Edward

It hasn't dissuaded me! As much as I cook South Asian-style food I hope my kitchen smells like spices and ghee or smoking mustard oil or whatever. I like it, it makes me happy! Monica is right;ventilation does help. Onions are the biggest "stinkers", but they add their smell to a whole world of cuisines. Though in Indian cooking they are often cooked much longer which creates more smell. Maybe burning some incense would help? I say bring the odors on!

Though I do like rice idlis(eaten with lots of virgin sesame oil and podi), semolina idlis are definitely my favorites as well. I like mine with green peas in them Edward

In India, butter is usually made from yogurt. I think it is a common practice in some parts of Europe also. You know... when you see those expensive packages of butter imported from Europe it often says it is made from "cultured cream". That is essentially yogurt...no?

In my opinion, buffalo ghee is a little too rich. It has a funky sort of "cheesy" smell. I prefer the caramel sweetness of cow ghee. As far as I know, the ghee that comes in cans under the brand name "Amul" is made from buffalo milk. Maybe you should give it a try. Edward

I have not heard of that... which type of gourd is it.. man all this food talk is making me really hungry! not sure what is is called in english--bong may know--gautam definitely will but he don't come around no more. the classic prep is with a paste made from poppy seeds (potatoes are also prepared this way). i love the dish but making the poppy seed paste (the poshto) is such a pain i rarely cook it. not surprisingly it also makes you very lethargic. This is a diversion from shrimp, but.... I make poppy seed paste in quantity and freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop the cubes out and store them in freezer bags. The posto grinds much easier in a blender when you do it in large amounts. First, I very lightly toast the seeds in a warm pan and then I soak them in double the amount of warm water for a couple of hours. This helps to soften them-then I put it all in a blender and process it to fine paste. Works great! Monica, jhinge is what is called "toray" or "turiya" in the north. One of its English names is ridged gourd. And believe me, the dish that Mongo mentioned "jhinge posto" is heavenly. In fact, I have known some folks who put little shrimp in it. Edward

I drink hot tea year round, but I do have an occasional cold one. My three favorites are jal jeera, namkeen lassi, and nimbu ka paani with a pinch of ground roasted jeera.

Well, my cooking classes become so full that people have to be turned away. I have seen a steady increase in the amount of students over the last 4 years. The students are also coming to the classes with much more prior knowledge of Indian food than in the past. Edward

Sara Suleri's "Meatless Days" is a memoir of post-colonial Pakistan and has some great writing about food. I highly reccomend it.

I forgot about Swad brand, they're good too! The store-bought curry powder I like is Bolst's. Come to think of it I also use MDH Pav-Bhaji masala. So, Mongo, what are the spices in your mothers original spice mix?

Besides what Mongo mentioned, I know of Murghi Posto-Chicken with White Poppy Seeds and Shorshe Murgh-Chicken with Mustard Gravy. There are recipes for those in a couple of cookbooks. My friend Pinaki's family also makes them. I think the Bengalis also claim their own version of Do Piaza, no? There is also the Bengali-Muslim Rezala, which can be made with meat or chicken. It is a type of korma. There is also a sweet and sour version.

As far as pre-packaged masala blends go, the only one I use regularly is chat masala. Both MDH and Laxmi brand are good, but I prefer Laxmi because it comes in an air-sealed container with a reusable plastic lid. If I am teaching someone who swears they will never make their own garam masala, I recommend Rajah brand. It also comes air-sealed with a plastic lid. I use this if I am in a pinch. I have never cared much for bottled masala pastes, they never taste right to me, but there are some that are not too bad. Patak's "Kashmiri Masala" is one I have used in small amounts with success. Bottled pickles and chatnis can be quite good. Patak's are usually very nice, as well as Deep brand, if you can get them. There is also a brand called Ashoka. It seems like there are a million more brands of bottled pickles imported from India and some are great. It is a matter of trial and error.

"This Pinky woman is hilarious. I'm putting her remark on finger eating to prevent flatulence as one of the nuttiest comments on Indian food ever. Indian food is flatulent because much of the protein comes from pulses and no amount of finger action is going to reduce that" As funny as it does sound, the ayurvedic texts do state that "digestion" begins with the fingers! I think some research has shown the gastric juices can be stimulted by seeing, smelling or touching food prior to actually tasting it. Who knows?

Since when is dhuan one of "the four basic techniques of indian cooking"? HELLO! What about talna, frying, I think that really belongs on that list instead. Maybe it was left out because so many people nowadays are scaredy-cats when it comes to frying.....

