Suvir Saran

All Jealous of you!

Steven we prepare several wheat free breads. From many different grains. In fact people fast in India daily for many different reasons. And the first thing you give up for a fast is most often wheat and rice. Thus, many other flours are used. There is Missi Roti that is made very commonly in Indian homes. And then there are the most amazing Besan kee Roti or Besan Ka Paratha. They are made with chickpea flour. Some add some wheat flour to the mix. Some chefs do not. They are made like most other Indian flatbreads. If you need a recipe, let me know. I shall work on some for you.

ASC, Do you want to start a thread on Ghee and flavored ghee? Maybe in that thread you can also explain to us what vegetable ghee is. Is that OK? Thanks ASC!

Since I was a young boy, this deeply spiritual element of Indian cooking has fascinated me. It is the same across the regions and religions. The Hindus, Moslems, Jews, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains of India have all found spirituality an easy way of dealing with food and life. And what is amazing is how they have all adopted very similar routines. The differences between these new world and old world religions dissappears in the kitchens. And my grandma always said you must cook with great peace of mind. Any tensions in our minds can be a poison in the food. And it is that angst that will give people a stomach ache after eating food cooked by one that is not at peace with themselves. Babu seems to have give you a lot to think about.. and it is wonderful to see you give him so much in sharing his views and experiences. Thanks ASC.

You could Give yourself a headstart with the spicing of oils or ghee to cook your spices and curries in. It's very useful to keep the oil you use for cooking pakoras, bhajias and popadoms in as it then has hints of additional flavour (all Indian in essence) and you could then add a large peeled garlic clove and an eqaul sized peice of ginger after using the oil as it cools. Drain it all through a very fine mesh and you have a fine start to any curry sauce or dish. Adding a dozen mixed peppercorns, sometimes a few dried red chillies can help too. Labeling helps you recall which has chillies and which not. Good luck with your experiments. More importantly, have fun when conducting them Interesting... I have never thought of doing this for Indian cooking. I infuse oils and use them for so many other dishes I make. Does the oil remain clean and fresh?? How long have you done this ASC?

Thanks for sharing the recipe Indiagirl! What I love about some of these amazing Southern Indian recipes is the brilliant use of lentils and beans as spices. In these tadkas (tempering oils), beans and lentils are used to flavor the oil and give the dish a flavor unique to these lentils. What is also amazing is the crunch and "tooth" they add to the dish. Monica, what Queen were your parents friendly with? Now I am all curious. I am writing a story about the foods of the royal families, maybe I can use this particular family as well. It is fascinating that they used mustard seeds for tadka. How long has that family used mustard seeds for Raita? It is a curious issue... I can imagine it being used in the last 20 years... but if they did so before.. they were way ahead of the trends. Would you be able to get this information without too much trouble? If you can, I shall be indebted to you greatly. And certainly I will give you credit as well.

Yvonne, Tuhin is a sweet young man. Trained at the Taj group of hotels and in Catering School in India, he is as smart as they get. When they opened they were great. Tuhin Dutta is still working there. He is doing too much. Chefs need to be able to do what they do best. But for poor Tuhin, I am not sure if it is his own desire or perhaps budgetary concerns that have spread him thin in the kitchen. The food is inconsistent and poor. He is still working there. I stopped by a couple of months ago to check on that fact. I had three very bad meals there and was shocked and not wanting to believe that Tuhin could have had his name associated with such mediocre fare. Unfortunately he was there... we had coffee together at the restaurant. If he has left in the last two months, that is new to me. I normally get to hear all the politics of the Indian Subcontinental restaurant scene on a weekly basis. Their service has always been spotty. But for that matter I am not usually too impressed by service at too many Indian restaurant.

