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sorry - mistake

You deserve it, Percy! *Here is a deadly recipe for the pani for Pani-puri! Take a pingpong ball-sized lump of tamarind (imli), crush and soak in a little cold water. Grind to medium consistency the following: 3/4 cup chopped washed and trimmed mint leaves 1/4 cup chopped washed and trimmed coriander leaves 3-6 chopped green chillies 1/2 inch peeled ginger, chopped and add to 7 1/4 cups cold water with salt to taste. Now grind finely the following: 3 cloves 11 whole black peppercorns 1 inch piece of cinnamon and add to the water. Extract tamarind juice and add to the spiced water. Mix in: 1 teaspoon black salt 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp roasted jeera powder 1/2 tsp black pepper powder Store in fridge. Serve chilled with puris, fillings and chutneys. If in season use raw green mango instead of tamarind. *Sweet-n-Sour Chutney 250 grams dates 100-150 grams jaggery shavings 50 grams tamarind (imli) Soak dates and tamarind in warm water. Remove seeds. Crush in blender and strain. Add salt, 1 tsp red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp roasted jeera powder OR dhania powder to taste. *Green Chutney 12-15 green chillies 10-15 gatthias (those fried besan strips) or roasted channa A few sprigs of coriander leaves, washed and chopped 8 leaves mint a tiny piece of peeled ginger Mix all in grinder. Add salt to taste and juice of a lemon. *Hot Red Chilli-Garlic Chutney 10 red chillies - Put in a cup of boiling water. Remove when soft and seed. Grind with 4-5 garlic cloves, a little water and salt to taste.

looks like burfi

Percyn, everone drools over your photographs of food. In Bombay we call the chaat in the second photograph Dahi Batata Puri, puris stuffed with boiled batata ie potato with red chilli powder and salt, generous scoops of whipped dahi ie yogurt poured on them, scattered with salt-red chilli powder- roasted jeera powder, and boiled mung beansprouts scattered over them with chopped coriander leaves, then offered with sweet-n-sour date-tamarind chutney and hot green chilli-coriander leaf chutney on the side. Then we have the Sev Dahi Batata Puri, which is the same thing with fried fine gramflour vermicelli ie sev sprinkled on top, giving a different texture and taste. Then we have the Dahi Pakodi Puri, using small dal fritters or vadas previously softened in hot water for stuffing the puris instead of potato, everything else being the same. Then we have the Sev Batata Puri, which is like Sev Dahi Batata Puri without the dahi or yogurt, and made with the crisp flat puris used in Bhel- not the puffed puris. Here we have finely chopped onion and/or tomato and/or green chillies also scattered on top if you wish, and finely chopped raw green mango in season. The wonderful Pani Puri is assembled with puffed puris, boiled mung beansprouts(a Bombay thing) and/or boiled channa, date-tamarind chutney, and a chilli-hot green spicy liquid which is the pani. Make a hole in the puri, stuff with sprouts, dip in pani and put in your eager mouth. Some panipuri wallas use soft boondis for stuffing, some people prefer yellow peas ragra or ghugni for stuffing. In Calcutta they like spiced boiled potato in their Phoochkas as they call them. In Delhi they have potato and/or boondis in their Gol Guppas. My friends and I always start with the Pani Puris, then on to the Dahi Batata Puris, back to more Pani Puris. Sometimes we have Sev Batata Puris and Bhel instead of Dahi Batata Puris. And it always ends with gorgeous Kulfis! Malai, kesar(saffron), pistachio, rose, coconut, or a mixture of these melting creamy chilled confections with falooda. Mmmmm! This is Bombay.

If you want to know more about Badshah's and their falooda restaurants, please go to http://www.uppercrustindia.com/22crust/twe...o/eatingout.htm and http://www.campus18.com/Blogs/BlogDetail.a...tID=1603&ID=183 Fareshtah Dinshaw says, "One of the staples of Jamshedi Navroze is faluda . In ancient Iran, faluda was more slush-like, made with fresh mountain snow, rose water and sugar syrup, but over time the beverage has adapted to the cuisine of the place where Iranians settled. Parsi-Zarathushtrians from India recognize it as a milk beverage made with glass noodles and takhamaria seeds, and topped with ice-cream. " Wikipedia says, " Falooda is thought to be an adaption of the Persian dessert faloodeh and was brought to the surrounding Middle Eastern countries and South Asia by Muslim travellers and merchants. "Falooda is a popular summer drink throughout North India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Middle East countries and is readily available in hotels and on beach stalls. A variant is falooda kulfi, where falooda and kulfi are served together with a syrup. It is very similar to the Thai drink nam manglak, which is made from basil seeds mixed with sugar, water, and rose water. The Iraqi Kurds also have their own version; but made with thicker vermicelli." A different version of falooda is to be had in Taiwan, where they serve "Bing"- a variety of candied beans and dry fruits with syrup over shaved ice. You can add evaporated milk too. Excellent. In the Philippines they give you "Halo-halo" with pineapple and other fruits with evaporated milk and syrup over shaved ice. In Malaysia as well, but I forget what it is called! Colourful and slurpy! Locally (Bay Area) in the Chinese market, you used to get "Bing." Nowadays the rage is all tapioca balls in different flavoured syrups. I must say the honeydew and the taro flavours are delicious. You get the "Bing" in a drink at some Vietnamese restaurants. My children love it.