Suvir Saran

Cathy L, Would you tell us more about this shrimp dish you prepared? How did you prepare it.. how did you serve it? What did you do with the sauce... What did you eat it with?

Wow! This is impressive. We have two people that have already made this chutney.... It is exciting. I loved Cathy L's post on the preparation. It inspired me to continue canning things. Thanks Cathy L for taking the time to post. Priscilla, thanks for sharing your own efforts with us. Tell us more. You sure are lucky to be able grow such a big yield of tomatoes in your own garden. I am jealous! What other stuff do you have growing? Maybe we can give you more recipes to play with and do canning with.

“………In New York, London, and Paris, he had dined in some of the fanciest homes, in the most fashionable areas, with some of the world’s most reputed hosts and hostesses. Even in the most modest of circumstances in India he found that the generosity seemed to surpass that of the west. Was it because people had less they gave more? Was it a sort of over-compensation for the poverty of the majority of its people? He would never forget the ease with which a couple had given a seated dinner for forty people in the heart of the jungle in Madhya Pradesh. Every article including the food and cutlery had been transported several hundred miles by jeep from their home, specifically for the dinner. The hunting lodge had been freshly painted for the party. The neighboring villagers had come to decorate the compound with strands of flowers and handmade cloth banners. Special native dances were performed like unseen ancient rites. There was joy in simplicity, and yet it was no simple feat. By the end of the festivities, three hundred people had been hosted and Noel watched, in amazement, as the hosts effortlessly regarded even their guests’ smallest concerns. Elaborate, sophisticated Indian dishes were prepared on open fires. Homemade Nan, chapattis, and parathas came straight from the heated flames to the tables. It was a royal dinner and Noel was sure that all the other guests had retreated into an endless maze of rooms at the hunting lodge, thinking they had all participated in something unique and wonderful…” So here we were, Robert and I in Muchmucha, Madhya Pradesh, my friend from Bombay, Avinash had asked us to come travel to Madhya Pradesh in Central India and spend some time with his family and visit their many properties in the state. His family has been a privileged family of that state for many centuries. In fact, the Government took over most of their private property after independence of India and still, several hundred kilometers of land are privately owned by them. Some of this land is part of the Bandhava Garh Wildlife resort. At night mostly but also early morning, we would go in jeeps and hunt meats for lunch and dinner. Our visit to Muchmucha that the family maintains as a hunting lodge for friends, it seemed brought new life to this home and the many staff quarters that surrounded the home but were cleverly hidden. The villagers and their families were in stupor seeing all of us. Maybe having Robert, a white man in their midst was most intriguing. This was not a spot where tourists ever got invited. It was reserved for those special occasions when Parliamentarians visited Madhya Pradesh and needed some special attention and care. Avinash's family had been in politics since India gained Independence. The home larger than the White House and far grander in design was freshly painted for this visit by us two friends. Local friends of the family drove several hundred kilometers to join in the festivities the Avinash’s family wanted to create for us. It would have been a waste to not share such opulence with more people, and so after asking us, they had invited others. Spotted deer meat, barking deer meat, musk deer, antlers, rabbit meat, wild turkey, pheasant, chicken, wild boar and mountain deer and mountain goat, were all cooked. At one meal, the deer had been cooking for 2 days and nights inside a pit made in the ground. The pit was heated from above. The deer had been stuffed with meat of boar, goat, turkey, rabbit, chicken, partridges and quails. The different meats had all been marinated in different spices and marinades. And then the entire stuffed deer was marinated in a special pickling spice marinade. This was then wrapped in muslin and placed in the pit. The pit covered with clay and the top of the pit then heated with spent flame from the tandoor being used above. The villagers made rustic Tandoori breads. Mostly different kinds of naans and parathas made with different flours. This variety ensured that those that were observing fasts at any given time could eat breads made without wheat flour. Dals were made after they had been cooked over the flame of a chulha, an outdoor clay oven. Most food was cooked without onions and garlic. Men alone cooked meat dishes. The vegetables, dals and salads were all cooked by the women folk. At every meal 30 dishes were served. It was the lucky number for the family in that period. 