cherimoya

Very interesting report - Thanks!

I've made manti from Saberi's Afghan Food and Cookery several times and people really seemed to enjoy them. These were steamed. I have also made manti from a book I bought in Turkey called "The Famous Turkish Cookery" by Yayinlarj. These manti were smaller and were baked in the oven, in a broth. Both recipes contain instructions for making a dough.

Maybe it is made of platinum

That recipe is in his chocolate book (p. 257).

Sorry. I just went back and read your earlier post where you said that you actually prefer the flesh to the peel. I guess I will just go ahead and try the Herme recipe.

Thanks Seth. What about keeping some of the flesh of the fruit attached? Would you recommend this? Is there a danger that it won't candy properly because of a higher water content?

Byron, I apologize. Your name isn't all that long. And, one of my favourite cookbooks. Pretty much the only one I own that I've cooked almost every recipe in it. I own the Young Thailand version. I believe that Simply Thai Cooking may have a few extra recipes added. Great book. I forgot about the Asian Bistro cookbook. I own that too. And, yeah, whatever happened to the author, Andrew Chase? I can't remember the name of the restaurant he cheffed at, but it was just off Yonge, and I ate there a few times and enjoyed it. OK, does anybody have any ideas on whether there was much stuff that might be considered "historical"? Are there any books that delve into the culinary history of this part of the world? Foodie magazines that came and went? Cheers, Geoff Ruby ← Wasn't Chase's restaurant called Youki's? I used to really like that place. There are also some Canadian TV cookbooks: The Loving Spoonfuls Cookbook (Carol Sevitt) The Great Canadian Food Show (Chris Knight)

Hi. I have never candied peel before, but I would like to try my hand at candied orange peel, to use in the florentine recipe from Herme's Chocolate book. In his recipe for candied peel, he instructs "cut off wide bands of peel ... making certain that as you cut, you include a sliver of fruit as well". In Dessert Circus, Torres says to remove the fruit and treat the pith as a whole. I am not a big consumer of candied peel so I guess I always assumed that you would remove the pith. If you do keep the pith and a sliver of fruit attached to the peel, are you supposed to remove it before any end use? Thanks in advance for your input.

There is an Ace Bakery Cookbook.

I am not sure that what you said about roasting neutralizing the poison is correct (but I could be wrong).

I found the following abstract from a paper published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. 32(6):742-4, 1998 Dec. Suchard JR. Wallace KL. Gerkin RD. Acute cyanide toxicity caused by apricot kernel ingestion. A 41-year-old woman ingested apricot kernels purchased at a health food store and became weak and dyspneic within 20 minutes. The patient was comatose and hypothermic on presentation but responded promptly to antidotal therapy for cyanide poisoning. She was later treated with a continuous thiosulfate infusion for persistent metabolic acidosis. This is the first reported case of cyanide toxicity from apricot kernel ingestion in the United States since 1979. There are case reports from Gaza and Turkey of cyanide poisoning in children due to apricot kernel ingestion In Poisoning and Drug Overdose by Olson it says that acute cyanide poisoning is relatively rare after ingestion of amygdalin containing seeds (like apricot kernels) unless they have been pulverised. I can't find any numbers re. how many kernels are safe to eat but the amygdalin content does seem to vary between different varieties of apricot. When I went to Hunza (north of Pakistan) the people there ate TONS of apricot kernels and they were pretty healthy.

Try the following recipe from Fine Cooking: http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00005_rec03.asp The filling contains eggs, but they are cooked, as in a custard. I have made this recipe and just substituted espresso for any alcohol. It turned out quite well.

I use a plastic scraper and I make my dough right on the countertop, rather than in a bowl.

I've tried the dhokla recipe from "The Madhur Jaffery Cookbook" several times and it always works well. It contains ENO as an ingredient.

OOPS! I mean 6 TBSP of CORNSTARCH!!

It is very easy to make your own falooda noodles at home. Blend 6 TBSP with 1/4 water to make a smooth paste and then add 1 cup of water. Stir over med-low heat until a smooth thick paste is formed. Remove from the heat once it becomes translucent. When cool enough to handle, press the paste through a colander over a bowl of ice water. This will form you noodles and they will be ready for use. Instead of a colander, you could also try pressing the mixture through a ricer. I find that to be bit easier. Don't forget to add some Rooh Afza to your falude dessert to finish.

You might want to try adjusting your recipe by replacing some of the white sugar with more brown sugar.

I think it sounds like fun!...but some of the combos sound gross. I think that I read that pop rocks is one of the available toppings.

I've never heard of any restrictions as far as seafood, pots or dishes, Pan. I am familiar only with arab muslim behavior, maybe east asian muslims do things differently(?) ← I don't think pots, dishes, etc are a problem for Turki (my student's name) as he eats at the university cafeteria for every meal. It is difficult to find out much about him or how he fares in following restrictions of his faith as he has so little English! He did observe Ramadan and celebrated the end of fasting with fellow Muslims mainly from Pakistan. ← The rules regarding dishes are not as strict as they are in Judaism. I would not want to eat a veggie burger if it were cooked on the same griddle where bacon had just been cooked, but otherwise, I would eat food from a restaurant or from a non-Muslim's home if it were not obviously "contaminated" with something haram. With regard to seafood, the overwhelming majority of Muslims are of the opinion that all food from the sea is halal (including, shrimp, squid, crab, etc.). There is a minority school of thought that considers these not to be halal, but I think that you would be safe to serve any seafood.

You can substitute lemon juice. Sumac has a sour taste which is quite distinctive. Lemon juice should work fine.

I'm not sure on food restrictions, so please advise. Regarding food restrictions in Islam: Pork and pork products are forbidded ("haram"). Meat of other animals is permitted ("halal") if it is slaughtered in accordance with Islamic laws. You will probably have no trouble finding a halal meat store if you live near a large city. If you have trouble finding halal meat, you may substitute kosher meat, as this is also considered to be halal for Muslims. Carrion and meat of carnivores are forbidden. Seafood is generally OK and requires no special processing. Alcohol and other intoxicants are forbidden (even if the alcohol is cooked off or used in small quantities). I have found verjus to be a good substitute for white wine in seafood dishes. Other food products may also present problems: gelatin (made from porcine skin in North America), cheeses (may contain pepsin from pigs), etc. I hope that this is helpful to you. I would be happy to answer any questions. I am well versed with these dietary restrictions as I am also Muslim. It is very kind of you to go to such trouble. I am sure that your student wil be most appreciative! Roohi

I've made a tart with red grapes before. I did it because I had no fruit at home and I needed to make a tart. I seeded the grapes and then distributed them in an almond cream (like for a tarte bourdaloue). It was tasty. Roohi

There is a recipe for a coconut roti made with rice flour in the Cordon Bleu "Breads" book.

I think that guavas add a nice flavour to fruit chaat.

I love the sweet-sour flavour of alu bokhara. What do you like to make with alu bokhara?