BBhasin

you guys are driving me nuts. I like to raise a glass ( or two) at the end of the day but if you are on antiboitics you have to satay away from the stuff so all I can do is droool.

I don't think fenugreek seeds are used in pasteries and sweets but if you are at it give it a shot and see what you come up with it maybe a great culinary find, you never know. I was browsing this CIA online course where they were discussing how soy sauce enhances umami ( the fifth taste) and it apparently helped some sweeter stuff too.

Having had a root canal I have been on a diet of soft and 'milder' stuff. A steady diet of kichdree ( a rice n lentil gruel, for those who don't know) and thin sooji halwa. Which got me thinking that there must be so many regional variations for people convalancing that could make recovery a tad more enjoyable. I have a couple of days to go so lets have your favorite ' recovery foods'.

Try the Tandoori Chicken Wings at Bombay Curry Company in Alexandria Marinated in fresh ground ginger, garlic and spices then charcoal broiled on a skewer in a clay pit oven, the 'tandoor'. Crisp n juicy with a nice smokey flavor. What am I doing ( slap myself), pushing those wings when, with the superbowl, party wings are wholesale close to bonelss skinless chicken breasts! Anyway I think they are a great starter or even a mini meal with a naan. But then I do work for the Bombay Curry Company and my opinion could be biased. PS: here's the scoop, hotter and spicier ' Vindalloo Wings ' are going to hit the menu soon.

Thanks Monica, as bague25 said, for bringing back a lot of wonderful memories. What an interesting story line, very origional. I loved all the pictures, of course some have more appeal. I like the stick chopping board too but my favorite was the last one, of the jalebis, with the dhoop (incense) burning on the side. was it to ward off the insects? did you try the jalebis? did they have any aroma of the incense? It may not be possible to cover evrything in one article so I hope you are going to continue the saga with future visits. You ARE brave Monica to try all those street foods. What medication were you on? bhasin

Now you will not burn your arms, they will just steam very well. Sorry could'nt resist that bhasin

Good old rice pudding. Found all over the world with some variations and switching a few flavorings here and there.

Rushina, you have taken over these forums! Hail to the queen. bhasin

I will take a good biryani any day. Wonderful subltle flavors with chunks of meat done just right, each grain of rice long and seperated, infused with gentle flavors of the goat, spices, safron and kewra. Dotted with nuts and raisins, with flecks of caramalized onion,mint and fresh corriander. A little kachumbar and some boondi raita on the side and it's heaven right here! After that mouthful I have to confess though, that not all my attempts have resulted in such a praiseworthy product. Many a time I have toiled long and hard only to be rewarded with a mush of rice or undercooked and tough meat which has resulted only in my greater respect for a good biryani and high regard for those who do it for a living and have mastered it to get it right every time. bhasin

Bague25 your recipe for the bottle masalla sounds great. Can someone please enlighten me what those last four ingredients are. bhasin

i'll pass on the feedback to the concerned parties. now, where's my cut? Your cut. Mongo PM me your address and I will mail you 1. Some garam masalla we make. 2. A spice blend for ' London Balti Chicken' along with the reciepe for you to try. How's that?

It turned out just great. even though i did not pre cook the cauliflower. The first batch ran out and in the second batch we added some roasted ground cumin for a different twist and that was pretty good too. I really like the simplicity of the reciepe. Now you should not complain that restaurants do not serve homestle food. This was from YOUR home. take care bhasin

My dog will love you if you make the chilli with bill tong. Mention the word bill tong and she will be your slave. We get ours from Zimwabe and its usually ' phumba' which is like a wild boar and we prefer both the garlic and spicy versions. One batch was too smelly so we started feeding the dog as a treat and she is addicted. Did you ever enquire whatr your guests did not like? the smell or the texture?

UREKA !JUST LIKE HOME just returned from a short visit to delhi and the Chai there was wonderful. I have not been able to replicate that exact same taste and body but this time I think I hit it. Half and Half instead of milk, you dont need to add as much as you would add milk but it makes the chai come close to ' back home'. Perhaps because its the buffalo milk which is 'heavier' that we use in Delhi, the Vit D or the low fat stuff that we use here does't do it. See if it works for you.

Vikam, by jaggerey do you mean 'shakkar' or are you refering to 'gur'? bhasin

To our friend visiting Delhi and desirous of getting aquaited with some Indian street food I would reccoment HALDIRAM in Lajpat Nagar on the ring road. Very clean, even using Bisleri ( mineral water) for their uncooked chutneys, pani poori etc. My favorite is their RAj Kachori.

