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Is paneer a common item in South Indian diets? Or is it mainly a North Indian ingredient?

using the following as the standard criteria: for regional chinese: grand sichuan on 9th bet 50/51st for thai: the original wondee siam on 9th bet 52/53rd & pam real on 49th nr 9th av which 1-2 indian restaurants should be listed?

Good morning, I am trying to find the most authentic Indian restaurant in Vancouver that has great food. Service is not the number one priority! If a thread has already been started on this I apologize as I could not find one, but if so, could you please point me to it! If not, I would appreciate any feedback that you can offer. (Distance is also not an issue, anywhere in Greater Vancouver is fine.) Cheers, Eric

I'd really appreciate it if someone had a ready answer.

alright, folks. planning a four day excursion in march...limited budget so i thought i'd go for gastropubs and indian food... with one blowout meal...suggestions welcome. is ramsay all he's cracked up to be? any good chop houses? if you had to list your top four in each category...what would they be? i've been scrolling through the best of 2004 thread...but they're not arranged by category so a lot of the names mean nothing to me... thanks!

SYNOPSIS: The Ayurveda is the science of life or longevity, which helps in the promotion of health, prevention of disease and in achieving a long holistic life. The basic philosophy of Ayurveda is based on Panchamabhoota (five elements) theory. This theory states that the universe as well as the human body is made of five elements, namely space, earth, fire, water and air. These elements combine to form controlling forces called Doshas. The Doshas are responsible for sustaining the balance between the body, mind and soul. To have a perfect harmony between these three, one needs to understand the classification of Doshas and follow a life style accordingly. This book is my effort to a simplify the oldest science of Life. Last week my Book on this subject is Published, Ayurveda is a very vast subject as such. I have only researched in context to food and its beliefs. Vikas Khanna

The new US dietary guidelines recommend 9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Although Indian food is predominantly vegetarian -- even non-vegs eat just a little meat by US standards -- my sense is that it is heavy on starches and dairy products. and that it may be hard even for vegetarians to comply with these new guidelines. I'm interested in hearing what others think about this.

There are so many different Mithais available today; I am interested to hear about your favorite mithai or one that you would recommend to others. Also interested in "mithai reviews".

Any new soups of the Indian kind that have made their way to your table that are hot and spicy? I love the traditional tomato saar -- tomato soup with coconut milk tempered with minced green chilies, mustard seeds and curry leaves. So share

Well, it is supposed to snow this weekend keeping people here indoors Suggestions for slow cooked recipes from your grandmothers kitchen. We are doing a dal makhani - generally I let this simmer for about 8 hours - mostly unattended and its worth it. What are you cooking up?

Its two oclock pm in Washington DC and there is two inches of snow outside my window. I hear Minn is much colder. I am sipping a simple cardamom tea and wondering what to cook for dinner - something hot and spicy that counteracts the weather. What are you cooking from your spice cupboard that is warming Do share

I have been getting many requests to set up cooking classes for couples and am thinking of doing one for valentine's day.. what would you suggest I teach?

The latest issue of Fine Cooking has an article on spices, tarka, bhoona and a recipe for short ribs by Floyd Cardoz (Tabla) that was simply scrumptious. I'm wondering what other forum visitors thought of the short article. Roy

I was picking up some spices at the Indian grocers and saw sona masoori rice. I asked the clerk about it and she said it was different from basmati and gave some suggested uses, but I never knew it existed. What is the differecec between masoori and basmati and in what types of dishes are each used? Regional preferences?

It is true that the Spice Mixture have a certian recipe. They are different in different regions of India. But frankly speaking, I have been making my own mixtures from day 1. I just pick up my favorite spices from the pantry and blend them. Over the years I feel that the important steps are 1. Never add salt or cayenne pepper 2. Dry roast the spices in a pre heated oven for 10 mins at 250 F before grinding. This process helps in releasing the oils. 3. Make in small batches as they do have a shelf life. 4. Try using them in marination of meats or for curries add them during the end of the cooking process. This helps is retaining the exotic flavors. 5. Use a coffee grinder. Vikas Khanna

I finally made to my local indian grocery and bought quite a bunch of different spices and produce so now i need help in identifying some of this stuff and also how to use it. Tindora - cute small and striped: zucchini/cucumbers? Tuvar - also cute and small: some sort of green beans? I passed on valor... and karela There were also some gorgeous looking big flat green leaves that i forgot to write the name of down... Thank you.

Buddhism and Food - A theory of being Vegetarian. Ethical Eating, From Anthony Flanagan "Eating is both a basic and essential activity. If we don't eat we die - simple as that. The question for ethics revolves around what choices we make about what we eat and what eating patterns we subscribe to. We don't have to go far to find advice - newspapers, magazines, websites, television and video, education classes...all compete for our attention. But what advice on food and eating did the Buddha give? In the early scriptures known as the Pali Canon, the Buddha has a number of significant things to say about food. . . . . " The rest of the article can be found here: http://buddhism.about.com/cs/ethics/a/Food.htm [This post has been modifed by management to remove excessive text quoted from another site and to provide a link to the text and attribution to the author.]

