brucesw

I passed by today and the parking lot was full for the buffet, might not have been an empty seat in the house so maybe there's no worry about them going out of business. Stafford is a small bedroom community and there's probably not that big a population around during the week during the day when I've been in and been the only diner or one of only two tables occupied. They told me the palappam is made with rice flour, coconut and a little sugar. What's the difference in those others? They had told me the former breakfast menu is available on special order but I see on the take-out menu that's a minimum order of 25 people so I won't be getting to sample their appam and egg curry, puttu and kadala curry, idli with sambar and chutney, etc. And I see they also have chicken stew and beef stew for special order breakfast.

Yes, just not a lot of vegetarian on this particular menu. I love the palappam, which is what they call the rice pancakes on this menu. I've had all the dishes listed in post # 1 except the fish fry and karimeen fry, which I'm going to try next. I went to a Sunday buffet and sampled most of the dishes then also tried the Kerala Thali with 9 katoris plus rice and papad and also had the Kappa Fish Curry. I don't see the ishtu on the menu, unfortunately. They have added a cook/partner to do Northern Indian and Indian Chinese dishes since the former, particularly, is more well known. Business has apparently not been very good and they have dropped their breakfast hours. I hope I didn't discover them too late.

I had never heard of this one. There are a couple of Ethiopian restaurants in Houston, where I live, but hadn't noticed it on the menu. Or if I did, wasn't smart enough to order it. Nazareth Cafe on Chimney Rock has it on the menu; I had never noticed it either. I can't wholeheartedly recommend the place; it was my first Ethiopian experience and it blew me away. The vegetable combo included 11 or 12 wots instead of the usual 5 or 6 and they do have dishes on the menu that the other places don't. But I revisited a couple of months later after visiting both Sheba and Blue Nile with great expectations and I thought the place had gone downhill a great deal. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day or the cook was sick and someone else was filling in? It is also definitely the least appealing of the 3 physically.

Thanks, Jenni. I have been enjoying it; it is quite different from the southern vegetarian foods I was into a couple of months ago; there isn't much on the menu that is vegetarian though there is some. The restaurant is in Stafford, SW of Houston, and the town seems to be the epicenter of the expat community from Kerala. There is a caterer, Kerala Kitchen, a couple of grocers that feature foods from Kerala, an Indian Christian Church, and this place. Very nice fellows running it and very helpful but I worry that I bug them with too many questions! It is apparently the only restaurant in the Houston area serving this kind of food and there appear to be very few in the US at all. I was just curious as I came across the term Malayali in connection with the language, culture and people but never saw it used in connection with the cuisine per se. That's a great looking site, thanks.

I've been exploring the menu of a restaurant serving such dishes as Kappa Fish Curry, Beef Fry, Pork Fry and Fish Fry, Karimeen Fry, Duck Curry, Avial, Thoran, Palappam, Chammanthi, Chemmendi and of course Payasam. The menu just uses terms like Kerala spices or sauces or 'typical Kerala dish.' What is the correct terminology for this cuisine: Keralan, Keralese, Keralite or just cuisine of Kerala? Is the term Malayali appropriate here or is that a term denoting a wider or narrower range of dishes?

Satsuma (a mandarin) off the tree in my back yard. Nothing beats being able to walk out there when there's a chill in the air, pluck an orange and peel it (they're slip-skin and practically peel themselves) and start eating right way. In alternate years when my tree isn't bearing, I try to get down to a local produce farm a couple of times during the season and stock up on theirs. When they're out of season I go back and forth between navels and Valencias, whatever looks good at the market. I don't go out of my way looking for oranges but did get some blood oranges at Central Market last week. I would buy them more often but they're not carried by my neighborhood market. $1.29/lb, a very good price. I peel to eat unless I get one (or a whole bag full) that's too hard to peel, then I cut it in pieces and eat off the rind and usually buy the other variety at the store next time. Mostly my market carries only oranges from California. Occasionally I'll see and buy Texas oranges; they're supposed to be mostly for juicing but I prefer to peel and eat.

