bong

We went to half moon bay yesterday exactly for the same reason!Sadly, 3 Amigos was out of carnitas in the evening when we were there. Out of carnitas!!!

I try to make mishti doi the "traditional" way, by using regular whole milk. Sweeten it with some sugar and a little bit of caramelized sugar, and then do it like you would make regular yogurt (i.e. by using a starter culture). This way, I get about 50-60% success rate -- rest of the time my doi does not set. But when it does set, it turns out very good.I posted a recipe for this mishti doi in Recipe Gullet, which I believe, is not operational currently. Please wait a few more days. I have also come accross (and tried) some of these "lazy mishti doi" recipes which use condensed milk etc, but its far from the real thing. Also, regarding your mention of "gur" and jaggery, gur is a form of jaggery, right?. Gur is usually a semi-liquid jaggery. In Bengal its made from cane sugar by default. "Patali" is the solid form of jaggery. And "Notun gur" or "Nolen Gur" is the liquid jaggery from palm sugar, only available during winter.

3 Amigos, Taqueria in Half Moon Bay Chaat Cafe, Sunnyvale Quince Restaurant, San Francisco

Isn't this the standard way to make "dulce de leche", which is a Mexican dessert?I have also heard that this (i.e. boiling a can of condensed milk in water bath) is a dangerous thing to do, and you should only do it if you know what you are doing.

I hardly make anything with duck eggs these days. Its difficult to find duck eggs here. When I was growing up, however, we just used duck eggs the same way you would use regular hen eggs. (Indian style "omelet"/"hard-boiled eggs"/"half-boiled eggs" for breakfast, or egg curry for lunch/dinner etc.)And Percy, many thanks for your recipe, especially for the photos. Can't wait to try this out. Looks easy to prepare as well.

Episure. Sorry I just saw this yesterday. Duck eggs are indeed available in Bengal. When I was growing up in Kolkata, duck eggs were very commonly available, and we used to have them regularly.

I had a neighbor from the Phillipines who grew bittermelons in her yard. She would let me take as many leaves as I wanted. I would cook them in dal sometimes....definitely bitter. Edward, I think v. gautam is referring to the leaves of parwal or "patol" as the bengalis call it. This is different from the bitter melon. The "potol" vegetable itself is not at all bitter, as you know. However, the leaves are something else altogether. They are probably more bitter than anything else I have eaten. Re: neem leaves, you mentioned you like neem-begun a lot. You should probably consider growing your own neem tree (I did), since I don't know of any other way to procure neem leaves in the USA.. It grows well in a flower pot, and it will only grow upto the size allowed by the flower pot, i.e. if you leave it in a small pot, it wont grow big. It also makes a beautiful indoor house plant. In winter, we keep ours indoors.

Even if you tried, it would be really dificult to mistake one for the other. Especially if you have ever bitten into a neem leaf. BTW, a twig of a neem tree is used in Bengal (and all over rural) India as a poor man's toothbrush as well. You smash one end of the twig, so it sort of flares up, and becomes like a brush. You then use this end to brush your teeth with. There are a few companies in India which market a neem-flavored toothpaste to capitalize on this fact. The toothpastes taste bitter. Here is one: But I digress. Please share if you ever eaten (or cooked with) a Neem leaf.

In another topic, v.gautam mentioned: This prompted me to start a topic. Fried neem leaves is indeed a speciality in Bengal, and is also something I like. Traditionally, small cubes of fried eggpant is mixed with it. Bengalis eat it with rice, at the very begining of a meal. (I myself dont like the eggplant). Only the very young, freshly sprouted leaves are used. I actually bought a neem tree sapling from http://www.neemtreefarms.com a while back and happily, the tree is doing just fine in our California weather. Have others ever had a neem leaf to eat? A neem plant has many other uses as well.

For those who are intimidated by how to clean a process banana flowers, I found (courtesy google) a page which has very good instructions including nice pictures of all the steps: http://www.ganeshvilla.com/bananas/banana_flower_salad.htm

I could be wrong, but I think the Thai & Vietnames recipes call for first soaking the flowers in acidulated water for a while before you drain it, dry it and then use it in a salad. Maybe the soak does something to remove the astringency?