MANGO AND SHRIMP SKEWERS WITH GUAVA LIME GLAZE This recipe is from upcoming book "Mango Mia". The exotic flavor come together very well, especially mangoes and lime. Its easy to make and great to taste. SERVES 6 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 18 uncooked colossal shrimp or 36 jumbo shrimp (about 2 pounds), peeled, tails left intact, deveined 2 red bell peppers, each cut into 12 pieces 2 firm but ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, each cut into 12 wedges 6 12-inch bamboo skewers (for colossal shrimp) or twelve 12-inch bamboo skewers (for jumbo shrimp), soaked in water 30 minutes, drained Prepare the Guava lime glaze barbecue (medium-high heat). Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Add shrimp, bell peppers and mangoes; toss to coat. Alternate bell pepper, mango and 3 colossal shrimp on each of 6 skewers, or alternate bell pepper, mango and 3 jumbo shrimp on each of 12 skewers. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Grill shrimp until cooked through, brushing with glaze during last 2 minutes, cooking colossal shrimp about 4 minutes per side and jumbo shrimp about 3 minutes per side.

Hi. Heading to NOVA a couple of times over the next few weeks to catch up with friends. We're interested in good Vietnamese and Indian. From the Washingtonian that I checked out from my local library, it looks like Four Sisters at the Eden Center and Raaga are good choices. I live in Caroline County, Maryland, a wasteland when it comes to ethnic food of any kind. So, I'd like to maximize my enjoyment only getting Vietnamese once or twice a year. There is a decent Indian joint I go to in Dover that I am worried will become endangered unless someone besides me goes. Any recommendations are appreciated.

This and almost everything else listed on the site So what do YOU want for Christmas?

Hi all, my first post here. At another forum I visit, there were some people wondering if India, with its distinct (and delicious!) cuisine for the past so many centuries, has also developed some distinct types of cutlery. For example, the westerners have knives such as chef's, boning, slicer, parer etc., the Japanese have their own, the Chinese have their cleavers and so on. Being from India, however, I could not think of knives specific to India or its cuisine. To begin with, while I was there, I was never aware of cutlery as a very important part of the kitchen; whatever was sharp enough to cut would do, without much emphasis on its shape/design, ergonomics, steel etc., but that might've been just me... What I have usually seen in Indian (home) kitchens are what I would describe in western terms as 'utility' knives of different sizes, and some serrated ones that don't belong to any named category that I know of. Also, in my grandma's kitchen there used to be an old, wooden-handled carbon steel knife with square tip, presumably similar to what the Japanese use as their 'vegetable' knife. Again, my family is a vegetarian one, so I'm totally unaware of what cutlery might be used for meat. I have been thinking about this for a while even before this question came up, and I am pretty intrigued to know what you think. So any thoughts regarding the specifc (or not so specifc) type of cutlery that was/is used in Indian cooking, vegetarian and non-veg, north or south, would be really interesting to know. Thanks, Anchita

Which are the best mutton (Goat meat) cuts for a steak. What to ask for when you are in the meat shop?? I have made mutton chops and Keema in the past but never steaks. Also share some steak recipes.. Thanx

Does anyone have a recipe for kobiraji cutlet? We'd like to try it at home but have no idea how to get the right "fuzzy" texture.

I spent several months in Kerala in 2002, and I've been dying to either make or find these dishes again. The closest I've come is a Sri Lankan restaurant that serves similiar dishes, although they somehow miss the mark. If there's any Keralites out there, please help! :) (P.S. I was based in Mavelikara for the four months I was there) 1. Thoren - I may have the spelling wrong, but this was served with lunch, and was sort of a cabbage-based mix that was crunchy and so so tasty! 2. Pachadi - also like a salad I beleive 3. Many times when I was invited to someone's home, there was a reddish-brown powder that was sprinkled atop rice or other dishes - I believe the base was toasted coconut and chili but I don't know what it was called 4. Theeyal - Bar None. This was the single-best thing I ate. It had several different incarnations, one of which was made with Tapioca. Another was bitter melon I think. It reminded me of a mexican mole sauce in that it was spicy but somehow a little bit chocolaty? I know my clues haven't been terribly helpful, but if you knew anything about these dishes I'd be so happy to hear from you.

Hello everyone-this is my first post on this particular Forum but I do lurk here on occasion. Anyway in the freezer rests a vacuum packed filet of Steelhead destined for Curry-Madras style most likely. Steelhead is the anadromous (sea going) form of the Rainbow Trout and has a strong somewhat gamey flavour not my favourite but the filet was a gift. The fish will be shared among 4 people all fish lovers and I'm stuck for an idea of what else to add to the Curry because it's little 'slim'. The ubiquitous potatoes keep reappearing in recipes all across the net but I wonder if someone here might have a different idea. Basmati rice and a salad of ingredients yet to be determined complete the meal but if you have ideas for a different configuration for the feast Please do post. Here in Vancouver I can source almost anything in different ethnic markets. TIA