anil

Wrong question - Wrong Answer. What you are talking about has to be qualified - Cow's (Gai's doodh) milk Vs Buffalo's (Bhains ka dhoodh) milk - In Northern India, of what I knew as daily routine, one used the two differently. In many suburban, and SMSA 's of cities it not not uncommon for the milkpersons (Dhoodwalas) to bring the cows/buffloes to one's yard to ensure fresh, unadultrated milk...... But then I'm only recollecting from memories of things past.

My recollections lead me to believe that glass vermicelli, is called falooda. Home-made vermicelli was made by pressing the viscous paste (don't ask me what goes into the paste, since I'm not a cook ) through a "semai" (sp?) press - very similar to paste noddle hand-cranked machine one see's in Italy. If there is a specific word for flooda in Bengali, Simon would have to chime in, and for the rest - We have suvir to thank..

Not really - However, that said; loomi limes are different than the garden variety used in lemonade. Lemonade is straight sugar,water. In loomi you do cook it a bit , add salt or peppery spice to inhance the sweet base of the sugar.

Gelatinous worm-like noodle is vermicelli.

The matter of "Frankie" whether it was first started in Mumbai or Delhi is still debatable In my early youth, we had frankie in Mumbai, and my elder cousins from DEL claimed that it was imported from DEL. That frankie had its origin when JNU was built, from a "thela-cart" outside by the road..... who knows, who cares. In its early origins the Bombay Frankie had meat+ketsup, no batata, then catering to the pressures of th marketlace veggie Frankies made their debut. This was in the early '70s.

Last weekend a friend of mine, here in EZE, remarked that they had never eaten indian food. So, I hunted down one, and ordered Gulab Jamun. Needless to say it was not bad considering that the restaurant was started by an Argentenian diplomat who had a long assignment in India, and brought his love for that food into Buenos Aires.

Here I am sitting at the Business center of my hotel in Santiago fews hours before flight back home Santiago is expensive - That said, (Damn these keyboard have most symbols all overthe map) Outside of .JP, I have yet to see so many different kinds of seafood offered in any typical chilean seafood place. Sea Snails, Sea Urchin, small shrimp like fish ( I used to remember similar kind sold in Mumbai ), lobsters, sea bass, king crabs, and host of others whose names I wrote down but promptly lost A great small non-descript place "casa de Cena" had the most delicious appetisers - I had a cocktail of shrimp,crabs in fresh lemon and tomato sauce+salsa. For main entrees I could not let the opportunity of having King Crabs in lemon sauce. Another fairly good restaurant called Loco Coco or somesuch,had freshest salmon steak and lemon cream. It helps to have local folks escorting you to unheard of small eateries that offer excellent value. Needless to say, Chilean wines are very good. Many places have good house wines - Just like in Italy The empanadas (both meat as well as cheese&vege) were offered by cart vendors near the University - I had a few while watching a protest rally by the students againt globalization blah blah blah... More later

How uncool :( If you cannot say something good about your hosts, don't even bring it up ................................ that's how I was taught in my preteen days

What a catholic guilt you impose - QnD (Quick-n-Dirty) I stayed Taksim Sq., and ate mostly at non-descript,but excellent small eateries.... For a formal meal, my abode, Hotel Marmara; had a decent restaurant on the top floor that we had an OK meal.

Fat-Guy: Where are you now getting your Amy's Bread from ? 9th Ave or Chelsea Market ? I have been a fan of Eli's from the time he was really small and having difficulty breaking into the market so to speak. He started doing ethnic sounding breads so that heavies would ignore the fringe niche market -- They he really took off I'm still looking for a good garlic bread outlet in Hell's Kitchen.....

Let me take a shot at this: 1. Drink bottled water (insure it is brought to you sealed properly) 2. If not possible, drink hot tea with your meals. 3. I never have my alcohol on the rocks (never know about the ice) 4. Avoid rare meats - Medium should be the norm. As an extra precaution have at least a quinine tablet once every two days. Carry your own vitamens; skip a meal to sync the timezones if possible. Finally from my archives - http://www.iamat.org http://www.masta.org/home.html http://www.istm.org/ http://www.tripprep.com/ http://www.drwisetravel.com/ and finally http://www.vh.org/Providers/Textbooks/Trav...ravelMedHP.html

I was about to write about my experiences - But suvir summed it up best Most amazing meals one has is in the homes of people. Suvir's is a narrative of folks of the pre-Raj era. In my youth, the Gummint revoked the "Privy Purse" that allowed the princely entities to live that way. Meals at homes - be it poor, or the princely kind is always fascinating. An old friend on mine; when he got married, had 7000+ guests - fed for three days. Many households (depending on which of the thousand gods/goddesses you worship) have a big weekly feast after puja&fasting - this meal typically would have atleast 10-12 dishes. Each one of them sublime. On a daily basis, outside of homes; expect to see a decent meal at Gymkhanas(clubs) (My experience being mostly Mumbai based) Restaurants are low on the scale - Even the best amongst them do not come close to many of the clubs. This all I gather, is changing, as this generation does not care (or has the time) to devote to going to the gymkhana/clubs.

Whenever one feels like no ? Like right now (2:17 EST) I'm nibbling on some chocolate I had in the refrigerator

Seffa Is what maybe you are looking for. Yes, a glass of hot milk is served with it - That is why I had a less than normal enthuism for it

You said it very succicently - rancid ghee......

Folks do you know what just unfolded here ? Suvir, not only created a fabulous tasting menu, he gave the roadmap for chefs who'd want to even attempt such a thing

You are correct - Cacik does indeed have what you say.

Stick to fish.

The saucelike thing is called cacik (sp?), it is like an indian Raita. Coban salata has a lot more than onion,cucumber,tomato - A staple servings in kebabsis along with mezes.

Yes, Bhalles; the term is used by Punjabis mostly for vadas. Paalak paneer is a subset of saag paneer. One could use many other greens to make saag, whereas paalak is spinach. Hope this helps

What kind of recommendations are you looking for ? My favourite activity is to get a bucket of mussels and drink beers for hours There was a decent French restaurant closeby from our hotel (whose name escapes me for the moment, will update once I find it ) which was fairly decent.

No. I doubt it. However, PauBhaji is street food.

While we were in the W Village this (Sat) evening, a sudden craving for ragda got us to it down at Mirchi for a quick bite. I'm beginning to appreciate Mirchi's mixed drinks every time I visit -- maybe it's the barkeep that distracts my concentration

I think the person in BLCH was mistaken. Many a goan would attest to using potatoes.

Mostly merchant, and business folks. Most Jain food I have eaten was devoid of onions and Of!course no meat, no potatoes etc. Food eaten before sundown etc.