Milagai

Only one? Liquids: I can sub tea for coffee, but at least one of those would be nice. Maybe if it's really hot weather I can survive on fresh lime soda.... Other: Yogurt (my good South Indian tummy gets severe yogurt withdrawal after 2-3 days) Spices (bland food gives me the heebie jeebies after maybe 1 or 2 meals max. I have been known to travel with a bottle of lemon pickle that I'll mix in as needed.) Chocolate was there but my expanding waistline has moved it out of the "daily" category..... Milagai

Google "coriander chutney" (why call it "sauce"?) and you'll get more recipes than you can imagine. They are all variations on the basic theme: blenderize coriander (=cilantro, not the seed), ginger, salt, green chillies, lemon juice, maybe a little mint (that becomes mint-coriander chutney), otherwise a little coconut, perhaps some green onion, maybe a spot of sugar; I'm pretty sure there's no tamarind in the (green) coriander chutney, tamarind chutney is a different entity altogether. It's dark brown and more sweet and sour. Google "tamarind chutney" for recipes, but it's again a mush of tamarind paste or water, brown sugar, raisins, cumin, a little red chili, etc. Milagai

do both: wrap in a kitchen towel or similar, and place in an oven with pilot light on. for electric oven, leaving the oven light on works. works great not only for dosa/idli batter but also for yogurt making. milagai

Rebecca: I'm like you. Like somoene else asked upthread, I can't understand why people in the US don't like beans. They seem most simple and inoffensive tastewise especially compared to some of the wierd stuff people here seem to gush over (from animal entrails to snails) .... and so easy to cook and to make spectacular.... Milagai

Mizdueky: If you like dal, and like chick peas, why not try "rajmah masala" the North Indian way of making kidney beans? It has what you like: "lot of tomatoes and spices to wake things up"; and it is (to me at least) beyond ambrosial. You can't pick the other stuff out and leave the rajmah (=kidney beans) behind because the beans are the main thing and the other stuff is the "gravy". If you use canned beans it is very quick to make, and you can't beat this with a stick for being cheap, easy, delicious, and comforting. My kids love it too..... I get home from work, bring out the can opener, and ~ 20 minutes later, voila! While this is cooking, the rice gets done. Dinner! The internet abounds in recipes, here's one : http://www.recipedelights.com/recipes/vegdishes/Rajma.htm (you can substitute 2 cans cooked dark red kidney beans for the 1 cup dry beans that you must soak first and then cook for ages...) and another http://www.bawarchi.com/contribution/contrib897.html Milagai

d'oh! not being a bio major i had overlooked the finer distinction between amniotic sac and placenta.... one learns! milagai

Cool. Anybody else here familiar with the other type of caul? ← I must admit the only "caul" I knew of was the "other" one.... Placenta...... Being a lit major, one picks up all kinds of odd trivia.... I got this one from David Copperfield (the Dickens book, not the magician). Milagai

Well, rasam frequently has tomatoes in it, and is sometimes not tamarind based, but the main ppoint is that it's not "curry" (whatever "curry" is...) Milagai

Today's NYT had a piece on the rise of dabbawalas in the San Francisco area http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/15/dining/1...r=1&oref=slogin From her name the writer appears to have some India connection so it's kind of jarring to read about rasam described as "tomato based curry" Milagai

Kulfi Any "marriage" of Bengali style sweets with ice cream (e.g. rasmalai ice cream, is that possible?) The tea ice cream genre used to be available in the Tea Board offices in Delhi decades ago.... Wonder if that's still there.... Milagai

Tandoori anything? Sandwiched with salad - ish greens, and drizzled with raita? Milagai

Bitter melon is very common in India too (called Karela or Paavakkai, regionally). Considered very medicinal and apparently there is emerging scientific research showing how this veg does good things for blood sugar levels though I know next to nothing about these things. Cooked in many of the ways described above, sliced thin and salted and rinsed, sauteed, with tomatoes etc. Or deep fried until crisp and salted and red-chillied and something sour added. It's an acquired taste, but great once acquired. Now I have to get me some..... No-one else in the family will eat it...... All for me, bwahahahahaha! Milagai

