Episure

I am not an idealist. Idealists are labelled as such to be portrayed as “anti-realists”. Having worked for long in this trade, I do not fit the profile of an idealist. What I penned is pure reality. I know it is a lot of hard work to achieve those standards anyway. Do we need to worry; there aren’t any restaurants that have made processes their focal point anyways. It’s just the day-to-day operational issues that get in the way, and in the name of being flexible and creative, they would succumb to any pressures. Having the only option to depend on skeletal staff and untrained for the most part, there is probably the reverse in place. Training is probably unheard of and non-existent. Amendments in current structures for process improvements are limited to saving the bucks. Why can’t we be more firm and stern with our policies? Can we establish some standards with our processes be it recipes, bulk cooking, menus, service style, portion control, staff attire, hygiene, inventory control. True a Customer comes in first, but give some time to establish standards, be they even simple and easy to achieve and maintain rather than surprise the clientele with grease bowls. Agreeing to go at lengths in the name of Customer satisfaction stems from the fact that we do not have guidelines. I mean if we cannot make Phulkas from Tandoori Roti dough – we should not and shouldn’t Parathas and Rotis be made from different dough’s. Why do we not make things, as they ought to be? Isn’t it true that we allow our neo-classical self-styled chefs to run our kitchens? Order more than a few dishes from an Indian restaurant and be sure they taste almost the same. Isn’t that a very common observation? True Indian diners are pickier when it comes to Indian restaurants, cause they compare food standards with their own home made foods. Are we the only ones at fault? I guess NO. The attitude needs to be changed globally in our perception of everything Indian – does not come cheap. We got to pay and so do we demand our price for good food and service. Stand out folks! Have an association of like-minded people! Educate the clientele! Justify your stance for doing things the right way! Have some common issues discussed and shared! And Monica, recipe is not of much consequence, its how one treats foods that matters. To be concluded… ← Indiachef, I notice you are present here after a long time and this is such an interesting topic. I would love to see you post some more of your views which are so accurate. What's your opinion on recent trends in Indian restaurant cuisine styles. On Indo-chinese, lighter styles and that dreaded f***** word.

Alas, I did that trip last week without pachranga. Stop this or else I'll have to make a trip to Amritsar. Khamokha!

I went and procured 4 jars of Pachranga pickle. I had to buy 4 from a huge cash & carry to avail of a discount, (I am genealogically handicapped and can't resist a bargain). It took me a half hour of contemplating to decide that it would be egg curry that would best showcase the pickle. So that's what I did, 4 phulkas, egg curry and the Pachranga bottle on the side. I normally eat 2 phulkas for dinner but every now and then some new thing in the bottle showed itself. And the lotus root hasnt even turned up yet, I guess it's much easier from the can. This one is thicker than the can brand. I suspect I might make a midnight trip to me fridge to whack some more with a slice of bread. Here are the ingredients: Mother's Recipe(Brand) Punjabi Pachranga Pickle Carrot Ginger Chillies Karvanda Lotus root Lime Mango Oil Spices and condiments Asafoetida salt Over the next few days I am going to make Chole bhature, Rajma Chawal, Shalgam and Delhi Railway station style - Puri aloo sabji. All this to eat the pickle. Then I have to find a Gurdwara to eat at a Langhar. Deliad, what have you done to me?

Spaghetttti, Congratulations on the move to USA. It's 6 am here and looking at your pictures, I can hear (g)rumblings from my stomach. More than the food, I can see one happy family.

I second Ravum's opinion.

Pachranga is my favourite too and I find it offbeat from the rest of pickles. It's not very chilli hot nor red in colour. I usually finish off the lotus root slices first. Must order some tomorrow.

Oil coming up halfway is more than sufficient for shallow frying. Was it hot enough when you slid the fish in? The objective of frying is to coagulate the batter and cook the encapsulated food by inside steaming/heat. If the heat is not high enough then there is oil ingress before the sealing of the batter. And you must give the fish a gentle stir initially to prevent it from sticking. One way of ensuring that pan frying is less oily is to remove the food at high heat. Switch off the heat once the food is out of the oil and is held against the side of the pan. What kind of a pan did you use?

Ah yes, good old Arlem beer. I'd completely forgotten this brand, unfortunately it's not easily available outside Goa. Maremosso what's your opinion on the Goan fenis? And I still prefer a thumsup to the other colas.

Suvir's Devi Restaurant, 212-691- 1300, the city's newest high- end Indian restaurant,

I think some folks pronounce it as Devil's Dung.

Yajna Patni is right, you could also try using mashed potatoes.

All this is tempting me to make my childhood favorite right now - a sweet condensed milk sandwich.

Rolling out is indeed very difficult, I (my maid, actually!)use release/butter paper. The dough is rolled out on the paper on a flat surface and then slapped on to the griddle. A little cooking hardens the roti and the paper can be removed.

Jardaloo = dried apricots. Similar sounding = confusion.

Scott, I'm glad it worked for you. BTW this is known as Palak Paneer in India. You can add 50% mustard greens and that would make it Sarson ka saag. You can also substitute Tofu for Paneer. Meanwhile I'm going to try Bhasin's 2nd version.

Spaghetttti, Thanks for the delicious pictures. I love aebleskivers and often top them with orange marmalade. How did you make the mamontos and what's the size?

My suggestion is to use coarsely ground almonds, salt, brown sugar and paprika. Just enough sugar to hold everything together.

Scott, Your interest in Indian cuisine and trying to get it 'right' is very impressive. I think the Saag taste that you are looking for should have: to be pureed: Spinach - blanched with a pich of soda bicarb Green chilli Salt Ginger Garlic slightly sauted (with Ghee) Onions with a little cumin and coriander powder to be added later: A tad of garam masala A dollop of cream The Umami comes from the spinach itself and a later 'perceived' Umami from the cream. I am very happy with this version but your 'made in USA' benchmark may be different. Bhasin who has a couple of restaurants would probably refine this further... Paaji ?

You shouldnt miss the Desert Festival, Jaisalmer 21-23rd Feb, 2005 Narayan Niwas Palace Hotel Rangmahal travelnotes And above all dont forget to take a camel safari of at least 2 nights in the desert.

Hmmm... sounds pretty much the same as here. Did you make a meal for your friends? Pictures? I can live with that. Apparently the most popular snack here is the samosa. Not the usual versions, it is the patti samosa that is made with a wonton like wrapper. You have 3 choices - spiced potato, spiced onion and cabbage, and kheema. I tried to take the camel meat pictures again but that big Mushtanda with the big moustache and an even bigger(than him!) machete gave me an intimidating stare. For a moment I thought I saw a vision of Hannibal Lecter and hot footed it from there. I shall return with the biggest telephoto lens. I miss Mohamedali road, Vikram, Edward, you guys listening?

Monica Bhide profiles chicken curry versions in the washington post

Edward....Edward, are you okay? Still eating?

Spaghetttti, How is Ramzan celebrated in your part of the world? What do you all eat to break the fast? Why do you have 4 ts in your name?

Well, it's that time of the year again, only now I am in Bangalore. I went yesterday to check out the Ramzan scene here and came across a Camel meat stall outside Russell market. I was easily dissuaded from taking pictures by the big cleaver wielding apron cladded gentleman. In very soft voice he said to me that it is not a good idea to take photographs during festival time as it is an ill omen. Who am I to argue against such sharp logic?

These guys are new, we've been at it for centuries. I quote from user Bhelpuri's post wherein he quotes( Q raised to the power of 2?) Gangadhar Gadgil the writer Is this is not alchemy and a 360 degree experience?