Episure

I am very sure that tasting in stages detracts from the final impact. I mean that if I were to taste a dish in various stages of cooking it, the final 'perceived' taste would not be the same as when confined to tasting only once at the table. Another empirical anomaly is that I lose my appetite when I cook.

Oh yeah I've just asked friends who are invited to the Moroccan Film Festival to bring me some Ras al Hanout. Preferably from the Host's (King) kitchen.

This must be a recent arrival, Rs. 5000 is way too much, but then Le crueset is a brand name. I got mine from Dubai for Rs. 1200 but that was 6 years ago. Vanilla beans are also on my list and I 've not been able to locate them here. For the thermometer go to Princess street where the Scientific/Lab suppliers are. Whilst you are there you might want to pick up a Mortar+ Pestle too. I use them to make masalas, pesto, thai paste and as an ashtray. Francois Maison's salmon is pink norwegian, half sides at Rs. 675 kg. He says it's imported, Price is too high but I'll go have a look anyway in the name of research.

We often do that here in Bombay with turmeric and red chilli powder. If it is finely ground just sprinkle enough in a bag with the popped corn and give the whole thing a good shake. Excess powder will collect at the bottom and can be reused.

Polly, I have been saying that to friends for over 10 years and no one believes me. Now I have proof for my theory. I never taste for salt. I simply pour and pour, sniff and stir, and I can tell when to stop. I have a friend who does that. He can enter a kitchen, sniff the pots and tell me about the salt. I didn't believe him the first few times, now I do. I must tell him there are a few more like him. I taste as I go along but this is because most of the time I am pushing the envelope to make changes. I'll often try to make variations on a theme, some dont work and some do which are then committed to - " It's perfect don't even breathe near it". These versions then don't require tasting.

One of the first things on your list should be a nonstick pan with raised line indentations. Essential for pan grilling, you should have seen my friends faces when they say grill marks on their meats. One use and it's paisa vasool. I have a square one 14" with a little lip on one side for pouring out the juices. Another hunter-gatherer doodad is a grill cage with a long handle. Think of a thickish wire frame pizza box, essential for using on camping/fishing trips. Hinges open like a sandwich toaster. Just put the meat/fish/potatoes inside and cook over a fire. These two are killer applications. I have often been chided by Mr. Customs man for bringing in, as per my true declaration - adrak, mirchi, limbu and bhaji from Thailand. I can imagine him finishing his duty, going home and suffering from insomnia. By the way I learnt Thai cuisine by working free at hawker stalls. Absolutely my favorite cuisine, unfortunately many ingredients grown in India will never have the taste of Thai soil. Terroir strikes again! I once bought a bottle of lovely Mandarin orange liquor from Burma bazaar for Rs. 150 because nobody knew what it was.

Congratulations Suvir, This puts a lot of our posts in perspective now. I would never have been able to keep it a secret. I bet the food uses less oil This is what impresses me the most:- Crispy Fried Spinach mung beans, potatoes, onions, tamarind and mint chutneys How do you keep it crisp? Trio of Southern rices (mint, lemon and tomato): A superb idea Crab Kulcha Apricot Stuffed Lamb Fillets (fennel- apricot stuffing, aromatic sauce, lemon rice) Amma’s Mixed Green Salad (toasted cumin and balsamic vinaigrette, naan croutons) Getting adventurous arent we? Kulfi (Indian ice cream) with Citrus Soup Please explain Amma dekh tera munda bigda jaye!

From the front page of this site I Smelt something was going on here so, even if you are hard of Herring Shark my words : Like a Sturgeon for the very first time I have come to this Plaice with a Sole Porpoise. Nam, pla, tank and serial no. I can't tell you. John Dory Wahoo!

Another little known souring agent is Bimbli, a kind of a miniature gherkin. Used in Goan cuisine.

