Search the Community

Last week, I went to six Michelin three-star restaurants in Paris. Three star chefs have incorporated various degrees of influences from other cuisines into their kitchens. Japanese cuisine’s influence on French haute cuisine has been noted and documented over the years. Visual as well as textural elements of Japanese cuisine were extensively at display at Guy Savoy. What was surprising (to me), however, was the extent to which Indian spices have proliferated the kitchens at these temples of French haute cuisine. I can not claim authoritatively that the spices are Indian in origin. The maitre d’ at L’Arpege declared that “the chef is in love with vegetables.” My wife and I decided to do the vegetarian tasting menu. How much that had to do with the extensive (meaning in 4 or 5 dishes) use of Indian spices. Cumin was the most used spice in this menu. Of note, light sea urchin ravioli with chives, saffron and cumin served in a seafood consume. Each taste hit the tongue one after another-- the slurp of clear broth into a bite of soft ravioli, the onioniness of chives arriving into your mouth at the same time as the texture of sea urchin followed by whiffs of saffron and a final bite of cumin. Then there were carrot sticks simply cooked in some sort of butter with roasted ground cumin. Not a lot. Texture, scent, the flavors of the butter and cumin perfectly mingling with the superb carrots. It was almost like a light sabzi of carrots (although I do not remember cumin being in carrot sabzis). As a side note, the famous Tomato Confit dessert with 12 flavors including dried nuts, herbs, cinnamon etc. This was an Indian style dessert almost. a) the texture was overly dominated by the dried fruits and nuts b) the 12 flavors kind of stepped on themselves a bit too much :-). Topped with vanilla ice cream with warm sauce. It was fruity and nutty and ice creamy and syrupy all at the same time. At Le Grand Vefour (as everywhere else) black truffles were everywhere. However, one of the main courses that I ordered was fillet of turbot with a yellow sauce. This sauce was chock full of very typical south Indian flavors (ok, ok I am ignorant about what goes into South Indian “tadkas”) and turmeric (accounting for the color). Fantastic. I was reminded of the spices my wife uses in Yoghurt Rice as such dishes. At Guy Savoy, a grilled fillet of sea bass with skin on came with a vanilla sauce with coriander powder and topped with shitake mushrooms for texture. The coriander was on the side and added that little punch of flavor and aroma to the fish. It is interesting to me what determines the timing and the direction of such movements. I also have a dozen CDs of house music from several Paris clubs that have incorporated (heavily) elements of Indian folk music and are quite popular (Nirvana Lounge, Buddha Bar to name a couple). Some of them redone/remixed versions of traditional songs that I heard as a kid. Any ideas why this infusion is happening in France? What, if any will be the effect of this fusion (or Tabla’s) on Indian restaurants/chefs ? comments??

Anyone?

A very good friend of ours from India visited us last year for a week. She insisted to cook every day. Very happy to get authentic Indian food, especially since she even brought all necssary spices with her. We had a feast. As she left she gave me an Indian Cookbook (in English) to keep: "Mrs. Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery". What are your comments about this book?

Or limited to certain areas? I keep hearing from taxi drivers I meet from the Indian subcontinent how Indian food is much better in Canada in comparison to the US. Any thoughts anyone?

In India there are very typical dishes that would be eaten over the weekend. Does anyone here have such favorites? What are they? Where do you find them? Why are these dishes appealing?

Not all spices come from India. In fact.. there are some spices that today, seem like they must have always been Indian that do not come from India. The temprate zone also gave spices. Caraway is one. Bay laurel another. So would you guess as to what spices are Indian and what are non Indian spices? Anyone? Would be fun to see what we come up with.

I've been intrigued to see the in-the-know Indian-food people on this board make casual reference repeatedly to secret recipes, closely guarded recipes, recipes passed down from generation to generation, etc. In my experience with Western cuisines, there are few recipe secrets. Mostly, it's commercial food companies (Coca Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken), bad Italian restaurants ("That's our secret sauce!"), and the occasional paranoid home baker that try to keep recipes a secret. And it rarely seems to work. For example, a good chef with a good palate can taste most Western foods and deduce the recipes. This seems to be the case all the way up to near the top of the form, where it can get a little tough to figure out Pierre Gagnaire or Ferran Adria's recipes. And even at that level, there's little guarding of recipes. The imperative seems to be to publicize and publish them rather than keep them secret. Am I pointing to a cultural difference that really exists, or is this just my skewed perception? And if it is a difference, what explains it? And how truly mysterious are these recipes? Can a talented Indian chef not taste someone else's dish and make a pretty good guess what's in it?

I really enjoy Indian condiments. As I was mentioning on the flatbreads thread, I often find myself in Indian restaurants here (New York) just eating naan and spooning condiments onto it -- and skipping most of the food that is supposed to be the meal. When I wander into an Indian grocery, I'll sometimes pick up some random condiments even if I can't understand the labels on the jars (and sometimes this is the case even if the label is in English). They're invariably good. So, two issues come to mind: 1) I think it's interesting that condiments -- added by the person eating the food -- are such an integral part of Indian cuisine. (Or am I mistaken there?) In the French high cuisine tradition, by contrast, you'd be considered a very bad man just for adding salt to your food -- no less condiments. The Western model seems to be: The chef made it perfect for you, now eat it and shut up. The Indian model seems to be: Here's the food, and here are a bunch of flavors you can weave into it; now enhance it however you like. 2) I'm sure I've not experienced Indian condiments at their best, especially since I've been exposed hardly at all to fresh condiments (most everything I try is preserved). What are some of the signature regional condiments of India, how are they used, and are there any I can whip up easily at home?