30 dishes made with meat, vegetables and pulses. The villagers would sing and dance and do Nautanki (street gymnastics, like what is being taught at the Hudson River Pier downtown these days). If keema (minced goat) was being prepared for the meat eaters, they had made vegetarians like me keema (mince) out of lentils and at other time from beans and even minced vegetables. Keema Koftas were made for Robert and the men folk, koftas made from Torai (zucchini), zimikand (yam), paalak (spinach) and mot kee dal (a special lentil) were made us vegetarians. If parsindas were made for the meat eaters, parsindas were made for us vegetarians with raw green banana. Stuffed deer for the meat eaters, stuffed kaddoo (pumpkin for us). Stuffed chicken for them, stuffed zucchini for us. Stuffed rabbit for them, stuffed bell peppers for us. Meat kormas for them, vegetable kormas for us. Meat stews for them, vegetable stews for us. Meat curry for them, vegetable and pulse curries for us. Kebabs for them, pakoras for us. Over 89 tiger and lion skins, trophies from hunts that had happened before the government had asked for a freeze in the hunting of big game, lay treated, cleaned and in full glory for guests to sit on and take in the spirit of this once very active hunting lodge. The British loved the Pathak family for they indulged their greed for Indian wilderness in even more lavish ways than they recreated for Robert and I. It was thus easy for Robert and I to believe in the amiable relationship this family had with the British. Robert and I were given tiger and lion skins as gifts, but neither one of us could bring them out of the country. My are in my families home. His with the Pathak family. The meals were served with candlelight and mashaals (torches). The lodge had a “Boom Box”, but after consulting with us (we were shocked anyone could consider that option in the first place), live music was chosen as music for our stay. All food was served in sterling silver thaals (large plates, larger than chargers, for it was understood that the meals would have many dishes, and large plates would be required to hold all the variety). Silver and gold flatware was provided for us. Most chose to eat with their hands. Lukewarm water made fragrant with rose petals and essence was poured into sterling fingerbowls for us to wash our hands before, after every course and at the end of the meal. A special area was maintained where a Halwai (pastry chef) and his assistants worked. They cooked the most amazing array of sweets night and day. They also were responsible for serving us at just about anytime we so desired, Lassis, Rooh Afzah waala Doodh (milk flavored with Rooh Afzah, a special syrup made with many spices and herbs), Khus ka Paani (Vetiver water), Gulab Ka Sherbet (Rose flavored milk) and Chai (spiced tea). My favorite would be the jalebis (spiral orange fried batter, soaked in syrup) served with jhaag (froth collected from boiling milk). This is still sold at some fine mithai waalas for a frightful sum of money, but here, it seemed like the milk would not stop frothing. The cows were milked just near the stand where the chef worked. The milk was boiled and cooled to make sure Robert and I would not fall sick. All water at the Lodge was being boiled first and then filtered. Dishes were being washed in that same water. Born fires were lit with dead wood and twigs each of us found and the villagers children collected so as to not use logs of wood that would have encouraged timber trade. Not long after we had finished dessert, we would be eating again around these fires. Peanuts roasted over this flame, raw choliya (green and white peas) roasted on this flame and also we would be served rewri and gazak (candy made with rose water, sugar and sesame seeds and another made with jaggery and sesame seeds). The latter was my favorite and is the nicest dessert I can ever be served. The night would come to and end only after every guest and everyone from the host’s family and village had sung a song, told a joke or danced or read a poem. We would all retreat into our rooms, air-conditioned and lush, wake up the next morning to more food, hunting, dance and music. For two weeks, as we went from one property of theirs to another, we were treated like royalty. Even as an Indian used to a certain amount of such fuss and aplomb, I was bowled over, often I wonder if this was all a dream. But somewhere in Paris (In Roberts photo albums) and in NYC in my own photo collection, are pictures that speak of that most over the top existence we could have never imagined even in our wildest dreams. It was thus easy for Robert to extend his trip by 2 months. He was seeing an India most Indians can never see. We ate meals the kings and queens of yesteryears have documented in their memoirs and cookbooks, but we ate them as recently as 1993.

Very interesting question.... hmmm..... Well, in India, we often would not worry, for as we eat with our hands, most people are able to catch these whole spices very easily, and an eater like me, that is afraid or unsure about eating with hands, looks carefully at my fork for what I am taking in... So that is one way of avoiding such surprises. Another way is to tie up these whole spices in a piece of muslin or cheescloth. I would add a little extra of each if I were doing this. You can then toss the bag before serving. You save yourself the surprises. Do whichever you feel comfortable with. I like the surprises personally, and most of my friends have become used to them and actually fond of these bursts of flavor. But I did warn them for the first year... as they came to eat.. about being very careful. Cloves can be t he worst.. or even black cardamom.... both of those can very rather intense. This is a great thing you brought up. Thanks!