I've been visiting our Ethiopian restaurants over the last several months and last Friday I had my second visit to Blue Nile. The Doro Wat I had here on my first visit was excellent and they do the best injera, thin, spongy, and diaphanous, but I was a little disappointed in the vegetable combo. The Timatim Fitfit was fine and the Gomen and Shiro Wot were very tasty, interesting because those have been the ones I liked the least at other places, but otherwise everything seemed very bland. I was running a bunch of errands on Saturday and stopped off at El Punto Criollo, a Venezuelan cart, for a quick bite. I knew they did very good empanadas here but I tried the Patacones this time, the Venezuelan sandwich that substitutes mashed, fried plantain for bread. The carne mechada was perhaps the best I've had at our limited number of Venezuelan places but the plantains had soaked up a lot of grease and this was really heavy. Still, quite a bargain for just a buck. I neglected to get the name of the cheese and they didn't offer and I didn't remember to ask for the guasaca, which would have helped. They were advertising their hallacas in the window so I picked one up for later and steamed it the next day. This is the first time I've been able to get one of these - they're available for such a short time - and it was very good. Beef, chicken and pork, green olives, capers and raisins. I went back the next day and got several more for the freezer.

The restaurant is in a small bedroom community that is hardly on the map for dining options at all much less any of note. There is a small Nigerian restaurant nearby and I must admit, when I first saw the name, I guessed it was another African place! I was hoping it might be quite a find since it is so close. I will report if I go. I shall have to pay more attention to my fellow diners at these places and observe their eating to see if they've adopted the Western obsession for meats and vegetables over breads and rice. I was puzzled at Bhojan, when I first went, because they ply you with an endless supply of fresh, hot roti, more than I could ever possibly want, but under new management/ownership, they bring out only about a third as much and you have to ask if you want more. I always think that I am pestering the staff of these places with too many questions but perhaps I should be asking even more. As always your pointers and observations are appreciated - the adventure continues.

I never knew this existed until I was almost 40 and have made it only a couple of times, to see what the fuss is all about. I love the french fried onions and keep them around as a snack but I don't care for the casserole. I'm sure it was never on the holiday table when I was growing up; actually, can't remember for sure if there were any green vegetables involved in those big spreads.

gautaum, your insights are always welcome whether they be late or not. I have my eyes on a more upscale place that has opened near me. We have a couple of these type places but mostly Houston's style is small, hole-in-the-wall type places or the popular buffet type places.

Correction to the above: that was Navratnam Kurma, not curry. Actually, I think the way it was spelled on the buffet was Navrat nam Kurma, as three words. Anyway, 'Nine Gems,' although neither time I've had it could I identify 9 veggies, nor were there any nuts or raisins as some recipes suggest there should be.

I had read the Wiki article on chaas, yes, but not the one on buttermilk. The only time I've seen butter being made was years ago, as a young child, on an aunt's farm. I recall only the churn, not anything of the process or product. I did reason that if the curds of butter that formed were skimmed off, what was left would be pretty thick, on the verge of curdling, but I can see now just the opposite is the case. I have had the Persian dogh - carbonated - and do not like it. I have been enjoying yogurt drinks since the 1970s when I discovered a recipe for borani in a NYT cookbook and carbonated dogh is the only one I don't like! However, I've had the dogh at an Afghan restaurant here, made with their home-made yogurt and not carbonated, and it was the best yogurt drink I've ever had. I stopped off at Bhojan today to pick up a quick tiffin to go; I had never done this and I wanted to see what I would get. I also wanted to get their version of chaas and their kachoris (they have lilva, moong dal and dried fruit on the menu). I got two vegetables, rice, a dal and 4 roti, and ordered the chaas extra. They had the lilva kachori on the buffet and when I asked about the other two the server just indicated that's all they have so I took two of them as extras also. The Navratnam curry was excellent. I've had this once before here. Likewise the Oondiyu; the first time I had this I couldn't figure out the dumplings but read up on them later. This time there was only one dumpling but it was much larger. The dal was Toover dal according to the sign on the buffet - a very soupy, deep red with virtually no solid matter. I would have assumed it was a version of rasam had it not been labeled. It was a very big portion of chaas, close to 2 cups, thicker than what I had at Krishna. At first sip, I thought they had just given me a mildly salted lassi but later concluded not. However, I would guess this one was made just by watering down yogurt. I was half way through it before I realized there was some masala added that had all settled to the bottom of the cup. I need to get some of those metal tumblers to drink this out of. The chaas at Krishna was much better. So now I have had the type of kachori ordinary Indians eat! This was slightly smaller than a ping pong ball, $.50 each. Probably a good thing these aren't readily available as I'd probably eat too many of them.

