Episure

Subtle combinations of spices are the trademark here. The word “curry” isn’t even on the menu, and no two dishes are flavored alike. IBM thinks Indian food is hot. laptops in the masala bazaar Masala hits the bottle Some of my old haunts

I could be imagining but I think I saw some eggplants cowering to the back of the vegetable counter as they saw me walk by. Word must have passed that here is a guy who is buying eggplants like crazy.

You will have to stick a drinking straw into my artery,( Main tumhara khoon pee jaoonga), though it will still be in vain. Prefer a Shobha.

The sucker punch is under construction and perfection. Watch this space.

Rose Achapams and Jangiri

I was waiting for Doc jones to get back: "Mere paas aam hai"

Thanks for clarifying, I am very keen so I'll try it again today. I hope it works for the others too.

Searing does not aid in the retention of meat juices. Although there are still some TV chefs that perpetuate this myth, the notion has been thoroughly disproved a long time a go. Searing provides color and flavor (maillard reaction) only. Depending on how the paneer is made, most versions will crumble unless fried first. For the majority of paneer dishes, I prefer paneer fried. I fully agree with Scott123 and it's about time that this age old myth was given a graceful exit. High( 5-10%) fat fresh Paneer doesnt take frying very well.

Nessa's Eggplant pakoras? Nessa, I just cant seem to make your recipe for eggplant pakoras. The batter just fritters away from the slice unlike your perfect picture of the finished dish. Are you sure you havent made a mistake in entering the recipe? I suspected that the coconut milk and the yogurt shouldnt go in to the batter but I followed your recipe anyway. Though this unique(now questionable) aspect is what made me try your dish as the first entry to be judged. Bague, please note and wait for Nessa's reply

You are absolutely right, Mawal is now indeed rare to come by.

You are exaggerating and making me laugh. You should have tried a lead lined container. Even fish sauce( nam pla) smells objectionable but not when it is in the food.

EU HOOI KHAW dines sumptuously under the gaze of the long gone kings of India, at the Maharaj in Petaling Jaya. The reporters name EU HOOI KHAW sounds like Bhojpuri/UP/Bhaiya for "this is good food". Didnt get it , think Amitabh Bachhan.

Deep fry as in you would be making batata vadas, bhajias/pakoras or wafers/chips i.e, in a kadhai full of oil and not upto say.. an inch deep. For example if you want to make crisp finger chips, you deep fry them in medium hot oil and finish/remove at very high temperature. I let them fry for at least 10-15 minutes without letting them brown and then another 5 minutes at full. This is an inexact timing as it depends on your burner, size of kadhai/pan, qty of oil and amount of stuff to be fried, but I'm sure you get the idea. Try and shallow fry and you will land up with soggy chips.

Pad Thai

Tapioca pearls. A bigger version is found in the highly over rated bubble tea.

To make an Indian Pad Thai I would add some scrambled egg to Ammini's version # 3. With lots of ginger, green chillis, spring onions, veggies and optional chicken or seafood.

No Swati, Deep frying makes the sabudanas or anything else less oily as the entire surface seals up on immersion. When you shallow fry, one side gets sealed and the other absorbs oil. Please ask me again for clarifications if I havent been clear.

Deep frying vs Shallow frying. Swati in her recent post on peanuts mentions Swati I hope you have chosen to shallow fry for practical reasons i.e., not having to reserve a large quantity of oil for frying purposes. I for one always have a deep frying kadhai in use. The reason is that shallow frying results in oilier fries than deep frying. Contrary to popular opinion deep frying allows you to control temperature and cooking at low and removing at high heat results in a fried product that doesnt have oil dripping from it. It's a matter of heat/viscosity. Yes you do use lots of oil but it remains in the kadhai and doesnt come on to your plate and palate.

The monsoon has set in here in South India and the ginger now available is tender and without fibres. I am going to skin large sections and peel long thin lengths, marinate them in lime juice and salt and store it in the fridge. I will then lay the lengths to form roses in a flat plate, sprinkle crushed red chilli and serve it with my next Thai meal.

Indian cuisine's most popular herb Coriander/ Kothmir/Dhania/Cilantro can more than make a chatni of salmonella, a pathogen that can cause food poisoning. The compound is dodecenal, found in the leaves and seeds. Lab researchers found that dodecenal was twice as powerful in killing salmonella as the commonly used antibiotic gentamicin. The research also seems to back up previous studies showing that some spices can help prevent food spoilage. The study's lead author, Isao Kubo, said the same compound also is found in olive oil, but in smaller amounts. Cilantro is also a common ingredient in the popular Mexican salsa, itself the focus of various studies testing its supposed antibacterial properties, but this latest study is said to be the first to have isolated any of the antibacterial compounds from it. The findings could lead to expanded use of dodecenal as a tasteless food additive to prevent foodborne illness, perhaps as a protective coating for meats in processing plants, or even as a general purpose disinfectant to be used in cleaning and hand washing, the researchers said. The study appears in the 26 May issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

"Aaalii Paak!" I might gate crash, what else are you making?

I'm keeping my spoons and forks crossed and wish you the best.

In a small pan brown the onions in ghee, add the whole masalas and mix it with the raw rice in the rice cooker with the recommended qty of water and salt. A fast dessert : Shrikhand- sweetened hung yogurt flavoured with mango puree.

My Bombay Gujarati/Jain friends have a code when referring to Non vegetarian expeditions in front of their Families. A 2 wheeler is Chicken and 4 wheeler is Lamb/Goat/Mutton.