Milagai

baffled by thread. is it even possible to buy prpoduce without touching, sniffing, tapping, etc.? the only way i can tell if a fruit is ripe etc is to smell and / or tap. if a vendor "non toccare"-ed me, i really would not know how to buy stuff.... milagai

Yup: Rasam in soup cups as appetizer is a new trend, with the advent of dinner party entertaining. People used to serve veg soup, then rediscovered rasam. It became trendy again. Otherwise the old way of eating rasam was with rice. Milagai

Hey buddy, I prefer "devil's advocate" to "inherent western paternalism". As for Mr P. and cuisine. This isn't just his position, earlier in the week there was a discussion on "Cuisine" v "Kitchen" where it was proposed that the worlds cusines were French, Chinese and Italian. I have no opinion on such things as I don't understand the discussion. ← I read a snippet in one of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks about a conversation she had with someone who said the world's great cuisines were: French, Chinese, and Bengali. And so it goes. Milagai

I agree, and am astonished that this position has been dignified with so many responses, (and here I am adding to them) rather than just laughed out of court. Milagai

if you start with British food (has the stereotype, deserved or not or being the ultimate in bland and boring) NO WONDER any influence of any other cuisine, or any level of spice will be a big step forward. But if you start with Thai or Indian or (insert favorite spicy cuisine here) and dumb it down in the (totally wacked out) name of "refinement" (which, based on this thread, seems = bland) then it's a giant leap backward.... Speaking just for myself, cooking without spices is not worth eating. The main ingredient (whether it's beans or beast) is just a vehicle for the spice blend, whether the dish is dry or gravied or steamed or fried or whatever. Milagai (my e-name here means "red hot chili pepper" in Tamil so that itself should tell you where I am)

Its no bad, but its nae haggis ← i've heard tell of vegetarian haggis pakoras (presumably the indian restaurant version of the above). can adam or any others from edinburgh elaborate? milagai

to the above, i would add onions, ginger, garlic and canned beans of every kind available. milagai

eh! that 'splains a lot to me. my grandmother used to smush hibiscus leaves into a slimy mess which we were made to use as hair conditioner. it did leave hair very silky smooth though.... milagai

looks like lichee on steroids.. milagai

what did you marinade them in? milagai

Do I sense an Okra Cook-off thread coming? ← so, what about it? will there be an okra cook off any time soon? milagai

I wonder now what other great experiences I am missing, simply because I haven’t “acquired the taste” yet. I guess sometimes to really enjoy food we need to hold our noses and shut our eyes tight!. ← like blue cheese, marmite, foie gras, or any fermented fish, etc. Every culture seems to have multiple examples.... milagai

wow! doubt if anyone can top that! but my humble self did score a large (10 inches diameter, about 8 inches depth, no idea how many litres or quarts or whatever it holds) all stainless steel pressure cooker for $ 10 at a yard sale in Berkeley about 11 years ago. The sellers said they had never used it because they had no idea what to do with it. Hey! mine! It's still going strong. Mainstay of my kitchen. Everything from veg stock to dal. Milagai

Western pediatricians gawsp in horror but honey is GREAT for curing constipation and coughs in babies. Indian babies are routinely fed small tspfuls of honey. Not a one had botulism yet.... Milagai

Ditto for me. ← seriously? does anyone actually cook / serve / eat plain boiled okra? but why? milagai

Do they eat dairy products? Paneer chunks alternated with various veggies, all marinated in something good makes a great veggie BBQ. Baste with ghee, and voila! you get all the animal fat falling onto coals and making smoke. Mushrooms are very good too. Baste anything in ghee or butter, and you'll get that smoke. Milagai

