Suvir Saran

In India we make a great chutney with left over orange rinds where we add ginger and jaggery and some red chili pepper to orange rind. It is great. Actually just had some at a friends house today. His mother had sent some from Bombay.

wow... you guys are good.... I am now inspired to try all these things...especially the fried cheese. I also prefer lime in savory things.. but lemon... wow.. I can use it most anywhere.... and pie... lemon meringue pie... can be essential to me in summer months.. just a great dessert.

laying guilt on me, eh??

Now Liza.. you may have had something I have never eaten.. It sounds wonderful.. I would love to know more..maybe someone who lives in London and knows this place or another that sells this can find out more for us... I would love to taste it.. maybe when in London next.. I can go hunt for this... thanks for getting this out here from your memory... It sounds like a great dish

Jinmyo do you mean Ayran... Aryan are the people.... Giving you a hard time.. I know you mean Ayran... I love it too... similar to Chaas.. and is from the middle east.

what timing, eh. It is almost end of Spring... and Springbank it is. Will take a taste from the bottle... And actually.. it tastes smooth..

And how could I forget the best Sambhaar in NYC. It is made at Hampton Chutney. While they do not serve it with the Dosas.. you can buy it as a side. Amazing saambhaar. Not the nonsense that one if fed in way to many Indian restaurants in the US and also in Mumbai. This is Sambhaar that would make pious old fashioned Southern Indian grandmothers smile a big smile. This Sunday she had made a Rassam. A tomato rassam. Perhaps she did not know what she had made.. but her trial and error had created what any Southerner (Indian) would see as delicious rassam. I was ecstatic. And here at the restaurant this amazing clear broth of lentil water and spices and vegetables (rassam) was called Soup. But who cares.. I got amazing rassam.. and the crispiest and non greasy Dosa with good stuffing. But only the chutney could have been better.. but it was not bad enough for me to discount the place. In fact I love it enough to keep going back and I do. But now.. soon I should go back to show the lovely chef some chutney recipes. She is willing and wanting.. I am skirting.

I also eat only the regular Masala Dosa and you are right.. The Chutneys are bad. I have been meaning to work with the chef and teach her some Indian chutneys. She is most open and ready.. I am to blame... I have to take time out and work with her. It is my mistake. But you know how it is... I have paying clients and work that beckons me when I have extra time. But I need to do for myself and others that enjoy a good Dosa and can be perfectly happy if this place could simply give better Chutney as well. The Dosas are better than any I have ever eaten in NYC. The filling maybe more authentic at a Pongal or even a Madras Mahal.. but the Dosa.. a winner at Hampton Chutney. And yes the seats are not easy to work around if you are more than one person. The chef makes a great hot chili pepper Utthapam when I request her to do so.. It is the best Uthappam of a life time. She made it the first time for me as a gift from her. I fell in love. It was delicious and exactly like the chili Uthappam at Sagar the temple of Southern Indian cooking in New Delhi.

Has any one had Sprinbank aged 21? It is very smooth. It actually does not affect my tongue as strongly as other single malts. I have not seen it much.. wondered if it were just not a very good one. It is from Campbeltown.

I have never been strong enough to enjoy taking too much of these single malts. But to my taste buds... they always seemed very close to armagnacs. So that is very interesting to me as well. I have made fruit cakes where I would have used armagnac as the marinating drizzles but chose to use laphroig instead. It has worked very well. And far more reasonable. Ice makes single malts easier for me to understand and taste. But I know many that can take them neat.

Bhel Puri is a kind of Indian street food. Was that the name of your restaurant in London that you mention? What kind of cauliflower did they make? DO you remember? I have not seen too many cauliflower preparations in Indian streets. Cauliflower pakoras (deep frited friiters of cauliflower dipped in a chickpea flour batter) come to mind as does a taka tak of cauliflower. A taka tak is basically a way of cooking meats and vegetables on a griddle with the use of two spatulas and a lot of banging noise is made. Hence the name taka tak. Which describes the sound. In the Gobi (cauliflower) Taka Tak, the florets are broken into very tiny pieces... and then these are sauteed on the griddle and onions, tomatoes, chilies, ginger, some yogurt, fenugreek leaves and red chili are added. It is delicious. In India we use spices that would ease the digestion of cauliflower in its preparation. Thus coriander powder is often used, asafoetida is used for the same purpose. These are both good in fighthing flatulence.

Liza and Adam.. each of your recipes sound delicious. And they are very Indian in their approach while certainly not being traditional. In traditional Indian homes good chefs often cooked cauliflower with milk for ensuring the whiteness of the florets. In fact when they would steam cauliflower, it would be in a mix of milk and water. Adam I often broil cauliflower and dust it with toasted cumin. It indeed makes for a nice light crispy veggie. Any other cauliflower stories anyone??

