gingerly

hmm ,let's see..i think i'll stay on the west coast-a little goan recheiado(sp?)masala and some prawn balchao in my mix.this is beginning to sound really good-maybe this weekend!maybe appropriate some sri lankan seasonings for good measure.

Actually, if memory serves (and this would be memory of The Swiss Family Robinson, so you know the source was accurate!), you don't boil it; you grate it and squeeze out ALL the liquid. The flour is fine; it's the juice that'll kill ya. Personally, I'm not sure how confident I'd be of having squoze it sufficiently. Is it worth the risk? Not for tapioca, at any rate.... from what i read ,you're both partly right.apparently the prussic acid in the cassava can be destroyed by boiling -but starting out with cold water and in the case of grated and dewatered cassava,there's a process of fermentation after the liquid has been squeezed out that is essential.why am i reading this stuff?preparing for 'survivor-e-gullet 'of course!

the english version of kadambila saraswathis' cook book-no proper translations unfotunately.there's a recipe for 'seege leaves and dry gooseberry saar'.any ideas?

Swati-would you know what 'seege' leaves translate as please?

a bin/basket by the stall if you're lingering by otherwise wherever-the gap between platform and train,out the window if you're on the train...( reported as seen of course!) good going on the lunch! and now snacks too

at their worst !biriyani suffers from 'if a little is good,a lot must be better' syndrome.since it's usually trotted out on special occasions there does seem to be a tendency to slather on more than the necessary amounts of grease!

WOW!!! Please, please a detailed recipe... i second that!i'm totally hooked on ginger curry,using a recipe from the excellent mrs k.m.mathew.it's gooood!

ok experts-we know you're out there.we're waiting!meanwhile back to achaya for some dictionary definitions- hmm maybe i should have begun here! biriyani he says,is'a spicy dish of meat cooked with rice,referred to by this term in the 13 century.numerous variations occur all over india.one is the kacchi-biriyani of hyderabad,with the meat very soft and almost disintegrating into the rice,and irregular patches of yellow saffron colouring.a palao is very similar,and the word itself is of older usage in india.recipes in the ain-i-akbari(a d 1590)show little distinction between a biriyani and a palao. a palao ,he says is 'a dish of rice cooked with ghee.the word is ascribed to the persian and arabic pilav,pulao and pallao,yet it would have appeared to have found its way long ago into both sanskrit (as pallao-mevach)and early tamil literature of the third to the sixth centuries.ad.biriyani is quite similar to palao,the word being derived from the persian term birinj for rice. elsewhere he states that a biriyani is said to differ from a palao when the meat takes precedence over the rice. i think there are so many regional variations including the manner in which rice is handled-to fry or steam or boil with fat..it would be hard to say definitively that one way is particular to the preparation of biriyani and not palao. much as i love hyderabadi biriyani,if a rice dish in tamil nadu with plenty of curry leaf in the seasoning and made with(shock!horror!)rice other than basmati,wants to be known as a biriyani then i won't quibble-provided it's good!

from a book on pakistani cooking- that i think puts it quite well but as with most things there are certainly exceptions.

bague25-bombay toast is a savoury version of french toast.typically a little onion and green chilli chopped into the beaten eggs and proceed as for french toast.i would say cold french toast is right up there on my list of great comfort foods!

i believe vimto is british.it used to be available in India many moons ago.looks like it's still going strong in the middle east.

yes-and also referred to as a'dose'!as in'give the man a dose'!for those who came in late...

did they have you seated in a'permit' room'?

really nothing to it Monica-essentially white bread soaked in milk,squeezed dry and kneaded into a dough with a little sugar,milk powder(optional but gives a lovely colour to the fried dough) nuts if you like and enough of the milk to make reasonably firm 'jamuns'.deep fry and drop into sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom and rosewater.heat through gently and retire for a decent interval.

count me in.most of the above and a mince filled version of the bread roll.that bread bhel sounds v.interesting.shahi tukre/double ka meetha an all time favourite and a bread gulab jamun(not such an abomination!)pav bhaji ,bombay toast ...and somedays i must have white bread with my fish curry!er..i think i'd better go now.

they're really meant to be smashed after one use and people generally oblige quite enthusiastically with the odd exception.(oh what a lovely little penholder/flowervase/whatever-guilty!).i have observed the empties or shards being gathered up purposefully though and my guess is that they may be ground up as grog or used as fillers for insulation in subsequent firings.

Kulhad chai is back IANS[ MONDAY, MAY 24, 2004 07:24:48 PM ] NEW DELHI : Doing away with plastic and going back to eco-friendly clay cups, kulhads India 's new Railways Minister Lalu Prasad is planning to inject some of his earthy flavour to millions who travel on trains every day. Turning the clock to two decades ago, Prasad will soon bring back the practice of serving tea in freshly baked earthen cups instead of plastic and Styrofoam containers. "The use of plastic cups and glasses will be banned and they will be replaced by earthen cups, which will not only provide employment to potters in the village but also be environment friendly," said Prasad, who was till recently known as Laloo Prasad Yadav. Taking a dig at the previous government, the minister said one of his priorities would be to clean the surroundings of the stations as well as the railway premises and the trains themselves, particularly the toilets. "There will be no compromise on cleanliness," said Prasad, who has a tough task ahead of him as minister of the largest railway network under a single management, which operates over 13,000 trains daily. © Bennett, Coleman and Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. a fitting first decree from the husband of rabri and father of jalebi.

three steps back Chad!

two more -'travels with the fish' by c.y.gopinath and 'the myth of the holy cow'by d.n. jha.

similar story from pondicherry where some places without a liquor license would serve customers' their beer from a tea pot.'special tea' was what one requested and the film of grease in the cups was complimentary! when buying beef in clandestine fashion one needs to ask for mutton 'of the big one'the small one' being- mutton!

gingko nuts,ackee fruit,bamboo shoot,certain kinds of cassava.. a toast to all those who went before us!

not qualified on either count but here's busybees' take on kasundi and a few other things for good measure!

then there's that little place called 'kentacky chicken corner' (i believe it predates kfc's arrival in india ) no known branches-even batter than the real thing/finger lacking good?!

right!couldn't decide whether to post on the legumes thread,the recipe request or this one.finally picked this and as the man says !

chick peas for everyone! Monica ,you might want to check this site out for your request for recipes from iraq.