Milagai

I do that in reverse: buy Maggi Chatpata or Maggi Chili Garlic ketchups wherever I can get them.... Milagai

The word "chai" simply means "tea", so go ahead and make tea any way you like without milk.... If you want to replicate "masala chai" i.e. tea with spices, try soy milk instead of dairy milk. Whether making plain chai or masala chai, you use about 80 to 90% water anyway (boil water with spices if using, add a splash or soy or dairy milk, when boiling add tea and let steep, add sugar / honey to taste, and you're done). There's a lot of variety in the spice combinations you can use, the most common is: 2-3 slices of ginger + 1-2 bruised cardamom pods + 1-2 cracked black peppercorns Milagai

Morningstar veggie nuggets. Frozen veggies (e.g. green beans, chopped spinach, drumsticks - the moringa veggie, not the fowl legs -, frozen grated coconut, etc ) for weeknight sabzi in a hurry.... LOTS of pkgs of frozen Malaysian parathas and other kinds of parathas - I like first, Swad, and second, Deep, brands..... These 400-calorie-per-paratha monsters have somehow become a staple because I have 2 super skinny kids who love to eat these. If they develop weight problems post-puberty they'll have some trouble kicking this frozen paratha habit.... frozen pizza, usually Amy's or Di Giorno.... frozen samosas So I guess my frozen food is not pre-packaged dinners but things to make dinner from..... Milagai

If you still have lobster left, here are some desi suggestions: Goa style: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring2000/Singh/goan1.htm Bengal style: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_v...01280?id=101280 Milagai

Check out the fantastic effort by worm@work.... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...31&hl=pani+puri Among the best of Indian street food, and I think worm... posted recipes? Milagai

Great heavens! That artichoke endeavour looked EXHAUSTING! I'm excited to see all the results though, awaiting word on the sugar skulls, knights, fleurs de lis etc.... and all powered on left-over lamb saag I think I'll take a rest on your behalf! Milagai

I'm supremely confused. Earlier this year I'd posted a "what went wrong" question on EG when I tried to make avocado soup. I heated sauteed veggies, added stock, then pureed avocado. It turned nasty and bitter. Twice. When I posted the question here people suggested that heating the avocado was the problem But here I'm seeing several suggestions for heating / cooking the avocado... which are obviously succeeding for you all.... What did I do wrong? Milagai

Question for cilantro haters: Did the people who hate cilantro grow up in cultures / with foodways where cilantro is not used? Flip side: are there any cilantro haters from Thailand, India, Mexico, etc. where cilantro is very integral? Milagai

if you're doing whole artichokes you won't find them frozen so just look for the tenderest ones you can find (preferrably baby chokes) and then take off the outer couple layers of leaves before you start. (as well as chopping off the tips!) ← OK: if starting with fresh baby chokes, do I parboil them before roasting, or will roasting alone suffice? Thnx Milagai

Thanks for all the answers. I'll definitely try the artichoke recipe, have lots of rosemary growing out back, will seek out frozen artichokes..... Milagai

It's amazing how much the quality of something this simple can vary from one manufacturer to another. I tried the recipe tongiht using C&W frozen artichoke hearts and while they're workable, there's a notable difference in quality. They soak up a lot more oil and at the same time a lot less rosemary flavor. Twinky. I think my local grocery store has a third brand I might try tomorrow... ← Hi Eden: such an interesting project! 1. When you get a chance, would love to hear about the group of friends who all think alike on this topic!!!! How did this interest get started? 2. Could you share yr recipes for the rosemary artichokes, and for the lentil+saffron whatsit you mentioned? 3. Funny how the Poudre Forte sounds much like garam masala to me Grains of paradise is a lovely name..... 4. Curiosity - I looked up the restaurant Sambar that you were planning to go to - do I have it right? How does a *French* restaurant end up with a name like "Sambar" (nary a dosai or idli in sight).... Thanks in advance Milagai

Aiyyo! I didn't know this - I've always made ghee at home by melting just regular butter, simmering for a while until the foam subsides and the solids fall down, and pouring off the top. This is not ghee? Where do I find this "cultured butter" you speak of, if I want to keep making ghee at home? Milagai

Aiyyo! I didn't know this - I've always made ghee at home by melting just regular butter, simmering for a while until the foam subsides and the solids fall down, and pouring off the top. This is not ghee? Where do I find this "cultured butter" you speak of, if I want to keep making ghee at home? Milagai

That doesn't make sense to me. How much do you think it costs to raise and slaughter a goat? ← I think goats eat just about anything. All over India you see herds of scrawny goats nibbling on just about anything growing, on paper, other waste scraps, etc....If you're not picky about feed I imagine it's not that expensive. Milagai