Not sure just what you're looking for but MexGrocer.com has pulp pieces. They have a few other quince products but not the whole fruit.

I hadn't thought of that with regard to the mustard seeds. I had read chaas was called the Indian version of buttermilk; I expected something much thicker. I read it was milk, yogurt, malai; it would be a little disappointing to know all they did was water down yogurt but on the other hand it was very tasty nevertheless and I'll be able to make it at home very easily. I see it's also on the menu at Bhojan; I will look forward to trying it next time I visit there. Salt lassis I find vary quite a bit from shop to shop and sometimes have so much salt as to be barely potable, sometimes so little as to be barely detectable. The other beverage I've had at Krishna Chaat that I've never had before was Masala Lemon Sharbahat, which I guess is their spelling of what I find in Wiki as Sharbat, made from lemon leaves or flowers rather than the fruit itself. It was okay but I wasn't as taken by it as the chaas.

Thanks for all the explication and the pictures. In my experience, rasam has been a thin, broth-like soup with very little solid particles while sambar has been thicker, almost gravy like, with large enough pieces to qualify as a stew in some cases. This was mid-way between the two in texture and amount of solids and waaaaaay more sour than any rasam I have ever had, hence I thought perhaps something different. But I will accept your explanation - just this place's recipe, I guess. Will take some getting used to if I return. Aha! I have had drumstick, first there were some pieces across the vada in the sambar vada I had at Krishna Chaat. It wound up on the edge of my plate because I couldn't figure out what to do with it. And I believe there was a piece in the rasam at Shiv Sagar. Next time I'll know better. Great picture, better than any I came up with in my search. Black mustard was one of my first guesses at the seeds in the yogurt but I don't have that spice (nor black cardamom) but did taste the brown mustard seeds I have at home and thought the taste was closer to the cardamom I have. Visually, yes, looks more like the black mustard. Thanks again. I went back to Krishna today and had one of their combo meals and it included their version of payasam with vermicelli; there was so much vermicelli in it it could have been listed as a pasta dish, unlike the sample at SS which couldn't have had more than 8 or 10 strands of vermicelli in the cup (katori I believe). I was expecting something more like the Krishna version so just wondered for sure what I got at SS. Now I know. I have had kheer, mostly at Pakistani restaurants, which is so thick as to be forkable, never any as thin and fluid as these two samples, so just wondered about that too. It is listed as payasam on the menu at Shri Balaji Bhavan, not on the menu at either Shiv Sagar or Krishna Chaat so just something they include on a thali/combo plate. At Krishna today I had the chaas, a first time experience, and loved it, a delightful, refreshing drink. I do like to know the correct terminology of the new foods I encounter and I am very grateful for you taking the time to enlighten me.

