Rushina

I am sure you miss Strand! Where are you now? I have travelled around the world but have not found a bookshop that is so actuively interested in making their customers happy. I have been shopping at Strand since I was 13 and I used to save up money and mom took me there to buy a book everymonth. FYI Mr. Shanbag was honored recently. My son is only 2 years old but I took him for the sale this time and he is the 3 generation from our family to shop there. Mr. Shanbag was there and he was so sweet, he actually gave my son a book!That is probably what makes them different. TO answer your question, yes, a large poart of my book collection is cookbooks. I have the Larrouse Gastronomic among a whole lot more. I like Sophie Grigsons Ingrediants book as well. Have you read that? I like food history and cuisine history related books too. Planning a special meal for me is an adventure, to keep in mind the guestlist, balance everyones tastes buy ingredients, a last minute change because you planned something else but found the biggest freshest head of Broccoli... sorry getting poetic now... anyway part of all that is flipping through my cookbooks for at least 20 minutes and being thoroghly inspired... Rushina

I have read it from cover to cover. It is good, thought the second is a reprint of the first. It is available at Crossword in Bombay and might be available with Strand book stall WWW.strandbookstall.com Rushina

THanks guys! Unfortunately nothing for a blush in the smilies. Don't worry however the enthusiasm will cool down... By the way Id mentioned the Strand sale elsewhere. It is on now and there are great books going at amazing prices including the Indian Kitchen and some other excellent cookbooks! I bought some 20 of them the other day (My love for books comes second only to food) Bombay egulletters please to go.... Rushina

This is not rasam but worht a try if you like rasam. It is great for when you have a stuffy nose or bad throat. 4 medium tomatoes 2 Green chillies (adjust as you will) One head of Garlic peeled 1 inch piece ginger peeled a few curry leaves a pinch of hing a tsp of ghee 1/2 tsp Sugar salt to taste 1/2 a lemon stick a knife in the tomato and hold over an open flame till skin scorches, blisters and tears. place in a bowl do the rest of the tomatoes and cover and put aside. Using something heavy, flatten but do not pulverise garlic chillies and ginger. Peel the scorched skin of the tomatoes, crush with hands. combinethe tomatoes, garlic, chilies, ginger, sugar and salt in a suce pan and put it on the flame. Let the tomatoes soften stir and mash everything a bit more. add water (about four times the quantity of the tomato mush.) bring to a boil and simmer for 10 mins. heat the ghee, splutter the curry leaves and pour onto the boiling rasam. Adjust taste adding the lemon juice if the soup is not sour enough. Advice make double the quantity because it is always drunk down to the last drop! Rushina

Anyone read the book The Indian Pantry or its latest reprint the Indian Kitchen - it contains information on almost everything in the Indian Kitchen. Okie I have obviously clicked wrong, this was meant to be in the Indian Pantry thread. I was working on a post on Pahari Food and wanted that to be my first but since This is Que sera sera.... Id like to say here am very happy to have found egullet - have been unable to stay away but that will sort itself out in a few days once the initial enthusiasm has run its course. Apologies for bringing up old topics and causing general mayhem, I noticed a couple of days ago that about 10 topics one after the other had my name on them! Here are some topics I am planning on adding in the coming weeks, I would like it if you could let me know if something has been done... Uttaranchal food the cuisine and my experiances with it Some good Indian restaurants in India and dishes i reccomend Hot and SOur Soup - I love it and the places I like it best at Trade - to trade books and all stuff food related- (I say this cos I read in someones post a while back they had spare copies of timelife history of world food. I am looking for those and maybe a trade could be worked out...) Favourite ingrediant - the one thing you are inspired to cook by favourite kitchen gadget the most exotic ingredient on your shelf - good stuff / bad stuff and disastrous stuff The best (fill at will) ever and where it was that u found it Memories with food Rushina Rushina

Gujarat - OOndhiyu - This is a speciatlity of Surat that is famous. It is made from mostly root vegetable and flavoured with Green Garlic. Can find out more and get a recipe if anyone is interested. Uttaranchal - The Dal pakodas, wellthis one they got right. If I am not mistaken these would have been Urad dal pakoras, flavoured with ginger, garlic and chillies. sprinkled with sesame and Jeera and fried in Mustard oil, also the authentic shap would have been round with a hole in the middle. I can never forget them since thethey were the first thing i experianced with pahari food. My first morning in my new home after I woke up, I had my first experiance of the smell of Mustard oil. It is extremely pungent to someone who has never smelt it befor. Any way The Pahari people of Uttaranchal love their Urad Dal and their cuisine uses it to such an extent that it has achieved a stage of recognition so to speak with the Pahari people. As a result these pakoras are made on any celebratory or special occassion and first put befor god before the rest of the family devours them. They go really well with hing pickle. A Green mango pickle flavoured with hing and chilli simple but mouth watering. I must mention here that these are the conclusions I have come to after a little resaerch and theorising. Rushina

