BettyK

Yes, I think "slight simmer" is very important here. We have to remember that we don't all cook on gas. I've been misled a few times with recipes that say "reduce to lowest setting". Took me a while to figure out that this does not apply to an electric stove

That sliced pork belly has got to be the best food in the world, if well prepared, of course. Can you tell I have some hakka blood running through my veins? Unfortunately I never paid attention when my mam prepared this (100 times) or anything else for that matter. Next time I go home I promise myself to watch her carefully and take notes. Now, who said that hakka was low class? (just kidding, I don't give a hoot)

BettyK It took me, too, at least that long but that was largely because I had no garam masala and had to make that first. Now, however, I have a stash of the garam masala and I am sure I could put together the marinade in a matter of minutes. Further, I also ground extra of the other spices because I knew I would soon repeat the recipe and they should not get too stale in a week. I think we newbies are handicapped because we simply don't have all the spices ready and one who cooks Indian frequently, probably does. The dish was so good and the learning experience so valuable that I now consider it "Continuing Ed." but in my own kitchen. I hope this sounds empathetic and is not in any way misconstrued as so many comments can be! Hi nolongerlurking Thanks for your support and welcome to the board. Glad you're enjoying Indian cooking. BTW, don't worry about your husband, I'm sure he will beg to taste whatever you're making. My DH never had Indian food until we got married. Now he gets all raved up as soon as I mention curry.

I am sorry the marinade took you so much time to prepare. What made it so cumbersome? I have easy and quick recipes. In fact I did several for Food & Wine magazine that had to be cooked within 45minutes. Let me know and I can send you those. I have always enjoyed your posts. And I love your passion for Indian cooking. It comes out through your posts. Keep sharing more of your experiences. And I shall keep you in mind when testing the next marinade. Again, sorry it took so long to make. Oh no, please don't get me wrong. I don't want quick and easy...I want tasty Truly, I don't mind the hard work, as long as I get good results I should have mentioned that I'm a bit slow in the kitchen so that might explain the 2 hours As 'nolongerlurking' mentioned, we newbies take longer to prepare these dishes as we don't have all the spices ready to go and we are still feeling our way through all this. But I don't mind. I enjoy it.

I can think of three main reasons... First, I like diversity. I grew up eating Chinese, Indian, Creole, French, Italian and Spanish. I just cannot see myself eating one type of cuisine for more that a week or two. Now that I'm married I've added Greek, Thai and Mexican to my repertoire. Second, I find Indian cooking very time consuming. Suvir, it took me over 2 hours to prepare your Tandoori marinade tonight. Wow LOL. I don't mind once in a while and I know it's going to be fantastic. Indian cooking is a bit of a special treat in our home. Third, is the availability of fresh herbs in my area. If a recipe asks for fresh coriander or curry leaves and I don't have any, I might as well not do it.

I guess I'll have to add my 2 cents here. Suvir's chicken korma is the best! Can't wait for your cookbook, Suvir.

Fat Guy, What brand are knives 11 and 12? Could you please comment on them. I'm used to my old Chicago Cutlery which is without bolster. I find the CC easier to sharpen than the Wusthof which is with bolster. In fact I haven't even tried to use the Wusthof as I'm afraid to ruin it.

Suvir, I live in the prairies. What are the problem ingredients? Hmm too many to mention. Maybe I should start with what IS available OK, let's see...no eggplant, no long beans, no green beans, no fresh chilies, no karhi leaves, no okra, no zucchini. I can go on and on. Forget about fropical fruits apart from the rare mango and avocado which are not even of good quality. My main problem is the lack of fresh herbs though. Now, Suvir, are you going to accomodate for all this in your new cookbook? BettyK

Suvir, I love the Betty Crocker book. It is well written and lots of nice pictures. His recipes look quite authentic with a few adaptations. What do you think? Haven't made too many dishes from it yet. I made the gulab jamun and the mint raita. Just took the book out. I really should try using this book more. My problem is availability of fresh herbs in my area. It is a real treat when i can buy fresh mint and cilantro. Anyway, if you buy The Turmeric Trail, please let me know what you think.

While waiting for Suvir's cookbook.... I have Betty Crocker's Indian Home cooking by the same author. Was wondering if any of you have seen his new book. and what do you think?

Most recipes say you must pour the oil in a steady stream and whisk continuously, many saying that getting a friend to help will ensure it all works out, i.e one pours slowy the others whisks. Well, maybe. I have certainly helped to make hollandaise using this method, but for mayonnaise I have never found it necessary. Just dribble a bit in, give it a whisk, a little more, whisk some more and increase the amount as you go. Maybe it was the "continuous" thing that has messed you up in the past? I agree with Andy. Don't know why all recipes say to pour in a steady stream. It just doesn't work for me. At one time I even had a food processor with a little hole in the "pusher". I thought it would work like a dream but it was a total disaster. The oil was pouring much faster than needed. Anyway, after a few failures, I finally realised that I had to pour the oil as slow as possible. So now I use a little teaspoon and I watch that the mayonnaise has absorbed the oil before I add more. (very important). Teaspoon by teaspoon. Haven't had any failure since I use this technique. Of course all ingredients must be at room temperature.

