Jenni

I am lacto-veggie but don't eat that much dairy. Mostly yoghurt, a small bit of milk (in tea) and very little cheese at all, mostly paneer. Ok, so I cook almost exclusively with ghee too but that is in small quantities and is more of a fat than a dairy product! I would encourage you to try using more pulses and less dairy. Have you ever cooked dal before? For this you need any kind of dal, which is a split bean or lentil. Common dals are moong, chana, toor, urad and masoor. These are respectively split moong beans, split kala chana (a small, dark Indian chickpea), split pigeon peas, split urad beans and split red lentils. Masoor dal is also sometimes called "Egyptian lentils" and seems to be commonly available even in areas without speciality Indian foods. These dals are usually skinless, but moong and urad dal are also used in their split but skin still on form. The advantage of dals are that they are quicker to cook than whole beans and easy to digest. Don't always need to soak either, unless you want a certain texture. You can also be very creative with them. Soak the dal for some time and cook with a minimum of water to make a dal dish where the individual grains are dry and retain their shape. Or just bung the dal in a pan and cook with lots of water to make a soupy dish. Use less water and get a creamy, comforting mash. You can add vegetables to dal or keep it plain. And seasoning possibilites are endless! Just cumin and hing alone (in a ghee or oil tadka) makes a very simple seasoning. But then you can use a complicated seasoning involving many ground spices and serveral tadkas of wet and dry seasonings (onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, fresh chillies, garam masala, mustard, curry leaves, panch pooran, fennel, fenugreek, amchoor....I can go on and on!). Most dals do use either turmeric, ginger or hing, or a combination of two or more of these, because of their digestive properties. Of course, dals are used in lots of other dishes too. One of the most interesting uses comes from South Indian cuisines. Many different regions in South India use a tsp or two of urad or channa dal fried in oil along with other spices (as in a tadka, though obviously every region in India has a different name for this technique depending on the local language) and then added to the dish. This adds a nice crunch and a nutty flavour. Other uses of dals are pancake-type things, breads, fried or steamed dumplings, various desserts, no-cook salads (the dals are soaked to make them softer and more digestable) and so on. Really beans and lentils are so underused in the West!

The liquid used to cook beans is often a murky colour, doesn't necessarily mean it is bad. But please wait for the advice of those more in the know! I don't want you to poison yourself...

Are muslin and cheesecloth the same thing? Because we use muslin. Primarily for making paneer, straining ghee, straining yoghurt, etc.

In my imagination your drink is also pink

Dumb question: Is your glass pink or is your drink pink? Or both?!

Stupid question, but you did use salt in the kale dish? I know that sounds really daft, but I've noticed that many people, when they try to cook in a new way sometimes forget to do routine things like add salt!

Grains get a pretty bad rap these days, what with carbs being unfashionable and so-called "primal" diets being fashionable. But remember that not everyone has health problems when they eat them, and many thrive on them. In fact, many rural diets in the world are based on larger amounts of grains and vegetables and smaller amounts of (or in some cases, no) meat.

I'm posting some examples of recent vegetarian meals (that will all be going as pictures in my new book ) to prove that vegetarian meals can be wonderful:

I'm a full time veggie, no eggs but I do eat milk products (like many South Asians and those of South Asian descent). IMO, many Western vegetarians eat either horribly healthy veggie food or horribly unhealthy veggie food (cheese and potatoes, as mentioned above!). Other cultures however have some amazing and utterly wonderful vegetarian foods, including of course, India. So do try out some good non-Western veggie dishes and not just jacket potatoes and pasta!

Maybe they just enjoy cooking and eating and food in general. Maybe they just enjoy doing reviews. That seems to me to be a more likely reason why they invest so much time in writing a food blog. Too bad they sometimes have different opinions from some eGulleters, but that's not a crime. FWIW, I don't see why everyone has to get so upset if someone posts a bad review of a restaurant. So what, they didn't like the place. If that's their opinion, they are entitled to share it with whoever they want, on a blog if it pleases them. I know there are a lot of people here in the restaurant business, so there is aprehension over the effect of bad reviews, but I'm all for free speech and don't think people should be stopped from saying they didn't like a restaurant (and why) just for fear that a couple less people will dine there this week if they do. Even if the review is poorly written and many disagree with it, doesn't mean they aren't entitled to express their opinion.