Masala has authentic Idlis and Dosas (Southern Indian dishes). Their Rasam (a southern Indian soup like broth) was poor. The coconut chutney was also authentic and better than most I have eaten in the US. Their Sambhaar was great one time.. not good the two other times. Consistency has been an issue. Overall, their Idlis and Dosas are superb. Better than any NYC restaurant or even Hampton Chutney. Star of India has very nice Punjabi home style food. But this is home style party food. The family serves and manages the restaurant. It is not professional but has the atmosphere that comes from a family closely running a place. They do what they can.... and with smiles and charm. They could be more professional, I am not sure if that would make them better. IN fact I love the part that is so homey. Indias was wanting to be professional and yet was far from it. And their food wanted to be Indian restaurant fare but was terrible. I shall write about the others we visit after I have visited them. I know the doctor has given my father a name of some new restaurant today. Bombay ??? Not sure what the entire name is.... Will keep you posted.

That makes complete sense! I had never tried using whole spices to flavor the oil of a curry dish, but I think I'll give it a shot this weekend. I can't believe I haven't come across that in any of the articles I've read on Indian cooking. What a great tip! And what you're saying about the spices (in the GM powder) losing their oils in the grinding process makes total sense. I'm going to be experimenting this weekend. Let us know what all you experimented with this weekend. Have a good one.

I'm assuming you mean desert Suvir. right? Thank you... sorry about that.. I meant desert.

Exactly what sparked my question. Mustard seeds are not too common in Rajasthani cooking. They are used in Southern Indian pachadis (raita). The maharani in question traveled and so must have picked it up. Pachadis (Southern Indian Raitas) are amazing. Just for this fact.. the fried mustard seeds and curry leaves and often a pinch of asafetida makes for a great flavor in the yogurt.

We frequent the grocery store on Mississippi near us. Just outside of Denver and into Aurora. Otherwise we have also been to the two on South Parker. The one near Masala and the other is called Bombay Bazaar. Are there any you like more? Which ones are your favorite?

Monica, Where did you learn this recipe? It is fascinating.... Cucumber Raita is indeed quite common in Rajasthan. Melons and Cucumber thrive in the dessert there. The spices you use and how you use are somewhat unique. Wonderful. I was wondering if you have picked this recipe from a particular region , or if you just gave it the name Rajasthani as a way of remembering the love of these people for cucumbers.

This is a great question.... And one most home chefs will answer with a surprisingly common answer. For the most part whole garam masala is used in the first stage of cooking something. This is a process whereby you fry the whole spices in oil or ghee or butter, this brings out the essential oils of the spices, flavors the oil and thereby makes the resulting curry (sauce) one of very complex spice flavors. Garam Masala powder is mot often only added at the very end of cooking. The fine powder has a great bouquet and you want to keep that alive when you get the food onto the table. The reason you use the powder is not to add to the very complex back spicing of a dish, but you want to add a front taste that is almost full of zing and a statement that is at once immediate and then allowing of a background of spices to come into play without fighting against them. It is that which powdered garam masala is used for in most dishes. Powdered spices cannot exude as much of their essential oils into anything for they have already exuded that in the process of being crushed. What you do when you fry powders is to actually make the spice more subtle. On the other hand whole spices will leave a much stronger essential oil into the dish. Does any of this make sense??

And also, the lamb chops that are most famous from Indian Mughlai cooking are very large, unruly, big chops with extra marinade and little fuss in trimming. These are what people expect, and these are what great Indian chefs prepare. In fact sadly, chefs that are not skilled, often make smaller ones and those that are trimmed well, but they lose in their subtlety and taste. But that is what an Indian palate wants.. and also what many people in NYC have begun to enjoy. But this could be a lot of people that I know that may not be too food savvy. They are too happy and reverential to something that is rustic but very tasty to their palates.

