indiachef

Methi is a green when its sold fresh. Qasoori methi as discussed in this thread in its dried form is intended to be used as a herb. Parsley would normally be termed as a herb. A salad made from Parsley as in "Tabouleh" - would be termed as a green.

"Qasoor" is the place in Punjab province of pakistan. The dried version does not necessarily come from that province, though the original intent was to export the fragrant methi from that part of the world. Just like Kashmiri mirch comes from other parts of India. Qasoori methi is a herb and not a spice. Number of recipes out there spell it as "kasturi".

Pan, you are speaking of Parwal. A delicious tiny Indian gourd. It resembles a cucumber in shape. But a cucumber that has been greatly reduced in size. It is available in some Indian stores in the summer. We traditionally either stuff them or cut them into match stick shape slices and sautee them with spices. Parval/Padwal is also known as "Snake Gourd". They are long ,light green in color and appear as twisted snakes without a head.

I am not an idealist. Idealists are labelled as such to be portrayed as “anti-realists”. Having worked for long in this trade, I do not fit the profile of an idealist. What I penned is pure reality. I know it is a lot of hard work to achieve those standards anyway. Do we need to worry; there aren’t any restaurants that have made processes their focal point anyways. It’s just the day-to-day operational issues that get in the way, and in the name of being flexible and creative, they would succumb to any pressures. Having the only option to depend on skeletal staff and untrained for the most part, there is probably the reverse in place. Training is probably unheard of and non-existent. Amendments in current structures for process improvements are limited to saving the bucks. Why can’t we be more firm and stern with our policies? Can we establish some standards with our processes be it recipes, bulk cooking, menus, service style, portion control, staff attire, hygiene, inventory control. True a Customer comes in first, but give some time to establish standards, be they even simple and easy to achieve and maintain rather than surprise the clientele with grease bowls. Agreeing to go at lengths in the name of Customer satisfaction stems from the fact that we do not have guidelines. I mean if we cannot make Phulkas from Tandoori Roti dough – we should not and shouldn’t Parathas and Rotis be made from different dough’s. Why do we not make things, as they ought to be? Isn’t it true that we allow our neo-classical self-styled chefs to run our kitchens? Order more than a few dishes from an Indian restaurant and be sure they taste almost the same. Isn’t that a very common observation? True Indian diners are pickier when it comes to Indian restaurants, cause they compare food standards with their own home made foods. Are we the only ones at fault? I guess NO. The attitude needs to be changed globally in our perception of everything Indian – does not come cheap. We got to pay and so do we demand our price for good food and service. Stand out folks! Have an association of like-minded people! Educate the clientele! Justify your stance for doing things the right way! Have some common issues discussed and shared! And Monica, recipe is not of much consequence, its how one treats foods that matters. To be concluded…

How has Indian food at your restaurant changed over the past years? – Indian foods haven’t changed a lot, in restaurants and elsewhere. I do not own one nor am associated with one professionally, though I used to be a Chef. There is not much scope for a change either. Diners still want their old fashioned “CURRY” – which does not exist and yet exists The Colonials classified all Indian foods as Curry - just like the way they enslaved the masses and regimented them and of course UNITED them with ENGLISH. So we became the curry people, the curry race - we ate spices more than food. Nobody raised a hint of a rebellion, when they massacred Indian foods by calling it names. Maybe we were busy fighting for our freedom, having already been smothered to believe in their perception of everything Indian. We cooked for them - and they branded our foods. Because we did not stand up. So where is the best Chicken Tikka Masala made - London of course. They now claim it to be their National dish - happy to know some English writer claims Chicken Tikka Masala to be English and not Indian - Thank you because our food is great, and so is our culture and we do not get buried under your curry Realistically speaking Indian cuisine does not have a base. And that is its uniqueness. It cannot be tamed, or confined to a few French gastronomic rules. For a long time I thought this was to our disadvantage. But we have lived centuries with it - and it has certainly held its own in the culinary realm. Simply put our foods are so varied and the cuisines so vast it is humanly impossible to describe it. The English with all their Colonial might failed to conquer and master it, feigning ignorance for the most part. Our gourmets were subdued with brutality and "bakshish" to suit the masters' needs. Did we stand a chance to express? We don't know. We chose to impress instead and Curry was born to satiate the Master's palate. What a pity. We take pains in spelling out “RATATOUILLE” (is it?) and our “BAINGAN BHURTA” is labelled as “Smoked Eggplant Curry”. Honestly and truly, we are still bound with an untiring effort to satisfy the Master However the good thing is, we Indians eat genuine Indian foods at home, which the world does not know much about. The trend in Indian restaurants in India has been to bring regional/community foods to the front. A number of luxury Hotels and Restaurants have ventured in these. What has been your experience in this industry Experience has been mixed. Though I miss the sweaty kitchens and the mild arrogance of the Brigade sometimes purely lethargic attitude, there is not much regret – and that’s a personal point of View. A very pertinent question to be pondered would be “WHY” – have we let our standards stoop – this I ask without emphasizing on the Results. Our best efforts at getting globally popular are imitating concepts – isn’t “ ”TABLA” an example, maybe it should be excluded from this argument, since it does not fit the role of a Desi Restaurant. And for that matter – Bukhara – which recently got listed as the 20th best restaurant in the World – is only a culmination of a Marketing strategy. Having made numerous attempts at standardizing, not that one achieves a whole lot; I think it is still possible to do better than the mundane. Defining standards and adhering to them is one area we have failed a lot. Dependence on uneducated chefs and unskilled help with a high labour turnover hinders any long term planning and investment. My entrepreneurial skills and knowledge is not top of the line, but the sheer fear of failure might deter a lot of investors from taking the right approach. Rewards haven’t been too great either, with some establishments literally cheating their Employees – and that’s again a personal experience. What is the most asked for item on the menu and why do you think that is - Is there any room for any thing else than “Chicken Tikka Masala”. Cooking related question -- Would you share your most prized recipe/ cooking tip/ cooking story with us prized recipe – I don’t have one cooking tip – Yes if it’s specifically directed cooking story with us – They’re all facts. No fiction here. To be concluded…