Great pics mongo, I am going to do your version of the Gobi Mattar on the buffet this sunday even though adding water somehow did not appeal to my dear wife ( uncouth Punjabis I guess). The fishball curry looked interesting too, would appriciate your mom's reciepe. In my home all the fishballs would be gone right after frying and none left for the curry. Thanks again for an insight into Bengali home cooking.

Anil, No arguments. But the next time you are in Delhi spend 15 minutes in this shop. Anyway why are we fighting, we both got great milk cake, right? spelling

MOTI MAHAL VISIT.......... the ultimate BUTTER CHICKEN LITMUS TEST Was in Delhi DEC 2003 and as promised made the trek to the origional Moti mahal in Daryagunj, the old part of Delhi on a cold rainy night. I had returned perhaps after almost 35 years and to me the place looked about the same. There is an outdoor courtyard used for dining during the summer months and an attatched dining hall which as per current standards can only be described as plain and rather run down. In spite of that the seats were very comfortable and the tables rather low but perfect for dining. We got down to bussiness right away and ordered Butter Chicken ( boneless) Brain Masalla Nan Roti Paratha The meal come in approx five minutes. Which was surprising as I had anticipated a wait but I guess they already had the sauce simmering and the tandoori chicken roasted and pulled. The butter chichen was, I am sorry to report, dissapointing. The sauce( which was kind of runny) did not have any character and tasted of raw chilli ( cayenne) and the chicken in it did not appear to have any tandoori flavor. The Brain Masalla was mostly a masalla of sauteed onion, tomato, ginger garlic and garam masalla with very little brain. While the tandoori roti and paratha were good. The nan was leathery and chewy. The sevice though was excellent and very attentive without being obtrusive. I have mentioned ealier on this thread that my favorite butter chicken is at the Mughal Mahal restaurant in Rajendra place, owned incidently by the father of Vivin on this forum ( who was earlier associated with the origional Moti Mahal). While I did not get an opportunity this time to visit them , I recieved a flier in the newspaper, where they said that The Economic Times, in their edition dated Dec 05th 03 had declared that the world's best butter chicken is at Mughal Mahal, Rajendra Place, New Delhi. I could not acess the paper to get complete details but with an endorsement like that have to go there next visit. Congratulations vivin!

STANDARD BURFEE remember that name all you folks visiting Delhi or those having visitors from Delhi. Its a mithai shop on Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh. Makes the best MILK CAKE you can get. This shop also carries some of the best pinni and panjeeri you will find anywhere. And while you getting the stuff try the chole with the pithi wali puris and top it off with some Gajjar Halwa. Fabulous! Notes from the Dec Delhi visit.

Great looking forward to it. Not a day over a week is permitted!! Welcome home Bhasin--

Some one on another site's forum recently enquired about Chocolate Chai. Growing up in Delhi I came accross this only once, where a local 'dhabba' in Patel Nagar woould add some cadbury's milk chocolate powder to the tea after he has brewed ( cooked) it. Tasted quite nice like .. Mocha Chai ? I also learnt that Trader Joe's, in the US sells a Chocolate Chai mix, though I havn't tried it yet. Can all you wonderful people out there tell me if you came across this in India? Maybe Vikram can research this, perhaps he already has. Bhasin

was browsing msn India and read in food & entertainment that Nanzza was the creation of Chef Hemant Oberoi of Taj Mahal hotel Bombay. While I could not determine authenticity I thought it pudent to add the info to the thread.

Mike, Did you ever get that lard? I saw some at Restaurant Depot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria. Its open only to restaurants. I go there twice a week and you are welcome to come along anytime.

Mongo, I was to connect with you in Delhi but could not get through to the tel number you gave me. Anyway I am back after my Delh trip. If you are still there, the cocunut grove has shifted to the Janpath hotel. The South Indian restaurant in defence Colony market was pretty good. I forget the name but in my humble opinion it was better than Dakshin which Vikram talks about a lot. The seasonings were kind of mild and tame at Dakshin as per my group which included some South Indian buddies. The defence Colony place had chicken 65 on the menu and after our little discussion on an ealier thread I had to try it. It came looking like scrawny, very spicy pakoras. I find Episure's posted reciepe for Chicken 65 far superior. Strange I had shorlisted Bukhara and Dum Pukht too but did not make it. A fried of mine took me to a Mughlai take away Alkausur in South delhi which was very good. Had to go to Moti Mahal after all the discussion about the origion of butter chicken etc, that was another dissapointing experience. More later when I get over my jetlag Bhasin