A "Loochi" is the same as a "poori", except maida (all purpose flour) is used instead of atta (wheat flour?). This makes it a more white looking, and also gives it a different texture. Bengalis traditionally eat "loochis" and not "pooris". A "kochuri" is a similar thing, except it has some sort of a filling (usually mashed cooked green peas) inside. A "Khasta kochuri" however is a different thing -- its a much harder, and more spherical thing, usually had as a snack -- I have no idea how its made.

I am not 100% sure, but I think the common english term for "shajne-danta"/"shojney-danta" is "drumstick".

You mean "Charanamrito" (aka "Charana-amrita" , literally "ambrosia from the feet" (of gods and goddesses I suppose)), right? No, shinni is different from Charanmrito. Shinni is much more thick. You are right, shinni was also done during Satyanarayan pujo as well. Shinni was not my favorite, though. It was always too slimy for me. BTW, this (all 3) was standard fare at our house as well. I especially liked the diced boiled potatoes with lime juice and peppercorns, and even though I much preferred rice over chapatis, I would still like to eat the chapatis with the potatoes. A "snackier" and slightly more elaborate version of the same potatoes is also served in a way like "chaat" and called "Aloo-kabli" (Literally, potatoes done in the style of Kabul? ).Except, we never mixed in peanuts and banana in the same mix though -- the sweet mixes never had the peanuts, and conversely, the savory ones never had bananas. BTW, I dont know where you live in the USA, but during Saraswati pujo or even Durga pujo here in the San Francisco bay area, you can get your fix of Phalahar if you wish.

gautam, you should be banned from making any more posts which make me hungry. Indeed, this was my very common afternoon snack (after coming back from school) when I was growing up. Sometimes, you would mix in some sweet, ripe mangoes into the mixture as well. Cheerey mixed with mishti-doi really is very delicious. Other days, we would eat muri ("murmura" aka "puffed rice" aka rice krispies), mixed with peanuts, onions, green chili or sometimes with chanachur. Sometimes it would be "Chire-bhaja" (fried poha), with nuts and chanachoor. This was also a standard fare for the religioous ceremonies held at our home when my mother would do a "Lokkhi" (Lakshmi) pujo. Gautam, did you have the slimy liquid shinni they used to serve during Saraswati pujo? I hadn't realized you could use poha for this dish. I have always had the variant that uses "Muri"/"Murmura" Gautam, have you tried making these at home here in the USA? Maybe by substitutiing caramel instead of jaggery?

This is true. And the "ghilu" that you mention is my favorite as well. When growing up, bagda chingri, being so expensive, was a real rarity, making its appearance only on extremely special occasions. Mostly, all I heard were stories of eating bagda chingri. Indeed. Rohu and Hilsa roe also happen to be my favorites as well.Different households prepare it different ways, I think. In our house, a "bora" (a small ball shape) would be made out of the roe and then it would be pan fried. Sometimes spices along with chopped onions would be mixed with it, sometimes not. Either way, it was (and still is!) delicious. And we never thew away the mustard oil that the fish and roe (especially if it was Hilsa) was cooked in. The oil was eaten at the start of the meal, mixed with steamed rice, a bit of salt and a green chili. (BTW, on http://www.fishbase.org , there is fish called "Topshi" listed. But the picture is so bad that I can't tell if thats the same as a "Topshey" fish or not -- http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSum...esname=sexfilis . I am also happy to report that my local Bangladeshi grocery carries frozen Topshey fish. ) In my family, when I was growing up, I was the one who least liked to eat fish. (even then I ate fish at least 4-5 times a week!). I was doubly renegade because I also ACTUALLY LIKED to eat Pomfret (because the bones were so easy to take out)!!. I believe, I was made fun of by a certain Dr. Jones right in this forum, for suggesting a "Shorshe-pomfret" (Pomfret in mustard sauce) recipe! But you are absolutely right, among Bengalis (including my house), pomfret is a fish that is held in very low esteem. Actually, traditionally, any "sea-fish" is held in low esteem by Bengalis. They mostly prefer river-water fish over any other. You must be joking. I am far, far from an expert in starting any thread about Bengali cooking, especially about cooking fish.Regarding puli-pithey, now there's an idea I hadn't thought of before. Incidentally, luchis also go well with Maple syrup (which is similar in concept to the liquid jaggery called "nolen gur" in Bengal). Conversely, I have found that pancakes (I sometimes make buttermilk pancakes) go really well with nolen gur.