Regarding fried vs raw paneer, I find that cutting it into cubes and toasting till golden in the broiler oven (broiler setting; turn over to get all sides) is a great alternative: you get that golden look without all the spitting and extra labour when frying paneer. Milagai ps: I have Kerala towels (=thortha mundu) dedicated for paneer. Just the right size and texture.

was that directed at my post about snake gourd? in that case, please read a little more closely and you would see that i mentioned i *did* eat much of this when growing up (in india), and that the taste was nothing noteworthy, (so i didn't bother to post a recipe). it's a common home cooking dish, and it's cheap. it's not widely available where i live now, but we do see it on annual holidays to my parents' house. so i don't have recent pictures. whether directed at me or not, your post was a bit rude. milagai

snake gourd http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...6lr%3D%26sa%3DN go halfway down the page to see them growing. pretty common fare when i was a kid. not much taste..... milagai

what about the ones about: 1. swallowing fruit seeds (e.g. melon) will make the plant grow in your insides. 2. swallowing chewing gum would give you appendicitis. and being indian raised in india, we were told to clean our plates because of the starving children in the street. they were a few in the street and we did try telling our parents to give our food to them, but then got our necks firmly held and food shoveled into our mouths..... milagai

Have these questions been addressed upthread: 1. has quitting smoking changed your ability to taste food? Do you enjoy food more or less or no different than in smoking days? 2. Anyone who smokes or is quitting: what got you started? Did you enjoy your first cigarette or three? I ask because like many curious teens I did try smoking but found the taste so awful that I never persisted. I now have other drugs . I wonder if anyone enjoys their first few cigarettes? and if not, I wonder if people who persist to develop a smoking habit somehow taste the cigarette differently and can actually enjoy it (kind of like broccoli and supertasters or cilantro lovers vs haters)? Thanks and I hope this is not too offthread. Milagai

i agree about the wastefulness of plastic wrapping individual potatoes, apples, cucumbers, etc. is there some rationale for doing this that i am not aware of? also: only those who have bought the plastic bottles of tamarind concentrate from indian stores will know what i mean: that packaging has not changed for > 20 years and it is ridiculously hard to open and dangerous (have to hack the plastic inner lid with a sharp knife); why have they not evolved a better packaging for this product? milagai

well, there's a saying that "there's a lid for every pot" in the marriage market and a good thing too. i could never consider even respecting someone who is so closed minded about diverse food philosophies (not quirks and jerks), or who appears to assume that veg food is about deprivation and lack of enjoyment, rather than capahle of being awesomely delicious every day, every meal. vegetarians seem "required" to display a global attitude of respect and tolerance for every extreme of non-vegetarianism, so it would be nice if that could be reciprocated sometimes. milagai (feeling grumpy today i guess)

Cubicle gourmet! great idea! Maybe illustrations or captions by Dilbert? My cubicle supplies are, alas, very limited, but I'm getting huge inspiration from reading. Cubicle gazpacho - awesome! Milagai

All from the Indian store, though you can make all at home: 1. Murukku (aka chakli): you'll never bother with pretzels again (twisted fried crisp dough thingies spicy) 2. Plantain chips (liberally red-chillied) 3. Chiwda (aka mixture): mix of puffed rice, nuts, raisins, spices, other little fried things, etc. 4. Boondi (teeny tiny fried chickpea flour balls, spicy). 5. Spiced nuts (cashews, peanuts, whatever) Basically anything from the snacks aisle in the Indian store. Otherwise my global favorite is french fries..... Milagai

What is the origin of this belief? Who's the "designer" here? There's plenty of history of wine being drunk with Indian food, e.g. Emperors of Delhi etc. They used to ritually break their wine cups and forswear intoxication before battles as a vow for success, but apparently afterwards went right back to it, and had new cups made. here's a link with a picture halfway down. http://www.bhu.ac.in/kala/gallery_nidhi.htm Who came up with the notion that wine and Indian food don't match? Milagai ('ll cross post on the wine board too).

Your story is cool too! and I finally "get" your e-name This is a fun thread.. Milagai

Thank you Patrick S! That explanation helps a lot. I do have more questions but won't hijack this thread further so may query you off line later. Thanks again Milagai