BBhasin

C'mon Arunaputri, You dont want us to tell you how to make mutton curry! We want YOUto tellUS. I have tasted the malasian muuton curry and LOVED it. I believe it had coconut milk, lemon grass, and used a curry powder mix which is a liitle different from the regular curry powder we get at the Indian stores here in the states. My friend Swee, who ownes a Malasian/Chinese restataurant across the street from me ,tells me that the malasian curries are a fusion of Hindu, Muslim and Chinese cuisines as these are the predominant origional immigrants to malasia. So please... 1. what's in your curry powder and 2 how do youmake your mutton curry ( the local way) Thanks

Rks, There are rules, regulations and guidelines but it always boils down to personal likes and what is fashionable. Even though sweeter and fruitier wines like Chenin Blancs, Fume Blancs, Gewertsramariners, Reislings etc. go well with spicy foods and look wonderful on a restaurant menu you will find that your Chards sell the most. Same with your Cabs and Merlots. However here is an interesting link to wine pairing. Wine Pairing

Bhunoo is an integral part of North Indian cooking. You add the onions in oil and saute. they soften up become pasty and become a homogenised mass with the oil. then the oil seperates indicating that the water in the onions has dried up and the frying process is beggening. the onions beggin to caramalize and color. the degree you cook them too will have an effect on the final color AND flavor of your stew. The same applies to ground ginger and garlic, which has been ground with a little water, if you dont wait till the oil seperates and move to the next step you have only boiled your ginger and garlic.A lot of people when they add their masallas, dissolve them in a liitle water to prevent burning. Now if you dont wait again for the oil seperation the bhunooing process is not going to start. Maybe I am from the old school and babbling like a fool but to me this oil seperation bussiness is an indicator of numourous stages of perperation. The process/method has been handed down generations so it must be tested by time. Unlike you Episure, I DO carry the baggage of formal training but while I am not averse to new ideas and experimentation, I strongly belive that in most dishes there definiltly SHOULD be a difference if different processes are used. I would be greatly interested in the dishes that you prepared and experimented with because if that works it is time to move to the next level. Please do not take it the wrong way, as I do not mean it it any negative way. The aroma does escape from long cooked dishes. You are right. That is why the spices are usually added twice. Traditionally whole in the begening, for flavor and then at the end,usually powdered, for aroma. Strange that you draw the senario of the maharaja/nwab. I thought that it were these aristrocrats who had these intricate and time consuming 'nawabi' processes and techniques that had to be followed.

Another one a lot of restaurants in India would do. they called it tandoori gobi take a whole cauliflower, remove stem etc, rub with a little ginger/garlic paste, salt, red chlli powderand garam masalla. Make a thickish batter for pakoras. Dip whole cauliflower in batter and deep fry till the skin is formed but not colored. remove, drain and keep. the cauliflower is not fully cooked right now but the residual heat from the frying will cook it. when ready to serve place on med/low grill over indirect heat untill warmed through and the skin is beggening to char. Cut up in pieces and sprinkle with chat masalla. You can do it with smaller florets too but the whole cauliflower has a better visual impact.

Red green or yellow peppers, sliced zuccini, thickly sliced american eggplant, spring onions, red onions. Grill them, slice them and toss with lemon juice, oil and chat masalla. For a slightly sweeter taste toss in some grilled pinapple slices. when is this BBQ anyway??

Mattar Paneer Keema Why leave this one out. Make keema with paneer. Its easier when you are making paneer and strain the solids, dont hang or press it. Just drain it let it cool and break it up and you have your paneer keema. Start out making matter paneer but at the stage when you add the paneer cubes, just add the paneer keema. At the end add a little extra ground cardamon and mace and be generous with fresh chopped cilantro,add diced tomatoes too. Its a beautiful dish and tasty too.

Had keema mattar at some friends last night which was quite tasty. She had used chicken mince and prepared it with yogurt in which she had mixed some ground cinnamon.

Mongo( if I may call you that), Finding people to work for you these days, specially in Indian restaurants, is a nightmare. Immagine trying to look for ten. But I love the concept and if I had a high price upscale concept I would definetly try it. bhasin

Add another variation that I just remembered With cauliflower florets. This is a slightly drier version where you add small cauliflower florets at the end, mix well and cook only till al dente. sprinkle a little extra garam masalla and fresh chopped corriander/cilantro. We punjabis love this version with chapati or parathas.

Hear Hear

my favorite keema versions 1. with peas. 2. with a hard boiled egg, that has been deep fried and pricked with a fork and then simmered in the keema at the end for a few minutes. 3. Sali keema - with a little sugar and vinegar in the keema and topped with lots of golden crisp deep fried straw potatoes.

Try making Duck Pickle using the reciepe for chicken pickle from Prashad. I tried the chicken pickle and it was was exactly like you get at Dhali on the way to Simla. In case of duck I would probably let it marinate longer, prior to frying, longer than chicken in the hope that it will tenderise it. The pickle reminded me a little bit of vindaloo because of the spiciness and the vinegar. It stays good for months at room temrature and is great with a good rustic bread. So the next time your culinary efforts do not turn out as anticipated, reach for that jar of Duck Pickle.

