Suvir Saran

It seems you do know Paris. My first love was an American who lives in Paris and is critical to the prestige of the Louvre. It makes a great story for an American has charmed these people so entirely. In fact thye now have lost anything American about them. It was through them that doors in Paris that would be shut to non French speakers opened with grace and dignity for me. I was taken by one of the many ladies who was trying to take the "young Indian man" out about town. Couscous in Paris was even tastier than many preparations I have eaten across Morocco. Do you find that to be true Steve? What wines do you drink with couscous?? PS: You have still not answered my question on the Diwan thread...

Do you remember what Riesling you brought with you last night??? It was very good. Would love to write the name down. Thanks!

Looking forward to working towards that. Travel safely...

We posted already. Yvonne particularly liked the boar, I loved the crab and we both liked the shrimp. And can you tell your cricketers to be a bit more puppy dog like around English accents, if only to set an example for the Australians. I was being greedy for details... Does India still have a cricket team? I have not followed Cricket in 10 years... Everytime before that when I made an effort.. the team was losing...

What's your favorite there? I love it too.. In fact I prefer it for its quiet ambiance. Dunno why...

I was wondering all day what the Johnsons (Yvonne and g) really loved last night. As you left, the chef said to me that he was so happy to have had the gang of eGulleteers... And something about an English accent makes a puppy dog out of many of us Indians.. He was so happy. And your taking time to speak with him and ask him about his food made all the difference. He certainly went home very happy with the eGullet dinner.

We should try and plan one around your visit... let us know in advance. Which you actually do... You are good about being organized.. Unlike some people I know. (Since CathyL would want to say you- Suvir, I must say so myself. I am the worst in terms of being organized). It would be fun to meet with you again.. I had fun meeting you every so briefly at the smelly Cabrales tasting.

La Niña, What were your favorite dishes last night? What did Mr. Beau like? Curious... You know a lot about Indian food it seems.. the names you were throwing out.. (of dishes) were very impressive. Seriously. I was might impressed.

Steve thanks for sharing your wine with those that shared some with me... It was a great Riesling. Care to share the name please. I am happy to know that you and I both are Bhel Puri fans... Maybe I can bring it to an event and make lots of it for all of us... I could eat bowlfuls of just Bhel alone and be very sated.

Rachel, When an eGullet function is open to all eGullet members then people should assume any member may be there. If they can't deal with that they shouldn't come. Lets follow La Niña's advice and keep this stuff away from the thread and in PM land. I do agree with Rachel.. and those that want to debate that issue.. please feel free to PM me as well. Pictures and Pie please... And again, my sincere thanks to every person that attended and those that wanted to but could not and those that attended in spirit for having kept this dinner a positive gathering of peoples and minds linked with eGullet.

More pics please... Pretty please... Rachel thanks for all your help with these pics... I am amazed at how nicely you take them. Nice and tight food shots... Yumm...

And my grandparents were visiting from SF, my parents from India, my sister from Dallas and my aunt from London. They all joined me for the eGullet ADNY meal last fall (Steve Plotnicki was the sommelier who helped us order some of the best wines I have ever tasted). Oh.. that was from my novel.. fiction it was.... Sorry!

I have been eating Iftar meals at Diwan for the last week... Amazing Bengali dishes prepared Halal by the staff. I eat with them, and even take some meat to ensure that no Non-Moslem employee makes fun of them. They work hard and wait till after 5 to eat. They cook their own food. Special Halal meat is ordered for their consumption. And the food is delicious.

And at around 1 AM this morning.., I asked the chef to give me a bowl of the soup and Kulfi. I too love it immensely. I got the idea from a dessert I had at JoJo many years ago. A citrus soup with vanilla icecream. Tamarind chutney is one of my favorite condiments as well.

Toasted all purpose flour.

Her book is out. And I have it on my desk. A nice book to include to your library. Also easy to store. Monica makes frequent contributions across the site, but to talk Indian food with her, check out the Indian forum.. you shall be able to see many of her posts there.

In those narrow terms, yes Rosie, but I would be doing a disservice to my family if I didn't mention that the fruit of my loins made a brief appearance at the Official eGullet drinking session at Zum Schneider, and has attended more than one unofficial eGullet-type dinner. She may never recover from the sight of Nina eating the feet of a guinea pig. Thanks for the information. I am happy to be in # 2 place. You are officially the first person to have their family at an eGullet event. And yours was officially my first eGullet family introduction. Your daughter was so knowledgeable about India and Indian food... And of course about so many other things... Thanks for including her as part of your group... It was a treat to meet her.

What did you like about this dessrt and the sauce? What worked for you?

Well lets plan something.... Are there any fun Indian restaurants near where you live?

The cauliflower dish was Lahsuni Gobi (Garlic Cauliflower). The florets (large ones) are marinated in a ginger garlic paste with some white pepper powder and toasted flour. The cauliflower is left to marinate in this for a couple of hours. It is then deep fried till crispy but still quite pale in color. Drained and set aside. In very little oil you can fry some finely minced garlic, a little ginger and some cayenne and black pepper powder. As the spices cook (barely a minute) you add some ketchup. Enough to coat the cauliflower without there being any excess. You cook the sauce to thicken just slightly. Add finely chopped scallions (greens for the most part). Add the cauliflower florets and toss to coat. That simple. Edited for I was worried I might get toasted further was writing toaster instead of toasted.

Pigeon brain I truly am. Sorry! MHesse was even kinder than they came across in our PM exchange earlier this year. Thanks for all your help. Between all you volunteer helpers, my life was made all stress free. Thanks.

I think the quality of the food would be the same. As for the experience, I think we eGulleteers are largely very kind and affable in our person. And that would make a great deal of difference in the enjoyment of a meal. My cookbook agent was at Diwan Tuesday night. She was being given a guided tour of the menu by me. She said it was the best Indian food she had eaten in the world. And she has eaten a lot of it. She said the difference was not just about the great food, but also being helped through the process of ordering, getting commentary about what was being eaten... and where it came from and why it was cooked in a certain way... She said it was that which added so much more to the experience. When I go to Balthazar, which I love to go to for simple no-fuss meals with friends, I always have a grand time. Since they know me at the restaurant, we can come unannounced, get a great booth, usually at my favorite side of the restaurant and service that makes me feel like I am a king. My friends enjoy being there.. being pampered and spoiled and our food seems just perfect. But the same friends have gone back on their own and enjoyed good meals but never the same brilliance they have associated with it when I took them. I make this reference for I think one will always come back with an experience that is slightly different from the usual if you go with someone that has an in with the restaurant in any way. But I have many Indian friends that have gone their on their own and come back and told me of great dining experiences.

I just remembered the generous help provided for all our benefit by rstarobi. He was very kind to help Suzanne distribute those beautiful tags made by the Johnsons. Thanks Rstarobi.

Simon: Thanks for three great ideas in three sentences. They all sound wonderful. May I put in a plug for good old choufleur gratinee? I suppose it is nursery food, but I adore the combination of cheesy bechamel, caulie and crispy breadcrumb/cheese topper. Always a popular baked dish in many Indian homes. We make the bechamel spicy with the addition of cayenne.

I dont understand your question... please explain. Especially the second from last sentence. moist moist. not most. The chicken is marinated in a basil and hung yogurt pesto that is seasoned with ginger and garlic for 3-4 hours. It is cooked in the Tandoor at temperatures between 800?-1000?. It cooks very quickly and remains very moist. Most of Hemants tandoori foods are near perfectly cooked. What next Tommy?