I think I've got it but won't know for sure until I experience one of these ORDINARY kachoris! Went to another place today, Shiv Sagar, another vegetarian place in Little India; they had a raj kachori on the menu but I passed on that. My first visit, went for the lunch special thali - 6 items plus rice, paps and puris. The soup was incredibly sour, made me choke, didn't finish it. May have had in it what you have referred to on other threads as drumstick - not sure if I know what that is. A vegetable side which had broccoli (very overcooked) and peas (not overcooked). I don't think I've ever had broccoli at an Indian restaurant. Yogurt (soupy) had black seeds in it, not sure what but perhaps black cardamom, which I've never had before. The sweet was different, too, perhaps my first experience of kheer made with vermicelli instead of rice? Seemed to be some very thin, almost non-existent vermicelli, but not much. It was very sweet and thin enough to be consumed through a straw. There is no kheer on their a la carte menu but they could have made things for the thali not available a la carte. The only other dessert on their menu which I thought it might be was srikhand which I've also never had before but from what I learn online that is more of a solid than a liquid? Not bad food, spicier overall than Shri Balaji or Udipi but not as well-prepared, I thought. Still, some new items to try. I'm becoming quite the vegetarian.

Thanks for that. Easy to see how they can get confused and the lines blurred. I have had Vada Pav, the first one I had at Bansuri almost 2 years ago now, Mehdu Vada, Masala Vada, Sambar Vada and the ones at New India; I will be looking for other vadas. I don't know how many snack shops there are like Krishna Chaat; I have assumed they specialized in those mixes with sev, nuts, papri, etc., which I try to avoid having around, so I haven't been to any others. I will have to see what else I can find. I looked at the menu for Bhojan and I see they have Dried Fruit, Lilva, and Moong Dal kachoris so I will have to check them out.

Okay, you were correct. I finally found something on Sugian - a Tamil Nadu sweet ball with coconut and jaggery. Scroll about a quarter of the way down the page.. Wow, did I ever miss that one. Like I said, I have a lot to learn. I think I'm missing the coconut gene - I have trouble identifying it.

Whoops, sorry my reference was confusing. I meant the 'this' in the second sentence to refer only to the Sugian on the left. The others are labeled by the store as Parippu Vada (2 of them), I understand these are made with pigeon pea flour, and Uzhunnu Vada which appears to be another name for what I have encountered elsewhere as Mehdu Vada, translated by Udipi Cafe on their menu as 'lentil donut.' The have had trays labeled bonda before but they were always sold out so I haven't had one but I guess that means the Sugian is not bonda. In my experience, pakora have always been rather flat, not globular like the sugian and had just one ingredient such as onion, chili pepper, eggplant whereas the sugian had a couple of pulses, onion, I tasted potato I think though it wasn't visually apparent. I should have taken a picture of the interior I guess! Another thing I happened to think of is this store carries some goods I associate with the West Indies rather than India - tins of callaloo, breadfruit and Exeter corned beef, Mauby. Maybe I should be looking under West Indian snacks. EDIT: but now another question - what is the difference between a pakora and a kachori?

I appreciate the input from both of you and I am re-reading v. gautam to make sure I understand (but I hope there isn't a test - lol). So the Khasta kachori of Krishna Chaat and the Pyarelal of Shri Balaji are varieties of Raj kachoris? These are the snacks from the supermarket (yes they were quite greasy) with the Sugian on the left. I'm guessing this would be a variety of the non-raj type kachori? If so, the only one I have encountered so far but I am hoping to find more.

I wanted to avoid the crowds at Shri Balaji on the weekends so I went down the street yesterday to Krishna Chaat House, next door to and co-owned with Udipi Cafe; it's a mostly unheralded place and I had never been. They have quite an extensive menu but I was mostly interested in the snack items as I am just getting into these things. I tried the Sambar Vada which turned out to be 2 mehdu vadas in sambar, turning into a sort of dumpling. It was a comfort food like dish for me although the sambar was not much to my liking (over-cooked veggies). But I saw they had a Khasta Kachori on the menu and went back today to try that. Yes, from what I had read online I gathered that many if not most kachori are these bite-sized snacks rather than the plate-sized version at SBB (I tried to pick that one up but didn't get very far off the plate). The snack size is what I expected but I got another one only slightly smaller than the Pyarelal, maybe 4" vs 4.5" but oh, it was good. Filled with a layer of potato on the bottom, then channa in a curry paste, dressed with chopped tomato and onion, drizzled with yogurt; the two curries were mixed in there, too and then there were chopped coriander leaves and sev. It was a festival for the eyes and the mouth and more substantial than the one at SBB. Now I have an obsession to find these kachoris wherever I can! I went down to an Indian grocery in Stafford, near me, afterward to do some browsing and a little shopping. I need to familiarize myself with all these pulses so I can identify them when I encounter them. They had their snack table loaded down so, even though I didn't need anything else to eat (I have a very small appetite) I bought some more vadas - parippu, which I like better than the masala vada because it's crispy-crunchy and I like the nutty taste, Uzhunnu and one I'd never seen before, Sugian, a plum-sized fried treat. Now I can't find anything at all about that one on line. It was slightly sweet and had (bear with me on these names) moong (small green peas), urad (small black peas) and fenugreek plus potato that I could identify. I really have a thing now for these vadas and other snacks as they fit my appetite better than a typical restaurant whole meal and they are so tasty.