What kind of people do you vacation with? Up to now, your loved ones seemed to be pretty ok. But now, well, I think that I would probably just pack up my elaborate kitchen gear and head back to the house. Of course, I would pass by and pick up some of that delicious okra. ← ITA: just pm EG's Monica Bhide for the greatest okra recipes and you'll have a family of converts. milagai

very enjoyable piece and an interesting perspective, is it very western or judeo-christian to assume that animals are created for he purpose of being eaten by humans? from a buddhist / jain perspective (and relatedly a hindu one) humans and other animals may be created by a deity (insert your favorite version here) for a purpose, but why is that purpose to be eaten by humans, who have alternatives? jains probably have the most coherent ahimsa philosophy, and animals are there to live their own lives and work out their own karma. the principle mercy towards sentient beings is enough to forbid animal-eating (including birds, water-dwellers, insects, etc.). why do you have to *do* anything with giraffes, pigs, whatever? just leave them alone, and enjoy your 5 course veg thaali lunch.... just curious, i am not seeking any kind of religious debate. it's so true that religious dietary restrictions are a form of us-vs-them, and one upmanship (WE don't do that...) etc. milagai

the last few posts here where people pointed out that obnoxious adults can be worse than rude kids were really appreciated. my humble view as an outsider to western culture is that it seems to be very age segregated. kids are OK as long as they behave like perfect adults. very old persons with "imperfect" appetites and control are not made very welcome either. this is nothing management can do anything about really. and i am sorry i have no strategy to suggest to improve things. i am merely curious how people expect children to be socialized without repeated exposure to such environments, and how will they learn to behave in them otherwise? can't turn out perfect product overnight..... anyhow, being the proud possessor of two dubious blessings, age 8 (very well behaved) and 3 (can't sit still and runs all around making very social conversation with everyone from guests to kitchen staff) in the west we leave 3 YO at home because he makes us parents too tense for anyone to have fun. however 1 week ago on vacation in munnar (nilgiri high range tea estate holiday destination type place) we ate at a high end local restaurant, and it was incredible. 3 YO was up to his usual tricks plus was tired, but there was nowhere mich else to go, so i was walking him up and down and trying to keep him calm while food arrived. he wasn't much impressed and was more interested in fraternizing with the (not too busy) staff) who just took him out of my arms, walked around with him, asked specifically what *he* wanted to eat (we adults didn't get this kind of attention), gave him and the 8 YO a kitchen tour and free cookies, and delivered him back with the food. adults and 8 yo had a good dinner, but 3 yo ate a few bites and threw up all over furniture and floor. i was mortified and immediately dived onto my hands and knees cleaning up, but staff as they helped just kept saying "never mind, he's only a kid, it happens, etc". the diners at the next table were a little peeved (understandably) but didn't say anything and no-one else turned a hair or complained that their expensive dinners were being compromised. same in most other restaurants we went to (minus the throwing up) and same in the forest hike we went: when 3 yo started whining (yes, he's awful and i hope he will outgrow this and i assure you this is despite best parental efforts at kid control), before dh and i could react, the forest guard just reached down and picked him up and carried him the rest of the way.... i grew up here and i kind of know things are like this but this is the first time i had experienced it for myself..... it definitely takes the edge off parenting a difficult child, and provides a humane alternative to incarcerating child (and parents) until child is old enough to be left alone at home... milagai