How about docking the dough? I read this on another website but haven't tried it yet. Apparently it helps prevent large air bubbles from forming in the crust (which is exactly what happened to me last time). I agree with Rhea S about resting the dough overnight in the refregerator. I found the dough a lot easier to handle.

Hi Allana, Welcome! I'm new here too I think you have the answer...if nothing works, try mineral water. Have you tried the pressure cooker? I use mine all the time. :

I love eating with my hands but I'm not very good at it. I remember being invited to an Indian wedding and everybody was eating with their hands. . I felt very embarassed to eat in a banana leaf with a fork. I knew I was missing something but I just coudn't do it. I can manage a biryani or anything dry such as fried chicken or pizza. Also, if I'm eating seafood (specially crabs) at home I will use my hands to suck all the juice LOL. That's about it.

Nothing like ghee made from cows milk. I remember my mam used to make that way back when we had fresh milk delivered to our door. Then she would make some paratha with that ghee - heaven! Suvir, do you use ghee when making paratha? I bought some vegetable ghee - tasteless Might be better off using clarified butter.

Here's a link to The Tandoor Site Please report back when you're done.(with pictures of course) :

...brine pork chops with all its fat using lots of sugar (1/2 C) and attempt to fry them in a skillet. Almost burnt the house down Twice is enough. Now off on the grill it goes or under the broiler

What kind of rice do you use to make kheer? I'm preparing my shopping list. Thanks

Thanks, Suvir. What's the Indian name for this dish?

Suvir, Many thanks for the recipes. Will report as soon as give it a try. Need to go buy basmati first :-) Betty

Suvir, Would really appreciate if you could PM me your Chicken Biryani. Will definitely use basmati, promise Thanks also for sharing the Sweet Pepper Biryani. BTW, love your website. So, when is your cookbook coming out? Cheers Betty

Suvir, Here's the recipe I used. Biryani This method is the layering method. It involves 2 stages. Stage 1 Cooking the meat Stage 2 Layering the meat with rice 1 onion, peeled and chopped 5 Tbsp ghee or 5 Tbsp salad or olive oil 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp garlic paste 10 oz lean lamb, cut into cubes (I used 12 chicken drumsticks) 1 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp ground cumin 2/3 cup yogurt 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp saffron 1 Tbsp milk 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced Salad or olive oil for deep frying 2 cups Basmati rice (used long grain) 1 inch cinnmaon stick 6 cloves 1 tsp black cumin seed 1 bay leaf 6 small cardamoms 2 tsp salt 2 sprigs fresh green coriander leaves, chopped 2-3 green chilies, chopped Juice of 1 lemon Fry chopped onion in ghee or oil, in a large pan, until light brown. Add ginger and garlic pastes and fry for another 1/2 minute. Add meat and coriander, chili, turmeric and cumin powder. Add yogurt and salt. Mix well and cook with lid on for 10-15 mins until dry. Add 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and cook for 8-10 mins, on low heat, until meat is tender and there is about 1/2 cup gravy left. For rice Dissolve saffron in milk. Deep fry sliced onion in oil until crisp and brown, and drain on kitchen paper. Wash rice in 4-5 changes of water. Drain and put into a pan. Add plenty of water and the cinnamon, cloves, black cumin, bay leaf and cardamoms. Add salt and bring to boil. Cook until rice is nearly done. (The rice should increase in size but still have a hard center). Drain well, leaving whole spices in the rice; divide rice in two. Line the saucepan base with half the rice, and top with the drained cooked meat, saving the sauce. sprinkle with half the fried onion, half the fresh coriander and chili. Cover with the remaining rice. Sprinkle with remaining fried onion, chili and coriander. Sprinkle with lemon juice and saffron milk. Pour the meat gravy all round. Make a few holes in the rice with the handle of a spoon for steam to rise. Cover and cook on gentle heat for 4-5 mins. Mix before serving. Anything wrong with this recipe? Too much water, hey? My problem with any kind of rice dishes is that I can never get the proportion of water to rice right. I can only make white rice successfully using a rice cooker. Cheers, Betty

Hi Caped Chef and Suvir, Thanks, I've looked at the chicken thread but there was nothing close to what I'm looking for. However, I did find a recipe for chicken cutlets by Madhur Jaffrey. It looks like it could fit the bill but I was wondering if there shouldn't be other spices that goes into this recipe. Please take a look at this and tell me what you think. Indian Cutlets Thanks, Betty

Hi Suvir What do you think of Tilda? Is it a good basmati? We usually eat Jasmine rice but I like basmati for Indian dishes. I'd like to buy some basmati to make biryani. I think there is no other substitute for this dish, right? Any secret to avoid making a pudding? My first and last biryani was a total disaster. I probably need to invest in a good size Dutch oven too.