My apologies to anyone that has printed the chutney recipe before today. Please correct the sugar quantity from the unedited recipe from before. The sugar should be only 1/3 cup for 8 pounds of tomatoes. Cathy, my apologies to you for not having caught this mistake before you canned the chutney. I hope you will make it again and taste it in its less sweet incarnation. I will make several batches before the summer ends. It is a favorite of all our friends and family. I can never make enough. Friends are asking me to start selling these jars. Not sure I will ever do that. Please print the recipe above, it is now accurate. Again, my apologies for any trouble this has caused you.

Seffa is the correct name... how could I forget. Thanks Anil! The Seffa we were served came with raisins and cinnamon in it. In fact at one place they served it with warm buttermilk... I had never tasted warm buttermilk by itself. Also served alongside it was a chilled orange salad that was topped with cinnamon and sugar and orange blossom water. It was too much cinnamon for me... For some reason I do not take well to too much cinnamon.... I like my spices very subtle... But the couscous was very nice.... and very light. And apple compote sounds great... thanks for the idea Gavin!

In Morocco we were served dessert couscous more than once. It was almost as if the couscous had been cooked with milk, raisins, sugar and cinnamon powder. Of course there was the ever favorite orange blossom water. What was most unique was the piping hot reduced milk that was served alongside this sweet couscous. It was as if the couscous was being treated like a pudding or even a porridge. Are there restaurants in the US that serve this sweet couscous? Is thre an Arabic name for this dish? Is it a traditional dish?

What tea do you use for mint tea? What kind of mint do you use?

Over the last century or two, mint tea has found a willing partner in the people of North Africa. It is synonymous with North African culture and entertaining. No party would come to a correct start if the guests were not first greeted with freshly brewed mint tea. The tea must always be served in glass. Never in cups and saucers. Finer homes ensure their tea bearers learn the art of pouring tea from a much higher place than a guest would expect. The higher one can pour it from, the superior training the host if credited for. The snootier that host can be. But also it is believed that the foam helps carry the flavor better. In fact, at the opening night of the Sacred Music Festival at Fez, the guardsmen to His Majesty, The King of Morocco, were serving the special guests tea. They were dressed in ceremonial garb and impressed all of us with their ease in serving tea from much higher point than I have ever seen it poured. I am posting a picture below of the guardsmen as they sat waiting to be called upon for more such pouring of tea.

I live in NYC.. and would be more than happy to be your dump for any kind of desserts you ever make. It is well worth the processing in the water bath. It gives you freedom to store them at room temperature and they keep for a long LONG time. If you are going through t he effort of making jams and chutneys, 30 minutes more would not hurt much, would it? Maybe you want to start a thread on your salsa verde... How do you make it? I love salsa verde.

Julia is a must. It is great to have her books on hand for those rainy days. Patricia Wells is excellent!

I have answered your question in the Tomato Chutney thread. Do ask any questions you may have about any of those ideas or suggestions. The chutney is a grand one. A perfect gift, a great chutney to have saved in a pantry.. and the canning process is easy. No special equipment is necessary. Just a deep pan, boiling water, bands and dome canning jars (rather inexpensive) and 20 minutes of canning once the water is at 180?F. Simple and savory. Tomato Chutney Thread

