anil

How about some cheese platter from here and a spread of ham to go with it and maybe a glass of vini bianchi and they will deliver to DEL

Where will you be staying ?

You mean in the hostel ? That is what dorms are called no ? Maacher Jhol for the bongs, and Chicken for non-vegs and I forget what was for the vegetarians Actually we knew the drill - If it is Tuesday it is mutton curry, Wednersday Fried Fish; ..... Sunday was Feast - Chicken Special, Pullao, a piece of Mishti and fruit custard.

Soul food of the Punjs Aloo Methi, Foolkas with asli Ghee and a glass of Namkeen Lassi. In winter, maaki-di-roti and Sarsoon-da-Saag. Also in Winter, Mooli-di-rooti and Dahi. Raajma Chaawal (any night ) Mutton Rogan Josh, tandoori roti, Mukke-de-piyaz and Patiala Peg or two sitting on a Charpai in the backyard

I miss Bombay It is Mumbai my dear Get used to it.

My old guidebooks (2002 editions) do not list Playa Papagayo as a public beach - There is a Gulf of Papagayo north of Tamarindo - Anyway I suspect a Four Seasons in that region would be an all -inclusive type of a place. It would ensure a certain level of cuisine at one or more of the restaurants in the resort. I have not been to the property, and I suspect that the nearby tico restaurants would not be anything other than a "gallo pinto chicken fare". I might be wrong. I'm curious about the Four Seasons property, I hope you'll got a good rate for the two weeks.

In many picnic places in India, I used to foldly remember street vendors with portable do-hickeys that served goolgapes/phujkas/pani-poori, some did dahi-chaat, narial-pani/daab. So there are places where cold food is popular; not to talk about kulfi etc...

Guanacaste is quite a big region in CR. Where exactly would you be staying ? I've stayed at Tamarindo, and there quite a few local shack type restaurants leading up to Playa Tamarindo and Tamarindo-Daria. Costa Rica is not really know for its food; however you'll find good fresh fruits. In the Cities fried chicken, gallo pinto and Beer are the easiest to find. Then there is the Arenal Volcano area on the other end - If you stay at the Tabacon Lodge, you'll get free access to the Hot springs and their complimentary buffet breakfast. Every time we go to CR, breakfast becomes our main meal and then when we come back at night (hiking,wandering or whatever) we are tired enough to eat anything

A kind of a handy man - Mostly associated with colonial era classification system. I've only had our relatives in th Railways and big industrial plants have persons orking for them, named as such.... oh well.

Blends ? !! Who drinks blends

Is this for real ? A herbal Viagra

In the mid-to-late '70s there was a State Govt. brewed rot-gut which we affectionately called 'banglu' - Cheapest way to get drunk and since it was slightly flavoured easy to throw-up. Then there was a 'mahauva' based drink which really stank up the room - Very cool and fresh. Finally there was 'toddy' - mostly popular in the coastal Bengal.

Which one's ? [i want to sit out this debate if possible ]

You meant Egypt right ? Also try the Cafeteria at India House in Cairo, if they allow visitors/guests.

Isn't sambal (and many varieties of it) popular in the Javanese style cooking ?

Are you sure Coco Loco is in Las Condes ? When in SCL, I alternate between Marriott/Hyatt which are in the Las Condes neighbourhood and San Francisco or Crown Plaza; nearer to downtown. I agree with you about mercado - also there are hidden jewels near the University Catholica, small restaurantes with delicious seafood and excellent house wines

You my friend are truely a world traveller. As I was scrolling down this thread, I was hoping someone would mention the colonial Africa - alas, It was not so - Some of the stews in Ghana, Senegal are fiery hot. The heat in some of the dishes in South Africa are unbelievable.

In the interest of baseball, and a shakey start by the yankees - The initial folks associated with Pongal in 28th & Lex, were malayalis. I have seen Sudanese restaurant open and close down within months. Cuisines from unrespresented, or under-respresentated locales would probably show up in restaurants from the dominant countries in the region. - A question for my resident demographer (and also NYT's)

well, it is and isn't. it is common to get kababs with some sort of mint and/or yogurt sauce/chutney. but as far as i know eating grilled lamb with fruit based chutneys/preserves/jellies is not a particularly north-indian thing. but i could be totally wrong about this. To elaborate on this - In IST (istanbul) most kebobs are not done in a tandoor, they are grilled in a charcoal, or open fire - they do serve it with what one would call condiments. So is true in Greece; On good introspective day, I don't even know if a "tandoor" was really "indian" ? Morrocoan ? Algerian ?

Haven't they always? But, in any case, "politically", what are the problems you have with "all of this"? I would guess she meant 'outsourcing' or BPO as the Gartnerspeak would have it termed

Ammini, what a fascinating article - Actually your whole website is very interesting. I have barely managed to scratch the surface of it I always loved Kerela. Sigh! I should have persued that fair neighbour of mine 25 odd years ago I'd now be lazing in the backwaters instead of suffering in Hell's Kitchen

How was your trip ? Where did you go ? What did you eat ?

If by Guju food you mean that you crave for Farsand style food - dhokla etc. then Dimple (30th between Bwy&5th) in Manhattan is your best bet. While you are at it you can also chat up in Guju wit hAunty behind the counter too

A few days ago a fellow punj who is more atuned to seasons than I, started talking about craving forthe baisakhi mela festivities of back home. Yesterday I heard from an old pal who is going to Kerela for Onam. So what are the special dishes and feasts for these occasions - I used to know this when I was young but now my hard-disk seems to be going going gone

Good points - and a few observations. The new immigrants to West pakistan (outside of the North) did not as such bring much impact as we might attribute because the food that punjabis (muslim & hindus) ate in now Pak-Punjab was not very that different than eaten by punjs in say Jalandhar,Amritsar,Ludhiana except for certain meats and ingredients readily available locally. Conversely, the immigrant families (mostly hindus) from Pakistan settled either with their relatives in North, or went initially to Dehradun and other smaller cities in the region - Thereby strongly influencing the local cuisine with strong punjabi cooking styles. Same was true of Sindhis who came to Mumbai metro area. Pre-partition, eating rice was a rarity amongst punjabis in say northern region of now West Punjab, but gathered acceptance in the Basmati growing Dehradun and surrounding regions where a lot of refugees settled. Amongst the resident elite in Pakistan, the immigrants from India were considered ahem!! ahem !!!. Note, a large percentage of muslims in many regions of India did not migrate, and those that did were either the 'Jinnahs and 'Sorahas who were really westernized in all respects or the really poor from the border states. Hence the influences of Avadh style (Lucknow gharana) did not really occur in the elaborate sauces it is known for. East bengal is another story - Unfortunately I do not have a good understanding of what went on post partition - I'd suspect he Bihari influences on food to have been contained.