Thanks Milagai, Still got a week left before the dinner but currently the menu is looking like this: Starters Tandoori lamb chops Chicken kebabs Some vegetable/fish starter Main Chicken Curry Pork Vindaloo Potato Curry Pulao Rice Naan Dessert Carrot halwa + ice cream Fruit Appreciate your comments but all guests are quite big meat eaters and I have never cooked lentils before... The naan or paratha I will buy from the supermarket as I have never made these before either. Could I make these on the BBQ too and then warm them later ? Any other suggestions for starters ? Been looking through all the cookbooks but can't see any exciting vegetable/fish starters... Thanks again, Rick ← You can buy the roti things from the supermarket and heat them according to instructions (anything from toaster oven to stove top usually). Tejon's suggestion of pakoras is a good one - but make them hot and serve immediately for best taste. The raita fell off the menu? Usually with so much heavy food, you need something lighter and cooling to help digestion, that's the recommended approach, or maybe substitute lassi.... depends what else you're drinking..... Again - suggestion in the interests of balance - some lighter veg instead of the potatoes? From an Indian perspective, balancing with something like cauliflower (it surprised me that Cauliflower is considered infra dig in the West, in India it's definitely a status veg) or saag (i.e. anything more on the green side)? Again, that's my preference - for balancing tastes, heavy and light, wet and dry, etc. And that's what I was raised to think as one of the main guiding principles of an Indian food plate, whether you're designing a menu or filling yr plate at the local buffet lunch.... But whatever you and yr guests like... Milagai

It may be convenient to have a bottle or so of generic curry powder in the spice shelf, but like you and most others have pointed out, every different dish has it's own customized spice blend. So it's not clear what's being made when "curry powder" is being used. And some of the labels (eg Madras curry powder) are really baffling.... So, what does the OP plan to cook? Then maybe one can suggest a specific spice blend for that dish..... Otherwise, if it's for a generic taste-good, vaguely North Indian style dish, it's achievable (at least IMO) by using cumin-coriander powder + turmeric + red chili powder + garam masala.... Milagai ps: Indian cooks who keep pre-made spice mixes in their kitchen tend to keep the customized blends (e.g. sambar powder to make sambar, chana masala to make chhole, etc.) more often than the generic "curry powder". People may keep curry powder on hand, but it may be for emergencies, or it may be treated as a customized ingredient and augmented with other stuff, rather than used generically....

Hi - reply may be too late, but hope it helps... You're right that there appear to be too many tandoori style items on yr menu. Two maximum, and even that may be pushing it for a home dinner for not that many people? If you want two, then maybe one of them can be a tandoori fish or prawn thing? If you have two such items, then why pile on the chicken curry as another? Maybe substitute a dal-type thing here instead? Or paneer? You also want to balance the wet and dry items.... The pulao, raita and pickles sound pretty standard, do you want to augment with some form of bread (naan, paratha, tandoori roti?) do tell what you decide? Milagai

beans and rice are not starch on starch - they are the protein staples in a vegetarian diet; and must have been recognized as such among people for whom meat was a rare luxury.... someone upthread suggested that this combination evolved independently in most bean eating cultures of the world and the ubiquitousness of dal and rice, or rajmah (kidney beans) or other whole beans (=not split like dals) and rice in Indian cooking supports that idea..... Milagai

thanks to the pps for asking the question i was dying to ask but was hesitant..... corollary: what line of work do you and / or husband have, that you can have this wonderful italian life too? (retired maybe?) milagai (=hot chili pepper in tamil)

This has got to be one of the most mesmerizing blogs - the pictures of yr house and kitchen sucked me into another universe...... I'm lapping up all the other questions and answers but cld you please share something about the history of yr town and anything known about yr house? When built? Who lived there? etc.... Thanks Milagai

Beats me. ← a lot of non-foodies are afraid of other food words too: they're terrified of sweetbreads, and in all likelihood, they don't even know what they are... ← What I meant was, do they know what Borscht is and don't like it, or don't know what Borscht is and are afraid of the unknown? What's the more likely pattern (the latter from what you write)? Milagai

Why would people be afraid of the word Borscht? Milagai

I agree: In most Indian parties rasam served like this has become almost ubiquitous......It's really good though...... Milagai

Slight riff on the topic: Inoffensive food to share at school. I have an elementary school age child and a preschooler and there are numerous occasions for pot lucks and cooking sessions for the kids etc. and I've had to come up with "inoffensive" foods for the kids and their parents to share. (Personal rant: The kids palates are way more adventurous than most adults give them credit for. The older they get the more hidebound they become...... I don't buy the hogwash that kids don't like vegetables - sweeping and false generalization - I've seen that they will try and like most anything if the adults are matter of fact about it). So here's a list of successful items (Indian and vegetarian): 1. Lemon Rice or mild veg pulao 2. Cucumber raita 3. The plainest papads one can find - very popular instead of chips or crackers. Plantain chips are good but some find them spicy. Also pakodas and bondas..... 4. Mild chana masala 5. Mild potato dishes - e.g. the kind you stuff inside dosais; or mild green bean dishes Indian home style.... 6. Pooris and naans 7. Kaju Katli (it helps greatly if you call it "cashew fudge") 8. Kheer (say "rice pudding") And all the above foods were found inoffensive i.e. everyone at least said they liked them and the kids ate plenty..... Milagai

Kerry - your blog is really inspirational, the pictures, recipes and your lovely daughter.... and the details of your daily rounds - how do you do it all? Did you say you have other children? Thanks so much for taking the time to share all this with us. Here is a link for a recipe for the beaten rice you bought, that you said you didn't have a recipe for... http://www.recipezaar.com/33025 Makes a great breakfast or afternoon snack dish... Milagai