I use this chutney as a condiment most often when having people over for a formal dinner. My friend Viraj flies in from Geneva twice a year to come stay with me and eat home cooked food for a week. This is one of the few things that he must eat and take back with him to Geneva. In the south people eat this chutney with rice and to the rice they add some ghee. They knead (you can mix with a fork) the chutney into the rice with their fingers and eat it by itself. It is amazing. Some will have yogurt on the side to cool their palate. I will often use it as a base and add some milk and heavy cream to it and make a spicy sauce. I barely bring this sauce to a boil and then leave it at room temperature. I then either boil baby whole potatoes that I toss into this sauce or boil eggs, half them and sauté them quickly and then put these into this sauce to make some curried eggs. You can also add fresh flash stir-fried corn into this sauce to make a corn curry. You can add this chutney into a little oil that has curry leaves in it. To this chutney-oil mix add very finely chopped cauliflower and some green chilies and cook to required softness. Serve garnished with cilantro as a Gobi (cauliflower) kee sabzi. I add the chutney into mayo to make a dipping sauce for different uses. A little of this chutney added into hung yogurt or cream cheese makes for a great dip to be enjoyed with terra chips. Added to mashed potatoes, it makes them magical and addictive even beyond their much-celebrated appeal. I slather it onto toast and top the toast with avocado slices and sel de mer. Fantastic and yet so simple. Make tea sandwiches with cucumber, fresh tomatoes, boiled sliced potatoes and this chutney. Amazing. Add some of this chutney into yogurt, whisk well and add some champagne grapes and serve as a raita or salad alongside your favorite Indian dishes. Add the chutney to sautéed red onions and mix well. Make your own special omelette with this stuffing. The options are unlimited and it makes for a perfect gift to bring to friends and family.

Yes Master!

Will you let us know all about it? Cannot wait to hear how it turned out. And yes... Tomatoes are a great fruit.. give so much savory comfort to so many of my favorite dishes.

I used the recipe for tomato chutney as is. In fact added a little less sugar and also less red chile. I omitted the fenugreek for I had a friend in mind who is allergic to several herbs and spices and fenugreek is one of them. I like you would prefer it with the fenugreek. Makes for a much more complex and winning flavor. I am attaching like to the tomato chutney recipe. Use it as it is... Add half the sugar if you want. YOu can leave the quantity as is if you want to leave the chile quantity intact. Tomato Chutney

I have to muster up the courage and do it. Will keep both Jaymes and you posted. Thanks for the encouragement!

Yeah, that might be a very nice dessert.... To go with some chicken enchiladas! I am soooo nervous about cooking Mexican food. I seriously am. I wish I had the confidence that so many members that post here have about cooking foreign foods. I have never visited Mexico. In fact I know several people from Mexico, but have few close friends from that one country. All of this makes me feel I am too much of a novice to that country and its food and culture. It is one of my favorite cuisines... and I hope, that someday, after I have visited it, spent time in with local chefs and home cooks, I can come back and prepare their dishes with wild abandon. But for now, I really feel I will fail. Maybe I need to chill and simply give it a try... Maybe next week, as my back gets better. Or at least I hope it will get better. I am making the shortcake as I distract myself with eGullet. The yellow tomato chutney tastes really good. I saved some in a small bowl. The rest was all canned.

Driving from Marrakech to the High Atlas Mountains, we made a stop over at Telouet. The most amazing castle, mostly in disrepair and yet a feast for the eyes. Coming out from there, we saw a beautiful tent set up in the middle of nowhere. We had decided to take no guides and so were on our own for this last leg of our journey. We stopped went towards the tent, and were surprised to find a restaurant being run from this tent. What was even more shocking was to find out that Saveur Magazine had written this place up. All they were serving that afternoon was Mehemmer. An omelette that I was later told comes from the Jewish families of Morocco. While it would traditionally be made with potatoes, this one had a mélange of peppers, potatoes, onions and herbs. The crust was a very rich red, almost brown. Cooked in a tagine and served with a salad of roasted red peppers, bread, harissa and olive oil, it was the best omelette I have ever eaten. And after almost 3 weeks of being guests of the State and being pampered no end and being shadowed by people, this freedom may have had something to do with my thinking this was the finest meal I ate in Morocco. To this day, a couple of years later, I still think of Telouet, it's Kasbah in ruins and the glorious Omelette Cake we ate in the deserted High Atlas area. Anyone have a recipe for an Omelette Cake like what I ate? Any other Omelette Cake stories from Morocco? I am told one can find similar Omelette’s in Algeria and Tunisia. I am still to discover those.

I just finished cleaning the jars of the 11 pints of Yellow Tomato Chutney I made last night. It tasted very good. In fact it is a perfect compliment to the more tart and acidic Tomato Chutney that I had also made last night. I am not sure yet, which I prefer. I made the Yellow Tomato less spicy and also did not add any fenugreek seeds. Now off to making some strawberry shortcake. Thanks to eGullet, I now have a great recipe for it. The berries in the farmers market were superb yesterday and were also good this morning.