What do you all think of Chapatis, Naans, Parathas, Kulchas, Bhaturas, Rotis and other Indian breads? Which ones seem more special than the others? Where do you find your favorite Indian bread? And what has made it better than other places? Which lend themselves better to restaurant menus? What shortcomings do you experience? How would you like to see them change, if at all? Do you crave for them?

Where did you last eat your favorite samosa? What made it so? How was it different from the others you have eaten?

Okay, I admit it, I just can't convince myself to like Indian desserts. At least, not based on the ones I've tried. I recently ordered a bunch of stuff from Surati Farsan Mart in California (which is temporarily closed on account of a kitchen fire, details at http://www.suratifarsan.com ) and I found most of it to be painfully cloying and one-dimensional. These are supposed to be some of the best Indian sweets around, though I suppose there must be better ones in India. So, what's the deal? Have I just not been exposed to good Indian desserts? Will somebody educate me a bit here?

Rachel and I had the best rendition of these we've ever tasted at a local Indian buffet today -- these were puffy and crunchy, unlike many we have had at other buffet lunches that were dense, heavy and very greasy. Suvir, do you have a good recipe for these? For those of you who are not familiar with them, these are small, fried doughnut-shaped appetizers made out of lentils and rice flour, and seasoned with various spices.

So does anyone know of good beef dishes they have eaten at restaurants from the sub-continent? Where did you get them? How were they?

In Britain I guess we have more Indian and Pakistani restaurants than any other nationality, obviously due to our historical links with the Indian Empire. I have probably eaten in as many as 200 different Indian/Pakistani restaurants around the country. And I can't remember seeing fish on the menu (apart from Chingri, or prawns) in more than a handful. One notable exception is an excellent South Indian restaurant, The Banana Leaf, near where I live, who have a few different fish dishes. Is this a feature of Indian cuisine, that fish are not widely used ? If so, I am surprised given the restrictions on meat in the two parts of the sub-continent (pork in one part, beef in the other). If not, then why is this part of the cuisine not "imported" to Britain ?

Hariyaali Kababs as far as I know, are made from a mint and cilantro marinade. It is traditionally grilled in the tandoor. My guess is it is from the north. I will call some tandoori chef friends and ask if they think otherwise. The word Hariyaali in hindi means green. I make them at home for parties in our home tandoor with mint and cilantro and chicken breasts. I have also made them with chicken wings. But personally find the flavor get heightened with chicken breasts. Will see if I can search for a recipe in my data base. Or will write one for you. I end up making marinades just by sight and mood. A lot of Indian cooking is very of the moment and most of our recipes are dictated by who makes them and when. Curious to know when the review came in NY TImes. As far as I know, Eric Asimov and William Grimes review restaurants. Who is this other writer? Maybe you are thinking of another paper? I remember many months ago, you and I had chatted about this restaurant. I am glad it is still good.

I hear the words curry.. curry powder... curry paste and curries all the time. Many times their usage does not bode well with my Indian upbringing. And at other times, I am amazed at how aptly these words are used. What does Curry mean to you? What do you think are its roots? Is the word from the English language or from one of the many Indian languages? This link below goes into much more detail and would be fascinating for many. Please read and share your thoughts. The Origins Of Curry Link And now about what curries mean to Canada. The link below seems to be quite articulate with just a few Curry-facts seeming fuzzy. Canadian Story on Curries Link

How does the fact that Indian cooking in homes is largely vegetarian affect the restaurants serving Indian food? What effect does it have on the sales in a restaurant? Do people go to them primarily to eat meats and sate their cravings thereof? Any thoughts?

Several people who have traveled to India have said to me, as though it's a law of nature, that the best cooking in India occurs in private homes. If true, this is amazing to me, as it's certainly not the case in any Western nation I know of. So, is it true? And if so how is the training to home cooks being imparted, and why can't restaurants duplicate it?

I'd be very interested to hear the opinions of those who have dined around India on the following: Where, outside of India, can you get the best Indian food in the world? Don't say New York, because I know that's not it!

NY Times, Obituary for Raji Jallepalli-Reiss

Last night I visited Udupi Village in Montclair, being a decent expert on South Indian cuisine (I am originally from there), I can whole-heartedly say that the food is very good. I usually have only one place of reference (Jackson Diner, Queens, NY). I know the place is not called that anymore. Madras Mahal (NYC, NY) is also another place serves a decent dosa! The decor in the place was bright but not unpleasing. We ordered the Mysore Masala Dosa (excellent), Vegetable Uttapum (very good), Iddli (very moist, almost perfect). I must mention the Mango Lassi. It was excellent - the lassi in most places have a tartness from that cuts into the flavor, not so with this one, I guess they add more mango pulp, which makes it sweeter but again very good. I find that the place was not very crowed, either people in the area are not familiar with South Indian or they dont know about the place. I would suggest anyone looking for something different in Indian dining, try out this place. Also, this is not affiliated with the Udupi in Iselin.