Episure

Pity, we must have been in Bangalore and couldn't meet up. My loss. I agree with you completely about Samarkand, though I feel it is still attractive than 5 star prices. I may be developing recipes for the same owner's other ventures.

Bangalore Egulleteer looks forward to hosting London Egulleteer. Have sent you my contact details by PM.

mongo_jones and SKBhai, your links may provide the clues. This then may be the root that looks like a long brown shrivelled carrot. Vikram?

So what is it that Vikram ate?

The best recommendation for eating in New Delhi is to save your money and buy a ticket to Bangalore, Episure (who has been dying to say that!) Hotels are 50% cheaper. Better weather. Luxury service apartments at only US $ 30 .

A thoran must be made with freshly grated coconut and more importantly grated with the thingamajig that looks like Clint Eastwood's Spur. Believe me, I've learnt the hard way, nothing else will do. Okay I found my old post "This kind of grated/scraped coconut has a snowflake like structure that is something else and has a tactile caress on the tongue that regular grating wont do." Sounds too flowery doesnt it ?

The extra effort for fresh coconut is worth it. The difference is substantial. On the other hand there are certain recipes like Usal/Misal for example, which call for and must use only dessicated coconut which has a ever so slightly rancid flavor. Due to storage, the oil in the coconut develops a discrete dimension. Misal is Maharashtra's breakfast and is made like a spicy red coconutty ragda. Usually topped with chivda, it is actually a very unusual dish and not known in many parts of the country. Cafe Bharat, opposite Churchgate station serves a mean Misal Pav for a princely sum of Rs. 7.50. Coming back to the conversion ratio between the two, I dont think there is a fixed formula, use your andaz. There is another variable- the difference in the coconuts' origin and age.

The images on the multimedia show ( click on right side) are delicious. I am curious to know what the chinese writing on Chinese mirch's crockery means. Any body care to decipher?

Hello Yvan, Wecome to egullet! I read your post with great interest and we would be delighted if you could tell us more about regional French and other cuisines around the mediterranean. Do you have a favorite terrine recipe that uses Chicken and Mushrooms? And if you could post it, please. Once again we welcome your first post. Egulleteers, where are your manners!

Near Kyani/Bastani there are many country liquor (Tadi Madi)bars which will serve you Toddy. I must confess I never done a take out. Toddy is also used to make that fermented version of Idli - Sannas. My Parsi friend's father who was the founder of India's largest shipping Company, used to often offer it to me and joke that his 'white' label is better than black label. The Parsis are gung ho about Eedas(eggs) and will just about put them on/under anything. The same friend would on some days go on a egg binge and I could swear seeing the sun shine if he opened his mouth wide. Neera sold at train stations especially Marine Lines, Dadar and Bandra, is always meant to be consumed on the spot and disallowed to be taken away. It's not too difficult to bypass this restriction using shirt pocket size ziplock bags and oops. If you store Neera at warm temperature( Like making Yoghurt) it will sour and turn into toddy. Toddy is horrible stuff and I remember running it 4 times in my home still to make it palatable.

No, I don't remember as it was a long time ago, but Keshto with his trademark heehaw stupor is too precious. You have selected the most classic Hindi con game statement. Then there is some movie where the Southie is reffered to as 'Abay oh Nariyal' who retorts to the Punjabi as 'Maaaaa ki....... Dal'.

I just noticed Mongo_Jones new signature: I dont think I've laughed so much in a long time. Keshto lives forever in the big bar up there!

Eating food with fingers reduces flatulence? Quick, where's my patent attorney! Really now. Mandrake gestures hypnotically. I've seen this before on Robinson Crusoe. I dont think we have fingers/knuckles that adjust to pot diameter. ????????????? Is it possible that she has been misquoted ?

Although she has neglected to mention, using foil will help. The objective is to let the charcoal smoke infuse into the fish.

Good job deliad, One of the better jobs of close up photography that I've seen here. This stuff is also known as Renkon in Japanese cuisine and makes good tempura. Any leftovers of deliad's recipe Masala Bhein can be put to good use as pakoras.

Appetite loss = Kam bhoj.

Maybe the cholesterol in Coconut will be offset by the Kokum It's also supposed to be an appetite suppressant! The 'white' Kokum is useful if you dont want the colour to take a pinkish hue. But it takes a lot of cooking to release it's flavor unlike the dark one.