Would it be too late to RSVP for two more? Suvir Saran and Chuck Edwards.

Do you like Cauliflower? What preparation is your favorite? Where is it from? Is it over used in Indian cooking? Is there a pairing around cauliflower that works better than others?

What a great name... easy to remember... but the Chutneys are terrible at best. The other day we ordered 4 dosas and 2 of us went to the safest chutney option.. the Cilantro. The other two wanted to try again to see if they could find any other... mango and peanut were their choices. After the meal, we all agreed that the Cilantro was the least worst choice. How sad..... A restaurant with Chutney in their name could do well to study the art of Chutney making.. which is not very difficult.. there are a few tricks.. but the rest is in balancing the flavors.. sweet, sour, spicy and sometimes nutty. How difficult can that be? It is at Hampton Chutney. I do not find thenm pricy though. IN fact I am happy paying that money for a dosa and eat it in a clean space with the knowledge that I am eating sitting in a clean place, eating food cooked in a clean kitchen by clean hands. Refreshing to me actually. I would be happy to pay t hat higher amount in many places.

Anil Chaas is common in the north as well. Rajasthan and Oudh both in the north have Chaas as a staple. IN fact in homes there breakfast is served with Chaas. It is very light, nutritive and also economical. Since Milk is often sold by those that have cows and water buffalos. And yes you are dead on about fruit lassis being recent additions... how recent? a century maybe. Since they were served in the days of thr Raj. But Sweet plain Lassi and Salty Lassi are the main staples.

Ajay what recipe of corn curry does your family stick too? Care to share... Must be something wonderful for sure.. since you are not a fan of too many of them you say. What is special about this one? Where is it from? Now I want more corn curry. What we ate this evening is all finished... I am ready for more... at this late hour no less.

And how can I forget.. my Nani (maternal grandmother) who lives in San Francisco makes the best Corn Bread and Corn muffins. She adds hot thai peppers, cilantro and some toasted cumin to the traditional recipe. They are scrumptious and deeply addictive. She is my inspiration for many things and I hope that at 80 plus I too can cook 3 meals a day.

Yes corn in India was not the best when I was a young boy. Was it bad this trip? Not at all. In fact they are now getting American corn and they like in America are able to grow special corn that keeps fresher longer and is sweeter. So things have changed. I love the contrast between the fiery chaat masala and cayenne and lemon on the roasted corn. As my students have learned to appreciate, this dish is a great way of getting ones palate accustomed to hot foods and to feel how our lips, mouths, tongues, throats and gut handle spices. Check the link for the recipe. Make it and see what you think. Of course the more spices you use in the rub the tastier it is and more kick it has. It is addictive. Corn curries are divine. As I test recipes for my cook book, I have had some French food snobs stop me and tell me how impressed they were with Indian cooking and they could not understand how subtle and wonderful corn can be. So there is hope in my book for corn and curry. Keep playing with it. I love American corn. My friend Ed Schoenfeld, a foodie, chef, Chinese food expert and restaurateur made his famous corn souffle for me this last Tuesday. It was as close to Nirvaana as I can ever get eating food. Nothing like American corn. Nothing like this pudding. Ed's corn souffle recipe was featured in the NY Times Sunday Magazine 5 or 6 years ago with some other recipes from him. I never thought I would love a pudding as a savory dish.. but this one... leaves nothing to be desired. It has it all.. texture, taste, sophistication and finesse. And it is all American. I am told that it is a southern style dish.

Wittamer is amateur Suvirs heaven.

I have eaten many variations of corn curries in Bombay where it is prepared in many Gujerati homes. Since many Gujeratis are vegetarian, they are experts at preparing vegetables of all kinds. Gujeratis are people from the state of Gujarat. The state where Mahatma Gandhi hailed from. Also the state which has had much press lately due to the communal riots that seem not to be ending.

Thought this might be of interest to some... History of Citrus

Sounds delicious. In fact I love lemon/lime and cilantro rubbed on grilled corn on the cob. Very tasty as well. Soy sauce with fresh green chilies, sugar, lime/lemon and ginger is a great dipping sauce for grilled tofu and meats and also for spring rolls.

Aged basmati works better in any and all preparations. It is heaven in every grain when simply steamed. It is perfectly separated long grains of rice with very little starch when cooked into pilafs and biryaanis. As far as I remember rice was simply placed into large Boras ( bags made out of gunny sacs - recycled jute ) and stored in the Kaali Kothris (dark rooms). I often will throw in a few bay leaves with my rice as I age it. But in my little NYC home... there is little room to age large quantities and the revolving door of house guests and diners make it impossible for me to ever have too much of anything.

That is all I can come up with at this moment... Will keep thinking. I am sure the others will have many more things to share. What do you use citrus for Jinmyo?