If you enjoy sprout-y things, why not sprout some beans and seeds instead? Much more versatile and delicious and perfectly healthy for you too. My usual method is the South Asian one - so shorter tails than some people do and always lightly cooked instead of raw. I recommend trying mung beans, moth beans and kala chana to start you off - moth sprout really quickly and are my favourites.

Curly kale - stirfry with garlic and chillies. Just a suggestion

Hmm...I'm pretty sure the instructions say not to use it totally dry...must check though (if i still have my instructions!)

^^^ No, it seems you are right - this is obviously genuinely a concern of pharmacists in the UK! Google finds many similar stories. Strange, obviously desi and Middle Eastern stores are not wise to this!

Hmm, have never had this before. It can be bought very easily in large quantities from Indian and Middle Eastern grocery stores in my area - and it's on display.

^^ That sounds awesome! Thanks for all the tips guys, I'm going to have a go at this soon.

I make my own Greek type yogurt. I make the yogurt with half and half - no straining needed to get that extra thick consistency. If you use heavy cream, you get what is an excellent (I think better) substitute for clotted cream. But cream has a totally different flavour, no? Wouldn't end up with the same yogurt-y taste I don't think? Curious to try. ETA: Btw one good use for greek yoghurt could be to make shrikhand. I usually strain my own yoghurt for this so I don't know if it will be thick enough, but it's worth a try! To the yoghurt, add a little saffron (real threads please not powder, grind it yourself in pestle and mortar with a pinch of sugar just before adding) and a little freshly ground cardamom seeds. Then add sugar to taste, should be nice and sweet. Perfect garnish is charoli seeds, but you could use roughly crushed pistachios if you cannot get those.

^^ I hope you do not mind me saying, but that is nothing like any bhel puri I have ever had! Sorry, that sounds harsh, I am sure it is still delicious. Bhel puri is one of those things that always seems to taste better when made by a street vendor. Restaurants do it badly for some reason, though YMMV. Also, it's made quite badly all over India, and well in it's natural home of Mumbai (and also Pune, and I'm sure in other nearby places in Maharashtra). Key thing: make it fresh!!! Don't make it and then go and make yourself a drink, comb your hair, file your tax return, etc. It must be eaten ASAP. That said, I have never made it seriously at home (only vague varients). As I said, the vendors must have some secret magical ingredient that makes it better - it's a popular theory that the grime and poor hygeine of street food somehow makes it better!

Hmm, think I heard soy milk does this in some hot drinks. Think you are supposed to add it to the cup first...? Not sure, but google brings up this thread on a vegan forum which has some potential answers/theories, and also this Q&A plus comments here. More results came up, tonnes actually, not sure how many are reliable but there you go. My personal recommendation would be that, unless you are unfortunate enough to have lactose intolerance/ allergies, don't use soy milk in coffee!

Moving back to talking specifically about greek yogurt, I must add that it's very good for cooking. I often strain yogurt to make it very thick when I'm going to cook it without adding any stabilisers (e.g. flour). Doesn't curdle as easily as unstrained.

You know those excruciatingly sour sweets (candy to you americans!) like Toxic Waste? Well has anyone here made anything similar at home (pref with minimal/no artifical flavourings)? Some of the guys at work really like them and I'm leaving my job soon so would like to make treats for everyone in the office. Basically they are a boiled sweet that really puckers your mouth with sourness! I still want them to be tasty though (so we may have to sacrifice some of the extreme sourness!). I would really appreciate some advice as I am a total beginner when it comes to sweets.

You should make the rice soft and lightly mash it. Some people mash it a lot. Don't oversalt, and make sure the yogurt is fresh and not sour. Many people (myself included) add some milk as well as yogurt to get the right taste. This is the traditional last course in a Tamil meal and I believe in some other Southie cuisines too.

^^^ Oh yes! Almost daily lunch food for me! But doesn't really need greek yogurt, just plain. Interestingly enough, yours looks quite dry? Also, what topping did you do? Usually we have curd rice at the end of a meal with pickle and poppadoms. I also make a version with chopped veg in the rice that I eat as a mini meal on it's own with pickles and poppadoms. Here's a pic of mine (with a delicious curd chilli on the top!)

And I have plenty more where that came from! Indian cuisine uses a lot of yogurt, we get through 2-3 kilos a week in our house.

Just strain regular yogurt. That's greek yogurt for you.