worm@work

Hi SwatiC, Somehow grating coconut never seems too daunting to me. I brought back one of those huge graters (the old fashioned ones that have a knife for cutting vegetables as well, not one of them modern ones with suction and stuff which I never got the hang of!!). These graters do the job real quick once you're used to them -- caveat being of course that if one has kids or careless people around, having one of these around could be really really dangerous. I;ve never seen the canned ones but will look out for them in the chinese markets. Bong, I am in Los Angeles which has a large number of rather good chinese stores. I didnt have a car here till recently and hence havent been able to explore the asian markets as well as I'd like to. But the wheels have been acquired now and life and grocery shopping should get much better. Am pleasantly surprised that Bengalis cook raw jackfruit too! Another dish that I crave for so often, I seriously consider going back to India just for that! Swati, can you share your recipe for the raw jackfruit sometime? I'll post mine when I'm posting the banana flower and stem recipes over the weekend. -w@w

Pan, I dont think the leaves are edible either :). What I meant was we used the large banana leaves to eat on instead of plates. Sujatha, I've seen them at the indian grocery stores here as well but somehow they always appear limp and dead and not at all fresh and sumptuous like the used to look back home. So Ive been a little reluctant to try them out. I think I'm just being a spoilt brat and should try them sometime soon. I promise to post a couple of recipes over this weekend! -worm@work

I asked my mom and she says all I need to do is splutter a few jeera (cumin) seeds and a small pinch of hing in hot oil and add the chopped radish (leaves et al). Then add some salt, chilli powder and sugar and stir. She especially warned me not to lose the crunchiness of the vegetable. I haven't had a chance to try this yet since I never find radish with the leaves in my side of town :(. -worm@work

Hi, When I was a schoolgirl (am still in school but far from being a schoolgirl unfortunately), we'd spend most of our vacations going to kerala to my grandparents house. Everyday my grandmom would wake up and go to the backyard to decide on the vegetable for the day. This was somehow a very exciting experience for all of us city kids and we'd all follow her around hoping and praying that she'd let us pluck some unsuspecting fruit/vegetable off her precious orchard. One thing I remember from those times is the ridiculously large number of preparations that were related one way or the other to the banana plant. For instance, we did make the usual raw plantain sabzi (vazhakka) - one preparation that just involved stir frying the vegetable with salt and haldi in a little bit of oil. Anothe preparation was a trifle more involved with some tamarind and some ground spices. The green plantain also featured pretty prominently in sambhar and avial. But that wasn't all. One of the tastiest preparations I've ever eaten was a sabzi made from the flower of the banana plant. It involved a lot of preparatory effort that was often delegated to us kids -- basically peeling off the dark pink/ purple skin off the flower, then removing individual segments until the lovely white pale sections are visible. This was then made into a dry poruthuval which tasted divine. Another sabzi was made by chopping the stem of the banana plant into tiny cubes. Even the leaf of the raw plantain was made into a green sabzi (similar to beans preparation as far as I remember). Lastly, we'd end up eating all these on a banana leaf :)!!! I miss my banana plants and somehow the yellow, uniform-looking, sterilized bananas at the grocery store just dont cut it. -worm@work

I just got some really fresh looking radish from the farmers market yday and cant wait to make s'thing yummy with them. I usually slice them and make a 'radish only' sambhar like my mom used to. I've never really made any sort of sabzi with radish and would love some ideas (with recipes would be even better :D). I love to eat them raw too :O but then as my husband Dilip says, I'd eat any vegetable raw :O. - worm@work

Five Star was always my favorite and I loved double decker as a kid too. A friend of mine recently got me a box full of five stars from India but it was a bit disappointing. They;re no longer chubby like they used to be but have gotten smaller and slimmer and dont look quite as sumptuous and chewy as they used to look. I felt the taste wasnt the same either but maybe I'm just being one of those people who keep cribbing about how things were better in em 'good old days' :)? I think cadburys made the most amazing milk chocolate (*sigh* how I love dairy milk) and I have very fond memories of the fruit and nut bars as well. I still end up buying a lot of cadburys chocolates from this one store that specializes in British foodstuff. But the one form of chocolate I miss above all else is NUTTIES. I dont know what it was about them but for me, they were just magic. I had an uncle who would always remember to bring one of those flat, square tins of nutties on every visit. Needless to say, he very quickly earned the title of being my favorite uncle too :). -w@w

