da_coolestofall

We had breakfast at the Old Monterey Cafe. Its a nice place for a good hearty breakfast.

Sorry, havent heard of it but I know camphor is called "kapoor" in hindi.

Thank you so much guys, your suggestions made this trip really worthwhile. I'll post reports of some places I ate at later on.

Thank you so much guys. You guys have been a treasure. I think this advice will definitely turn my trip to a great one. BTW for the question about Santa Clara, one word "Priceline"

Thanks guys, you guys rock! Been a lurker for long and knew you'd definitely come thru on this query. BTW since we have such bay area veterans here, what do you suggest is the best way to commute between Santa Clara and SF for a tourist. I will have a car and dont really mind paying for parking (<$20). Do you think its feasible to drive to pier 39 the first day an dpark there for the whole day and do the Alcatraz and Union square thing? Also if you could, what would a suitable itinarary be for like 3 days of sighseeing stuff? Thanks a bunch again P.S: is there a chinese dim sum palce that is vegetarian friendly and also english language friendly that I could go to?

need some advice from all the travel gurus out there. I am taking a road trip from LA to SF starting Dec 24th. The plan is to go to Solvang and hearst castle on the 24th.Then spend the night ont he 24th in Monterey, look around monterey and carmel on the 25th and get to SF on 25th night and leave there on the 28th. I have made some hotel reservations thru Priceline. Instead of booking in SF, I booked Santa Clara. The travellers are my parents, my sister (19) and me (24). My mom is a vegetarian and the others only eat chicken and some seafood. Could some of you give me some places indian and non-indian that would be kinda not-to-be-missed. I believe we are already set for Turmerik and Chaat Cafe in SF. So here's calling out to all you bay area folk...help me out please. Anything around SF and a 15 mile radius of Santa Clara goes.

Yup and it was pretty decent. Finally got to eat a "big Mac"...I dont eat beef you see! And the Indian version was both affordable and tasted pretty good

1. Thums Up: Strongest cola ever. Its has a real spicy bite to it. It was a given that I'd always coke on it due to the strong fizz 2. Limca: has a very lime-lemony flavor with a tinge of calcium carbonate. 3. Maaza: pure mango juice. 4. Campa Cola: Now discontinued. It was the Indian cola after coke left India int he 50's. But were ran out of the Indian market after the re-entry of coke and Pepsi. I still think they had a product more suited for Indian tastebuds and as a accompliment to Indian food. 5. Tripp: the lime/lemony offering from Campa Cola 6. Gold Spot: the orange drink from Campa 7. Citra: launched by Coke in 97, it was the grapefruit soda and one of my absolute favorite All from India. But now Thums Up has been bought by Coca cola, and though still more spicy than coke it's considerable mellowed down. Limca and Gold Spot have also been bought by Coke but they are still good as they were. And maaza recipe doesnt have much to mess up.

Ones I am currently devouring: 1. Creen Chillies 2. Pachranga Mixed 3. Mom's Lime pickle: the way my mom makes it, she doesnt add any oil. And the resulting achar is this dark brown hunk that is a sure shot remedy for an upset stomach. Craving for: 1. Mango hing achar 2. Teet ka achar 3. Kamal-kakdi(lotus root) achar 4. Kathal (jackfruit) achar I remeber that when we were in India, mom tried an Eggplant Achar (doenst last long---need to finish in a few days) that Sanjeev Kapoor had on his show. Somehow we lost the recipe. Anyone have any idea what I am talkin about?

Thats a chikkoo/Chikoo/Chiku (in India). Oh it's been long since I have had this.

Those are mustard seeds after being tempered with oil and a few curry leaves

Any idea where to find fresh kathal/green jackfruit in the southern california area as well. Of course in Indian my mom used to have the vegetable vendor clean it for us, gotta figure out how to do it ourselves here.

Oh yeah I remeber that, mom still makes that sometimes. BTW if you live in a city with a 99 ranch market store that stock asian groceries, you might be able to find fresh banana flower and stem. I saw some in the souther california store in Monterey Park this last weekend. You can search for locations here: 99 Ranch Market

Kale Masale ki Aloo Chaat....nothing to beat that burning sensation when the chaat is topped by the spicy golgappa/pani puri pani.

My absolutely favorite mithai is the Indrani from Kaleva in Delhi

not a problem anchita. Infact they have something similar to that in most north-indian homes too, but for some reason I have no idea what it's called.

Here is a picture and article about the bonthi/bonti http://www.gastronomica.org/gastro/pages/sample1.2.html

The way I make koftas is using opo(lauki), I grate the opo and squeeze some of the juice out. Then I add a couple of tablespoons of besan, just enough to bind. For the gravy I just make a regulation onion. tomato masal gravy.

Do not miss eating "daal-baati", its a baked dumpling with lentils served on the side. A whole lot of clarified butter is pured on top. A regional speciality. Also try if possible "patra"

Ok to solve some of your problems. Here are some pics Chana whole Split chana dal without cover (in Northern India, when a dal is split and has not cover its called "DHULI" for example, masoor dal without cover is called laal massor, or dhuli masoor) I guess we just have to imaginge what the one with the cover looks like

I had cauliflower kheer once, and it was pretty decent

I know that there is a sweet called "Chhena Murki" but some people pronounce it as chhena murgi and it has nothing to do with a chicken at all.

Procedure for rotis: 1. Half cook them, make sure they are considerably soft. 2. Stack them up by sprinkling some water on top of each and if possible buy some parchment paper and put these in between the rotis. For a budget friendly solution, the pieces of paper can be reused. 3. if making them only for a week, do not freeze them, instead put the stack in a zip lock and just refridgerate them. 4. Take out desired number and either microwave them or put them in a toaster-oven. Microwave: as mentioned earlier, sprinkle some water and only microwave for 10 seconds, also make sure you dont heat a stack at one time (some will trun into sand papaer and the rest will be cold). Heat them in a single sheet. Toates oven: skip the water and heat for 1 minute. Often they will actually puff up in the oven (it's a thing of beauty when that happens). 5. ENJOY!

Finally found a curry leaf pant without dealing with shipping charges and also the worry of damage. In fact found two places within a 30 mile radius of me that sell the stuff. 1. Patel Store (714) 826-3960 2771 W Lincoln Ave Anaheim, CA 92801 2. San Gabriel Nursery & Florist 632 S. San Gabriel Boulevard, San Gabriel, CA 91776 STORE HOURS: Now open daily 7 days a week 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. PHONE: (626) 286-3782 and (626) 286-0787 -- FAX: (626) 286-0047 I bought it from the 2nd source simply because I went there first. Infact they have great varieties and are a huge nuirsery with knowledgeable staff. For the tulsi, I have decided to just get seeds from a website know as Seeds of India They seem to have every seed that my mom would like including hot Indian chillies, lauki, tauri and tinda. And they only charge a flat fee of $3 for shipping. A question for V.Gautam and lapageria: what would be the best time to plant the gourd seeds. I live in S.Cali and we dont really have severe winters, but do you think its still better to plant say in march? I am planning on planting gourd, eggplant, okra, peppers, and tulsi for now. All help is much appreciated.

Great place for mithais in souther California, its been years since i tried a Luki-Barfi Rasthal Vegetarian Cuisine 2751-2755 W Lincoln Ave Anaheim, CA Phone::(714)527-3800