BBhasin

Question for you Vikas, All these chat masallas, Meat masallas, Sambhar masallas etc. etc.... our Indian stores are full of them, as per your classificaion, are they spice blends ? They all contain cayenne in varying degrees of heat. The sambhar masalla/powder/mix/blend can sometimes be pretty hot.

dried red chillies, mustard seeds, curry leaves etc tempered in hot oil added to numerous southern dishes at the end might it not be better to add them in two stages, at the start for flavor and towards the end for aroma ← My South Indian friends never added anything at the end except a bit of ghee, and perhaps a few curry leaves. Perhaps in the North it's more acceptable to add your masala just before serving? Couldn't agree more strongly with the idea of grinding a little at a time though. ←

your friend could be talking about chat papri,bhel puri,raj kachori and the like, even though they might come in the snacks category, as they tend to have sweet spicy and tangy chutneys. just a wild guess though.

did you make this yetty? looks very good perfectly nice and crumbly.

OK, that they do not mention on the Web site. ← Most Indian restaurants work on a ( as the health department terms it) prepare and hold basis where the stews are fully cooked and refrigerated. No way can anyone serve you a lamb curry, with flavors wonderfully infused in the meat, in 15 minutes if they were starting from scratch. While some restaurants like the Hard Times Cafe actually tout the fact that they refrigerate the chilly overnight to deepen the flavor, others do not highlight the fact due to consumer perceptions.

was planning to visit this sunday but something came up. Its a ' chain', has a bright funky decor. I saw one reviewed on the food channel, looked very good and have been meaning to try it since, glad its in the neighborhood so I dont have to drive to Philly. I understand its a kind of franchise, they sell you the right to set up shop and then you have to buy all the food from them which is bulk prepared at their central kithen somewhere in the New York, New Jersey area and trucked out to the restaurant. The prices on the website seemed a bit steep ( 15 bucks for a tandoori chicken) but then its not positioned as a mom n pop strip mall place. I am looking forward to trying it. Perhaps monica can get a group together and we can eat family style tasting a wider variety.

My father was in the army but we never came accross the boiled peanuts version. It was always fried , with the skin on, and it was fantastic. It however got soggy pretty quickly and we would eat fast, not to lose the crunch. Come to think of it, with boiled peanuts at least we would not have that problem and could concentrade on the drink! Episure, in that picture, does the vendor have puffed rice in the plastic dibba?

you just sold a book Vikas, I look forward to reading it.

For most Indians its nostalgia, we tend to bring some over when we visit the parent country to toast 'the good old days'. Made in India from sugar cane, aged seven years with numerous international awards to its credit and a hint of vanilla was one description on the net. I do not like it as much as I did when I was in India, to me it appears kind of weak both in body and flavor compared to say a dark bacardi.

I am a bit confused, I thought this was to be a discussion on Ayurveda. where did this 'Vision of palate' spring from? Back to Ayurveda, you describe it, Vikas, as a science of logivity. My understanding has always been that Ayurveda consists of two words Ayur which means life ( as in birth to death) and veda which is scriptures or book. So one can call it the Science or Scriptures of Life. It deals with numerous facets of well being,ailments etc and guides one through his passage in life. In an extremely simplistic definition it charachtarises each invidual into a 'body type' and suggests ingestion of various types of food for normal living and also counteracting ailments based on the belief that whatever we ingest has an effect upon us ( based on our body type). There are mud baths, pastes for application, oil and water therapies and a lot more assossiated with ayurveda but I guess in this forum we are staying with food. Question for you Vikas ( or any other wise person out there) growing up in India there were foods that were considered hot and others believed to have a cooling effect. Yogurt and lassi for example was cooling and recomended in the summmertime but we were told that drinking lassi in the wintertime would lead to arthiritis. Also in the summertime, a thick sweet lassi would make us sleepy and lathargic while a watery thinned down salty version would perk us up. Would you put this in the realm of aurveda.

Carswell and Episure covered it well. Instead of making their own, most people tend to get a commercial mix. There are numerous brands in the market, I prefer the 'MDH Chunky Chat Masalla', good consistant product. Though I have been intriguied by the word ' Chunky '. Does any one know what it refers to as the chat masalla in packet is a smooth powder.

Nothing Indian! which made me wonder how often do you cook/eat Indian? three meals a day? Daily? couple of days weekly? but back to monica's topic, days like today make me long for Bread Pakoras, Malpoa, masalla chai, jalebis and the like. edited to add garam garam halwa.

Interesting, had never heard of sona masoori rice. Researched it as bit, it appears to be more prevalent or popular in southern India, is apparently short grained and plump and available in both'silky' and 'non-silky' varieties. Would like to learn more, anyone out there??? Episure, Prasad, Vikram,

Are those ALL the pictures you took? How long were you in India, a month? I am sure there are more, dont keep them from us, post more, soon, PLEASE.

Just returned from India and after seeing your wonderful pics want to go right back to check out what I missed. Great presentation, monica. bhasin

might it not be better to add them in two stages, at the start for flavor and towards the end for aroma

you are the best episure! my question too. Also how do you standardise your spice mixes? or is it different every time ?

most of the 'chai' touted by non Indian vendors in the US, coffee shops etc list honey as the sweetner, perhaps for the same reason.

i think mutton would be kind of tough as a steak even after you tenderise it using papaya or some other commercial stuff. How do you propose to prepare, marinate and cook them?

A little off the subject but all this talk of banana and chocolate samosas reminded me of Malai Samosas when I was in Varanasi ( Benaras) Full cream, non homogenised milk would be boiled and then allowed to cool so that a thick layer of 'malai' ( cream ) would form on top. This would then be gently removed and have the consistancy of samosa ' skin'. A stuffing would be made by pounding ' khoya' with sugar, alittle ground cardamom, saffron, almonds, pistachios and other nuts. The samosa would be made using the malai skin and stuffed with the above filling and the folded botton held together by piercing it with a clove. Its been a while, I do not remember if they dipped it in any sugar syrup. Has anyone tried these or does anyone know if they make them anymore?

spaghetti.........we are waiting.

I have never used dried curry leaves, just fresh or frozen but I did read on an ealier thread ( pretty old) about this chef in India who manages a famous south Indian restaurant chain sprinkling dried powdered curry leaves on finished dishes for that extra flavor.

never done methi sprouts, can you tell me abit more about it?

We can buy the tin wholesale at a little over $ 1.00 so it IS a great deal. I love the stuff, strange that I bought a tin(can) after a long time, just as this thread started. Two observations. Storage/shelf life- normally pickles are supposed to last a while at room temp but this pickle did not with mildew after a week or so, which was strange considering its acidic nature. So refrigerate. Taste & texture- this pickle was still fantastic but somehow the 'masalla' seemed to be kind of thin, runny and watery and the the taste seemed a bit vinegary from what I remember in the past. has someone noticed this too? Still the best to go with aloo puri/bhatura. Yum!

the dough with the coconut milk sounds really intersting. Would you care to share the recipe? Thanks. That, with the chocolate banana filling and something, perhaps beaten hung yogurt with sugar, ground pistachio and saffron, drizzled on top should make a heavenly dessert. Does your sister bake or fry the samosas, spaghettti? Also, I am curious would these samosas be kind of south Indian, where coconut milk is so abundantly used, or are they traditional to another part of the world?