These are a few of my favourtie things 1. Vanilla Beans (I got my last batch from Sri Lanka, begged some family friends to bring me some. I guess the fact that i was lying in a hospi bed just having given birth to a 9.5 pounder had something to do with the fact that they brought me back 5) 2. Lemon Oil - this is oil produced when lemons are pressed with olives. Mom found some for me on her last trip to Italy at 150$ a bottle. It is over now, but found some at Premsons for RS 150. Am down to my last one now. Sniff Sniff. (By the by, some interesting things to be found at Premsons Galleria sometimes.) 3. The Iranian Black Nimbus (awfull to look at but very flavourful) and the dried cranberries (really pretty red that is retained on cooking, really dresses up a dish.) 4. Straw mushrooms - have had them the one time. Someone who loves me very much (would have to) actually tried to bring me some however they were dead and gone to mushroom heavae by then. 5. Fresh Porcini Mushrooms - what can I say... Actually much of what I had on that trip to Italy I wish i could import. (If I was not happily married I'd Includ a certain barman at the Charming English Pub in Aosta in the list) 6. The coffe from Coffee Connectrions at Knysna in Sought Africa. This place is amazing, the have possible the largest variety of Coffee beans and flavoured coffees I have ever seen, also the best Cheese Cake. Some things I would really like to try 1. The truffle - is it really as amazing as it sounds? 2. Ras El Hanout 3. A Sacher torte 4. A twinkie if it exists, read abouit it in archie comics... 5. Garfields Lasagna (hehe) Some things I wish I could eat again 1. Mayo food - the boarding school I was at. The food was awesome - I can vouch for it I craved it while I was pregnant... 2. The Steamed fish in a Soya Sauce that I had at a Chinese restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand. I do not know what it was called or what the restaurant was called, I just know it was near the Air new Zealand office. If anyopne could help me with the recipe.... 3. Pollenta the freshly baked Brioche at the Holiday Inn at Aosta. Should this post be elsewhere on the site? Rushina

Could the Commercially available "Kitchen King" be the same thing? A lot of the ingrediants sound the same as on the box. Rushina

Fresh Turmuric pickle This is the season for it, the days are cooler and mornings have a decided nip in them. I think it has warming properties, and i would guess it is also beneficial for bad throats. Recipe Equal parts Amb Halad (bombay name for it) and Turmuric, salt, lemon juice and optionally chillies. Okie wash and peel the Amb Halad and the Fresh Turmeric. I have always seen this pickle cut into julliennes but I prefer to cut it accross in slices because I feel that that would give everyone an equal shot at the tender inner portion of the root as well. ( I find slicing this stuff therapeutic, but then I like peeling oodles of garlic too) Once you have everything sliced, put it into a glass bottle, add the salt and Lemon juice. Chillies if you want to spike it. Close the bottle, let it stand at room temp for a while. Once the juices have been released its ready. Its great to munch on as is, also marries well with Thai curries. I also add fresh turmuric to my daals if the mood strikes, with fresh corriander, it gives the daal a very nice aroma as well as zing. Rushina *** Be warned use gloves as the turmuric stains. I think Amb Halad is the lesser ginger, it has a tangy fragrance akin to green mangoes. Can Anyone confirm?

I think it was the entire thing. I have never managed to get the Husband to eat Bil tong again! Do have a friend that loves it though. When I was in Singapore I had sampled a dried Chinese sausage. It is quite long and I cant recall wether it was te packet that was red or the sausage but it was delicious, if you like Bill Tong you might like that. Unfortunatley dont have the moment but will try to get it for you f yu want. Rushina

Oh Yes please It was called Dragons dung! But the aroma of Hing spluttering in Ghee - yes please. I was only introduced to hing after i got married. I now cannot do without. I buy two types. My Daal drags people to it from all over... A semi solid form said to be the purest, I add water to the box it comes in and then use a couple of drops at a time. This does not need to be used in the tempering. It can be added to the cooked daal before serving. The other is the dung looking one (sorry could not resist) this I cut and add fragments of to the tempering. I get them both from Dehra Dun. Can supply details on where if anyone needs them. Rushina

I was all set to start off on "FUSION COOKING" thank the lord I did not. I do however like creating fusion meals. Marrying dishes from different cuisines into a meal is interesting. I also like creating or modifying dishes. I collect exotic ingrediants from around the world and then combine them, have had a lot of disasters but many successes to. Best ever - Sesame honey chicken with Iranian Dried Cranberries and Kala Nimbu. Still have some of both of those so anyone Bombay side interested in sampling it lemme know and we could have a cookup.... Biggest disaster Chilli with South African Bill Tong - They all ate a bit for politenesses sake and then I caught them flushng it down the Loo!!! My husband and I still laugh over that. Rushina

I hope you had a good time in Bombay, I live here and I have eaten at or heard of most of the pleaces in the list but I feel humbled at the combined food knowledge about Bombay on these pages. Rushina

My husbands family has a tradition of having "Kachmauli" at celebrations. This is a whole Goat slow roasted over an open fire. I am told Kachmauli means slightly raw / rare met. the meat is then taken of the cooking goat and mixed up with raw mustard oil, hing (asafeotida), salt, raw chili powder and served up. It is delicious. Could the same results be achieved on a smaller scale with the help of a rotisserie in a small oven. ? I also have a very interesting recipe I foundfor smoking chicken in a wok. will post it if I can find it. Might work for smaller game. Rushina