I usually boil the potatoes and then peel and cube them. I heat up some oil and add some jeera (cumin) seeds and some asafoetida (just a pinch). I add some finely chopped ginger and green chillies. A minute or two later, I add the potatoes and peas along with some coriander and cum powder, some chilli powder and some amchoor (dried mango powder I think!). SOmetimes I'll add a lil bit of garam masala as well. A small squeeze of lemon juice could substitute if you dont have amchoor. I just ensure the potatoes and peas are well coated with the spices and let it all cook for around 5 minutes or so. I let the whole thing cool and then stuff the samosas and fry em :). Very important that the filling is cool when you're doing the stuffing (one of moms warnings I follow religiously). Oh and I tend to add a lil finely chopped coriander as well (dont think I ever saw coriander in the restaurant samosas back in bbay though). Everyone seems to like it altho its pretty basic. I also do a spiced spinach filling on miniature samosas. I just finely chop blanched/steamed spinach seasoned with a lil salt and chilli powder and some garam masala. I think cauliflower and peas would work too as would lentils I suppose. I think the key is just to ensure that the filling is not wet.. apart from that as long as your guests are open to experimenting, you can let your creativity run wild! -worm@work

None of the people are big drinkers and are unlikely to drink more than a glass of wine each. The real focus would be on the food. The veggie thread is really useful. Am tempted to do Lola since I have been meaning to go there myself ever since I heard about it. WOuld it fit into the budget if we just had a glass of the house wine or some such? thanks a ton, worm@work

Hi, A friend of mine is treating 4 of us to dinner tonight and I promised to pick a nice place for us to go. At least 2 of us are fairly discerning foodies and would rather pay for food than ambience. Also 2 of the 4 are vegetarians. Any ideas for a nice dinner that wont break the bank... am hoping for something that wont cost more than $40-$50 per person w/ wine. Thanks a ton in advance, worm@work

Guess you dont need any more votes but I've had the same Thai granite one for over a year now and definitely think it beats the marble M&P at my mothers house. I'm never afraid of breaking it and like Nathan, I use it for powdering, pulping, making pesto, thai curry pastes and it works very well for all these purposes. -worm@work

I always like to make some aloo poha or upma when impromptu guests turn up. Also, coming from a south indian upbringing, I almost always have idli or dosa batter lying around in the refrigerator. I just steam some idlis and nowadays my friends have learnt to eat em with milaga podhi (powdered lentils + dried red chillies) and dont demand the usual coconut chutney which saves me even more time. I also keep some coriander chutney in the fridge and make bombay sandwichwalla style sandwiches with butter and coriander chutney, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and boiled potatoes and a dash of salt n pepper. Somehow, given that people hardly get to eat this here in the US, most people seem to relish it immensely. If I need something heavier, I am partial to an egg curry. I also keep some data+tamarind chutney frozen for emergencies. Boil a few potatoes, chop up some onion and I have bhel puri and sev batata puri ready to serve. I also sometimes make a misal using moong beans (since they're easier to cook without soaking overnight I think and I always have them on hand). I guess this is just a variant of sundal. -w@w

gingerly, that sounds yummy and baked too! Considering mild, subtle dishes are not usually my style unfortunately, this is probably more in line with what my guests are probably expecting! Thanks a ton for the link. Its going to be either this or the watercress & lemon cream sauce which is making my mouth water so.. Will try my best to post pics tomorrow :). -w@w

Strange isn't it? My mom in law says the same about adding both salt as well as haldi to the dal before pressure cooking.. that adding either of the two will keep the dal from cooking well. I add both salt and haldi to the dal in the pressure cooker stage and have never had a problem. I always wondered though because she seems to feel rather strongly about this.

Dear husband just brought back fresh trout cut into 1/2 inch steaks (no head) and wants me to make something that looks as well as tastes good to impress his work colleagues who are coming to dinner tomorrow :O. Please help... I have a traditional Indian trout recipe that I always make but am eager to try something new. Any ideas (with recipes if possible :P) are much much much appreciated! thanks a ton in advance, w@w

Here's what a google search about one of my favorite things turned up! Origin of Kimchi -worm@work

Well, here's what I finally did with my taro root - I made a traditional south indian seppan kizhangu sabzi my mom used to make when I was still in school. Here's a terribly out of focus and bad-looking picture I promise you, it tastes much better than it looks! Basically steamed taro root added to a tadka of curry leaves with a masala of freshly ground roasted chana dal, tur dal, dried red chilles and a small qty of diluted tamarind. The tamarind gives it a slight zing that I really like! -worm@work p.s. Apologise for the bad picture.. will try harder next time around

A modified Kadhai Murgh(Chicken) recipe from the book "Prashad" by Jiggs Kalra , ginger-flavoured potato stuffed parathas (Indian bread), sliced cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper on the side and a traditional south indian style taro root recipe I remember my mom used to make when I was growing up (after all, the vegetarian cook needs to eat too!). A serving on a plate The slightly out of focus taro root sabzi! And a shot glass of sambuka (did I spell that right) for dessert! -worm@work

Udipi Palace, Sleepy_Dragon is definitely not worth two buses and your time.. I assure you. If its masala dosas and wadas you;d like, then I very sincerely invite you over to my house (which is also on the eastside unfortunately but I promise you the visit will be worth two busrides! I live really close to the Bellevue Transit Center). I promise you it'll be at least as good as the average South Indian households dosas back in India. As for lamb keema, unfortunately, I havent tried making that at home yet.. what with being a vegetarian and all :). Let me know if you'd like to take me up on that offer.. I'll need a couple of days notice to soak the rice and dal for the batter! -worm@work [Edited to correct a typo].

