gingerly

chichi-

sounds great! adds dill to shopping list.

my two bits-i guess the mix may come as a bit of a surprise or seem to be more novel than it really is, to people unaware of indias' long running love affair with western style baked goods with or without an indian twist.i would imagine comparisons will eventually be made,particulary by non indian customers, to other'ethnic'baked goods from the phillipines,china, mexico or wherever.what i'm really curious to know ( from those who have eaten both the indian and us versions of their products) is does it taste the same(flubber!) and are they still as stingy with their fillings/toppings ?!as for indians flocking to their doors,it doesn't surprise me in the least-in a cunning twist, looks like hot breads is filling the need for a 'local bakery' the likes of which they positioned themselves a bit snootily above in india-you've got to hand it to them!

yup-stab it with your steely knives-just can't kill the beast!

not arbi episure-but they have two kinds that i buy regularly! this is at an indian grocery store and not salsify bague.i will just have to hope that the stuff is still around next visit so i can just pick up a bit to see what it's like close up.it looked like a small tree had been uprooted!the cashier was about as informative as the lady at mongos'grocery store in the 'one is black..'episode-' some people eat it.' he says helpfully!

Oh, my, my, my. Avocado lassis, what a great idea!! sparked by a friends raving about 'avocado juice' in rio!

i've seen a heap of brown,slim,rooty things at the grocery store-not labelled and the person at the checkout didn't know.they looked like parts of a root system in that the sizes varied quite a bit but the largest bits were about an inch at their thickest and tapering down.any ideas?

ah well-but if you ever need to clear a room-fast..

i bought some palm jaggery from a sri lankan store,made up a syrup for easy usage and put the bottle away in a cupboard.the next time i reached for it(not too long i'm sure since i love the stuff!)it smelt distinctly high-not bad but maybe enroute to some good rum!the next batch i stored in the fridge and over the months the upper part of the bottle has grown beautiful,amber mishri. all(liquid) palm jaggery that i've tasted seems to have that slighty volatile quality to it!

it's known as neera in the south too- drunk fresh (or fermented!) and also used in leavening 'sannas'.

do tell us more about these recipes... how do you make them.. what do they taste like? both these call for the large 'native' variety of papaya that you get in india Monica-(too expensive otherwise!)the jam is simply a fruit pulp cooked with lime juice,sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves.the result is a lovely amber coloured mush with just enough of a papaya flavour.consumption of these jams in our household was always too high to necessitate any preservative techniques from being used! the halva is the same but with more sugar and ghee added to the reduced mixture towards the end of cooking. edit for speling

sniff..

papaya jam and halva are good- made with ripe fruit. my use of the green is limited to thai style preparations.

oh well -another one for the cold case files.

bharvan piaz aka stuffed onions (i like stuffing things!)

they make a super drink whizzed up with cold water,ice and whatever flavouring you fancy.think green lassi!

this is the version i've had then.came in a flattish glass bottle-yellow/brown and horseradish pungent-very good.

i'm claiming seabuckthorn/leh berry as indian-not had it elsewhere!

millet

would appreciate it if you could ask your friend what he knows about this moss and any alternative uses for it. hello v.gautam.i can see why the forum has been bemoaning your absence! would you care to take a shot at this please?

is also a millet i think.i like ragi too.

like a soft,sour ragi dosa. this might belong on the things i love thread but-anyone tried it with toasted sesame butter and honey?heh!

update-

you mean the black things weren't seeds...?but they told me..

i actually like dried salted(read smelly) shark.usually prepared with a green chilli,onion and turmeric heavy masala.