Milagai

[ I have also heard that this (i.e. boiling a can of condensed milk in water bath) is a dangerous thing to do, and you should only do it if you know what you are doing. ←

hi monica: your lazy kulfi sounds great. i read about another yummy sounding version; very similar to yours, but they boiled the cans of condensed milk in a water bath for ~ 20 mins. supposed to caramelize the milk (i guess it becomes khoa like). have you tried that? any thoughts on that process? also: any ideas on how to concoct a kulfi cheesecake? related query: i had a failed attempt at making ricotta rasmalai. it tastes great, but is basically mush. i have frozen it, any idea how to turn THAT into cheesecake? milagai (off to buy new pants for fatter self)

i use (usually mdh brand) chhole masala (i cannot dream of mixing all those spices individually myself); also pao bhaji masala; jal jeera masala; garam masala; tandoori masala; and funnily enough, MTR rasam powder. someone recently recommended "kitchen king masala" as a grilled paneer + veg marinade and i am waiting to try that. i make my own sambar podi, BBH mix, puliyogare mix etc. milagai

do you know for sure how the energy costs of a slow cooker stack up against those of a pressure cooker? i keep thinking that ~ 10 minutes (usual time) on a pc (that's about 3 minutes on high heat and the rest on low heat to maintain pressure; and then heat off to cook in residual pressure) would use less energy compared to ~ 8 hours on a slow cooker, but what are the facts? milagai

i use a pressure cooker. i do have a slow cooker; used it once and not again. most of my cooking works well with a pressure cooker and i can't be bothered remembering to turn the slow cooker on and then off again hours later; plus i can't justify hours and hours of energy use, when one quick whoosh from the pc does it all :) milagai

this question has been in my mind since reading a thread a while ago on another (non-desi) part of egullet. people were describing their most beloved / hated foods as children, and most of the latter seemed to be veggies that were cooked and served at home. hmmm. my personal memories are very different, i still ADORE veggies like okra, green beans, beetroot, etc. that my mom made. and veggies i didn't like as a kid (eggplant, spinach) are now among my favorites, perhaps due to nostalgia... and most of the kids around me seemed the same way. how come? so, here are my hypotheses: 1. indian cuisines handle veggies very well in home cooking so kids are not put off by tasteless glop seemingly served in many other cuisines. so kids raised with indian cooking are more likely to like veggies than kids raised in those other (which?) traditions... 2. my mother was an excellent cook and my family is anomalous in the kids' love for veggies; even for those raised in india. so many kids' raised with indian food don't like many veggies and i'm rare in my love for veggies.... 3. other explanation? (we'll rule out the idea "milagai is wierd" a priori as being patently false and absurd) so, will you share: 1. what were your favorite / most hated foods as a child? 2. what food tradition (indian - which area / non indian - which specific one? ) were you raised with? i3. f you have partner / kids, what are their likes / dislikes? my answers: 1. i loved okra, green beans, onions, potatoes, most veggies really. loved most dals. adored "fancy" cooking like chhole ro rajmah or paneer or anything nonveg (EXCEPT liver or fish or other strong-animal-smelling stuff). these were rare items. 2. i hated: eggplant (looked icky the way mom made it), spinach (boring and sort of bitter), lauki type things (unless in a kofta) also boring and the aforementioned smelly animal stuff. 3. i was raised with a 75% south indian vegetarian diet, with the other 25% any other indian stuff. back in those prehistoric times non-indian food was read about in enid blyton books, but we didn't know how to get our hands on things like sausages. ham, etc or what to do with it if we did..... i was well into my late teens when i finally saw these exotica "in the flesh".... indian chinese food was about as "outlandish" as we got..... now: my family is veg, so we're still going strong with familiar items, my 7 yo dd's vegetable tastes are very similar to mine (adores broccoli / asparagus paruppu usilli, green beans poriyal, anything with potatoes, etc). my almost 3 yo ds - too soon to tell. he loves junk food (shares that with me) spouse is not indian, but adores almost all indian veg cooking, convenient since i do 99% of the cooking.... though we also experiment with all sorts of other dishes very often. assuming hypothesis 1above is supported) in what other cuisines do kids love veggies and also enjoy them as adults (i would guess chinese, italian, thai, korean, ....?) sorry for long and very rambling post, but am curious.... milagai

very true. for the whole daal scene, including the sabut ones, there is nothing else that does the job. why do the crock pot thing for hours and hours when 10 minutes and 1 whish later, it's all done? my other favorites: kadhai, idli steamers, chimtas of various kinds, graters, idli grinders, but best of all: someone else to cook for you. i envy those who live in more south asian dense areas of the US who can advertise and hire an entity known as a "gujju lady" who'll come, cook, and fill the fridge with yummy home-made dishes. milagai

very enjoyable piece. wish the accompanying picture had really been of tulsi rather than (what kind of) basil... milagai

hey: no-one else has "samaithu paar"? (eng translation: cook and see) as my dad says, why only cook and see? why not cook and eat? i have a wimpy 7-8 cookbooks total, but lots of handwritten recipes from my mom. do those count? :) milagai (ps: how do you attach pictures?)

