Monica Bhide

Sounds yummy!! I am sorry I missed meeting you when you were in town this past weekend, but hopefully next time...

I can certainly do recipes, the tomato chutney, I make is similar to your Suvir, I then spread the chutney on a gorgeous crytal plate and place tiny cubes of paneer in concentric circles in top of the chuntey. Once the paneer was deep fried, I tossed it lightly in a touch of chaat masala and toasted ground cumin seeds...just a touch so as not to over power the taste of the chuteny. THe papad recipe could not be simpler. Lightly wet the papads, roll them and then deep fry them.. I did them in the shape of a horn. Place them on a place and then place the salad towards the mouth of the papad so that they appear to be in cornucopia (sp?). It is a delightful appetizer for the holidays. THe salad consisted of: diced tomatoes, onions, cucumber, cilatro, a touch of lemon juice, salt and a healthy dose of crushed peanuts. A variation would be to temper the salad with ghee and cumin seeds.. if you like. A tip here is the dice all the veges as small as you can get them.... Depending on the taste of the crowd, I also add chaat masala to the salad sometimes, gives it s anice kick. THe papad I used are aloo and mirchi papad (potatoes and red chilie), they fry to a nice deep red color and give the dish a very festive look

Happy to be your tester Madam. I would be happy to send you the recipe, Sir. Okay so quit calling me Madam... i feel OLD!

I have been very dissappointed with the places I have eaten at so far... some are big names, but the steaks are just not there.... not the melt in your mouth stuff I am used too..... your suggestions would be welcome!

Also made, deep fried paneer topped with a tomato chutney and lentil wafers or papad stuffed with a mouthwatering peanuty salad

I have been experimenting with recipes for my forthcoming book, one of the recipes that was a success this weekend was a Praline Shrikhand. Shrikhand is a traditional Indian dessert made with hung yogurt ( people say they find my cooking voilent, hung yogurt wipped cream.. is there a pattern here .. okay so it is early in the morning and I have yet to have my coffee.. I am allowed one bad joke a day right!!) The praline gave a wonderful crunch to the velvety dessert.. anyone want to do a taste test... I would be happy to Pm you the recipe

So I finally ended up making two salads, one as indicated earlier and the other one was a Potruguese Grilled Chicken salad on baby greens ( my doctored up version of Caeser salad i guess) Worked well, thank you all of the suggestions

i will post a few of my favorites with addresses etc by tomorrow afternoon. The food scene here is really pretty good, there is a lot of choice in the types of menus and also the cost. Some of the overpriced ones are really overhyped, just my opinion. Some of the smaller places have the better food.

Thank you all, this is quite amazing, I will try your Jaymes and let you know how it turns out, the recipe is very appealing

Proud of you? I think many are proud of you.. and for many reasons. Glad to know the clotted cream worked. Post the recipe... Flan is very easy... Baking is my preferred way to make them.. The pressure cooker recipe is great for a quick and simple flan. It has its own unique plusses... But baking is far better. Basically this is what i am doing Maple Flan 1 cup maple syrup 3 cups heavy cream 8 large egg yolks 2 Tablespoons sugar water Pour the maple syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place over low heat, and let simmer Add the cream and salt and stir until the mixture is smooth and comes back to a simmer. Whisk eggs and mix all the syrip ingredients caramalize the sugar and coat the ramekins. Pour the custard base into the ramekins. Arrange them in a baking pan . Pour enough very hot water into the baking pan to reach two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins. cover and bake the flans for about 45 minutes, till done

Welomce Sonyz!! Yes Suvir the question was for Sonyz

Love moong dal ka halwa, which is basically a sweet made with Moong lentils. It is a bit heavy on the tummy because of all the ghee or clarified butter used in the cooking process... worth a try though. One spoonful is a door way to pleasure. If anyone needs a recipe, I would be happy to pm you one

Do add to Suvir's Raita, I would add KidnyBeans and Kachaloo to the Aloo Chaat. As for Raita, I love a Pineapple Raita. Btw, do we get Kachaloos there? Kachalu reminds me of Jammu / Vaishno Devi. You get excellent Kachalu chaat at Katra. - Sonzy Can you describe for others what "kachaloo" is

I am going to get my cheat sheet that has my recipe, be back in a few and post it.. you can all then do a dissection to figure out if it is the recipe or me!

Apparently not baking it right I think I am using too many egg whites .. does anyone have a fool proof recipe for me to try? Suvir, you would be proud of me, thanks to egulleters I made a fool proof clotted cream ( now that I know what it is) and served it with my mom's Sweet Rice (Meete Chawal).. recipe similar to your wonderful recipe. It worked! It tasted great and was exotic looking enough for people to think I am a gourmet chef!!

Sandra I used your suggestion, added baby chopped spinach, dried crushed red chillies (marinated in yogurt), and a bit of black salt. The dinner is tonite so I will post opinions tomorrow!

Mine tastes a bit "eggy"... does that describe it? I am not getting the smooth sweet taste i want

Hi all, we are having a huge dinner tomorrow night and I am stuck in a rut about what sort of salad to serve. The dinner menu has all sorts of fish, chicken and vegetarian recipes, all Indian. I normally do two salads, one with yogurt ( a raita of sorts) and one with onions (with vinegar and red food color )... I would like to do something different tomorrow night. Any suggestions? Maybe somehting with potatoe croutons and toasted sesame seeds Okay, I need to feed.. will be back in a few

I am drooling reading all this wonderful information on desserts!!! I had a delightful dinner at a friends house in Tampa earlier this week and she served a lovely Coeur ala crème (sp?) with a mango kiwi sauce.... to die for I tell you! Also I am working on a maple syrup flavored flan, the results are mixed.. any suggestions on what makes a good flan?

I am so glad you enjoyed the pomegrante seeds. Seems like folks in the West are taking a lot of notice of this humble food (recently, I have noticed many articles on it). I am such a huge fan. You mentioned your mom loves them, what special dishes does she make with them?

Using spices that are not fresh!

I have been asked to bring a few Indian inspired appetizers to a friend's Thanksgiving party tomorrow night. So far I have -- Bread Rolls stuffed with spiced potatoes, Tapioca Fritters and Potato Pomegrante Chaat... looking for other suggestions.. they are vegetarians....

Hosted a large dinner party last night: menu Starters: Portuguese Shrimp on Crispy Okra Bhel Puri plates -- Indian street food Suvir's Patri Ni Machi -- Individually wrapped steamed fish fillets with green chutney .. THANKS SUVIR Dinner: Murg Makhani: Chicken in butter and cream sauce Goan FIsh curry: Fish fillets simmered in coconut tomato sauce Garam Masala Okra Spice Scent Rice: Basmati cooked with bouquet garni (sp?) of warm spices Red Onions with Vinegar Paneer Achari -- Panner sauteed with pickling spices Various Breads Tomato Chutney Kokum Kadi: A cold lavendar colored soup Dessert: Alphonso Mango Kulfi ( no cooking no eggs needed) Saffron Tea I am one tired puppy today :-)

Those are really good prices, I was quoted (3 years ago) $5000 for a small tandoor. Would love to hear where I can order one.

I love the Foreman Grill for making Indian inspired tandoori chicken, I say inspired cos the taste is not exactly the same.. very similar. I have been working on a booklet for them with Indian inspired recipes. If you would like to try some let me know and I will PM them to you. For a full time mom and full time professional like me, the grill is a life saver... the title of my booklet is " 7 minutes to Chicken Tandoori". As far as buying a tandoor. I once inquired (will search my memory for who I talked to) and they cost of a portable tandoor was to exhorbitant for me. But I will find the information and send it to you