gingerly

er-not the'roach motel' by any chance ?heh!

tamarind is considered 'cooling' Suman-what's the question?

why helenjp,you're in the thick of it-pickles!(and a host of other things besides)enjoyed your blog!

we've used the stuff for years in india to wash fruit and veg from the market-a pinch in a bucket of water and soak the produce for about 20 min.probably an old british thing.stiff upper lip eh?hmm...

things like that make me lose it completely!a long time ago when dining in a slightly stuffy,formal situation,a cat bolted through the dining room in hot pursuit of a mouse that decided the velvet drapes were the best way to go.smart move and the cat ended up snagged pathetically about seven feet off the ground.i didn't finish my meal.. back to cockroaches.i guess my standards vary-a lot of places would be ruled out otherwise!but venturing out in daylight is definitely not a good sign.

not even pressure to get the latest freebies?!gosh-you're doing something right!

came across a chapter online from the very interesting book salt:a world history,by mark kurlansky.

onion away?garlic begone?-ages ago i bought one of those small,metal bars that are allegedly used by 'professionals'to 'rid their hands of strong odours.'it works but so does any of the stainless steel in my kitchen and there are more ergonomic shapes for cosying up to than the small hotel soap sized one i bought! what do professionals use anyway?soap and water?

i have pictures!-garmar and a section

eeexxxellent...

don't know about manmohan but this i like! apjaks' evil twin..monty burns?

hello Edward-this is my progress report. cooked up two batches of lobia (one for a follow up version) made a small batch of goda masala from this recipe i found online- 4 cups coriander seeds 1 cup dry coconut 1/2 cup white sesame seeds 1/2 cup black sesame seeds 1/4 cup cumin seeds 4-5 teaspoon caraway seeds (used ajowain instead) 2 teaspoon asafoetida (left out) 1-2 stick of cinnamon 3-4 cloves 1 black cardamom 3 dry red chilies 1 teaspoon turmeric powder & salt to taste( left out) added star anise and some fennel. a few roasted ,ground peanuts for the final mix. hope all this isn't too far from what you had in mind? proceeded as indicated in the recipe (i confess to having upped most of the spicing a notch or two)also dropped in the paprika etc before the tomato-force of habit i guess!anyway the verdict is- woody,tangy, herby -dillicious !sorry that was waiting to happen!this is to be eaten tomorrow with rotis.a squeeze of lemon is all i will add.the batch waiting to happen will be an attempt to fuse another favourite 'lima bean and dill polou' with this spicing-possibly a bit closer to the subtlety of the original!looking forward to trying that out.thank you!

before or after will have to rope in non-luddite spouse so maybe in a couple of days..

mystery solved i think.the store owner tells me it's called 'garmar' and he just happened to have some bottled in brine.from what i can find online it seems to be asparagus root aka shatavri in indian herbal medicine.i bought some of the fresh roots and find they have the most amazing fragrance-feel like one might emerge from a hamam smelling like that!and from what i'm reading about the stuff,i may not have imagined the slightest smirk on the owners' face when i added a handful to my groceries!

update on 'mango dahi badas'-made two kinds-one with ripe mango pulp,red chilli and fresh coriander,the other with coarsely grated raw(somewhere between raw and ripening anyway)mango,fresh mint and green chillis.both seasoned with a pinch of hing and jeera fried in a little ghee.did measures by volume so half a cup of seasoned pulp to one cup of besan and then adjusted the liquid for a softer batter as needed.set aside for an hour or so then deep fried small spoonfuls until golden brown,drained and soaked in thinned yogurt seasoned with a little salt.topped up yogurt the next day and finished with some tamarind sauce and roasted powdered jeera.the verdict-the 'badas' made with ripe mango were too cloying for me-maybe use a slightly less sweet mango next time.the ones with green(ish)mango were delicious and the grated strands were particularly good to bite into.(also good as pakoras! )

mumbles 'thanks'between mouthfuls of hastily defrosted upma-(fully conscious) heh!speling again!

guess that's why they're used to adulterate black pepper!i know someone who decided papaya was the perfect diet food,what with all those digestive enzymes.one week and countless papayas later,her skin turned a most becoming shade of orange

hmm.i'll grant the others but this i'll pass on now i want a dosa.

Lanson -chicken tikka masala flavour

what kind of fulwadi d'ya take me for?one restraining order and a hairnet please!

uhuh-just-wafer it- sandigeing each other up heheh!

don't feel badi ly i'm gatti ing outta here..

do it with appalomb.

i've seen these in india and despite the ads showing sanitised roti production at the dining table,i'm not convinced they're a good thing primarily because i don't like the thought of my rotis being cooked between two teflon surfaces..no one i know uses one though several people use the tortilla/roti press to form the rotis.

hello monikaaji-for some reason your posts have me thinking'photographs please!'(with or without without reindeer)