i also loved fruit and nut, and nutties, better than 5* though i would happily settle for the latter if needed :) right now kit-kats seem to be flooding the market and i like those too. i am hooked on britannia biscuits (elaichi, and pineapple+coconut stuffing especially). monica, i did remember your fondness for nilgiri chocolates while in nilgiri's. but rs 70 a tiny box i couldn't... even translated to $ :) i britannia'd instead, much more reasonable prices. milagai

.worth trying one of those hand cranked ones though-they really work! i'll be damned! wonder what number of injuries (and maybe threatened lawsuits?) it took for the manufacturer to come out with that statement? or maybe i am wronging them deeply and they are genuinely looking out for customer. i'll keep an eye out for the hand cranked grater next time i am in a store and will give it a try... milagai

the traditional "aravaamanai" chopper / slicer in tamilian kitchens (fixed blade; you sit on the seat part and move the veggies to slice / dice / shred) (similar to bonthi in bangla i think) had that spiked circular thingy at the top for coconut grating. the fancy new electric tabletop dosaimaavu grinders also have a detachable piece that's a WICKED looking spiked circular grater so you fix it onto the central shaft instead of the grinder and hold the half-coconut (still in shell) on it, and it whirs super quick and grates for you. i'm still too scared to try it and have visions of self in ER with mangled hands. so i stick the method described by whippy: dig out chunks from shell, food processor, freeze. milagai

Another day to day recipe, similar to Monica's option #1: 1. wash, dry WELL okra. 2. trip off top and make slit in middle (not all the way through). 3. stuff with mixture of: besan + rice flour, turmeric, red chilli, amchoor, salt, dhaniya powder. 4. sprinkle more of this mixture around the okras, mix well, and let it sit like this for ~ 15 to 30 mins. 5. deep fry. okra cooking goes in stages: first will get slimy and then will dry up. be patient. they taste best when a bit blackened :) more good recipes: vendakaya mor kozhambu (madrasi style okra and buttermilk kadhi kind of thing) vendakaya gojju (i had already posted the recipe for kathirikai gojju, just omit the chick peas, and sub the eggplant with okra cut into 1 inch long pieces). vendakaya pachadi (raita) etc. i ADORE this veggie, and when i further learnt how nutritious it is, (high calcium source) things got betterer and betterer. i am waiting for the price to come down. still rather expensive here in southern part of USA. but will soon flood market! milagai

i believe this is in reference to salmonella poisoning and applies to soft-boiled eggs. (which were a staple of my toddlerhood if i recall correctly) did the pediatrician say avoid the yolk altogether? i remember being advised by mom when beginning kids on eggs (~ 12 months) to start very slowly, with the white, very small quantity. if no allergic reactions, slowly increase the quantity. then go on to yolk in the same way, and over 2-3 months you can increase to the full egg. i was told this was due to the potential for allergic reactions...... we did soft scramble eggs for the babies until they were older and now whole family prefers hard boiled.... milagai

heh heh, lots of us "wierd ones". 3/4 of my family (self, dh and dd) adore green beans in any way shape or form: thoran, paruppu usilli, north indian sabzis, ingredient in veg korma, etc. also a very interesting pasta dish: pasta genovese, named for genoa, chris columbus' home town. sorry, it's not indian.... therefore the dish is characterized by adding potatoes: 1 pkg rotini pasta, prepared, drained. 3/4 lb green beans, broken into pieces (big pieces, not small) and steamed. 4-5 medium potatoes, peeled, diced, steamed or boiled, 1 bottle prepared pesto (~ 1 to 1.5 cups) 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts or even chilgoza. 1 cup GOOD quality fresh parmesan or gruyere cheese, grated. mix all the above into a bowl, and you're ready! :) the 4th person in my family (2 yo ds) does not like chewing any vegetables, we're trying to get him over this phase. he eats all other parts of the dish except the green beans..... btw: like we had discussed indian-chinese food, can we chat about indian-italian food? i went to an italian restaurant in bangalore and they used lots of indian touches in the food. the spicy versions of pesto and tomato sauces were fabulous. how do they get it that way? plus paneer everywhere, and really good bhains-ka-mozzarella (buff mozz). milagai

