Suvir Saran

Away from NYC, and from my kitchen, I have limited resources, not due to being in Denver, but also because I am not as familiar here as I would be in NYC.... and reading through the books I have here, what a certain friend has shipped me as gifts, I realized all of them have recipes for tomato sauce that should be used alongside pasta, but none have recipes using fresh tomatoes. They all call for canned tomatoes. I made some sauce. Using garlic that was pressed quickly, fried in the olive oil till golden, discarded after, crushed red pepper was added to the oil, basil leaves and tomatoes. Of course salt. The sauce tastes very good. Are there tips for the non-Italian in the art of making pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes??? What should one know about the art of Italian sauce making?

Saag would mean green in Hindi, mostly referring to leaves. In Bengali it could mean just vegetable. Shaak is what some call it in Bengali. Simonda can help us with that. I add Brocsoli to my soups and also make the kind of stir fry BBhasin mentions.

The stems give great flavor with least visibility. They are used in many marinades where you do not want the color of the leaves, but want the fresh flavor.

Because they can make something not sol lively, become alive by their addition. I also love cilantro seeds (coriander seeds), their powder can make most dishes become delicious and the most heavy foods can become easily digestible.

Thanks Adam. And thanks to your mother too for having shared this with you.

I am told it thickens the milk without the need for great reduction (hence saving on food cost) and also gives the texture of malai that would only come from hours and hours of reduction and slow and careful cooking (again saving on cost and time). But whilst many cannot discern the difference between real malai and blotting paper, it is not that difficult to understand. The real stuff is far better. But does take a lot of time.

Some Americans, not all. Again: Contrary to Italian wisdom and to what many in the know even in the US understand, Americans do add cheese EVEN to pasta with seafood.

Many thanks Tobdy for all this information.

It seems so. Do you have a recipe Toby?

And how does your mother prepare her Croatian version??

Contrary to Italian wisdom and to what many in the know even in the US understand, Americans do add cheese EVEN to pasta with seafood.

Thanks Jim and Craig!

I have been introduced to this soup by Ed Schoenfeld. The soup called Venetian Bean Soup at Le Zie, in Chelsea, NYC, is superb. When I asked the server what beans the chef was using, he said pinto beans. It comes garnished with a fruity olive oil and with pasta inside the soup. I add some grated parmesan into it. It seems like the soup has lots of pureed beans in it and they leave a good amount whole to play against the texture given by the perfectly cooked pasta. Could this really be an authentic Venetian Style Soup? Is it one of many variations that are popular? Does every restaurant and home chef have their own take on a soup like this? Any recipes that one could work with to make a soup that is similar to what I mention and also traditional?

My understanding is that their presence in India is much older than that and dates from the time when the Persian Empire was conquered by the Arabs. That is my understanding as well. And they came to Bombay and what is known as Gujarat today for the usage of those ports for trade.

Live and learn. I never knew about the urad dal and the sticking business. Thanks Indiagirl! I use onion halves to clean the griddle with. Works magic.

malaga podi is the orange powder stuff you mention. It can be just a mix of chile powder, toasted lentils and some other spices. It is usually the stuff that is added to Mysore Dosas. Makes them HOT.. I love them.

I have used ghee when I have made Dosas and someone was coming over and I wanted to impress them with crisp, thin and nicely tanned dosas. What kind of cooking medium do the rest of you all use? I have helped a cousin in NYC make Dosas for many years now. And she always uses butter. Her dosas have always been superb as well.

Hi Suvir, Some of the classic ways of making thick cookies are to use more batter per cookie, chill the batter to prevent spread, and add a bit more flour (but this can make the cookies a bit cakey). I'm sure others will chime in with more ways. Thanks David! And hello! Thanks to each of you.. I will have lots of baking to do.

Great for you Steven. Maybe you can ask Gary if he can get you some batter from the city. Much better, and while he is doing that, he can even ask the chef to give you a lesson, in fact Gary and the staff at the Hamptons could learn from the chef in the city. She is the best Dosa maker in NYC. And do let us know what happens with the waffle maker - dosa batter experiment.

Great for you Steven. Maybe you can ask Gary if he can get you some batter from the city. Much better, and while he is doing that, he can even ask the chef to give you a lesson, in fact Gary and the staff at the Hamptons could learn from the chef in the city. She is the best Dosa maker in NYC. And do let us know what happens with the waffle maker - dosa batter experiment.

Bux the pannacottas made by Meredith Kurtzman at Esca and Heather Carlucci at Jacks Fifth were another league completely. It is their usage of very little gelatin that makes them really spectacular. Have you tried the versions at either of those places? I know Meredith does not work at Esca anymore.. and Jacks Fifth is closed, but they were truly amazing renderings of this very simpl dessert.

Do you want to try this out and tell us what happens Steve? Maybe you can even take pictures to share with us. I am sorry about mixing you with another user. Injiras are similar in texture to a thick dosa and a thin uthappan. In fact they are closer to what an appam is.

How does one make thick cookies? The ones my friend baked were too thin for my liking. Are there tips on how to ensure thickness??

It may not be fine enough for your taste Steven if you were to do that. I think you had, forgive me if I remember wrongly, made fun of Ethiopian food. The result would be similar to the Ethiopian injira, maybe thicker. If you have had Uthappam, it should be like that. Not quite as moist as an injera, but similar.

Steven you go to Target or any such store. You buy a large skillet or griddle (16-20 inches) or smaller if you cannot find them. You start preparing the batter days before you want to eat Dosas. If you do not have a large skillet, you make small dosas as are the tradition in the homes anyways. Not that difficult really. And amazingly tasty.. Once you have mastered the art, you will have Dosas at home that can be as thin and crisp if not more, and most often without as much grease. In fact, the only difference is that the Dosas made without ghee or butter or oil, as would be the case in restaurants, can be thin and crisp, but would be of a paler color. You can add copious sums of fat and you can have that rich color if you so choose. I tend not to want the fat if it only changes the color.