I nibble on all my raw vegetables :) (I'm the only member of my family who eats raw bhindi I believe :O). I'm thinking salt, red chilli powder, dhaniya (coriander( powder, some saunf and some asafoetida rubbed into the slit kantola and then grilled? Yumm... I do the exact same thing (cant remember whether or no I add some amchur powder) to slit tindola (tindli?) and grill them since I like the taste of raw crisp tindola and dont want to do something that'll mask thI e original taste of the vegetable too much :). I also make a stuffed karela that has raw green mangoes ground with ginger and green chillies stuffed inside the karela .. but for this, I brown the karelas either in the oven or in a kadhai after I stuff them. My moms karela recipe is as follows : Slice the karela and slice one big onion (variable depending on how much onion u would like the sabzi). Mix salt and turmeric powder on the karela and keep it aside for half an hour or so. Heat abt a couple of tbsps of oil and add some grated or finely chopped ginger. Add either finely chopped or slit green chillies (depending on green chilli tolerance levels) and onions and karelas both (my mom adds both simultaneously.. she says both need to be browned in order to kill the bitterness of the karela but I think with kantola one could add the kantola later since kantola is not as bitter as karela?). Then add coarsely ground saunf (fennel), coriander seeds and cumin seeds mixed with a lil bit of water and cook till the sabzi is browned. When it begins to brown, add some tamarind diluted in hot water (just a small pinch of tamarind should do) and cook till the water evaporates. I always make these dishes from memory and modify by tasting so please excuse lack of precision :(. -worm@work

Hmmm Kantolas, Love em :). My mom used to slice them thin and sprinkle salt and turmeric powder (and chilli powder perhaps, not sure?) on em and fry them. Yummy. She used to insist that the kantola has to sit for half an hour after the salt and haldi smear... much to my disdain being an impatient, ever-hungry kid. She also used to make a sabzi with kantola and onions. I think it was the same sabzi she would make with karela. I can post a recipe if you like but you probably already know this since its a very common karela preparation i think. -worm@work

Wow, thanks for that tip rushina. I remember my mom mentioning many years ago that we always cook Arbi with a little tamarind in it, since otherwise it could be itchy on the throat. Versatile vegetable indeed... Also, now that you've mentioned aloo wadi.. do aloo leaves have an english name and are they available in the US? I would love to make some at home! Unfortunately, I only found the roots at the store.. would love to get a hold of the other parts and try some of these other recipes too!

gingerly, my bad :). I was using my palakkad iyer spelling while a tamilian would spell it more appropriately as seppan kazhangu.. that makes the vegetable a lot more familiar for me :). bong, that taro stalk recipe sounds wonderful and different frm stuff I've tasted. Please coax your wife to share the recipe. I love the way we use these leaves to steam fish and other delicacies. I still remember the white stuffed sweet coconut filled pancakes my mom would steam in banana leaves. I remember the filling would also have small bits of jackfruit in it... so off topic but so yummy too :p. -worm@work

Hi, A new grocery store just opened outside our house and I got so excited on my very first visit to the store tht I ended up buying a bunch of unusual vegetables that I never really use in my daily cooking :(. So now I need help - If anyone knows any Indian recipes for these veggies, please help! I basically bought some taro root (does anyone know if this is the same a chepankazhangu in tamizh?). I also ended up buying a bunch of different varieties of squash (I figured I could use them the way my mom used basic yellow and white pumpkin in sambhars and such). Any ideas will be much much appreciated since I suddenly feel very sad and inadequate about the range of vegetables I use in my cooking :(. -worm@work

rajsuman, At least in my house, one wouldnt dare eat tamarind rice without curd rice to accompany it for the simple reason that while tamarind itself might be 'cooling', my moms tamarind rice is hot as hell :O... bringing tears of joy to your eyes kinda hot :)... the tart and spicy mixture followed by the cool, much more lightly flavoured curd rice leaves me satisfied and happy :). There, now you've got me yearning for tamarind rice, chips and curd rice flavoured with ginger, cilantro, mustard and small pieces of cucumber (this is my favorite version too). A lot of south indians I know make their tamarind rice rather hot with a lot of dried red chillies in the mixture.. i think thats what makes the curd rice a necessary accompaniment. Limbu rice & coconut rice on the other hand are mild and can be eaten on their own. - worm@work

Phew, guess I'm far from being the only one who hated the place. Should've posted here for recommendations before I left but it was all rather sudden. Will definitely check out both Foundation and Public the next time around. I fell in love with the city instantly. Spent the whole day cycling and had a brilliant time overall. Will definitely be back soon. Thanks for all the recommendations! -worm@work