Suvir Saran

Thanks FG... wow.. what a great list.. I am still waiting on the restaurants you will suggest for each of those dishes.. And yes I love grape leaves. Our Lebanese friend Mary Ann Joulwan shared with me her families recipe for making these. Both the meatless ones and the ones with lamb. The meatless ones are served at room temperature or even chilled and the ones with lamb are served warm. FG, did you mean Kibbeh when you refered to the Lebanese dumplings? Or were you thinking something else? Researchgal, how do you make your grape leaves? Or maybe you can share that in the grape leaf thread in the forum. It is always fun to see different recipes. Would you mind sharing?

Marcus the chickpea curry you had at MM or Pongal is not really South Indian. And would be far better at other restaurants in the city. I would love to have a conversation with all our members that are interested on the South Indian fare that you can find at MM, Mavalli and Pongal. Maybe you want to start a thread in the Indian forum... and we can debate what each of us thinks works best at each of these restaurants. I used to be a huge fan or MM. I will try and go there this weekend. So I can make a more educated assessment of them. Or at least more current. MM was my favorite Southern Indian restaurant for a long time.

Caped Chef, The link worked. Did you try any of the recipes? Which one worked best? How do you make your Chai?

Flattery will get you a meal in my NYC home Simon..and also a signed copy of the book as a gift.. but you still did not answer A caped chefs question. What would be the 2 books you would buy? Apart from the other 3 great books you mention. Which I concur are excellent reading. And yes I really think Naipaul is crazy, but as I feel about all people, has a right to say that which he believes. What worries me is that a body like the Nobel Academy could not understand a man like him before t hey awarded him that honor. But we can discuss that on another board.. where the intricacies of such a character can be debated in the right setting. Going back to food... what 2 books would you suggest Simon... Steve Klc, do you have 2 you would recommend? Sandra, Anil, Vivin, Toby, Jaymes, Rich, Polly, Hasmi, Yvonne, KJohn??? What are your choices?

Hi Betty! Yes you could look at that thread... and also if you can describe what these cutlets are like. That would help narrow the search for what you may be missing. Indian Chicken Thread

I do have the book. It died a sad and premature death. I was with someone just early this week that was intimately involved with it. They ascribed its death to the book being too limited in focus for the American market. "When we do not even understand the basics of Indian cooking, why would we want to learn microwave Indian cooking" or something to that effect was said. I would have thought here in the US we would rush to use a microwave cookbook. I have never cooked from that book of hers. It does little for me personally. But several such books exist in India. And yes I know several Indian home cooks that are using microwaves to cook most of their foods these days. Some out of convenience and most out of lack of choice. I have some friends of the family that have adopted this in their older age so as to protect themselves and their homes from catching fire due to poor health reasons. JD- what are the proportions you use? Also this person I mentioned above said something about the book perhapds being dated now as the microwaves have become much more powerful today and most recipes are not working for time anymore. How does that seem to you? What you mention seems to work very well for rice. I am sure it would be an excellent option for most of us. Do you mind sharing the details? And how are you cooking rice on the stove top?? What proportions do you use? What recipe?

Tilda Basmati should be just fine BettyK. Were you following a recipe for the biryaani? Whose recipe? If you had too much sauce in the chicken/lamb/veggies, that could make t he rice into a pudding. Perhaps you can share your recipe.. and we can see if one of us can identify why it became a pudding. I often eat Jasmine rice with Indian food as well. It is great for simple home meals. It has a great bite to it. But there is nothing like Basmati if you really want to enjoy a perfect compliment to your hard labors. A Dutch Oven is not necessary. You can even use just a heavy bottom pan for stove top cooking. Or if you would rather do the last part of cooking in the oven, any casserole type dish is fine.

You are right about all of this caped chef. But those that grew up in India take so much for granted. We were educated about all of this. And took it for granted. A few years back there was a small but interesting exhibition at Asia Society. It was about Harrappa. One realized how little Americans knew about India. And it was sad to see that so many of those that came to the exhibit did not know most stuff that happened in that civilisation. In the US we have found ourselves limited to Egypt when we study ancient civilization. For others around the world, it has been a very tedious task to unravel the Harrapan people for even though they have a clear and precise language, we are yet to decipher it. Maybe it suits the world to not understand what was spoken and communicated by these people. But it is all there. Whatever has been preserved that is. And amazing stuff has been found. Lots of culinary history. And so much as old as time. But for students that never grew up learning of India and its ancient civilzation, certainly his writing has even greater relevance. That was exactly my point.. I wondered how much he has moved the Indian reader. I know that not many chefs per se have ever bothered reading him. I wish they would. For I know they would be richer for it. His writing is poignant and relevant and educational. Lets see what Steve Klc has to say. I am sure he would articulate beautifully his thougts on Achaya and his writing.

