Geeta

I normally wash the curds in plenty of water before i tie it in cheesecloth and weigh it down..

Olives Mac & Cheese Black Coffee (Love the aroma though)

Panjiri is term used for burfi in the northern states of India. Katli is also a similarly used. Smita, I roughly know what ingredients are used Sonth (Dry ginger powder), Ajwain, Jeera, Gondh (Gum), Coriander seed Gud (Jaggery), Cashew, Almond, Coconut, and Ghee I believe Gud and dry fruits are added to mask the strong taste of soonth and ajwain, Some times atta (Wheat flour) is added as well.

I think that paneer was used mainly in Punjabi and mughlai cuisine. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, paneer was never a traditional ingredient in our household. It was mostly a fancy ingredient that was used when entertaining on special occasions. I searched the web and came across FAO (UN) website which is quite comprehensive. http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t0251e/T0251E05.htm#ch7.5.1 http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t0251e/T0251E00.htm#TOC

Lucky you, Geeta! What were the other kids eating that your mom wasn't packing in your lunchbox? ← Well my lunch box was mostly Roti/Parantha and Vegetable along with some salad. My mom's parantha's were(are) so good, soft and they always had layers. My class mates depending on part of the country they were from (or sometimes day of the week or if it's a special day (b'day, festival etc)), their lunch boxes had Idli, Dosa, Poha, Sabudana kichdi, Various Preparation of rice, different types of veggies with Roti/Parantha, bread and jam, bread rolls, kichidi with pickle. One person normally claimed another person's luch box, though everyone got a taste of what other ate. All my friends were vegans atleast in their lunch box, so we all had a great time. Oh those were the days...

Growing up grass was always greener on the otherside. In school we always ate lunch box of the person from another part of the country. However i think the cuisine that you grow up with is what you cannot live without. i think that being vegan or not, ability to tolerate hot (spicy stuff) etc determines how much of the other cuisine is adopted apart from your own. I am North Indian Monday to Friday and over the weekend it's another part of the country (or world)

um..um....umm and some ghee on it HEAVEN

Hi Deliad, I checked a pack of unsalted sweet cream butter and it has no sodium. So i guess the milk solid would be unsalted as well. Perhaps that's a memory from before when i may have used the salted kind. Thanks for questioning. BTW i donot touch the butter when making ghee so may be the granules are dependent on temperature or some other factor.

Thanks deliad, I too make ghee from Sweet cream butter. But the ghee is quite smooth as opposed to having granules (danas). My mom always made ghee from Milk malai and hers always was danedar. I was hoping to achieve the same using sweet cream butter. Great tip for paranthas, will try it next time. Another use of the milk solids is in any gravy based dish. It enhances the flavor making it nuttier. Please adjust the salt as the solids are salty. From Indianhospitality.com GHEE Clarified butter made by boiling pure, white butter until the clear fat separates. Normally, the fat soldifies into granules, called 'danedar' (seeded) ghee in the north. If stirred continuously while boiling, the ghee becomes a smoother solid, which is considered less flavourful than danedar ghee. It is 'neyi' in the south, 'thoop' in the west. A dollop of pure ghee (from butter) is usually added to paranthas , khichdi(a rice and lentil dish), rice and upama(a porridge made from cream of wheat)or halwa. In the Panjab, growing children, pregnant women and new mothers are almost medicinally closed with ghee for building strength.

Does anyone know if it's possible to get danedaar ghee from Sweet cream butter. If yes, PLEASE share how.

Pickles are a important part of Indian life. Pickle making is once a year activity (different times for different types of pickle), so salt and oil are an important part of preservation. I have not see any home made pickle using any commercially available preservatives. The spices added to the pickle have digestive properties. Some type of Pickles are made with lesser amount of oil and salt but have a short shelf life and so not available commercially. The only long shelf life pickle i know of that is made with less salt is a variety where the mango is first dried and then pickled (eliminating the moisture from the mango aids in preservation). Lot depends on whether u eat the pickle as a pickle (sparingly) or as a side dish But i think pickles go best with simple non-spicy food. If the meal is spicy and rich, you really don't need pickle. A suggestion would be to pick the veggie from the pickle and leave out the masala. The veggie (mango,lemon or carrot whatever) has all the flavors meant for the pickle.This way you can cut down on salt. If you have a bottle of pickle at home, you may try spreading the leftout masala on toast, with or without butter and see if you like it.

I live on the other side of potomac - MD :-) You are right, for whatever reason (soil, water or air) the veggies taste lot different (read better) in India, though ogranic ones here are close I am enjoying reading your blog. Even though i am an vegetarian (indian kind) i go over each and everypost. U have all of us involved. Thanks.

Hi Monica, Thanks for giving us an insight into your life. Your article "The Color of your dreams' is very inspiring. I think you are very right when you say 'Creating your personal vision is not just a creative exercise, but an exercise in commitment to yourself' BTW i live in DC area as well Regarding getting okra, i get good okra almost anytime of the year at Superfresh, Han ah reum and local indian market. Ours is a family are okra hogs and everyone particularly like the stuffed bhindi which i make a lot of. (I always ask for new batch of okra as i always get 2-3 pounds. I think they all remember me as the okra lady) Also thanks a lot for pointing us to MDH kasuri methi. Will buy and try. The methi was amazingly green for a dried methi. Normally i make alu, palak and dried methi. The palak provides the bulk and the dried methi flavor turns the palak into methi. Left over is great for stuffed paranthas.

Hi all, I have been reading eG for quite some time now. I have become a participating member yesterday. I have chosen this post as haldi is considered auspicious in Indian households. I feel the texture of any DAL is smoother if haldi and salt are use while boiling. Also growing up my mom always said that a dal should always be cooked with Haldi and salt as it's auspicious (infact if someone dies in the family then for 13 days, the food is cooked without haldi in all the relatives' kitchens) Personally, i think that due to it's antiseptic properties and fact that indian food is spicy, Haldi is used at every meal for protecting/repairing the alimentary tract.