Suvir Saran

I did not for a moment think Mongo was questioning me or Amma or money. He used the timing of my posting a menu on eGullet from Amma, that had Bhel Puri on it, as a way of discussing here a trend. That is what I understood and I have enjoyed the debate that has ensued. Did I get you wrong Mongo? Did you have a problem with Amma serving Bhel for $6? If so, I need to add other posts here. But I thought he had started a great thread... which could help us in the restaurant world understand trends... and maybe explore more of these street type foods and see if we can translate them for our environs. And yes, in doing so, he also shared the key factor for many of us when eating these foods, the attachment to memory. I love Bhel.. eat it at homes and restaurants.. but each time I have it, I miss the best Bhel Puri I would eat in South Extension Part 1 in New Delhi. I can never have Bhel and not revisit that part of my life. But it never stops me from having more Bhel and paying far greater sums of money than I used to in South Extension.

Vikram, if you had met me sooner, and planned a trip to San Francisco before this last Spring, I would have had grandmother make us these parathas. A staple of many a Punjabi kitchen and home. She would make them plump... bursting and yet, cleverly, not tearing. And then as the dough, always very thin, had cooked, she would tear it with her fingers, and fill ghee inside the paratha and then cook it just a little more... it would really make the paratha magical and unlike any you can get anywhere else. I tried and the steam would burn my fingers...

Vikram, you are as usual, a master of words. I think most would be on the side of getting a complex from your rich writing and experiences in India. And I certainly belond to that group. It has been wonderful to have you join our membership... your posts, each of them, are rich in content, generous and fascinating. I would be a fool to not participate and miss what you are posting here.... you as well as our other members, make life seem wonderful and fun.. and India and its foods are being discovered and understood better for it. Thanks for your kind words. Suvir

You are most kind.

Thanks Brad!

Many thanks to you! I have around 80 apples at home.. I have been meaning to make chutney with them. I have a beautiful jam pot now.. and I want to use it for the apple chutney.... I also have many granny smiths sitting as table decoration... those will become tarte tatin... I love this simple desserts.. and I only enjoy it made by chefs that give it due respect.. and so, most often, it takes home chefs to make it for me in the manner I enjoy it.. too many restaurant chefs give no time or thought to its preparation.... and the resulting TT is nothing it ought to be... I am sure you must prepare it very well... how lucky those people are who will sample it.... I envy them in a good way. I too shall prepare it many times this fall and winter... and I shall think of you and your kind encouraging words.... What recipe will you use for your TT? What will you have it with? Anything? I often enjoy it just by itself... I miss Jaybee's passion for Tarte Tatin... somewhere, he too, must be enjoying the wonders of TT, I only feel badly that I never got to eat his TT. Even though he said it himself, I want to believe him when he says he makes a mean TT. Last year, at the home of our very own CathyL, Toby had made a vertical tasting of Tarte Tatin's. Each of them was superb. I could go on and on... Tarte Tatin is really a major part of my life. It brings me joy like few things can. It can make me smile in times when things are not what one would call happy....and it can make me cry in times when all is perfect and its addition makes life seem just so charmed and precious..... I have some clotted cream in the refrigerator... and now I really need to stay up and make TT. Thanks for your wishes... and enjoy the Tarte Tatin you prepare.

how I wish I could have this pleasure this weekend. I should not whine and complain... Hemant Mathur had invited me over a couple of Sunday's ago and his wife and he had served us aloo parathas and aam ka achaar (mango pickle). It was the most perfect meal I had eaten in a very long time.. It was Sunday.. and it was for brunch... Lets plan a NYC eGullet aloo paratha hunt....

7 Course Vegetarian Tasting Menu Bombay Bhel Puri rice puffs, cilantro, red onions, mint and tamarind chutneys, potatoes ____________ Crispy Fried Spinach mung beans, potatoes, onions, tamarind and mint chutneys ____________ Pea Stuffed Samosa & Stuffed Mushroom ginger-cilantro peas in pastry, cheese-chile stuffed mushrooms ____________ Idly Upma rice and bean dumplings, curry leaves and mustard seeds ____________ Manchurian Cauliflower garlic marinated cauliflower, Indo-Chinese style Crispy Okra red onions, tomatoes, chaat masala Laukee Ke Kofte zucchini dumplings, aromatic tomato gravy ____________ Jackfruit (kathal) Biryaani cauliflower,potatoes, whole spices Bhindi Ka Raita crispy okra and yogurt salad ____________ Mango Cheesecake or Kulfi (Indian ice cream) with Citrus Soup ____________ Fifty Dollars Eighty-Five Dollars with Wine Pairing Chefs Hemant Mathur and Suvir Saran

