Rushina

I would very much like to share in this experiance. I used to bake a lot before i got married, I was almost as good at making cakes as my mom but have lost the knack for it. I have this ambition to make bread whick is a disaster every time round, my husband says i should give up but I dont want to. I should be able to get the current book here as well as the ingrediants and I do have a very small oven now that is hotter on one side than the other but I think it ought to be fun... Is it too late to come on board??? Rushina

My eyes are opened to ... BEETS!! I had no idea there was so much one could do with them!!! Had heard of the very foriegn sounding Borscht but honestly never had the will to try it. I grew up with them being boiled and tossed with a bit of salt and lemon juice, as a side dish or boiled and tossed in natural yoghurt with salt and cumin. I like to grate them raw, mix in salt, pepper, corriander and lemon juice. That is my total experiance of beets. Unfortunately never found them with the tops on. I just finished my last batch yesterday, grated the whole lot! Will have to wait untill the next shopping trip to experiment with the recipes here.

Yes weve put him on Bajra rotis, will look into the Yezdani option. Is there an interesting way to package Karela. FYI for your friend, Methi sprouts work too, the taste really good more crunchy less bitter. I used to have them a lot and I did not have a prob with diabetes, I just liked them tossed in salads or with other sproute. Also made Masala bhaat with them. Rushina PS editted for too much use of the word "nice"!

Hey Vikram, I went out and bought the chinese Pantry book too. was intrigued by the recipe for the Master Sauce. Also tried the fried chicken with triphala/ Sichuan Peppercorns. It was a huge success with the boys. (the husband and the son). I liked the book too. Rushina

This is what I have heard, though I am not clear on wether it happened in Surat or Bombay. All of the mills used to have late night shifts and what restaurants used to do was that they used to collect all the vegetables left over from the day and cook them up with a lot of butter and masallas and sell this reinvention really cheap with Pau. Hence Pau Bhaji. Still looking to find out more. Rushina

He eats chicken when he is out but our family is strictly vegetarian at home. We have a brahmin cook who will run away at the mere mention of an egg. Rushina

Sorry thought I mentioned tha, they are a group of well travelled indians taking a holiday. The property they are visiting has asked me to help put the menus together. The multi cuisine aspect because the groups that generally require vegetarian menus are also the ones that are sticklers for Indian food or Jain food, in this case they are okay with other cuisines (no chinese) as long as it is vegetarian. Vegetarian means no chicken stock etc. Rushina

Does this have information on the origins of the foods? How things came into being. i recently found out about how Pau Bhaji came into being, I would like to know about other street foods and dishes. Rushina

Okie I know that this topic shoud go in the general topics but I have put it here for the reason that I need Indians who are exposed to western cuisine but understand Indian food habits to advise me. I need to put together a vegetarian multi cuisine menu for a group of passengers travelling to South Africa. It needs to have some amount of Indian food in it but other food will also work like Mexican and Italian. Any suggestions, advice on what to watch out for? Rushina

My cousin is a diabetic with a gentically weak heart and occaissional blood preassure. Also he is of the old guard that wants tasty food. I need to formulate a workable diet for him. It has to be easy to do with ingrediants that are locally available. We are already baking most thinks instead of frying. Oil has been cut down to a bare minimum, salt is out and sugar is out. What I would like help with is anything in terms of advice as to what could work. Do you know a diabetic? Do you know of any foods that are helpful to diabetics? Any websites that deal with diabetic food for Indians? Rushina

Hi I think everyone has most things covered but if there is anything else you need in terms of informations etc on day to day living please do not hesitate to ask. i grew up in South Bombay and now live in the "Burbs". Know a bit about both worlds though not half as much as Vikram. I also have a little boy so might be able to assist with that part. Rushina

Yoghurt making is a tradition that has been prevalent in most Indian houses over a millenia. Daily routine involved setting yoghurt for the next day every night. In fact when I got married and set up my own home, I took a bit of yoghurt for the starter from my mothers house. I use Nestle Packaged milk so what I do is that I pour the milk into the bowl stir in the starter and stick it in the microwave. The amount of the starter varies depending on the season. Less in the summer more in the winter. I microwave it on high for 1 minute if the milk is at room temp and 2 mins if the milk has been in the refridgerator. 1 minute of it is summer and 2 mins in the winter. I want to know how to make flavoured yoghurt. I like that a lot but the idea of copious amounts of sugar in packaged versions scares me. Rushina

