Suvir Saran

SamanthaF, you could find out what the meat was. In Denver, they give us a list which states all of that. All the best to ScottF and you.

Complete text for what I wrote about the cuisine of Punjab. Just in case anyone is interested. The recipe I shared on the thread to which Toby gives a link was for Baingan Bharta (eggplant dish). And no, it is not made in the tandoor. Punjabi Cuisine Punjab is in the north of India. The food of Punjab is rich in texture & taste. Indian cuisine owes the popularity of Tandoori foods to the people of Punjab. Tandoori chicken as we see today comes from Punjab. The food is usually rather rich and laced in ghee, butter and cream. Like many other regional cuisines, Punjabi food has seen a fusion of its own. Being on the frontier, it saw many invasions and many different people coming in. Each of these people have left their own influence on the people of Punjab and their food. This cuisine has taken the best of all the food styles and combined them to make another great cuisine. This food has become so popular in India that often when people think of Indian food they are talking about Punjabi food. People are drawn to the delicious aromas of these thick luscious gravies and the delicious breads that accompany them. Punjabis live a very full life and to them food is one of the most important ritual. In India it often seems like no one knows how to enjoy life as much as the people of Punjab.

Did that say that all tandoori foods are from Punjab? I said we owe the POPULARITY of it to the people of Punjab.

I guess you did not eat the majority of the non Tandoori dishes served that night. What a shame! I am sorry. It must have been my error. I am glad though that you have found some good food at Tabla BB. That is what matters. It hardly matters to me if you enjoy Indian food at Diwan or Tabla or Tamarind or Dakshin. It is the enjoyment of my peoples food by others that for some reason, makes me very very happy. Back to the eGullet Diwan meal, most attendees seem to have been amazed at the quality, taste, uniqueness and variety at that meal. Maybe I missed your table as I made rounds that night sharing the details about each dish and also some geographic tidbits. My apologies to you and your table-mates for not having given you the same experience others were given. A majority of the dishes were not from the Tandoor. And hardly any were from Punjab. But I guess the Tandoori dishes stood out for you somehow. Well, that is true, most people, many non-Indian, but certainly even the most well respected taste makers of India, supplicate in front of the foods served by Hemant. That is the wizardry he shows in his kitchen. Tandoor or curry. And Tandoori foods as we know, came from the area around modern day Pakistan for the most part. And became popular after the partition of India. The wild boar and the venison are from Madhya Pradesh. So very very far from Punjab. These are still made in the areas of Madhya Pradesh in ovens like tandoors, that unlike the Northern Tandoors, are set into the ground. India has used oven like the tandoor for as long as it has had a documented history. The recipes used at Diwan and many other restaurants that have gone away from the plain ole tandoori cooking that most are familiar with, borrow heavily from the other such recipes. And my grandparents fled Pakistan and came to India... and hardly anyone had time to bring back Tandoors. It is a play with words. And beautiful in sharing the love of food of these people. Sorry, the meal you ate at Diwan, that you loved as per your mail to me after the event, was hardly Punjabi in its menu. It was as diverse as you are going to get anywhere in the world of Indian cooking. And again, Table and Diwan cannot be compared... I think someone in this thread said it was like comparing apples and oranges. And I agree with them. I am glad that those that have enjoyed Tabla BB have felt that way. I wish you many more wonderful meals there. And look forward to reading your posts about them. It is always wonderful to read about restaurants that continue to grow and make people happy. I cannot imagine Danny Meyer and chef Floyd Cardoz doing anything but that.

Actually I think it was four of us. And to be accurate, it was just one meal at The Bread Bar we were describing. But Suvir's statement about comparisons being "odious" is amusing in light of the title of his post; Whose Indian Food Really Stands Out? Unless I am mistaken, the inference has to be that "Stands Out" means other Indian restaurants. Unless Suvir meant to say that the food at Diwan stands out from Katz's Delicatessen or Dim Sum GoGo or McDonald's etc.? Steve Plotnicki, I was only giving the title given by Gael Greene and NY Magazine. Maybe you can write a letter to the magazine telling them what you feel about those words.

eGullet Indian banquet at Diwan The above thread has member feedback after the banquet at Diwan.

I have a different take. Some of the dishes at Diwan are unusual--the beggar's purse for example. At the eGullet dinner it was remarkable that we didn't have the usual main dishes, e.g., kormas, curries with lots of sauce. In contrast, many of the dishes I tasted at TBB were familiar to me though I agree some were tweaked. Also, Goan dishes are available in most Indian places in UK high streets and I've had them (and seen them on plenty of menus) in NY too. I see both Diwan and TBB as offering traditional as well as unusual dishes. Interesting you say what you do. Great post Yvonne. And now going back to the foods of these two restaurants.... A friend from Goa found the Balchao and the Vindaloo and Diwan far better than what he eats back home in India. And he found what he ate at Tabla not at par.. and a joke. But I have had some good food at Tabla. And some great Kulfi. And like you Yvonne, I find that both TBB and Diwan offer dishes that are unique and traditional. And I can well imagine that people will go to each of choose one over the other when craving certain dishes. It really does not make either one better. They are what they are.