………He was mystified by the way light transformed ordinary objects into aesthetic treasures and then returned them to banality. He was sure the Indian sun had a lot to do with Hindu philosophy and reincarnation. Fire and brimstone; gems and blood and ashes. Something is nothing is something. Rivers reflect India’s setting sun and drink its bloody waters red. Hot, boiling veins stream into the black vapors of night. The white liquid substances of passion create life and blood. Dehydration. Then, Disintegration. Dried powdered blood. …………………The table setting was tasteful; the display of South Indian food, sumptuous and bountiful. Stainless steel serving bowls of dal, parathas, sambhaar, poriyal, chapattis made at home, pachadi and vegetables adorned the table. The tablecloth was a woven textile; its dark spruce color reminded him of de Heem’s LE DESSERT and the richness and abundance that the table setting must have had before de Heem started to paint. The colors of the spiced rices and multihued vegetables tantalized him, and like a hummingbird, he searched the dishes for the exotic nectar that he had never uncovered in either the United States or Europe. Only in India did he look at the colored powders of the Bhendi street vendors and imagine them edible. Cow horns painted cobalt blue. Billowing saffron saris that rippled and danced on the camel-brown deserts of Rajasthan, where sand and sky blend into monotonous whirlwind of blinding grainy brown speckles. Iridescent cloths that seemed hand-painted onto the dusty sepia scenes; they dotted his vision like marigolds and poppies protruding from the brown earth. Amid the suspended, heavy backdrop of dust and dirt, he found life in color. He saw fabrics that made him salivate and whose textures he assured himself could not be appreciated entirely by sight alone. He tasted the delicious colors and textures with his eyes refusing to close them, savoring their flavors in a climate where objects often evaporate or disintegrate before maturity. ……………………..In New York, London, and Paris, he had dined in some of the fanciest homes, in the most fashionable areas, with some of the world’s most reputed hosts and hostesses. Even in the most modest of circumstances in India he found that the generosity seemed to surpass that of the west. Was it because people had less they gave more? Was it a sort of over-compensation for the poverty of the majority of its people? He would never forget the ease with which a couple had given a seated dinner for forty people in the heart of the jungle in Madhya Pradesh. Every article including the food and cutlery had been transported several hundred miles by jeep from their home, specifically for the dinner. The hunting lodge had been freshly painted for the party. The neighboring villagers had come to decorate the compound with strands of flowers and handmade cloth banners. Special native dances were performed like unseen ancient rites. There was joy in simplicity, and yet it was no simple feat. By the end of the festivities, three hundred people had been hosted and Noel watched, in amazement, as the hosts effortlessly regarded even their guests’ smallest concerns. Elaborate, sophisticated Indian dishes were prepared on open fires. Homemade nan, chapattis, and parathas came straight from the heated flames to the tables. It was a royal dinner and Noel was sure that all the other guests had retreated into an endless maze of rooms at the hunting lodge, thinking they had all participated in something unique and wonderful…….

What should one make with these?

I had a great fruit salad at Le Maison Bleu that was tossed with rose water and some powdered ginger. Served chilled, it was the perfect thing to eat before heading out in the hot sun of the summer in Morocco. It amazed me to see the Moroccan women use rose water just like the Indian women. It is used as a astringent by both and applied on clean skin to help keep it free of blemishes and pimples. Indians believe and most Moroccans said they do as well, that rose water is the most trusted anti-depressant and relieves anxiety. Has anyone else heard of this? In India we add rose water to a lemon ginger tea that would be drunk first thing in the morning. In Morocco they add it to mint tea. But the purpose in both countries is to help the person driking it find relief from stress. Many home-cooks and chefs add rose petals into their spice blends and some add rose water in the very end of cooking as a finishing garnish. Do you have a favorite brand of rose water? A favorite recipe from North Africa or the Middle East using rose petals or rose water?

Smen has a very strong smell. I was told it is very similar to ghee (clarified butter) and yet it is not the same thing. I could tell by the smell that it was very different. Some simply call Smen rancid butter. I was told that it is prepared like ghee. By melting butter and then straining the fat from the impurities. Would anyone know the exact difference between Smen and Ghee? In Morocco they used it in most of the meat dishes and also in the couscous preparations. I could always smell it in these dishes and was often put off by its very string and lingering smell. Is it just me? Or do others find it very strong as well? I also find ghee very strong. But Smen, is even stronger.

Thanks for pointing this out. That was an error. I am sorry. The tomatoes should be finely diced or even pureed.