How I though of all of you over the weekend. There was a Gujju spread at my moms. Parval ka sabji, Gujju daal, Sheera, Dhokla and Aamras and Srikhand. I had a childhood favourite of mine which is the White Khatta dhokla with Aamras (YUMMMMMSSS). I also had an interesting variation on the Yellow one that has a layer of paneer in the middle like a sandwich. PS the MTR Dhokla mix is pretty good if you can get your hands on it. My grandmother says it works as well as making the batter from scratch. Rushina

thanks for the advice all

Additional thoughts Thank you to everyone for the advice. I think that there are two types of cookbook owners. The type that read a recipe and follow it to the T and the type that read a recipe and use the basic guidelines but add a little of their own cooking style to it. The second (I think but I could be wrong) are the ones that collect books that have a lot of contextual information. This contextual information (I feel) is what makes cookbooks interesting, but I refer to information like the origin and evolution of a recipe, (this could be anecdotal) and the the right combination of ingredients and dishes to make the best of the meal nutritionally. As some of you know, I am documenting the food of the Gharwal himalayas. There is a thread on Pahari food on the India forum. It started out as a personal interest but along the way I realised that there is potential for a book here. Along the way there are several things i have discovered about this cuisine that might be interesting as "contextual Gloss". The reason I posted the question Cookbooks - what do you look for in them was for two reasons. To guage wether an international audience would even be interested in what in effect is a regional cuisine of India, that contains some recipes that have ingredients that might only be avaiable locally. The other reason, was to guage what would be the best way to present the information I have gathered. I am thinking aloud here, I do hope I make sense. Rushina

One can be in any part of the world, it will make no difference to the sweetness of the corn kernels as they pop betwen the teeth, the juices rushing to meet the flavours of salt and chilli and lemon leaving us licking our lips. I like it in any form, roasted, cookedboiled... slathered with butter or salt, chilli and lemon. Basically it would all be for naught without the butta I get my buttas and kernels at Fort. There is this guy who comes to the same corner every morning at 10:30 and only sells sweet corn. And boy is it sweet! It is the best! Rs 10 for three ears of corn or a bag of about 250 gms of kernals. I buy a whole lot at a time and freeze them. Then just boil or preassure cook and toss in butter and pepper as a snack for my family or a side dish. An interesting variation is if you toss them in lemon olive oil, salt and pepper. Rushina

Okie I have a question Is Achaya the only one that has researched/documented Indian food and its evolution. Has anyone read "The story of our food" Its a little book written by Achaya. Even that I feel loses out on the high adventure that could be experianced in researching and writting about this subject. Rushina

What would you like to be included in a cookbook you classify as a "good cookbook"? Rushina

Never made ice crm but these sound good ginger orange? black pepper and vanilla? A green chili ice cream has been recently launched in Bombay - have not tried it yet. Rushina Edited to add - could I please ave the recipe for the green tea icecream itch 22, It sounds interesting.

Garlic Olive Oil Chillies fresh dry and lakes Sundried Tomatoes Mushrooms lately perfected recipe for thai curry which I end up making twice a week so coconut milk and lemongrass Rushina

Ummm This thread has brought ack many, many good memories. I grew up having these. My mom used to make them as a treat when we got back from school. I think I will go suss out some. Thank ou menton. Rushina

Thak you for the compliment. I would but I doubt that geographical locations would allow it! I just popped by to tell all I am headed to Dehra Dun, I will have alot more to add here post my return with the pictures I promised earlier. If anybody wants anyting specific in terms of information/ pics, please let me know by the 15th. Rushina

Hi Edward, That book sounds like a real find. Yes mustard oil is used extensively in North India, my first morning in my new home after I got married I was made aware of this fact. There was a Puja that morning and and on all auspicious days in my husbands famly (See thread on pahari Food) they make Pakoris which are Black lentil fritters that are deep fried in mustard oil. It was a very cold winter day and Mustard oil calls for being heated to Smoking before cooking in. Well the pungent smell carried up to m room ad I almost gagged! I am now of course much recociled to it. I also fid tat greens like Musstard greens and spich when cooked in Mustard oil taste different. The base oil in all their pickles is also mustard oil. Will post more on that later. Rushina

I remember a maharashtran style Egg Curry that a collegues mother used to make. It had a very thick nut gravy. They were from Savantwadi in Maharashtra. Hmm, I think i will try and get the recipe. Rushina

"Curry leaf and gongura pickles are great with steamed rice alone.. or with anything else. " I was surifng through old threads on egullet and found this statement in one of Suvirs posts. 1. What is Gongura? I recetly read aout it somewere else as well, How does oe make it and does anbod know if it is available in Bombay. 2. Are either of these pickles available in Bomby? Rushina