Monica Bhide

That looks wonderful. I wonder if the place is still there! Do you remember the name? ← It was in downtown in the old Post office building on Euclid Avenue.. let me see if my friend remembers the name.. i am sure she does, she still lives there. I will aks her tomorrow.

Kew -- Thanks for that lovely explanation. i am glad I called it Monica's curry Your list is huge -- I can try to do some.. so little time. Perhaps I will blog again sometime. This blog I just wanted people to see how we ate as a regular family... it was not meant to be an Indian cooking class of sorts :laugh: I do use coconut milk a lot, probably more than I should. In India it a very popular ingredient. My son wants egg curry.. so get ready.. that will be sunday's dinner for sure.

Nope no potatoes. We ate ours with pita.

I should be too shouldnt I... I did not know you had a piece in there. .. sorry!

It is a struggle.. I know many writers who struggle with the same thing. it is also off topic here and I am sure the moderators will send me a note if I blabber on about this.. email me and we can talk offline.

It just happened... and then it took forever to happen.. I guess the answer changes depending on the day you ask me. My story "The Color of your dreams" on how I became a food writer and what it has taken over the year was on the cover of the IACP magazine this quarter. I am attaching the file here for you to see. IACP_Color_of_your_dreams.pdf

Thank you very much.. so very kind of you. Pengiun India came out with food essays that are good. If I were you, I would order Mistress of Spices.. I love her style of writing..

Looks & sounds delicious!!! I was alway told NOT to cover any pan to which coconut milk was added, or the coconut milk would curdle. You didn't have any problem? ← No it wont curdle at all .. dont worry. Its a good dish for a cold night.. very spicy

Is it Bombay Bistro ?

Tomorrow -- Hmmm.. Lunch will be leftovers. I have so much food left! Dinner will be Salad ala Monica -- Fruits, Walnuts and imagination Entree -- A grilled chicken with orange juice, peanut butter and curry powder... a treat I learnt here on eG. Dont knock it til you try it

I have not tried it. What did you order?

It would be my pleasure to host you. Thanks for stopping in to say hello

Thanks -- if you are ever in DC look me up

Does anyone want pictures of the Smirnoff --

Here we are back after dinner. WIth due respect this is Monica's version of a Malay curry -- I hope people from Malaysia dont laugh at this. I cant remember where I learnt this but I have been making this for years. Here we go, Monica's Malay Curry 1. Heat oil in a pan and add finely ground shallots and ginger Fry them till they change color to a light brown. Add a cinnamon stick and 2 star anise.. and smell paradise. 2. Now comes the AWESOME part -- add as much of this sambhal as you can take 3. Now add the your spice paste (Monica's spice paste -- in a bowl add turmeric, red chili, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, a touch of dried mango powder -- if you dont want to do this add a spoonful or two of any commericial hot curry like Shan) 4. Cook for a few minutes. If the spice paste starts to stick add some water. 5. Add the chicken and continue to cook for 10 -12 minutes or until the chicken is 3/4 cooked. 6. Add a can of lite coconut milk and bring to a slow boil. Cover and lower the heat. Cook for about ten minutes or until the chicken is done. 7. Serve with a Smirnoff Ice .. ice cold Dessert We had rice pudding. Most Indians make rice pudding a lot thinner than I do. When I lived in Cleveland many years ago, my dearest friend and I used to eat at this Greek joint run by Indians and this is how they made their rice pudding.. and I have adored it since. 1. Add a handful of washed rice to a deep pan. Add milk (2 cups) , cream (1/2 cup) and sweetened condensed milk (to taste). Simmer uncovered for about 45- minutes. Serve cold garnished with thinly sliced almonds and crushed green cardamoms Monica's Devilish rice pudding --

Julie Sahni is quite amazing as is Madhur. I think they have really set high quality standards for cookbooks in general. I dont microwave a lot unfortunately. Just use it to defrost and reheat my coffee (which I have to do at least ten times a day)

Thanks There are a few threads on the basic Indian pantry in the Indian forum. Real Simple magazine had interviewed me on this topic as well -- Monica's Basic Indian pantry

Off to eat. Dinner will be here in a few. See you all then

bbq4meanytime, you and I must be using the same brand of dried methi then! My brand has these little sticks that won't crush at all, so I either remove them or rub the mixture through a sieve (provided I don't mind powdered methi for the dish). ← Try MDH -- really good stuff, no stems

Aloo Tikki by another name.. Correct?? Or you can come over here and we can do a Pakora Chai Party...!!! ← Aloo Tikki sound perfect! Will you be making them this week, or can you provide us with a recipe? No deep frying AND has vegetables- WOW! Don't know what I'd do without egullet- first I learned about roasted cauliflower (my favorite thread) and now aloo tikki- without you my kids would eat no vegetables. Thanks Monica!!! ← I will try to make them -- if time permits. If not here is a link in the India forum to these Aloo Tikki -- I am also happy to PM you a recipe. But first let me see if I can make some time to do this.

My only advice, if I may - use fresh okra. the frozen one gets all slimy

I just crush handfuls and then add them in. Hope that helps

Yes - in Hindi it is called tarka or tadka

When you both say temper, are you talking about seasoning a new cooking pan? ← Sorry - let me clarify. In Indian cooking tempering refers to heating oil and then adding selec spices to it. This tempered oil is then poured on a dish as the final seasoning.

Yes - Milagai is right -- they are bitter (the seeds that is)