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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.

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.]

A good friend of mine has been raving about some Indian sweet and sour dishes that she had while she was in India, but I can't find any recipes of the sort and her not being a 'food fanatic', didn't ask the names of the dishes either. Can anyone help me please? Thanks very much! :)

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

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

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

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".

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?

Have a duck in our freezer, that seems to call to me, "Eat me, Eat me"... Have googled "recipes indian duck"...About a bazillion hits on Bombay Duck, which of course, is fish... A couple recipes for "Duck Vindaloo"...While almost any of gods creatures would indeed be enhanced by preparation Vindaloo style, I can't seem to find much else. Is waterfowl not popular in India?, or am I just not looking in the right places?

stuffing okra and finishing the dish in less than 20 minutes? is such a thing possible? merchant is allegedly a fabulous cook--can you describe his approach a little more bhelpuri? what's the other quarter?

It's prepared grain mustard that's used like a condiment here. Can I use it to make any Indian dish? Suman

Was at Patel Bros. in Jackson Heights and picked up a box of each on the recommendation of a lovely Indian woman. Are these really popular everyday teas in Indian households as she stated? Can I use either to make homemade chai? What proportion of tea to water should I follow in general? Is either tea brand used exclusively for a certain libation? For my chai I used whole cardamom, clove, black peppercorn, and cinnamon pounded with my mortar and pestle, added to water and allowed to boil. Then I added the loose Lipton Yellow Label and some sugar, steeped it, added some milk and voila! Actually wasn't as good as the cups I've had in my favorite Indian places:( Help please :) Lisa

Vir Sanghvi has written a really interesting article in the Hindustan Times on Gujarati food which underlines why I think he's probably the best regular food writer in India. I really like this one because I'm half Gujarati myself and have shared Sanghvi's mixed feelings about Gujarati food. I have eating the most amazing Gujarati food, both in homes and in some of the excellent thali places in Mumbai. It can be so good, and Gujaratis really obssess about their food so much (as opposed to, say, Maharashtrians who never seem to particular like eating all that much) and they have the money to really spend on their eating and there at least they do not stint. And yet... Well, Sanghvi spells out the problems with Gujarati food and also does full justice to its outstanding qualities - its relatively light use of oil and masalas (this applies to home-cooking, restaurants go overboard on the oil. I simply cannot eat oondhiyoo in restaurants, while I adore it when made in homes), its wonderful way with vegetables and, a really excellent point, that makes SO much sense, its appreciation of the importance of contrasting textures in food. I was going to post the link to the article, but that HT link is uncertain and slow so, with apologies to the moderators, here's the whole article, followed by my comments:

as i've said before, our local indian grocery caters more to south indians than north indians. while shopping there today i noticed a number of things on the shelves that i did not recognize. this may be because they are south indian ingredients or i may just be ignorant. if anyone knows what these are and what they are used for please enlighten me: kamar kas hemij jeth madh ganthoda (i am tempted to make an awful pun with this one but desist) there's a lot more there that i didn't recognize but i didn't have a pen and paper and these are the only ones i remember, possibly not accurately.

How do you use tamarind in your cooking?? Do you use it in drinks? Desserts? Savouries?

Which type of onion do you use when you cook Indian food? Is there one you have preference for? Why?

given the thousands of kilometres of coastline and the diversity of peoples along it, not to mention the hundreds of rivers criss-crossing the country, you'd think someone, somewhere would have tried fish raw. bengalis--renowned for cooking and eating fish--don't eat raw fish (i can't even get my parents to try sushi). does any indian cuisine formally incorporate raw fish? if not the dominant hindu (influenced) culture how about tribal cultures?

Possibilities: 1] Like many mediapersons her skills are in writing and not knowing the subject. 2] Some ethnic words can be misheard. This restaurant gets the fish from India? Unlikely, probably restaurant hype.