I am not into the rights or wrongs or whys or wherefores, i feel bombayite or bambaiya... Does that make sense? Rushina

Gur was a big part of my child hood. I detested Bhindi (Okra) and every time there was something we did not like to eat we were given chunks of gur. I'd smash it up and then roll it into little snakes that i would roll into a chapati. It was a sticky yummy business and we gobbled up endless chapatis. Another great way to eat it was to spread hot ghee over a khakhra and then spread the gur over. Yummulicious! Rushina

about 150 I estimate am adding 2 more tomorrow Rushina

It is now Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal. Rushina

Tehri it is! In fact I have been discovering the many specialities of pahari cooking. relatively unexplored that... Were you just born there or are you a pahari? Rushina

Tehri it is! In fact I have been discovering the many specialities of pahari cooking. relatively unexplored that... Were you just born there or are you a pahari? Rushina

Thank you Monica Youre welcome to come hve a cuppa of either version the next time you are in Bombay Rushina

Thanx BB, I think i would like to add severl of these to my shelves! Rushina

I just had to jump in on this one!!! (Incidentaly, yes I have just come on board and I love being here!) I have grown up with Masalla chai. It was the first thing I learned to cook, and for a long time after I learned it I proudly made endless cups of "perfect" tea for anyone who wanted it. I then got married, I do not make masalla tea now, I prefer a spiced version of english tea which has resulted from an amalgamation of what my husband likes and what I do. I crush ginger and bruise a few mint leaves into the water, I add the sugar and let it come to a boil (I always put in a bit more water than I need so that it can boil for a bit). I then turn of the flame and put in the tea leaves which are a blend of 2/3 Green Label and 1/3 Taj Mahal. This is from my husbands side because one of those is supposed to impart flavour and the other color. I forget which is which at the moment. I dont boil the tea leaves beacause I find they get a slightly bitter flavour then. Once the tea leaves have steeped and imparted the color, I add a smidgen of milk. The tea has a nice color to it but it is translucent and would never form a skin. Strain and serve. (We find a couple of Glucose buistcuits go well with this too.) I do still remember the way masalla chai was made in my mother house, and the important day when my mother taught me how to make tea. It was 50/50 milk and water, chai masalla and crushed cardamom and sugar (I never liked cardamom personally). Bring everything to a boil. Just when it is about to boil add the tea leaves. Once it has boiled lower the flame and let it simmer, bring to boil again simmer agai, at this point the tea rises to the rim of the vessel. this is when you use the pakkad to take the vessel of the fire, let it settle bring it bck over the flame let it rise take it away and bring it back. Switch off the gas, strain and serve. (One of my favourits snacks has lways been Theplas, Chunda and hot masalla chai. Theplas are a kind of leavened roti that has methi and some other stuff added to it (can elaborate if anyone wishes). Chunda has been described elswhere on this website but is basically grated mango pickle tht is spiced and sun cooked in a sugar syrup. ) By far the best the I have had and cannot duplicate is the one made by the maid that works at my moms house. Our Chai Masalla Equal parts Pepper, Mace, Cinnamon and saunth (dried Ginger) ground to a powder. We make enough to last couple of weeks at a time. Rushina

I have the Calcutta Cookbook, it was pretty interesting reading, but then I do have a great fascintion for the origins of food and its evolution. I must get my hands on the others. Incedentally, The Strand Book Stall in Bombay and Banglore periodically has sales and their discounts are AMAZING. The Bombay branch is having a sale at the moment, at the Sunderbai hall near Churchgte station. I was in there the other day nd i think I spotted some of these books on sale. If you want to get your hands on any books you could ask someone in Bombay to pick them up for you. The last date is the 24th if I am not mistaken. Also they have a very good website, that takes orders and mails stuff. I can't comment on costs of mailing etc because I live in Bombay but you could check it out, www.strandbookstall.com. I can vouch for them being really reasonable pricewise because they generally have 20% of on any book. All the best. Rushina PS I am looking for the book on the history of Indin cuisine by K.T. Achaya, any ideas on where I might find a copy?

] Hi I am a Gujju mrried to Ghadwali. I had the most fascinating time driving from Dehra Dun to Delhi recently. I saw Jaggery being made for the first time. The weather was cold and foggy and smoke billowed up from the boilng jaggery and carried on it the aroma of molasses. (delicious) My husband goes into rapture over descriptions of times when he and his companions have stopped along the way and been handed jugs of hot molasses to sample. I have not had a chance to actually try that out but I intend to someday. I also recently sampled some jaggery like the one Vikram refers to in an earlier post, except that it had a whole lot of spices in it. Though Fresh Jaggery in itself is delicious, (we eat it in the winter in Dehra Dun as it is considered warming), this was even better. The same sweet hot flavour vikram describe but with some spice thrown in. I am not sure if it is available all over the hill areas of India but I know this lot came from Mandi in Himachal. Rushina