Pardon me if I butt in Suvir, but I have this info in my head. Barberries are known as Zareshk/Zarishth or as my Mom & her tribe refer to them, Jireesh. They look like red raisins and the taste is not unlike dried anardana. The last time when I went tracking them( I often do these hot pursuits when something evades me!), I managed to buy them in the Iranian market in old Dubai. Now I just ask friends to bring it from there. I also discovered some good Iranian caviar there at a ridiculous price but it was without a CITES certificate so I dont order that anymore. Apart from the pulao I add barberries in dolmas. Sumac, Ive been led to believe, is not totally unknown in Indian cuisine but I've only come across a specimen recently. Will let you know after doing some more cross referencing with the sample, which incidentally is from Afghanistan.

Dal Moth = Turkish Gram, Moth bean, Mat bean One of my Cordon Bleu books refers to it as green lentil.

I used to have a stewardess friend whose hometown was Gadag near Mangalore. She taught me some language and cuisine, I know enough phrases to get by in restaurants and get special service. She used to make the most amazing fried fish, it was simply marinated in red chilli powder, salt and lime juice. Then rolled in rava and fried, nothing else to it! Many restaurants will part with recipes happily, ask for the chef, compliment him and then ask.

Hi Anil, I find your posts very interesting here and on the the other forums. Boiled egg, Papads, boiled channa, masala peanuts, fried fish, sukka mutton are standard fare at these joints. Sometimes you will find a person hawking this stuff in the weirdest of places, a sure sign that a liquor joint is situate nearby. You are right about the Governments' introduction of cheap liquor- Santra, Mosambi. I find their Coffee quite drinkable and manage to drink it with a cola, nowhere near my favourite malts but these places have a charm of their own. All this reminds me that years ago I had gone to a such a joint in Khar Danda fishing village near Bandra. This was the front end of a house that belonged to a trawler owner and his family would make the most amazing crabs and fish in their 'house' masala. Must track it down again.

Hi Suman, welcome to our merry band! We are more than excited to have you here and share with you the same joy and enthusiasm for this wonderful Konkani cuisine. Bombay as you know is dotted with Udipi Shettys who have a virtual monopoly on the manistay restaurants. There are lakhs of people who depend on them for daily sustenance. A complete Thali for Rs. 15 - 25, unbeatable! It was only a decade and a half ago that some of them went upmarket and started offering Coastal Mangalorian/Malvani cuisine, which earlier had the custom of their own community members. Expectedly, it was seafood that thrust them into the lime light. We will be much obliged if you could take us on a guided virtual tour of the south western coast. Ghaziabad, Bombay, Mangalore, Bangalore, Dubai and now Dublin,Yelli hogtii yaa!

Cut 250 grams squid body so that each piece resembles a tube approx 1" L X 1/2" dia, the basic idea is to get bite sized pieces. Wash, drain and apply salt. Melt butter/oil in a pan, add squid rings and stir fry till they curl up and turn white. Add Chaat Masala, remove from heat and serve. Using this as a basic recipe you can try variations like mustard oil, red chilli, curry leaves, panch phoron, onion, grated coconut, garlic ........ If you lightly score the surface with a knife, you'll get a knurled effect which has ridges to hold the seasoning or oil. Somewhat like spiral pasta. Dont worry too much about overcooking, it just becaomes a little chewy. A couple of times and youll get it right. Let me know how it turned out.

You have to go to some country liquor bars in Bombay, where factory and mill workers come to drink. The camaraderie that exists in these places is truly commendable and extends to strangers across the table. The standard accompaniment is a quartered boiled egg with lime, salt and pepper, which is generally 'stretched' by dipping it into the seasoning and licking it. A lone person is often asked to partake of a bottle, beacause he is sitting at the same table.

mongo_ jones' articulate post has set me thinking. Perhaps we opt for these non endemic accompaniments because we simply do not have good indigenous spirits. Unless you count a few IMFLs (Indian made foreign liquor)and beers. It is not impossible to make good Feni, Mahua, Arrack et al., believe me, I know. It's just that the beverage companies dont seem to think that there is a good market. As a keen liquor industry observer I am of the opinion that all of them have a herd instinct and most of the time only react to each others efforts. Otherwise by now we would have had a globally known spirit like Cachaca, Aquavit, Sake to name a few. And then we would have chosen between the 97 Margao Feni or a 01 Balaghat Mahua to go with the Jungli murgh. Maybe one day......