Toby, what were these Punjabi dishes you speak of that were served at the Diwan banquet? Toby, you use the word in the plural, and suggest they were all "tried-and-true formula" dishes, maybe you can educate me about that banquet.. and what was served...I hardly thought there was any great Punjabi influence in that meal.. but maybe Smita Chandra and you know more than what some others who are also keenly and intimately familiar with Indian cuisine. Maybe Mr. Mathur the chef at Diwan, and I can learn from what Smita Chandra, or whoever else you refer to have taught you about Indian and more importantly Punjabi cuisine. Maybe even Michael Batterberry of Food Arts Magazine ( a man who has traveled to India many times and over decades) and Gael Greene who is only recently back from India (after travels to many of its regions) can learn from you and your sources. They certainly are very different from what any Indian or old India hand is familiar with. As for Tabla and Diwan, they are each very unique and different from each other. There is little if any commonality between them that would make them even remotely easy to compare. And actually, comparisons are odious. And personal preferences are worthy of encouraging and this world has great space for each of us to have our favorites. It does not make the favorite of another any lesser.

This sounds incredible! Suvir -- have you ever tried this? I have tried it, yes. I love the basic old fashioned recipe the most. I had made rabri at home in Denver last night. We ate these with chilled rabri. They were heavenly. Let us know how the nans come out.

Whose Indian Food Really Stands Out?

Ask Gael (New York Magazine) Whose Indian food really stands out? Let Jaipur-born chef Hemant Mathur deliver Diwan’s amazing new $50 tasting menu for a nirvana that would be tough to orchestrate on your own........ Click here to read further.

And we should not forget to mention for all here that Saraswati is now a river that is considered mythical... people say it once flowed in this region....and it was at the confluence of these three rivers that the famous Kumbh Mela is still celebrated. The story about this river is more involved, but is not food related.. so just this much should suffice for now. What is most amazing to me is how these three rivers have affected most every art form in the Indian lifestyle. Not surprising thus that even cuisine has borrowed their names.

Indiagirl, it would be great if you could share that recipe.. In my cookbook I have a recipe using oranges. They were used quite commonly in the Moghul kitchens. But alas, their use has seemed to have ended as abruptly as the empire after Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Exactly what I was wanting to mention. It is amazing as a digestive. Works wonders. It is as you say the perfect thing to have for a tummy ache.. and even better when feeling nauseous. It always works. It is most often added in Indian cooking in dishes where chefs (mothers for the most part) know they want the people eating to have some digestives as they eat the dishes. Thus it often gets added into dough for parathas, pooris etc...

You can make it even in cooler weather... Kulfi is always welcome. And if you want, you can serve it with chilled soup... Let me know.. And I can send you a recipe.

Thanks Indiachef! Yes I do think most restaurants and also home chefs of Indian origin have found Half & Half a relief when making Indian desserts. If prepared carefully, these desserts hardly taste much worse, if at all. I have been served Kulfi, kheer and payasam made with Half & Half that is far superior to those made by the same people with just whole milk. Not a bad thing....But yes whole milk, if cooked slowly and with love, can give amazing results... but I hardly find that being done anywhere. Personally, I would be happier eating the results of something made with several hours less using Half & Half, but cooking with care, than something made with little affection, and using whole milk, that tastes poor and sad. Half & Half is not all that bad... and I must agree I have begun using it in my kitchen too. I have never had the milk powder flavor in my kulfi yet....I have been making it with Half & Half for years now. Maybe I am doing differently, maybe even wrong....Also, some of the restaurants where I have had milk powder texture and flavor, have added what some Indian stores sell as khoya powder. That is what changes the creamy texture. Actually, some of the best Kulfi in India always has a little gritty texture... in fact many Indians crave and enjoy that... but it comes from wanting that, not from using Half & Half. I love malai kulfi... now you will have me missing it all week. How do you make yours using Half & Half? Or are you speaking generally?

Anna, I did not want to push you... hope things settle down for you... What did The Dane eat it with? I am glad it met his approval. As for your daughter, she seems to be a die hard fan of Indian food.... I am glad the tomatoes worked well for you....

Thanks for the great information Indiachef. Now I hope you will share more details about the sentences above. You say using Half and Half has been found to be better and cheaper...and then you say it has made them rather ordinary....what do you really think? WHere do you live? Do you ever use Half and Half? How do you make your kulfi?

I love gulab jamuns piping hot and with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Kala Jamuns work best for me at room temperature... I love them both. Recently someone served me Amul's Gulab Jamuns. They are available in most Indian grocery stores... They were good.. but not as good as the last time I tasted them.. around 3 years ago.

Yes it is.... It is a charming change from the rest of the more tacky Indian restaurants... I have never understood from where Indian restaurants find their inspiration for tacky and sad ambience... but this one is better of the lot I have visited in Denver.. The facade is actually impressive... I wish even the dining room was that compelling, that would make this restaurant one of the best in the US.

Thanks Colestove... I shall try and find these places... Today, I have come home way past midnight with over $70 worth of ice cream from the Safeway... The freezer is looking like mine in NYC... stacked with scores of pints of ice cream.. of all flavors...

How did you like the Valrhona hot chocolate?

My grandmother had taught me this trick. But unfortunately, I had raita in the refrigerator that day. No plain yogurt.

I saved the ghee. And it really did not burn through. Just darker than usual. It is being used almost daily.. I made some fresh ghee for the besan ke ladoos I made for the prayer ceremony for my grandpas death anniversary.. so now I have two batches of ghee. One perfect in color and one a little darker.

And???