Here is another one: Dagad phool aka stone Flower. It looks like dried lichen.Googling for it shows up results like Star Anise and Permalia Perlata. Star Anise it is not and this is a classic example of many copying one person's mistakes. v.gautam, etha kee? I must confess I have never used it. Any Ideas?

agree on both counts!bear with me-i battled my scanner and lost so-one reference can be found in 'a historical dictionary of indian food' under'chhana' again under'bengali sweets'. it goes on to . and oninterestingly under 'cheese' we read' etc.there is more detail in 'indian food ,a historical companion' including the progression of various taboos concerning the processing and consumption of cows' milk. the reason i say it's a sloppy reference is that it doesn't stess enough the fortuitous mix of time ,place and opportunity that led to the creation of the'newer 'sweets like the rosogolla&chamm chamm. similarly with the reference to coffee.no effort is made to qualify its' introduction by the british as being in the nature of a plantation crop.if the author was referring to achaya ,he would certainly have caught the link to baba budan and others. Gingerly, I can imagine the unsuccessful battle you must have gone through with your scanner and OCR and I appreciate your enthusiasm in responding to this topic. You do know your Achaya more than me and you are right we are getting semantical here. I guess what Achaya means is that it took the portuguese to kick start the use of acidulants into more usage else it is impossible that an Aryan diktat was in force till then. How some sloppiness neatens us all. I shall still confer with my friend B. N Das who is back in Bangalore next week.

It still doesn't make sense. I havent been able to find this reference anywhere in Achaya's work. I doubt if Achaya would write such because: Whey curdling is the ancient method and is still preferred by Bengali sweet makers. In any case curdling milk by acidic materials such as lime and other acidic fruits is an idea as old as the hills. Correct me if I am wrong.

In addition to the others: Photographs and recipes should be adjacent pages. Photographs should be clear enough and without clutter. Too many food pictures have been spoilt by photographers and stylists getting too creative. If the book is for a global audience, list out alternate names and substitutions for spices and ingredients.

I disagree again: I dont know what bibliography he is referring to but it doesnt require a foreign 'collaboration' to know what to do with simple split milk. I am surprised that this statement escaped the editors.

I also refer to K.T. Achaya from time to time, but am uncomfortably aware that all researchers and scholars are prone to the subjectivity of inference and interpretation. I disagree :"Brought into this country by Englishmen, coffee - a drink eminently suited for the cold European climes "" It is widely agreed that coffee originated in Ethiopia, therefore I quote from www.gourmetindia.com - 'Coffee remained in the Middle Eastern region for many years after its discovery. The Arabs knew a good thing when they saw it, and were reluctant to share it with the rest of the world. When they did sell coffee, it was in the form of boiled beans that were suitable for consumption, but not for cultivation. ' 'It was only in the 17th century that coffee found its way to Europe in the hands of some Dutch traders, who managed to smuggle it out of the Middle East around the year 1616. Coffee made its way to India much the same way a few decades later in the hands of Saint Baba Budan, an Arab mystic who brought back seven beans from his pilgrimage to Mecca. The Chandragiri Hills in Karnataka, where he planted them, proved to have the ideal climate for coffee cultivation.' Have to rush , more on this later.

Episure, Very interesting idea which I will try. How deeply do you score? Do you score all the way to the center of the fish? What is the best implement for serving fish that has been scored this way? What a great thread. Thanks Markk! When raw, you can safely score down to the bone. There is enough of the cross section to hold the squares attached. And when it is cooked you can easily spoon a piece onto your plate. When one side is served, invert the serving dish onto it's 'twin' dish and serve the remainder fish intact. This is an idea that evolved after trying many other methods which ended up in serving minced fish. A pie or cheese slice server or anything that has a 'scoop' works the best.

I cook marinated Snapper and Cod in the oven. Marinade could consist of herbs, spices, masalas, lime juice, orange juice, black pepper, butter, ginger, garlic...........in varying quantities and combinations. Before marinating score the fish on both sides with large squares so that when served each diner can lift off a 2 inch square and plonk on to the plate. Try and use two identical shallow oval or rectangular dishes, one for baking and the other for inverting the fish to expose the other side without breaking up.