We use both. When we need a small amount, we use the fresh one, yes even the lousy big-supermarket-thing-they-call-a-tomato. Otherwise, we use the canned variety.

My mother-in-law made a different, but something similar to this for my brother-in-law's birthday (not in the baby shower, as I said earlier, before the edit). She used the big tiger prawns, somewhat similar to bagda chingri, and made a dish from the marinated whole head of the prawns, in a light chick-pea ("besan"/"bashon") batter. I even have a picture, although the picture is not very good: However, I have never heard of the custom of eating raw prawn/lobster roe in Bengal though, at least in West Bengal. EDIT: photo and some corrections

worm@work, not sure where you live, but banana flowers (called "Mocha" in Bengali) or blossoms as they are called are available in most Chinese/Asian grocery stores as well as a few Indian grocery stores here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Frozen Banana leaves are also available. They are good to eat on as well as good to cook with (wrappers). However, the banana plant stem/stalk/trunk (called "Thor") is not available. Bengalis cook with it as well. SwatiC, if you have any more info on the availibility of stems in the USA, I would be all ears... Banana flowers are available canned as well, but the canned ones don't taste as good.

We have a similar old one, which we got from India a while back. We use it, although rarely, to cook the hard-to-cook dals, occasionally to cook meat, etc. It wont be unsafe just because it has a "wobbly" stopper. However, it may be unsafe if there is excessive wear and tear on the lid or in the body of the pressure cooker etc...

Here are some bengali names (relatively) uncommon foodstuff. Left side is the Bengali name. Right hand side is the scientific/english/chinese/vietnamese variations. Pui Shak = Vietnamese Spinach, Malabar Spinach, Ceylon Spinach, Saan Choy, Alogbati, Mong Tou Notey Shak = Amaranth, Chinese Spinach, Hiyu, Hon-Toi-Noi, Yin Choy, Hsien Tsai Kochu = Taro Kolmi Shak = Water Spinach, Swamp Spinach, Ung Choy, Long Green, Kangkong, Tangkong, On Choy Jhinghe = ridged gourd, Luffa acutangula, Chinese Okra, Silk Squash, Sing Gua. Chichinge = snake gouurd, serpent gourd, Chichinda(hindi), Trichosanthes anguina, Trichosanthes cucumerina anguina, Aanshphol = Longan, Euphoria Longan

10 mins of 10 kW electric range = 1.67 kWh 8 hours of 0.27 kW slow cooker = 2.16 kWh So they are in the same ballpark, energy use wise. Although, I am not sure I would use solely this argument to justify using one over the other. (Actually, I never use a slow cooker and only rarely use a pressure cooker).

These numbers do not look right. I am also assuming you really meant "kW" when you wrote "kWh".This 5 qt. "West Bend" slow cooker is rated at 270 Watts (0.27 kW): http://www.westbend.com/westbend/catalog.c...ection&linkid=5 I coudn't find the online specs for a Rival crockpot, but I would be surprised if they were significantly different. A typical (electric) range is around 10kW, not 100. See, for instance, this (PDF) specification of a GE range: http://products.geappliances.com/ProdConte...D&itemid=320638 The 240V model is rated at 10.8 kW whereas the 208V model is rated at 8.1 kW. Dunno about gas ranges.

My favorite in the South Bay area: Dasaprakash in Santa Clara, for Dosa, and, Chaat Paradise in Mountain View for Chaat. Other fairly decent places for Dosa: * Saravana Bhavan in Sunnyvale * Udupi Palace, several branches (Sunnyvale, Fremont, Pleasanton) Other, for Chaat: * Vik's Chaat, in Berkeley, as mentioned by Stone. On weekends they also serve dosa (However, the main reason to go to this place is for the chaat, not for the dosa). San Fransisco proper has some good north-indian restaurants serving Tandoorri chicken, but no decent South Indian restaurants or no decent Chaat place. See this thread for a recent discussion on South Indian restaurants in different places, including the San Francisco Bay Area: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=46125

If using zuccini as one of the vegetables, add it later on as otherwise it will turn to mush by the time the other vegetables are done.