my last-minute standby is sundal; made with canned chickpeas or black eyed peas; or frozen peas. this literally takes ~ 10 minutes to make. 2 cans chickpeas drained. 1 small onion coarsely chopped (optional) 2 tbsp grated coconut if you have 1/2 cup chopped unripe mango, or even a ripe one (ripe is not very traditional but tastes great); that's wonderful. but this is optional. salt, splash of lemon juice. chopped cilantro for tarka: 1 tbsp veg oil pinch hing 1 tsp mustard seeds 3-4 dry red chillies, broken, 1 sprig curry leaves heat oil, add hing, then mustard seeds, when they pop add the red chillies and curry leaves. then add the onion, stir fry swiftly. the onion should still be semi crunchy. add the chick peas, mix well, then turn off the heat. add the salt, lemon juice, mango if using, coconut. mix well. garnish with cilantro. this is best at room temp. can eat it plain, or with curd-rice, or rotis. kids love it. milagai

tamarind is cooling, and so is curd rice, and in general in a deccan summer you wan to be as cool as possible :) also, most of us "madraasis" can't imagine ending a meal without some form of yogurt and rice, either the pre-mixed seasoned kind that you describe here; or the kind that you mix yourself on your banana leaf (as often buttermilk-rice as curd-rice). other trendy mix-ins: pomegranate seeds or green grapes (latter sliced in half). very popular in pot lucks; or dasara / diwali get togethers; or picnics or journeys. it travels very well without spoiling in hot weather. this used to be a standard item packed for us on train journeys. first meal: parathas. second meal: idlis. third meal: curd-rice. thereafter you're on your own, at the tender mercy of indian railway commissariat, or the platform hawkers. what about a new thread: favorite train food, either brought from home or from platform hawkers: regional specialties? milagai milagai

it's called "koLLu" in tamil; supposed to be very high fibre and nutritious etc. but considered peasant food, as much horse fodder as human food, hence the name (or so i'm told). i learnt this one over the holidays: 1. 2 cups kollu, pressure cooked long and hard until soft, with salt and haldi. takes a while. 2. season with: onions, green chillies, tomatoes: ground up together, and fried in oil with jeera and curry leaves tarka. use generous quantities of these seasonings. 3. garnish with a dollop of ghee, not too much. eat with rice, rotis, whatever. supposed to be a tirunelveli rural specialty. best if seasoned tarkad in a manchatti or kalchatti (clay cooking pot or stone cooking pot). milagai

in our last trip to bangalore (last month), we were all very curious and walked down to the new KFC on 100 Ft Rd to try it out. Got takeout; 2 kinds: Veg thali and some kind of Veg roll (will explain). The Veg Thali had a veg cutlet (rather pedestrian); some rice (unremarkable veg pulao) and a little container of "spicy curry" which was a cup of gravy that tasted like nothing on earth. Very baffling. The Veg roll was a rather good paneer tikka roll wrapped in a chapati style thing, with a good dipping chutney, salad, etc. This was rather tasty, but every second dhaba does this equally well, if not better. Other than the curiosity of going to a KFC overseas, and seeing what they make of veggie food, there's nothing at all to make one go out of one's way to eat at KFC India.... Milagai

other than the usual suspects, the one i am craving right now and am unable to get, is the "green peppercorn" pickle, specialty of kerala. the regular black peppercorns that you get, when they are growing on the vine, are green and come in bunches, and make an AWESOME pickle. i had it while in kerala, and saw one bottle, manufactured by laxmi pickles, in a friend's house in the us. have not been able to track it down since then, in india or us. any kind egulleter who can supply me some .....? milagai

1. make a thin masala buttermilk. 2. soak the newly fried vadas in them, and leave for a while. 3. after the vadas have soaked and become soft, then top the whole thing up with thick masala dahi. amma says this eliminates less oil vs the hot water method .... milagai

to make them soft, either soak in warm water and then squeeze (also eliminates excess oil) or do the same in buttermilk. milagai

me too! we had several of these sets when we were kids: silver, brightly colored anodized aluminium, etc. now i bought for my dd: stone, mud, and plastic :) i had to explain the grinding stone to her. i've been searching for a good urli, but am scared that they may not be well made and the food will taste bad, or we'll all get some kind of poisoning. any advice? i'm also considering getting a kalchatti to make rasam, and a mann-chatti (mud vessel) to generally cook in. sure, i'm old enough to remember the kalaiwala, and also the dhunaiwala who refluffed and remade razais (we used to call him the toin toin wala because of the sound his instrument made).... milagai

me three please. same to same story as worm@work :) chilly paneer, and mushroom manchurian recipes requested. milagai

hey! that's exactly the one! glad that someone else knows it! you have kids ? milagai