7 Course Tasting Menu Bombay Bhel Puri rice puffs, cilantro, red onions, mint and tamarind chutneys, potatoes ____________ Crispy Fried Spinach mung beans, potatoes, onions, tamarind and mint chutneys ____________ Pea Stuffed Samosa & Stuffed Mushroom Ginger-cilantro peas in pastry, cheese-chile stuffed mushrooms ____________ Tandoori Shrimp Sri Lankan jumbo shrimp, hung yogurt marinade, crispy okra Tandoori Stuffed Chicken chicken breasts, spicy chicken stuffing ____________ Manchurian Cauliflower garlic marinated cauliflower, Indo-Chinese style Malabar Salmon spicy tomato chutney, Southern Indian potatoes or Parsi Halibut “Paatra Ni Machi” mint coconut chutney, lemon rice ____________ Tandoor Grilled Lamb Chops sweet & sour pear chutney, curry leaf potatoes, jackfruit biryaani ____________ Mango Cheesecake or Kulfi (Indian ice cream) with Citrus Soup ____________ Fifty Dollars Eighty-Five Dollars with Wine Pairing Chefs Hemant Mathur and Suvir Saran

First Courses and Sides Appetizers Bombay Bhel Puri - 6 Spinach Chaat (sprouted mung bean salad) - 6 Goan Shrimp (hot tangy tomato sauce) - 10 Stuffed Chicken Breasts (spicy chicken filling) - 10 Achaari Chicken (tandoor-grilled, pickling spices) - 8 Idly Upma (rice and bean cakes, curry leaves and mustard seeds) - 7 Trio of Samosas (peas, chicken and potatoes) - 9 Trio of Stuffed Vegetables (mushrooms, potatoes, sweet peppers) - 9 Rice Trio of Southern rices (mint, lemon and tomato) - 8 Jackfruit (kathal) Biryaani (cauliflower, potatoes, whole spices) - 16 Chicken Biryaani (pickling spices) / Lamb Biryaani (oranges and garam masala) - 17 Bread Naan (plain or garlic) / Roti - 4 Crab Kulcha - 10 Onion Kulcha / Spinach, Peas and Fenugreek Paratha / Potato Paratha - 6 Sides Daal Makhani (creamy black beans) - 9 Bhindi Ka Raita (crispy okra and yogurt salad) - 5 Basmati Rice (spiced with whole garam masala) - 4 Cumin Scented Potatoes - 6 Amma’s Mixed Green Salad (toasted cumin and balsamic vinaigrette, naan croutons) - 7 Main Courses Vegetarian Paneer Kundan Kaaliya (Indian cheese patties, aromatic tomato sauce) - 14 Saag (spinach with paneer or chickpeas) - 12 Bagharey Baingan (stuffed baby eggplant, spicy peanut-curry leaf sauce) - 12 Kararee Bhindi (crispy tangy okra, tomatoes and red onions) - 12 Laukee Ke Kofte (zucchini dumplings, aromatic tomato gravy) - 14 Manchurian Cauliflower (garlic marinated cauliflower, Indo-Chinese style) - 14 Dum Aloo (braised baby potatoes, onion-tomato sauce) - 14 Seafood Parsi Halibut “Paatra Ni Machi” (mint coconut chutney, lemon rice)- 23 Malabar Salmon (spicy tomato chutney, Southern Indian potatoes) - 25 Whole Tandoor Grilled Pomfret (pompano, eggplant pickle) - 26 Tandoori Prawns (jumbo Sri Lankan shrimp, mint rice) - 26 Chicken Farm Raised Madras Chicken (Malabar pepper sauce)- 20 Butter Chicken (chicken tikka masala) - 18 Tandoor Grilled, Farm Raised Basil Chicken (tomato chutney, lemon rice) - 22 Tandoor Stuffed Chicken Legs (zarda pilaf, eggplant pickle) - 21 Lamb Tandoor Grilled Lamb Chops (sweet & sour pear chutney, curry leaf potatoes) - 28 Apricot Stuffed Lamb Fillets (fennel- apricot stuffing, aromatic sauce, lemon rice) - 24 Paalak Kaa Keema (minced lamb, spinach and mint)- 19 Gilafi Seekh Kabab (tandoor grilled lamb sausages, cased in sweet peppers)- 20 Chefs Hemant Mathur and Suvir Saran

If I were you, I would test their lifetime warranty.. who knows.. they may not even change it.. but if they do.. you have the ability to test a new product from them... and see what it is like.. I am getting great feedback on it... I have no first hand experience.. waiting to get my products.. and once I have cooked with them... I shall post here. But do let us know how they handle this request from you. The lady who handles customer requests is Michelle, if I remember her name correctly. You have the contact information above.