I wonder who's looking after her restaurant now. Any one knows about the present situation?

mongo_ jones, you beat me to it , I was going to ask the same question. We do use squid here on the western coast and I like to make it dry style ala chicken 65 or just stir fried with chat masala. You have to be very careful to not overcook it. Suvir, tell more about cooking Scallops, I've always liked them in Japanese restaurants. I paused this post to speak to my seafood supplier, with whom I had placed an order for Reef Cod, says he's never come across Scallops. Though I am sure they are available as sometime back I had purchased a set of empty shells to use as serving crockery for sea food preparations. I guess they havent made it into Indian cuisine and that excites me to explore this selfish quest.

Since there is no equivalent in use, I often say Kursiyan ( Chairs!). I have had drinking experiences and come across the toast Cheers in places like: Deep in the Thar desert Jungles of Madhya Pradesh Tribal Moonshine rigs in the interiors of Maharashtra and many more but that's another topic. I guess we have adopted Cheers as our own. Hindi movies play a lead role in spreading this word of joy too. My Camel driver/guide in the desert was thrilled no end to find that I was from Bombay and asked me if I knew a few of his favorite Stars, I didnt disappoint him and he kept saying Cheers over the bottle of Tharra. Salamat raho! Khushiyan!

Hi V Gautam, Welcome! Thanks for the information on souring agents from rural Bengal. Rural areas are the last bastions of traditional practises and cuisine. The Marwari dahi vada made with moth dal, that you refer to, is dense?

First of all I apologize for not having read any of your books. This Forum has allowed me to gain an insight into your work and I now believe it is imperative that I ask some of my friends in USA to procure and send them to me in Bombay, INDIA. Googling for Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page turned up over 5000 results which must be great for your self esteem. I'd like to know how do you all go about developing new products, it cant be as simple as creating a signature recipe and handing it over to the client. Could you elaborate on this please.

You can use it on any kind of Potato fries. If you can take it, add some paprika/red chilli powder too. Also use it on deep fried okra.

Coincidentally named, Sitabai and Parvatibai are two such Lady fishmongers. I forget which one is where but one is at Khar Market and the other at Khar Danda fishing village separated only by a few kilometers. They are typical of your description; fine saris, loads of gold jewellery, a regal bearing backed by strong biceps that wield mean choppers. You cant miss them, they have the best catch, the biggest lobsters, mussels, clams, crabs, prawns and sometimes crayfish. Years of dealing with restaurant purchase managers have instilled them with keen marketing skills that would put a Luxury Hotel Manager to shame. Their mien says it all as they gaze at you eyeing their stock. I try all my tricks with them like pretending to be interested in Crabs whereas I actually want to buy the Lobsters. Doesnt work, they know what you want and will stick to their prices. Phenomenal ladies, havent visited those markets in a few years, I hope they are still there. Mussels I would make this or the other bivalves salad style: Stir fry in a pan with a little oil; grated coconut, cinnamon and Tirfan/Triphla. Add Mussels, little water cover and cook till done and water has evaporated. Add finely chopped onion, green chillis, lime juice and salt. Depending on the time of the year serve hot or chilled and plated on a bed of ice garnished with sprigs of Mint. My other choice would be steamed and shelled mussels in Champagne Cream with a dash of Pastis/ Pernod/ Ricard/Ouzo/Sambuca or a peaty Single Malt.

Hi Prasad2( Why 2?) Prawns take the Chicken 65 treatment very well. But these are big mothers, so I would lightly poach them in spiced coconut milk and serve them split lengthwise into 2 arcs flat side down forming an oval to hold a thickish sauce in the center. The sauce would be a reduction of the coconut milk which will have hints of Rasam and Star anise( Badian/Chakriphool). Garnished with a few raw onion rings, mint and a fried whole red chilli ( to just tickle the olfactory sense) Or maybe a Green version with a mint, coriander sauce. I would then name it Prawns SaMudra. God it's only 9 in the morning here. Aarghh!