Thanks for the post, Pete. It certainly seems from many posts here following the eGullet banquet that Diwan is maintaining its high standards. So did you pick up the chops with your fingers and start gnawing ? If not, why not ? I believe it's absolutely proper etiquette to do so in an Indian restaurant. I believe that even in "polite" society in India, much food is eaten using the fingers. Certainly I have seen pieces of bread (nan, paratha, puri, chapati) broken off and used as a scoop to pick up food the main dish. I'd be interested to know if it would be considered etiquette to do so at Diwan. Suvir ? Ajay ? Martin you raise a great point. It is absolutely proper to eat chops with your hands. In fact, many Indians would laugh at those that eat these amazing chops any other way. A sign of being "wimpish", and you know how certain families will do all they can to never get labeled as wimpish. As for the chops, the way Hemant makes them is the correct way. It is the Indian way. There is no other way of making them. I know people from this forum and foodies of great snob appeal that treat Chef Mathurs lamb chops with a position of great culinary reverence. And at least one of these revered foodies is known to eat the entire chop. Bone too. And he feels the marinade on the bone makes the bone so much more fun to finish. He is known to eat bones with most of his chicken and lamb chop meals. I am in Denver, not sure what standards Diwan is maintaining or not, but those that email me or post here after their meals, have certainly left a not so dim an opinion. I also know Chef Mathur reads eGullet regularly and calls me to say how grateful he is about this forum, for it gives him a way of continuing to improve his food. Not all dishes are prepared to meet the needs of a particular group alone. These chops that do not impress some, impress a very large number of people that call them food from their land. And in the end, that is what matters.. and the following the chef at Diwan and the chefs at other Indian establishments have found after executing them in this "wet" style is overwhelming in number and almost entirely positive and overt. Ed Schoenfeld has often told me he really enjoys Hemant Mathurs lamb chops. Maybe he can speak about them... and tell us how he would eat these.... I think he has no fears about eating them with his hands... and if I remember correctly, I have seen him enjoy the wet marinade that coats the bone. But I could be wrong.... my memory could be failing me... Ed, would you tell us what you do with these Indian style lamb chops? Would you eat them with your hand? Has their being wet ever stopped you from enjoying them???

Rstarobi, Hemant Mathur is off Sundays and some Saturday lunch services. Please feel free to call him any time... as Ajay suggests, doing between service or before is best. He would be happy to plan a meal with you.. or make sure he knows you are coming at an appointed time. Let me know if I can help. Email me.. I can send you my cellular (917 number) and can help you if you need.

ASC, did Babu teach you how to make Bread Pakoras? They are a great snack to sell in a stall, cart or a snack type of space. I hope I am not far from the truth in understanding that you own somekind of an Indian establishment. I think somewhere recently, you had mentiond it to be a cart or a stall.. am I right? If you want the recipe for bread pakoras, I can try and write one for you... I make them often.. in fact, if my dad is up for taking a bite of one, I shall volunteer to make it in the near future. It is simply a slice of bread that is dipped in spiced chicpea flour batter (similar consistency as for a pakora/bhajia/piazi/bora batter). And then the besan dipped slice of bread is deep fried like a pakora. They are heavenly. In our home Panditji would fill the bread with stuff and then dip it in the batter and then fry. They were amazing. I am looking forward to reading about Babu and also to know more about your own enterprise.

My brother who has come from India for the duration of my parents stay here in Denver, has cucumber raita with each meal. I make it daily. I dice the cucumbers very finely. My mother chops them into medium dice. Panditji in India would always grate the cucumber. When in NYC, I also grate it... but often simply dice it very very fine. I like it each way... they all have their own charm... but I know some friends and family members that are very picky about how the cucumber must be handled. What does your recipe entail? While we are discussing cucumber raita, do you have any special recipes for it? Special tricks?

True, very true. It is all about timing. Thus, some of us cycle their way to the Greenmarket before going to bed. I do that a lot in the summer. I am up writing all night.. and at 6, just as most vendors are settling in... and before some have opened up fully, I find myself there and most often, those are the worst days for me... One cannot be too early.. or too late... One has to know the precise or near precise timing for the real goodies.. and there are plenty... and some of the vendors have family and friends helping that are very generous and very caring.. and have been known to be very nice to us eGulleteers.