To add to Vikram’s interesting description of ‘Raj Clubs’. The following is what I remember from my childhood. Basically these clubs served two kinds of foods - snacky finger foods for local patrons who were there for the bar or for other activities like cards, kitty parties, swimming, sports etc. and - regular meals for resident out of town members if the club had accommodation facilities. The snack foods I remember from my childhood Chicken sandwich Mutton sandwich ( my absolute favorite) Tomato or cucumber sandwiches Chicken pakoras, paneer pakoras etc. Fish fingers Potato chips both the regular thin ones and the thick ones smeared with hot peppers. French fries were popular with us kids Freshly fried peanuts(with the skin) tossed with chopped onion, chopped green chilly, salt and a squeeze of fresh lime. Shammi kababs Mutton, fish or vegetable cutlets Everything we ate with Tons of tomato Ketchup As years progressed more kababs found their way into the menu like Seekh kabab, chicken tikka etc. And on ‘heavy crowd’ open- air movie nights or hot Sunday swimming pool afternoons there would be additions like Biryani. Then came the Chinese invasion with chilli chicken, hakka noodles, etc I don’t know what are the offerings now. Perhaps Vikram can enlighten us. For the residents who were seeking a full meal I remember mostly Soups, usually tomato, peas, dal or mullugtwany Fried fish, Roast mutton Mutton cutlet Chicken or mutton curry Strangely I do not recall any vegetarian offerings.

They are very good. There is another brand called Nanak's from Canada try that too their gulabjamuns are a little different from Haldirams, they are a little brownish inside.

I'm confused... I always thought they were made of some mysterious Cheese! This is a recipe popular with Indians living abroad, where improvisation is dictated by inadequate availability, time constraints and average culinary skills. That said I assure you the results are the same, if not better, than the origional stuff back in India.

http://waltonfeed.com/self/tvp.html Here we go tommy, all your questions answered. You can find these in Health food stores. In Indian stores look for Nutri Nuggets or Notrella. Good sourse of fiber and rich in protien these vegetarian granules( come in verying sizes) need to be softened up in water. I like them sometimes for their thexture, bulk and their ability to ( almost like a sponge) soak up the sauce and flavorings.

Don't try this with Ruff My father, now retired from the Indian army, was posted in the North East Nagaland area. Being a disturbed area, this was a non family posting so communication was through mail and we learnt of the region through his narratives, which were occasionally censored by the authorities. He described the area as beautiful, with lush green mountains. What struck him the most was the extreme quiet of the region. There were no birds, bees, bugs, NOTHING the Nagas ate everything! The ultimate foodies eh? Their favourite was Roast Dog. A dog would be tied on a short leash for a couple of days without water or food. They would then feed him soaked rice which the dog would immidiatly devour. The dog was then skewered end to end and pit roated with the rice steaming in the stomach. While I do not endorse this treatment of animals I thought I would share the story.

bbhasin is in dear

now you must tell the tale or we will never know

Butterfly pieces of meat, pound them thin like a scallopine, marinate in oil, vinegar, ginger garlic paste, spices etc. Cook on hot stone or griddle.

whats that 'pathar kabab' ?

My brother in law narrates this one. He, as a kid, with his father was at this rich Jain wedding feast. Need less to mention that it was all vegetarian. He put some rice on his plate and then scooped up stuff from a dish, which went plonk on his plate. Upon this his father told him to “put the stones back”. Behold he had served himself some stones. Apparently it’s a delicacy with the Jain Nawabs ( or whatever these noblemen were called). Bottoms of the ponds would be scoured for small stones on which moss or vegetation had grown. These greenish stones were used to prepare the curry that my b’inlaw helped himself to , above. The moss or the vegetation on the stones would come off and assimilate with the liquid and other seasonings used to form the stew, which would be eaten and the plain stones left at the bottom. ( Though why would they transfer the stones to the serving dish??) Anyway thats the story. Does anybody out there know of this dish? Or maybe you have some other unusual preperation that you can share.

I dont think restaurants dread vegetarian options. What they dread are Extreme Unexpected Vegetarians, becauce they are not geared for them and it throws all timing out of sync. That said they( vegetarians) can be influencial in where a group dines, becauce, if everyones prefferences are to be accomodated, the group will pick an establishment offering vegie options.

As a member of NRA we constantly get feedback in the form of newsletters. I remember one a few years ago and this was a survey that the National Restaurant Association did alongwith One of the big Vegetarian Societies. The results kind of stuck with me because one of the conclusions was that one out of five diners ( and this was accross America) would opt for a vegetarian meal if the restaurant would provide an interesting option. Not all vegetarian diners are vegetarian, thats what I found out working at an Indian restaurant. Another interseting finding from the above survey was that young folks ( mostly women) in their late school and early colledge years tend to embrace vegetarianism in some form or another. Just some food for thought. Would love to hear ( read) your views.

Vikram, Chillies to Chutneys(ISBN 0-688-15690-8) by Neelam Batra is touted as ' American home cooking with flavours of India'. Even though the book is not primarily addressed to the desis in the US it is an iteresting fusion which can inspire many desi cooks. I think most of the books you have located must be quite a few years old, as when you left home then for a new world, with comunication that existed at that time, you were really gone for a while and these books perhaps filled a need to connect with your homeland. Now, perhaps with the internet and cheap phone rates, that void is not felt. I am reminded of a meal I had in Zimbawe. Sunita our hostess, was born and brought up in Kenya before marrying and moving to Harrare via Florida. She served us an excellent meal but stragely the flavors were not what I taste in India today but what I remember from the sixties. All the best in your quest, keep us posted Bhasin