Suvir Saran

Bhajias are great. I love onion bhajia as well. You can try the above recipe. I am sure you will love it. Add more onion than I suggest... maybe remove some of the spinach and add very finely sliced onions instead. And do tell us what you think. I am sure the Dane will love the chicken pakora recipe that a scottish chef will share with us.

I have a recipe for Chicken Pakora I use that's very popular with my cusomters. I'll put it up here if you would like. Or would it be better in a different thread? I'm a bit lost at the minute as to whats ok to posts hither and thither You can post the recipe here.. or start a new thread called Chicken Pakora. But post you must.. you now have Anna all hungry.. Dane waiting and also me and my friends.. Thanks.

I thought I was very nice. Galleys please.

When is Rebeccas book coming out? Is it out already??

Vegetable Pakoras

Besan and Pakoras You may find some great recipes and tips on the above thread. Jason/Anna, have you made these yet??

Peppercorns

Peppercorn Taxonomy, Washington Post

Ben, Have you made Mattar Paneer or any other Indian food lately?

Thanks Stellabella! What size Cast Iron skillet did you use? I feel like making them now (2:28 AM, EST).. but will bake a pistachio cake instead. I have no desire to sleep. I shall bake and hopefully not tease my own SO and the neighbors with smells.

I throw out old batches periodically. But I prefer gifting portions of what I have with me away as friends marvel at them. I know I will be happier for having shared what I had.. for then I can go buy a fresher batch when it is running low. My spice and ingredient pantry is 10 feet by 5 feet. It has many shelves and curiously a crystal chandelier that was left behind by the previous owner. It was soo not in our taste that it was hung in the pantry. Makes for lots of light in that small room. This room that is a walk in closet entered to from the kitchen, houses spices, dried herbs, seeds, stalks, leaves, barks, stems et al.... and also stuff like mango puree and coconut milk, condensed milk, milk powder and canned tomatoes. In the summer the deck and window sill have a wide assortment of herbs, fruits and vegetables growing. In these wintry days I can still find some mint, basil, jalapenos, curry leaves, salad greens growing in the bases of the jasmine and hibiscus standards, bay leaf, ginger, galangal, serranos and meyer lemons. They come indoors and take over half the bedroom where they are arranged on shelves as they winter indoors. It is a chore that takes up a great deal of time, but is well worth it. I am glad my SO is passionate about plants. They end up doing most of the care. I decided long ago that I would let this passion of mine get dormant. One needs only a single green thumb in one garden. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many green thumbs can over fertilize a patch. I find most all my herbs in the deck in the summer. In the winter we make do with what we have at home.. and for those special dinners, Balduccis has always been convenient. For Spices I will only ever use Foods Of India. It is the cleanest spice market I have even been to. The spices are of a quality much higher than what finds through mail order or at Kalustyans. I have no qualms about paying a few pennies extra per pound as I get the best I can get anywhere. My mother and other friends of the family and some relatives take back some spices from this store to India. That is how good the quality is. The spices come from Guatemala. Foods of India 121 Lexington Avenue New York City, NY Tel: (212) 683 4419 They ship around the country.

Have you tried the Ratna Mango Puree? If you can find it, give it a try, it is the puree of Alfonso Mangoes. The most revered mango from India. Let me know what you think. What cocktails have you made thus far? What desserts have you tried from the Pierre Herme book? I have never baked anything from it.

I would love a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding... Could I beg you for it? Also what cookbook do you know of that has a great recipe for it? I could eat this all winter long.

You are bad... very very very bad... You have made me a baby again... I crave these and friends of mine that have been lavished with these brownies now demand them... I make a batch at least each week.. I have tried them with every chocolate I can lay my hand on.... I have enjoyed using Valrhona the best.... But also enjoyed Scharffen Berger. Michel Cluizel and the El Ray did not move my taste buds positively when used in this recipe. I have also made batches where I have mixed chocolate brands. Is that an OK thing to do? And Lesley, thanks for bringing this recipe (Best Ever Brownies) into my life. They are simply delicious. And as you had first mentioned the saltiness of them, I now understand exactly what you meant. Having eaten these and gotten addicted to them, I find even those brownies that I once enjoyed, lacking in overall depth of flavor. And I think the salt in these has a great role to play. Thanks Lesley!

All of that, Suvir. I'm amazed at how easy this dish is to make. I made a simple lemon and coriander sauce to serve it with and the crackers came in the box. I have no idea what they are, but they are very crunchy and sort of nutty. I took a picture of the finished item but I can't get it to display. I'm fair scunnered with this now as it's taken hours just to get the image uploaded. Now I have....eGullet wont/can't display it. If you want, you can email me the link. Let me see if the link works. And thanks for taking the picture. Looking forward to seeing it.