WOW! If you get a chance would you share a recipe with us? I love Harira... only ever had it in Morocco and then what I have made at home. It is a great soup.

Achaya is the most well know authority to have tried unraveling the mysteries that encompass Indian cooking at every level. Indian food is very vast. It has nuances that are discovered daily by Indians living in Indian itself. Every region, language and social group has their own very unique understanding of what it means to be Indian. And that also changes how they react to the foods of the region. Achayas books are very scholarly, but also very dry. I am not sure how successful they are in achieving much for those that practice Indian cooking. In fact many Indian chefs find them more acceptable to read for theory of an era far removed than for any knowledge they can gain from them in their daily pratice. In fact many of the best Indian chefs have never even read his works. I wonder if he knew who his readership was? Or even if he cared. For those of us many seas away that try and understand something as different as the world of Indian cooking, Achaya is a treat we could not have found easily. Having his writing is a great gift to be cherished. But I wonder if he ever realized who his work was going to affect most? The chefs that practice Indian cooking at the most immediate level in India and overseas, certainly do not have the experience of having read his great work. Also I am not sure how much his work would have affected their craft. But I do think it would be great to somehow bring his work to the realm of young chefs around the globe that are learning the finer nuances of world cuisine. It would be a shame if chefs studying formally around the world would not be exposed to Achayas world. I know Steve Klc has read Achayas work. Maybe Steve can shed light on how he reacted to his writing. How did his work affect you A caped Chef? What did you think of his writing?

How do you make your Chai Tea at home? What tea leaves do you use?

Is there a restaurant in NYC that you suggest for enjoying great Mezze?

Hummus with Tehina and Baba Ganouj are also my favorites. But what else would you serve for an evening of mostly Mezze? How about suggesting a menu to me.. and I can then look at all those books you suggest for recipes.

Thanks for the information. That recipe sounds wonderful. And perfect time for trying it.

SA, Many thanks! Did you make this recipe up yourself? Is it from a restaurant or book? It sounds wonderful. Seems like this could be a perfect dish for the summer. Thanks for sharing the recipe so promptly.

Toby sounds like you did the right thing. Basmati would work even better. But Patna rice is great. Much better than the Texmati you find in groceries around the country. That is such dissapointing rice. What did you eat your "rice with whole spices" with? How did you like that preparation?

Dstone, How old is your plant? Maybe it needs to grow some? Ours is now around 5 year old. It had its first stalk develop maybe 3 years ago.

We have some on our deck in NYC. We are growing it in a large terracotta container. It is brought in for the winters. It seems to be doing well. Few stalks but very wonderful to have.

I will make some over the weekend. Thanks for the detailed recipe. I have been making them with just salt. Yours sounds so much better. Thanks very much.

What Mezze (assorted appetizers) should one prepare for an evening of Middle Eastern foods? What cook book has the best recipes for Mezze? Is there a great restaurant that one must go to for Mezze?

You are most welcome Cabrales! It is one of my favorite restaurants.. and that toast happens to be one of their best dishes.. and the first dish I ever made myself as a child. Cannot wait to see how Wilfrid describes it for you. It will be amazing I am sure. You must visit Ino and share with us your experience.

A caped chef, How do you make these preserved lemon Ketel One Martinis?

A caped chef, What is a safi mixture? The chef that taught me how to preserve these did so only with salt. I have seen some in the market with a red stuff in the container... How long do you keep the bottle closed? Do you put the jars in the sun at all? Have a recipe for the preserved lemons?

ino (21 Bedford Street; 989-5769) Ino's is just off 6th Avenue on Bedford Street. A very small beautiful spot. Always busy. Open early and closes late. The truffled egg toast is the Italian version of what the British left in India. We ate it as children but it was called Egg in the nest. They serve it with truffled bits of asparagus. Cabrales, you of all people would enjoy it. Wilfrid would do the toast better justice than I. The address is above.

And again.. when at Ino’s... try the dessert paninis.. They are amazing. The fresh fruit ones are breathtaking. Toast, fruit slices, amazing honey, some freshly ground black peppercorn and warm melting mascarpone. I once saw a lady eyeing me as I ate mine and my friend hers. She was so curious that I discretely asked our server to give her table an order of each of the two fresh fruit paninis as a gift from us. The lady was shocked and said she lived in the neighborhood and would now come back even more often. She never knew they had something like this. They are addictive. I love that place. They are busy even late at night.... But worth the wait if one is in the mood for light and wonderful and delicious.