I think that is exactly the problem I have with such statements. What most people think of as simple times are in fact usually not so simple at all. I myself have written lovingly about walking through the souks with my grandmother and the amount of time she spent making eveything from scratch and all that...but the fact of the matter is, she was pulled out of school at a young age for financial reasons, married off to a guy who was much older than her, had ten kids over the years and basically channeled all her restless energy and sharp wit into a few odd hobbies and (as Almass can surely attest) culinary experiments that took her far afield from the local cuisine, just to escape the drudgery of it all. I would hate to give up the time I spent with her growing up, but I often wonder what choices she would have made, in a different time and place. Anyway, Farid is right about the olive oil. We grind our own, on a stone mill. It is a thick and opaque green and no matter how much money I have been willing to spend in gourmet stores, I have never found anything that comes close. Probably easier to find in California than on the East Coast though... ← I wonder how many people who romanticize this have actually lived it? I'm going write about village/rural life in France in Ya Rayi and about Algeria in my other blog which be ready for public viewing in about 2 weeks. I will simply describe it and leave it to the reader to decide if it's so simple afterall, especially for the women. ← Y'awl are SO right. I got into a ferocious argument once with a dinner guest, long ago when I was in graduate school and my Sudanese room mate and myself invited some people to dinner, and this rude *** (he was from Italy, which is not relevant to anything at all) asked how we made such a quantity of rice, and I innocently replied that it was a breeze in the pressure cooker. He launched into a tirade about "all you microwave people..." etc etc. I snarled back exactly what you said, that people who sentimentalize slow food (this was way before fast food was seen as a problem) have never HAD to make things from scratch, including walking for hours to gather fuel (firewood sticks or dried animal dung) and to get water from a far away river or well. It is well within my memory how my grandmother used to: draw water from a well (i've done this myself, for fun) grind idli batter etc in a huge granite grinding stone make laborious things in painfully slow steps from scratch etc. HAD to do it, day in and day out, no time off for good behavior or poor health. I have heard the story of how my grandfather refused to buy my grandmother a refrigerator because he said: "you will not cook fresh food every day but serve me leftovers from the previous day" (a HUGE food sin in Indian terms - baasi khaana is an insult). etc. And I know with what gladness my mother's generation received electric grinders, fridges, pressure cooker, etc. And I LOVE my electric Ultra dosai grinder, my microwave, and frozen veggies like unripe jackfruit that are a ROYAL PIA to process "au naturel". Sure, the glorious fragrances of my grandmother's kitchen are the strongest memories I have and any whiff I get of that kind of thing plays havpc with my nerves even today. But now I know what awful drudgery it is. Similar when people bemoan that Indian women are abandoning their incredibly rich heritage of handloom natural fibre textiles and turning en masse to nylon saris. But you try washing, starching, and ironing cottons with no running water, no dryer even in rainy weather, and no reliable electric supply and even the traditional dhobis (washermen) are abandoning their professions in droves. Modern washing machines ruin cottons. So we're all wearing nylon saris with a sigh of relief, saving the gossamery muslins for rare occasions. People who enjoy laborious hand processing and do it as a hobby or fun or fulfilment, that's different. It's a whole 'nother beast when you HAVE to do it. It's like HAVING to walk everywhere or horse carriage everywhere when all around you are zooming in cars. Hmmm. Wonder what Amish families feel about this topic.... milagai

very similar in indian households: khichdi (rice and dal cooked together to a mush). very bland version for sickness spiced version (with veggies, and/or ghee with cashews and black peppercorns, etc etc) for feel-good food. cures whatever ails you. one of the greatest comfort foods of all time: bowl of piping hot khichdi, with dahi (yogurt) and some tongue-smacking lemon pickle. would wake the dead. milagai

haggis but the actual dish is almost as as the name milagai (ducks in anticipation of enraged haggis lovers)

re fennel: works great on babies too, when made into a tea and given in tiny sips. ITA re chocolate re salt water: my kids' pediatrician recommends this too. and does the food have to be actually eaten to count in this category? otherwise: coconut or amla (indian gooseberry) oil for hair mustard oil for skin in winter (pre bath) turmeric for just about any skin ailment, though you will turn bright yellow. etc. milagai

for colds and flu: strong tomato rasam (with garlic). the spices and tomato and hot liquid combination really cures whatever ails me. i am sure there is some science behind it (hot liquids, vitamin c, and whatever digestive properties are in the spices) but maybe its primarily the food - emotion connection too.... for nausea: anything containing lemon and or ginger. my mom's mango-ginger and lemon pickle is a certain cure. i carry small cartons of it to ward off motion sickness.... i believe ginger's anti-emetic properties are now coming to be scientifically recognized. for an upset tummy: yogurt-rice with rasam or above mentioned pickle. stops all bugs in their tracks. for an imminent, very mild, asthma attack: strong tea. does not work for more severe attacks. lots more, but these spring to mind immediately. milagai

are you kidding? who "warned" you and why on earth would you listen to such a closed minded attitude? how would you ever try anything new if you took this advice, though of course, you will never like all the new things you try you may find some new favorites. (sorry if you were kidding, i seem to be humour impaired right now) the red liquid may have been syrup or similar flavored with rose essence or kewra or other flower essence. These flavors are popular in the Middle East and South Asia.... Milagai