Monica Bhide

I am delighted you decided to come!

Lucy - I did a short piece on curry leaves - you can find the piece and the discussion on it here in the India forum.

Nicely done malawry - and you got it all correct. (no portable Tandoor though.. he did it all on the griddle.) And thanks for not revealing my icebreaker. I am speaking at the French Embassy in a few weeks, on Indian cooking, and plan on using the same one Nicely done.. and damn I am hungry again looking at all the pics!

Good morning! I just wanted to take a moment to that Chef Sudhir for an OUTSTANDING meal last night. The restaurant really outdid themselves... and for that we are all thankful! I am going to post pics of people in random order . malawry is going to do the food pics. My lovely digital camera ran out of memory at the last minute. I have to say I specially enjoyed the onion fritters and the chicken.. YUM And ofcourse many thanks to Don Rockwell for the round of drinks. Very gracious of you Don -- but next time I hope you will come in person And finally - Cheers to DonRocks! At last count we had 48 people!

Dr Jones... I am really looking forward to this one

Tell us more about the buttermilk.. please

In anticipation of the Indian Street food dinner eG is hosting in Washington DC, I made Dahi Wadas... here are some shots. The deep fried wadas are soaked in water and then drenched in seasoned yogurt. Tamarind chutney, crushed red pepper, and roughly pounded toasted cumin seeds top it off.... How do you make yours? What is the secret to having soft wadas? Do tell. Inquiring minds want to know

Okay all - THe chef is not taking any more reservations for this now. The event is completely sold out. Look forward to seeing you all there. If you have any questions over the weekend please PM me. thanks again - come hungry!

Ravum - welcome to the India forum. Do tell us a bit about yourself

??? Sorry I am a little slow on shorthand...

Another India forum link on Idlies

Gingerpeach - I did a class with Chef Vinod on South Indian breads and idli was part of the class. You can view it here Recipe and pics!

We are at 57. The waitist is getting full too. Final Menu Indian Street Food Dinner June 13th, 2004 (Sunday) 5: 00 PM Price: $55 (tax included; tips and alcohol not included) Address: Passage to India 4931 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, MD Ph: (301) 656-3373 Menu; Chaat Counter: Bhelpuri, Dahibhalla, Gol Gappas – dig in with your fingers Ragda Pattice: Pan-fried spicy potato cutlets with tangy white pea curry Pao Bhaji: Vegetables (Bhaji) sautéed in butter & served with a warm "pau" (bread) Onion Bhajia: Onion fritters Bread Pakora: Stuffed Bread fritters Samosa Chaat: Savory pastry pyramid spilt and served with chutneys Masala Wada: Lentil fritters Chole Bhature: Spicy chickpea curry served with balloon bread Shami Kabab: mince lamb kebabs Fish Amritsari: fried fish from the city of Amritsar Tawa Chicken morsels on griddle Tandoori: shrimp, chicken and lamb kebabs Lassi: Indian yogurt drink Ambi Panna: Green mango drink Jal Jeera: Spiced Indian mint ginger cooler Nimbu Pani: Indian style lemonade Roohafza/milk: Rose flavored cool milk Jalebis (funnel cake a la India) Rasbhari: poached cheese dumplings Besan Laddoo: sweet for any and all occasions made with chickpea flour Kalakand: also known as milk-cake Shreekhand: saffron flavored yogurt Masala Chai: Indian Spiced tea

We are now at 57. Also there is a surprise that day for all attending... (At the risk of making this thread go into page 6 before the event even starts.. I will go ahead and post this! ) I now have a waitlist going as well. PM me if you want to attend

We are at 53 Vince - wish you could come

I sent all three of you the recipes ( second time to Rushina.. wonder what happened to that PM) - let me know how they work out for you

I am glad it worked out for you!!! Monica

I just started a discussion in the India forum on Indian inspired cold soups with the two I made last weekend... sorry that I did not see this or I would have posted here first! Indian cold soups

Is that you + 2 or three in all?

Hey you owe us nothing but good wishes. Send me your address and consider it done

These correct? Nessa beat me to it.. but if this is what you are craving.. PM me your address and I will mail you some. I agree tea is sacred and you should have your biscuits!

I read your note and edited mine. I was under the impression Kokum comes from the mangosteen tree... as that link and various books I have here tell. do you have a camera to take a shot of this wonderfull fruit you are talking about.. so that we can see it

Monica, that's a coincidence, because I just bought a megapack of those Niligiri's chocolate covered digestives (for the bf, not me, he added, unconvincingly). They're easier to get here in Madras than back in Bombay. And they are totally delicious. Are you sure Niligiri's doesn't export them... or are you scared of finding out that they do! Vikram If they do.. I need to get them.. Oh I love those biscuits.. they are divine. I guess they also remind me of a more carefree time in my life.. sigh

More on kokum

I hosted a large dinner last weekend. One of the items of the menu seemed to be a favorite with the guests.... the cold soups The first is an adaptation of a traditional Indian curry - I served it as a soup. Kokum fruit (related to mangosteen tree (editorial note-- correction made here) ) is seeped in warm water. The fruit self is then discarded. The water is mixed with coconut milk, crushed garlic, green chiles and a bit of toasted cumin seeds. I think the traditional preparation calls for cooking it.. I prepare it without. So this is my version of the dish. The final soup is a perfect pink -- guests can add more minced green chiles for garnish if they wish 2 Is a Mango papaya soup spiked with fresh lime juice, a bit of brown sugar, fresh orange juice and some black salt... a touch. Its garnished with mint leaves. I have adapted this from a recipe in Cooking Light a few moons ago The second soup also makes a great base for serving icecream - as the kids at the party attested to! So tell me what cold soups, with an Indian touch, do you make??