Suvir Saran

I would not be shy of asking that myself. Indian food has been contemporary for generations.. for ages... Madhur Jaffrey and my own family, have had contemporary Indian food for as long as our communities history. We are both Kayasthas, and it is fascinating as we delve into the history of our community, we discover the many foreign influences they accepted and embraced and changed and added into their own. I hardly believe any cuisine becomes contemporary by losing what it has in its own closet. We do well, if in all things we do, we never have to worry about hiding in the closet. If Indian cuisine wants to become contemporary, it only need to look beyond its own limitations if any. I do not think we have even explored a very tiny percentage of what Indian cuisine has in its outrageously rich culinary landscape. It is premature for Indian cuisine to worry about borrowing richness.... at least in the US.... for now, we ought to first re-discover what we have in India, and have never seen here, then find ways of refining those elements to their necessary glory. And only then, and that will take a long time, can we worry about how we can change ourselves by adding what we do not have. It is all there, it only needs to be found, understood and shared. I cannot agree with you more. But I am also for change, movement and discovery. All I am suggesting is that it is premature to think we have become stagnant. Yes we are stagnant in the world of Indian cuisine in the US, but go back to India, leave the homes of family and friends..... go to those of people you hardly know.. or of family and friends of those you never really knew to well, and certainly another India will come alive. One which will enrich quickly and fully with new ideas, inspirations and new departures. India is most compelling to me when I can see it both as ancient and contemporary at the same time. It is only that India I crave and love and indulge in. India like all countries and cultures, has its own share of lethargy, complacency, fanatic beliefs and idiocies, but certainly those do not help in making India contemporary. They only push us way back into time, and rob the essence of what India really was and always is. Something beyond the limitations of time, mood and any one social norm. In India's plurality is India's biggest asset. In that plurality, being contemporary is easy and certain.

Your guess is as good as my unintelligent one. I need to do far more research before I make any comments. The home page does make reference to Eurasian and also has chopsticks and a rich Chinese Red plate. I think Indian is not what I read in first glance. I do find Indian inspirations and also some Indian dishes, as those Monica mentioned. But would I think of this restaurant as Indian or even as a next step in Indian dining???? Not sure... again, need to do more homework on my end. Gotta run... see you all soon...

masala potatoes too.

i looked at the website--i'm having trouble seeing how it is "contemporary indian"--can someone explain? is it because garam masala is used in one dish? Mongo, I thought the same... but one has to look deeper into the menu. Would hate to shoot from the hip and react prematurely. I shall spend more time browsing the site this weekend.

Maybe you ought to interview the likes of Marion Nestle (ex Chair of the Dept. of Nutrition & Food Studies at NYU) and Carol Guber (Well respected expert on Diabetes, author, foodie, womens rights advocate and Diabetes foundation spokesperson and nutritionist) on what this diet really does or does not do. Any research or story would be largely biased and incomplete without the voices of experts that have spent great time learning about the diet and its nutritional effect on the human body. All the best with your research Monica.

welcome to eGullet! Your post will make me think hard as I try and rest my mind and body. You have shared some interesting things here. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

I checked mine. NADA.......... Zilch........ May be you can send it again. Looking forward for the recipe........ Nothing in my mail either. Monica, if you can, I too would love the recipe.

Bengalis have mastered the art of cooking fish I think. And yes fish eyes and fish heads play a very important role.

As I speak with my friend, I am being chastised for not remembering that turbot is a bottom dweller. Hence both eyes are on one side. I am being hounded for I love animals, fish and birds, and spend a great deal of time learning about them...hence my friends first reaction was duh... and I said.. bottom dweller... So, it has two eyes, and both on the left side. The right side is facing the bottom... so it is also lighter than the left side... and the left side will have markings that are more pronounced. All of this will make sense if you know that turbot is a bottom dweller. Not sure if the lack of a 3rd eye still makes this a "fun fact". But now you have it.

Congratulations! That must feel wonderful. I just called a friend in Eastern Canada, and they confirmed that turbot is found there and also sent to the US for restaurant sale mostly.

Dover sole is often confused with turbot but not the same. You can find it in most specialty seafood stores. I know sometimes at the restaurants I have worked with, they found them through vendors that had Canadian and Norwegian fish. You can find steaks and fillets. As a curry, it is of limited desire for non-Indian tastes. But certainly if prepared with care, it will be just fine. Many Indians find it rather fishy and oily...but there are marination tricks that change that. Is this research for the cookbook or dailygullet? Wish you well.

It is a flatfish. Makes it an interesting (not great) match for tandoori cooking. I remember hearing something odd about the eyes of this fish... either that it had an extra eye or that both eyes are on one side. Some such detail that escapes my memory. It is an oily fish and is very high in pottasium... I remember that from my fathers liver failure debacle... pottasium was toxic to him at that point...

FISH

It was her book that I was referring to. I saw excerpts from it yesterday... and I wondered if many would associate with what she calls booty food. The book has amazing photographs. And I am partial here... maybe my association with the photographer has me blind.

I made a friend taste Drum Stick sambhaar and they totally did not get it. They found the eating of drum stick totally not anything of pleasure and far too much of a chore. I did not know how to react.. I tried hard to share the ways in which Indians eat them.. enjoy them and crave for them... nothing helped. I gave up.. and enjoyed them myself.

Indian food as Booty Food? Really? How so? I am sure you can find ways of getting into details without really stirring the pot on eGullet too much. Please tell. What was the menu of this Indian feast? How did he enjoy it?

I think we may have to think less heritage and more modern day speak. Forget what English, even American English could defind booty as... think of booty as a definition of what a rapster may take it as meaning. Do I make any sense?

welcome to eGullet! What movie could you be speaking of? Remember the name? What a great story.

I've got a couple of ideas too....but I was wondering what others think when they hear Booty Food.

Is there anything called Booty Food? What constitutes a dish to be called as such? Who are the famous Booty Food experts? What should one know about this cuisine?

Ms. Wolfert, I must first thank you for taking time to do this Q&A with us eGulleteers. Nothing is better for us members (at least, I confidently speak for myself) than the perk of having guests such as yourself come and do these sessions. You have an established expertise within the many different culinary streams. And to each of those, you have brought great repute and research. Thanks:smile: Would you tell us how important a role clarified butter (or similar products, such as smen, ghee, etc) plays in the cuisines of the Middle East, North Africa, Mediterranean and the Eastern world that has had trading or influence of the Middle East. Also, do you use clarified butter in your American kitchen? Do you find yourself bringing it from foreign lands? Do you make it yourself? What difference do you find between these? What does it relate to taste wise? Maybe you could share a lore or two related to clarified butter? Thanks for this Q&A and also for being a fellow member of eGullet. Your posts enrich eGullet in many ways. They certainly inspire me to indulge in food and food memories more intimately. The article on clay pot cooking was simply wonderful.

tana, we look forward to seeing you at Amma.