Thank you for all your helpful observations. So you're saying that was not a puri that the kachori was served in? I assumed it was. Now I have never been to India so I'm afraid I can't compare our places here; I'm not really sure how big the community of ex-pats is, either. I can't recall that I've ever seen much commentary on the local boards and review sites comparing what is here by the ex-pat community, either. I'm sure there are more than a dozen Indian eateries in Little India plus grocery stores, jewelery stores, and sari places. There are also several Pakistani places, several Persian, one Afghan and several other Middle Eastern (plus one Sonic and one taco truck!) but I don't think there is much residential community around there so I'm not sure why that concentration of businesses developed. There are more than a half-dozen Pakistani eateries out near me, further out, and even further out on the far west side another concentration of Indo-Pak businesses.

I visited again and had the Pyarelal Kachori. This is my first kachori and I was really pleased. I haven't been able to find out anything about this one online; some references to it are possessive (Pyarelal's kachori). There was potato, tomato, coriander leaf, a peanut or two, a small pea I'm not familiar with, and I guess that's puffed rice? (it was a little chewy). The filling was chilled and very spicy as well as sweet. I will be on the lookout for other kachoris now. Also had an order of Masala Vada, very spicy and kind of greasy. I love Mehdu Vadas which I became addicted to at Udipi Cafe down the street but haven't tried here. Also have had the parippu vada which I came across at New India Supermarket down in Stafford; I liked both of them better than the Masala Vada. They have the Mehdu here so I'll have to try it.

I tried the new Moroccan place, Casablanca Couscous and Grill, on Richmond where Miguelito’s Venezuelan used to be, across from Pete’s Fine Meats. I’ve been watching for it to open but it slipped out of my mind and the next thing I know, it’s being reviewed in the Chron. It’s a low priced alternative to Saffron; the menu is small and not very helpful as far as explaining the offerings. There are I think 4 couscous, a similar number of tagines and some grilled offerings, a salad, a sandwich, a couple of desserts, tea and coffee and sodas. I went for the Chicken Tagine with golden raisins and onions. There are no sides on the menu and this comes just with some warmed up I think store-bought pita wedges. This was very good but like Alison Cook in the Chron, I was wanting a side of something to break up the monotony. Still, it was a very reasonable price. Cook wrote pretty much a rave review and local noted food explorer Jay Francis has also weighed-in, saying this is already on his list of 10 places to take visitors to Houston to show off our diverse dining scene. I wasn’t anywhere near as taken with it as the two of them but they’ve both sampled several dishes and this is the only time I’ve been. I’m thinking it would be a good idea to always go with someone so you could share dishes and get a little variety in the meal. They have no website, no menus to go, not even business cards yet. While I was having my meal the cook/owner was outside working on the landscaping; he is apparently also the only person who can operate the cash register. This is a real pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps place but the food is very promising.

Yes it was soupy, not a puree. I was thinking as I was eating it 'this is an Indian bean soup.' I may have introduced some confusion here with my imprecise use of the terminology but these were whole, not split so I guess Usal pav is a good bet? My apologies; I still have a lot to learn.