There are a few cookbooks which do explain things in just that way. Julie Sahni's "Classic Indian Cooking" gives very detailed information about ingredients and spices in regards to why certain spices are chosen, what each spice does to a dish, and what the traditional beliefs about their medicinal properties are. Her second book "Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking" continues in the same way, but with an emphasis on regional vegetarian dishes as opposed to the Moghal style that makes up the bulk of the first book. I would say that the average Indian cook does not neccesarily have some vast knowledge of ayurveda, but that it's influence over time-we're talking millennia here- has become more like a second nature. The ayurvedic concept that has the biggest influence to this day in Indian cuisine is the idea of the six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent. Sitting down to almost any Indian meal today, be it a small snack or a huge feast, all six of these tastes will be present in some form. According to ayurveda a meal is not considered balanced unless all of the six tastes are present and in proper balance. During the Moghul empire there was also the influence of the Persian system of medicine, which brought with it the concepts of "sardi" and "garmi" or hot and cold. The main techniques of Indian cuisine are not difficult to learn. Developing an understanding of spices and how they interact with one another and effect the outcome of the finished dish is the real secret to success. Edward

"in general, pace edward, eating meat with bones is just so much more gratifying. both more sensual (as you grapple with the bones and crack them open with your teeth) and tasty (as you suck the marrow etc. out, or score some cartilage)" I do agree, it is just a little difficult with really big pieces. It's more of a problem for my "American" dinner guests. Though I do ocassionaly convince a few of them to eat with their hands, some don't get the hang of it. As for the restaurants...there are a few here in the DC/Baltimore area that sometimes put Malayali-style non-veg dishes on the buffet. Things like chicken shtew have appeared from time to time. One is called Minerva, but the food is not all that great there...it's hit or miss.

Wild speculation ? Sure! I too have noticed the same thing about chicken recipes in Malayali cookbooks and at restaurants, here in the US, that serve Malayali style dishes. I am definitely not squeamish about bones, but one thing is for sure; boneless gravy dishes are easier to eat. That goes for both hands on eating and with silverware. Unfortunately gravies are never quite as good without bones. Though you can throw a couple in while the dish simmers. My problem here in the US is that our chickens are too damn big and I am not always in the mood to hack them into small pieces. We do get smaller "organic" chickens which have a great flavor, but they are still a little on the large side. This makes for slightly difficult eating. anyway back to the Malayali question.........

Hello, It's true, mustard oil just about kills some people. My closest friend is Bengali and for a few years he had a Gujarati for a roommate. Though they got along great, it was WAR when it came to culinary matters. He would be up at 6 am frying fish eggs in mustard oil and his roommate would wake thinking there had been a biological attack. One time he even thought the smell of the mustard oil was an alarm clock ! Incidently, Australia has bred a variety of mustard seed, used for oil production, that is almost totally free of the controversial erucic acid. That is the chemical present in the oil that has caused the goverments of the US and Canada to label mustard oil "FOR MASSAGE USE ONLY". (It never stopped me). It is now available in the US under a few different brand names. I bought the one from Naturally by Nature. It is of excellent quality. I especially like it in its raw state on fish, drizzled over masoor dal, or in aloo bharta.

Mustard oil has a reputation for the ability to preserve anything cooked in it (for a time at least). That is why it is the most popular choice for pickles. I have had a southern meat pickle before and I know of the Punjabi chicken pickle. I would be curious as well to know more....

I buy my radhuni at Meghna, a Bangladeshi market in NY. It's in Jackson Heights. Some of the other Bengali stores there also have it sometimes, but Meghna always does. It is of very good quality and always fresh. A dear friend's mother has brought some from Kolkata for me on occasion, but it is usually not as nice as what I get when I go to NY. Thanks for the info on ambal.

which is why my mistake was all the more horrendous. actually i blame egullet--i don't think i would have ever confused the two if i hadn't read posts here from people who're confused by the nomenclature. it is all your fault. I always thought it was called "siyah jeera" in Hindi.

I have used catfish to make a mustard fish (in the microwave!!). Mustard paste, mustard oil, turmeric and green chilies. Dhaniya pata at the end. I have also steamed this wrapped in foil or in a metal bowl. I guess a banana leaf would be the traditional way. I have also used thick catfish filets cut into little pieces to make a sort of maacher chorchori with potatoes, eggplant, etc.

Was is that the black cumin was too much or that it wasn't compatible with the other masalas in the dish. Usually aloo and kopi are pretty neutral and take to most seasonings. I put sweetened vanilla-flavored yogurt instead of plain into an eggplant bharta once. It wasn't all that bad!! I just added some lemon juice. A friend thought the flavor was jaggery.

I have seen them fried in ghee and then served on some sort of kheer. There is a recipe in Yamuna Devi's cookbook where they are fried in ghee and floated in panchamrita.

I'm pretty clear on the meaning and order of serving the chatni in Bengali cooking, but would not mind hearing more. Some recipes would be great too. One thing that I have never been totally clear on though is the differences between chatni and ambal in respect to their preparation and order of serving. Can you elaborate? Would love it. Thanks

Radhuni really has no English name. It is a variety of celery seed, but not the same as the usual celery seed grown in the Punjab for export worldwide and known in Hindi as ajmud. I think it's Latin name is apium graveoleons dulce. It's like a cross between celery seed and ajwain. It has a celery flavor, but also an herbal thyme -like quality. It is slightly bitter and slightly sweet.