These are mine, they just have not reached their new home yet (they will post Rakhi). If yes then my total comes to 23. (Total cookbooks number 40.) The turmeric trail (this was before I saw that its author is amongst us now…) Ain e akbari – abul fazl Oxford companion to food Ultimate Curry Bible Historical companion to Indian food by Achaya Rushina
  18. I dont know if it pairs with sukke or not but I roasted it a bit, powdered it and strained it. I use it as such in whattever. You will need to pass through a sieve as the inner seed coverings do not get powdered. I have no complaints. Rushina
  19. I dont know if it pairs with sukke or not but I roasted it a bit, powdered it and strained it. I use it as such in whattever. You will need to pass through a sieve as the inner seed coverings do not get powdered. I have no complaints. Rushina
  20. I dont know if it pairs with sukke or not but I roasted it a bit, powdered it and strained it. I use it as such in whattever. You will need to pass through a sieve as the inner seed coverings do not get powdered. I have no complaints. Rushina
  21. eating Bhang seeds is a norm in the area my husbands family hails from in Garhwal. They eat one at a time like peanuts (I think). A chutney is made out of them. I intend to make that once I have ascertained the right season for it. Rushina
  22. One of the staple breakfasts in my mother home in corn season is the Makai ni Khichri. (corn Khichri) we use grated corn and cook it with buttermilk. It is tempered with curry leaves, turmeric and mustard seeds. Eat as is or on top of toast. When we were younger it was made with Indian corn (the white one) but the now easily available yellow corn, puts a new spin on it because of its sweetness. it basically has all the elements of a comfort food/ monsoon food / winter food... I think will make some soon. Another dish that we make is corn curry. whole cobs of corn are broken into bits and cooked in a curry with chillies and coconut. the curry is eaten with rotis or rice and the bits of corn cob are attacked with a vengance. the kernels are bitten off dith the teeth and the cob is chewed to extract the juices. I also use sweetcorn to make a sweet corn pav bhaji. Rushina
  23. If I am not mistaken, I think what gives this distinction as a gujerati dish, is the use of fresh dill. Rushina
  24. Hmm that does look good. i don't know if Semolina is added but you could give it a shot... If you make it really spicy, it goes well with honey or and if you do not want to make it spicy, see if you can pick up chunda locally it goes really well with that. Rushina
  25. Well in our home the monsoon anounces itself byt everyone getting a cold/cough/viral. My son is just getting better from a bout of all three so this weekend (hopefully) we will be able to get into the swing of things. IF IT RAINS! Maggi with a minced green chilli thrown in and chai is my monsoon treat.... THe other is theplas, chunda and chai... For my family I make atte ka halwa and since I have started frying (thanks to episure) I intend to surprise my husband with pakoras one really rainy day... Kurkures are great to munch on. The new flavour is really spicy... I think anything steaming hot, spicy and high on carbs is great in the monsoons. Rushina
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