There are places in NYC serving these tawa (griddle) stuffed aloo (potato) parathas (flat bread), but none that are anywhere near what one would find in a home. Maybe I ought to discover a new place someone knows... I would be happy to make a visit there. Anyone? Any place?

You are so very generous. Thanks!

Aaah.... ordering in is really not justice to our food. Certainly some dishes travel better than others. You spelled Hemant correctly twice. I hope you will stop by when you find time.....

it is "hemant", right? i think that article got it wrong. or maybe i'm confused as well. "Amma takes on sophisticated airs with its own sommelier and a duo of new chef-partners in the kitchen—gifted tandoori veteran Hemant Mathur (from Diwan Grill and Tamarind) and my friend Suvir Saran, with a preview from his book-in-progress on Indian home cooking." In her piece in NY Magazine Gael Greene did spell Hemant's name correctly.

Maybe one of us.... since I am leaving now for a few... can give a glossary of unusual terms (not understood by many) that we have used in this thread. If I were Indian born in the US, or non Indian, I would wonder what language we are speaking in... Can someone please do this before we drive away some of our members???

Well it is upto you Madam to choose this diet... why cry? Welcome back... and yes Bhel is an instant favorite of most all that every eat it... even the first timers who are non-Indian. I could cry for I want to eat it now and do not have the sev... But I should have checked my grocery list.... Will make it soon.. and think of you and eat your portion.

Prasad, you are a lucky man....

Monica, at least it brings you into the forum... have missed you here as you have worked on greater more important issues. Glad to know the craving of Bhel can bring you back into our ghetto.

Never said that.... Have time.. but not enough to also be guarded and worry about politics and bureaucratic administration stuff that comes (not much at all in the Indian forum on eGullet) with titles.

Gol Gappas are called Puchkas in Calcutta. Pani Puri is the same as Puchkas and Gol Gappas.

Craving Nanis aloo ka parantha? Sad to say, no place in NYC, that I know of, can make these for you. They will be poor at best versions of parathas that Nani would prepare. If you get yourself invited to a home, that is a different story, plenty of our Indian folk in NYC have chefs at home from India, or make food themselves. Try that road... You would be much luckier and you would be happy to know which one of these friends makes really good parathas. And maybe you can bring them a dessert, or something else.. and they too can enjoy something different. Parathas are easy to make, but restaurants just do not have time or space to cook them homsestyle. All you will get are parathas made in the tandoor... and the few that have made them on a griddle, make them with very bad filling. Anyways... welcome back Anu! We have missed you on eGullet. I wondered what had happened to you. email me..and I may find a way of getting you some parathas... like the ones Nani would make.

And my sister does the same. To her dipping of the finger in foods as she cooks them is MOST essential.

And what a large portion you get. I love Dimple.. and their Bhel is certainly not my favorite.. and yet I eat it with careless abandon, for at that moment, I am savoring the idea of eating Bhel made by another.

Me too Mongo. But I do not see it happening in the streets of the US anytime soon. There are many reasons for that.. and eGullet would not be the site to speak about them. It is not an easy thing to speak about without talking politics. You can email me and I shall be glad to share with you via email my understanding of what the challenges in doing that really are. In a country where we cannot have our Bhel wallas, Puchka/Gol Gappa Wallahs and Chana Kulcha Walas on the streets with stands of their own, a restaurant quickly becomes the venue where people missing these will come to. There are reasons why menus evolve. This could be one of the many. Then you also have chefs and food writers and customers that love and enjoy street foods. Their own need to be serving what they enjoy is another factor. Then there are those (including myself) that become the vendor even sitting at a restaurant table. Fat Guy and Mrs. Fat Guy once met me at Dimple Chaat House in NYC to plan an Indian trip for the Mrs. The conversations happened even as I played chaat vendor and made puchkas for our group. Yes we were missing the street, the aromas and the setting, but at least not the hands of another making the puchkas serving us. It was fun for me to do, and it gave Mrs. & Mr. Fat Guy a limited, but I would think sweet entry into the world of Indian street foods. The other option would be nothing. I could not live with that. I make puchkas at home, I make Bhel at home.. and I make most all street food dishes I miss both at home. When I make them, I try and serve them as they would be on the streets, immediately. I have friends (Indian and non-Indian) and family that come at odd hours to enjoy these. And then there are times when I go with these same friends and family members to restaurants to enjoy these foods. And yes even as I make Puchkas on a table, even the most careful of persons eating it, will make a slight mess. So the dripping is still happening, but at another level, in another setting.