I've recently began eating East Indian cuisine and wondered if anyone can suggest a good inexpensive restaurant. I've tried a few in Vancouver and would prefer not to travel further. I know Surrey has a lot of very good restaurants but my eating companions are hard-core Vancouverites. There are lots along the Main and 49th corridor, as well as Marine Drive and 60-ish. What places have eGulliteers tried?

somewhat ambiguous topic title. allow me to explain what i am asking: the celebrated italian-american chef mario batali has said that in order to be able to become a good italian chef he needed to go live in italy for a few years. he ate and learned from italian chefs and cooks and got a good sense of what things were supposed to taste like etc. on which to then build his own version of italian cuisine in new york (with local ingredients). this is an issue not just for big chefs but also for amateur cooks like many of us who often cook dishes from other culinary locations out of cookbooks. if you don't know what the dish tastes like in the place it is from can you really cook it? in the indian context this isn't just a matter of american chefs or foodies cooking indian dishes in the u.s--i personally am currently engaged in going through the penguin kerala cookbook and while some of the things i've made are things i've eaten (albeit largely in restaurants outside kerala) many others are not. at one level, of course, the only question that matters is whether i like what i make or not; but i still wonder sometimes if i've really come close to what the original dish is supposed to taste like. especially since some of the cooking techniques are somewhat alien to this bengali: raw chopped onions and raw fish placed in a pan with water and cooked over low heat, a spice paste added later etc. etc. to what degree can theoretical knowledge and research take the place of actual experiential knowledge of tastes and aromas? to raise the stakes even higher: should chefs or food-writers be allowed to bill themselves as "experts" on cuisines other than their own if they have not spent x amount of time eating a wide variety of it every day? (of course when i say "allowed" i'm not envisioning a net dropping on offenders, though i can think of a couple of people for whom that might be a good thing.) can you hold forth on "chicken curry", say, if you haven't eaten 10 different chicken curries prepared in 10 different indian homes (the number is arbitrary, of course)? (of course, this does not apply to fusion cooking or to, say, indian-american cuisine, as and when it appears.) i don't really have answers to these questions--hoping to spark a debate.

My kitchen smells like my moms today! I am making her recipe for Chole or chick peas. We have two methods: the easy way and the lazy way First chickpeas are soaked overnight Next they are cooked in a pressure cooker along with cinnamon stick, black cardamom, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves -- until tender. Set aside Easy way - Make a gravy with ginger, onions, tomatoes -- cook it down until the oil separates from the gravy. Add red chilies, salt, turmeric (if you wish), freshly ground coriander seed powder, garam masala powder, dried mango powder and a large tablespoon of tamarind (yes tamarind) pulp. Add the chick peas and mix well. Leave to cook for another 15 minutes The lazy way -- In a large skillet.. heat some oil. Add thin slices of ginger and a (paste made with water) tablespoon or two of red chilies, tumermic, coriander powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Let is sizzle add the chole and cook it for a few minutes and you are done Secret ingredient - I love Roopak's Channa Masala and usually add a heaping tablespoon full for extra flavor So how do you make yours? I am going to add the recipe for Bhatura .. the bread to go along with this in a minute.. as soon as someone tells me how to get my head to stop pounding!

my aching head wants to know

I have been getting notes from people, atleast once a week, letting me know how they have been using Indian dessert recipes, mine and others' using splenda have you used it? what do you think?

I love having leftover plain steamed basmati rice.. there are so many wonderful treats that can be prepared from it. I love adding yogurt to it and then tempering it curry leaves, mustard seeds and dried red chilies I love preparing lemon rice with it.. I am posting my simple recipe here for those who wish to try it.. cold rice works best with this dish Simple Lemon Rice 3 tablespoons clarified butter 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds 8 fresh curry leaves 1 tablespoon Channa dal 2 tablespoons unsalted cashews or peanuts 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 4 tablespoon lemon juice 2 cups leftover simple basmati rice (cooked) Table salt to taste In a large skillet, heat the clarified butter. Add the mustard seeds. When they begin to sputter, in quick succession add the curry leaves, channa dal and cashews. Sauté for a minute. Add the turmeric. Add the lime juice. It will splatter a bit, so do this carefully. Add the rice and salt. Sauté for a minute to coat the rice well. __________________ So what do you do with leftover rice?? So share