Are we to assume that produce one buys at Union Square Market is very good or at a very high level? I have found the produce mediocre for the most part.. some fruits are good... the tomatoes can be excellent.. not always again... and some of the hot peppers are nice. Most often, if I find enough energy in the NY Summer, I would much rather go to Chinatown where I find the produce to be of a much better quality. Certainly meats and poultry and beef will be of much better quality or at least consistently so if sourced from a reputable vendor as the names FG suggests, but I am not sold on the Union Square inclusion. In fact, the farmers market in Brooklyn often has better fruit and veggies than Union Square. And I discovered that after Ed Schoenfeld once made me taste some of the stuff he had purchased there one Saturday. Going to the farmers market is an ongoing chore for me most year round. But especially in the summer. I go there more for the entire experience than for finding the best produce in town. Also I find it clean and more accessible to our home. Being the neat freak that I am... Chinatown is always somewhat more of a task for me. PS: A friend on the UES of Manhattan introduced me recently to a produce store that is called Farmers Market or some such curious name.. this store is in the 90s.. and again, some of the things I saw in that store in the winter, were of better quality than what one would find in the Union Square Market in the summer.

Had two more good meals at Masala. Their Idlis (rice and lentil steamed cakes) were excellent. Better than any I have eaten in NYC or anywhere else. They are as good as the best of India. The Sambhaar (the lentil and vegetable stew) has been inconsistent. On another day we went to India's at Tamarac Place.. terrible food... and really bad service. It was a terrible disappointment. What was worse was that one of the doctors had praised it highly to my dad, and he mustered up all his strength and made the trip for eating a teaspoon or so of some of the dishes he ordered... they were mostly all very bad... and the service was atrocious. The restaurant had been reviewed favorably by many magazines and dailies. I shall make another trip there before I leave Denver. To see why our experience was so different from all these others. There was another couple sitting besides us and they too were treated very badly.. in fact they complained on their way out.. and the owner/manager lectured them instead. The young man (who looked Indian) had come with a companion that was Caucasian... they were a charming couple.. the poor service got us all talking... I gave him the url for eGullet. I was hoping one of them would come and post about their own experience. Does anyone have any experiences to share about Indias??

Click here to learn about some of these Indian spices we use in Garam Masala Indiagirl has given us great recipes for garam masala. I am sure your hubby would love one of them. If you still want to play with more recipes.. here is a simple one I have enjoyed.. GARAM MASALA: 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces 2 bay leaves 1/4 cup cumin seeds 1/3 cup coriander seeds 1 rounded tablespoon green cardamom pods 1 rounded tablespoon black peppercorns 2 teaspoons whole cloves 1 whole, dried red chili 1/8 teaspoon ground mace Combine the cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, cardamom, peppercorns, cloves and red chili in a frying pan and toast over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cumin turns uniformly brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Put into a spice grinder and grind to a powder. Stir in the mace and store in an airtight container. Welcome to the Indian forum at eGullet. Glad that you made it to this spicy ghetto. Hope you enjoy it and share with us whatever you think would inspire the rest of us to cook more with spices and recipes from the Indian sub-continent. Garam Masala is a great way to begin the journey into the world of Indian cooking... thanks for this thread. Looking forward to reading more from you...

I was given this recipe and method by Babu (or more properly Moin). Mr Uddin is from Pakistan and he spent nearly four months of his life to train me and help me understand his methods. I should talk more of this man. He is a remarkable Chef. I don't like to take credit for the recipes he gave to me. This is all his work and my changes are minor and respectful. Would love to hear more about Babu. So yes if he is from Pakistan, it explains the Northern Indian touch of your recipe. It is superb. My sister made it today... I am sure she did not follow your recipe exactly, but I did leave it with her. She seemed happy. My life in Denver is also becoming all about food. Would you share more about Babu? Also about your own business... I would love to know more. Please.

Mostly all over India the onions are sliced for street side preparations. Piazi is the Bengali word for Bhajia. It is the old language word I am told. The family that owns Ananada Bazar Patrika has a chef that like Panditji has been in the family for eons and comes from a family of chefs. The Piazi they serve are light, crisp and crunchy. And yes street side versions come somewhat more greasy but just as tasty and over paper or leaf plates. ASC's version reminds me of the northern Indian home style recipes. These are bhajia/pakoras with a greater tooth, heartier and also more bold. I make both.. depending on where, when and for whom I am preparing them. Thanks ASC for your recipe. The coriander stems you add are that touch that many a chef will never share... thanks for writing it for us all to know. Very kind of you. I also love how you add lemon to the mix. I had an aunt that did that... And actually she claimed it was the lemon juice that made her pakoras so light and the breading so crisp.