Jim it should not have been the way it occurred. The restaurant was certainly not owned by an Indian from either the North or Gujarat or Bombay. These are main regions where you will find different Chaats. They are not a part of Southern India. What you were served seemed like a Bhalla or Vada. Those are the donut shaped lentil and rice dumplings. These are eaten if served as donuts soaked in a lentil and vegetable stew or as Bhalle or Dahi Pakori or Gujia immersed in a spiced yogurt and topped with chutneys. Bahle Poori must be a miss pronunciation of Bhalle. Not sure where they got poor added to that name. Sorry! But no sorry, the story only gets more interesting, I think what you had was Paani Poori or Gol Gappas or Puchkas, the names of the same dish. These are little puffy balls (crisps),you make a hole into them, stuff them with potatoes and other condiments and then pour a spicy water into it and eat it in one bite. Could this have been what you had? The green sauce was very water??? If so, you did eat Gol Gappas also called Paani Poori or Puchkas. It is one of my favorite street foods from India. It is not Bhel Puri. It is totally different. I would eat dozens of these as a kid. They take some time getting used to the taste, but once you have gotten used to them, they are addictive. If she served you paani poori calling it Bhel, she really does not know what she is doing. Paani is the hindi word for water. Poori is the word for crispy fried breads. Paani poori is the name of the dish in which you pour the green water and eat the potato stuffed poori in one bite. It can also be called Gol Gappas or Puchkas as I noted above. Bhel Puri is made with rice puffs and chickpea flour noodles and has onions and potatoes mixed into this and tamarind chutney and mint chutney. These are tossed together and served while the rice is still crunch and crackling as it absorbs the liquid from the condiments. The lady was misinformed. Unfortunately it has nothing to do with regional dialect issues. My question is... in the end did you try two different dishes? Which one did you prefer Jim? Maybe if you have a digital camera, you can take pictures next time..and get the names that match them.. would be interesting to see how someone can make such a mistake. I apologize for this experience. I hope you enjoyed the stuff though. Chaat literally means lick. But it also implies mouth watering good- lickable and delicious and usually is the expression used to speak about street foods.

Beautifully said! And may I add austere is not also the same as mediocre.

Thanks! The image of Purple Passion was a nice distraction.

Thanks for your kind thoughts. No need to reverse what you said. It was said and it is behind you. You have moved on. The moment is changed. We are now here and speaking of your wonderful grandmother. I am sure as you think of her and those wonderful things about her that have haunted you for over 40 years, you will find many reasons to let you momentary depression not be anything more. Thanks for helping me deal with mine better.

My maternal grandmother hardly ever used cayenne. Telicherry pepper was her spice to add heat and flavor to most dishes. My grandfather cannot tolerate chile heat. And she loved spicy foods, but never cooked with it at home. She came to our home (that of my paternal grandma) to enjoy spicy dishes.

Will check the box for you Mam. One moment please.

Do not be. You are describing a joy many people share with you. While I am not able to enjoy a BLT, I know people I love that crave it often and find it very satisfying. And a thick slab of beefsteak tomato is a wonderful and joyous thing. Especially in those summer months. You have made me smile with joy, hope and fond memories. Thanks!

Simon, a most interesting thread. Makes great sense. I have seen even in my last 10 years that progressively I have gone from craving and preparing complex dishes to enjoying the bold pleasure that is mine after savoring simple dishes today. If things remain as they seem to be naturally headed, I fear like my grandma, I will one day use canned beans with little if any embarrassment. Maybe I need to be the next canned bean user to fill her void. She used them when she needed to. Beans had been reduced to a pleasure they indulged in sparingly. They are not easy on the tummy, especially older ones. So the far lighter lentils and peas were used for daily cooking. And they also just happen to be easier to prepare. Life has a great way of humbling us.. and certainly our tastes evolve and just plain ole life happens. As for Indian food being simple, I have to agree with you that your recipes are very simple and I enjoy them for that reason. But what may be simple to you and I may seem frightening to some here for it is foreign in some ways as well. A simple bruschetta seemed a great ordeal for me to prepare until I had lost my fear of the unknown. The same is true for preparing corn bread. But yes, my tastes are getting simpler by the day.

Stellabella, Please share details of your moms banana pudding. Has me thinking about the recipe I share in my cookbook. How is your mothers banana pudding made?

Jaymes I feel fortunate to have found many good people through eGullet. You are one of those that inspirits me with hope for a tomorrow that is redolent with more good stuff to make future memories with. I enjoy your writings around the site. How is your novel coming along?