Call something else what? I thought I mentioned two separate Lobster preparations! Lobster Peri Peri is a classic Goan delicacy, made with red masala paste. The makhni sauce in the other one should have read crushed black pepper in place of crushed black cardamom. Gee I cannot imagine a Makhni with black cardamom.

"CURRY" - AFAIK does not exist in Indian foods. It is a term coined by the Colonials, ergo the word in English dictionaries.

Lobster Peri Peri!! Diced lobster meat in a thick Makhni sauce, flavored with crushed black cardamom served in its own shell, grilled for a minute with some cheddar!!

Parsi foods like Mughlai foods is an evolved cuisine. It is one of the most subtlest cuisines come across in the sub-continent. Being a largely mild mannered community with no overpowering influence on any part of the society, their foods too assimilated well, with local food habits. Who would not want to be invited for an authentic "Lagan nu Bhojan", where it is widely believed guests would fast before attending the wedding feast. It could be a cruel joke, but the feast is something for which I would starve. Meat and rice eating amongst Parsis is definitely a Persian habit. Sauces in their foods certainly have a Gujarati touch in it being sweet and sour, although the Parsis use Vinegar in their foods. DhanShak - is a prime example of Gujarati influence in Parsi foods.

What is Murg tari?? Do you mean Murg Curry? or "Tarehnwalla Marg". Both belong to the all encompassing category of the so called "CURRY". can you freeze it? - Yes. I would suggest to freeze them in smaller batches. With or without yoghurt should not be a problem, the yoghurt is already used up being cooked in the sauce. Personally, would recommend wihout yoghurt. You can add the yoghurt when heating up the food. Is thee a generic name for a sauce with yoghurt, I guess Indian food has been massacred to such an extent, it is safe to call all foods Curry - isn't it. What most will agree, and I won't is that it could be referred as a "khorma" sauce. Since we do not have a base in Indian foods, we do not have a set of Mother sauces and its derivatives, nor do we have a set of gastronomic rules or a school of thought. The all encompassing CURRY was devised for the Colonial master, although its origins are probably from Tamil "KARI" which means a meat/veg cooked in a spicy sauce. Sauces to a large extent are restricted to the Restaurant business and not homes.

In reality there are no varieties in Gulab Jamuns, unless you talk about a recipe difference. However I have seen and tasted Gulab Jamuns without any syrup. They were more dry and less sweet. I guess the method is probably the same, its just that the jamuns are not soaked long enough and or the syrup is not too thick. Another way of serving Gulab Jamuns is to have them drained from syrup and rolled in dessicated coconut, garnished with chopped pistachio

I do not make kulfis anymore, cause I retired from working in Indian restaurants. And if I do have to make one - I guess I will use 1/2 & 1/2 - and I bet no one can tell the difference, cause no one knows the difference. Actually the last time I made kulfis was with some branded kulfi mix powder, don't know how it tasted, I gave it all to my guests. They didn't complain, cause they did not know. That's precisely the point here that the neo classicals have worked it to their advantage, changing the ways things are made. A good example is the Makhni sauce. Frankly I have to find one that makes it with fresh tomatoes. The least I would expect it is to be made with canned whole tomatoes, but almost all of these restaurants use canned tomato paste or crushed tomatoes.

Using half an half to make kulfis has become a norm with almost all Indian restaurants. Not sure how kulfis are made commercialy in North America. Plain Malai kulfi made with half & half gives an awful milk powder taste and flavor. However the same is not true for flavored kulfis especially Mango kulfi. The texture does not hold true after a few days and generally appears powdery to the tongue (not in case of Mango) For most part I have personally used full fat milk and lately half and half, I confess. Half & half has proved to be a cheap alternate in terms of time factor. It does not take too long to reduce this cream, whereas milk takes much longer. Also the mix stays more whitish when using 1/2 & 1/2 Cream. Indian restaurant kitchens having this nagging problem of being understaffed, unorganized and presssd for time, have found this method a better alternative than using milk.

You are right, the Saraswati part is Pineapple juice.

Originally Kulfi has always been made with full fat fresh milk, cooked in a wide and deep kadai till thick and creamy, fortified with sugar and flavors. I doubt very much if any commercial kulfi makers in India use half and half which is probably unheard of. Half and half has been found to be a better and cheaper way of imitating the original. This has become quite a practice amongst the neo classicals who in the name of modernising Indian foods have succumbed to be rather ordinary than unique. Milk in India could be Cow's which is between 4% and 6% fat or Buffalo's which could be around 6% to 8% and maybe higher. Cream is generally around 18% to 20%.

AFAIK - its sweet lime and Orange, unless someone has changed this to using pineapple where sweet lime is not available

Quarters of peppers - green, yellow and red - marinated with herbs, seasonings and oil. Marinated thick slices of Italian eggplant and zucchini. These are the two I can think of apart from the usual Corn and Paneer. A piece of tomato and onions on the skewer along with other veggies or meats complements the grilled food

Gulab jamuns and Black Gulab jamuns also known as Kala Jamuns are made from the same mix. Kala Jamuns are fried in moderately hot oil, whereas Gulab Jamuns are fried in slow to medium flame. The shape and size may differ. Generally Kala Jamuns are bigger and are not so common. A good mix for this is the Bapu branded Ram Jamun mix. An authentic recipe would include mawa, little maida, paneer (optional), cardamom powder and baking powder. Knead softly and make a smooth dough. Shape in round balls and fry in slow to medium oil. One way the Halwais would do this is to use a long handle frying spoon and gently agitate the oil, to avoid the jamuns sticing together and at the bottom. Generally they would use two sets of Sugar syrups. One for immediate immersing and draining of oil, and the other for soaking. Kala jamuns go well with a scoop of Vanilla icecream, I guess it was a popular dessert on the Indian food scene a few years ago by the name "Kala Gora"

The answer to your question would be a "NO". However, these names do get recognized over a period of time and subsequently used by other Vendors. A good example is "Gunga Jamuna" - which is a mix of Orange and Sweet lime. In terms of having a set of rules or Naming conventions, it is at the discretion of the Vendor. This whole thing stems from the fact that Indian foods do not have a school of thought, unlike the French and Italian, which are tied down by some Gastronomic rules.

The statement still holds true. It is not a common sight to find Roomalis made in homes. There could be and certainly are families that probably have Roomali as a staple bread, whether Northern or Suuthern. Its origins could be from the Lebanese/Syrian bread called "Rekak". It probably came to India through Muslim invasions, ergo the obvious that its not made in Hindu homes.

Roomali rotis are rarely made at homes. One interesting wrap would be freshly skewered sheekh kebabs spiced with green chutney and onions. Another one would be juliennes of left over Tandoori chicken, sauteed with sliced onions, tomatoes, cilantro and mild spices. Cool the mis and wrap in Roomali. Fold and dip in beaten whole eggs. Lightly shallow fry in minimal oil in a shallow pan. Cut on a slant and serve

Few things to follow when cooking basmati Rice: Wash and soak rice for approx 20 minutes. Heat a heavy bottom pot and add oil. When oil is really hot, add whole spices as spelt in the Recipe. Add drained rice and salt and hot water. Do not fry the rice, trust me this does not make a difference, though almost all Recipes ask for it. Rice needs to be cooked at high heat. Bring to boil and cover, stirring more than a couple of times. When water has almost evaporated, place pot in preheated 350 F for 10 minutes. Remove pot, uncover the lid and break open the rice with a spatula. Transfer rice in another shallow container, to avoid further cooking.

An Indian dish normally would be balanced with spices, gravy thickeners and souring agents like tomatoes, yoghurt or tamarind being the most commonly used ones. Adding yoghurt to a dish is specified by "a" Recipe. If you want to omit yoghurt where it is specified, it would certainly make a difference in its flavor and mostly taste. Again that depends on the quantity of yoghurt used and its purpose in the recipe. If it is a manufactured recipe, in a lot of cases as in Restaurants - yoghurt spelt out in the recipe maybe an adition to the already specified tomato or some other souring agent. yoghurt is also specified where the color of dish needs to be more on the creamier side. In my previous post I spoke about adding a teaspoon of yoghurt to a slightly overdone clarified butter. This helps in lowering the fat (ghee) temperature and thereby arresting any further cooking as also the yoghurt particles turn brown instead. The purpose of adding yoghurt here is not to enhance the flavor or taste of the ghee.

Hello Prasad2! Good question. You need to add the ghee after the oil has been heated well and just before adding spices. In some cases, you may add it after tempering the spices as in mustard seeds. No it should not spoil the oil nor give it a burnt aroma. And please do not burn any more butter at your place, isn't it expensive. From what I can make out from Suvir's explanation, the ghee has not burnt through

There is not much one can do with burnt ghee, except use with other fats to mask its burnt flavor. However, to prevent this in future, a good remedy is to add a teaspoon of stirred yoghurt, which absorbs the excess heat in the ghee (when cooking). Frying spices in an almost burnt ghee is not advisable. You may however try to do this using with oil in the ratio of 1:1.