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Hi everyone Helen Pidd here. I'm a journalist with the Guardian in London (www.guardian.co.uk). I'm writing a feature about what "foreign" foods are most popular in various countries in the world (eg in Britain we eat Indian, in Spain they eat Turkish, in Russia they eat Georgian...) and wondered whether anyone in India would be able to talk to me about "Chindian" food, which I hear is very popular. My deadline is the end of Friday 14th June, so any responses very welcome before then. My email address is helen.pidd@guardian.co.uk I'm happy to call you if you email a number and a time to call. Hope to hear from you soon Helen

Hi All Can anybody tell me what are the components of pavbhaji masala and the porportion of individual components? Thanks

All the threads for kababs, grilling season in full flow, brings me memories of a disaster that happened a little while ago... I had some costco bought chicken thighs - rinsed them under water - marinated them in yogurt, kasuri methi, garam masala, salt, turmeric, red chili powder... and then kept them in a 350 degree oven to bake. I had shaken much of the marinate out but some remained for flavor... From what I had heard from a friend, it was supposed to get all red and about 10-15 minutes later - I was supposed to baste it with oil to get a nice outer layer... Alas, there was somehting that went out of control and it looked like this... At one point, i had to literally drain the water away to get the chicken cooked. Flavor was ok but watered down, and experience was disaster. I don't own a grill and want my second experience in oven to be a better success than the one above. Please help... (PS: I can hold my own in stir frying however grilling - i m not good @... Also a converted vegetarian here - so feel free to add your other tips as well)

I've decided to do an Indian-themed dinner party. There's no sense trying to make authentic Indian food, since our Indian postdoc occasionally invites the lab over for supper and we load up on the good stuff there. We thought it might be fun to do a sort of 'fusion' meal, but are coming up a bit short on ideas (handicapped by my lack of knowledge of Indian food and his lack of knowledge of North American food). Everything must be vegetarian (dairy is ok, but not eggs). Here are some of the ideas we've come up with: -onion badji 'wings' (blue cheese centre, spicy dipping sauce) -sagoo soup (potatoes, carrots, and turnips with spices) -frozen raita (frozen yogurt with mint and cucumbers, topped with crushed chilies) -indian cheese platter (assorted cheeses, accompanied by indian pickles, chutneys and spice mixes, no clue on the specifics ) Notably lacking is some sort of main dish. Any help would be appreciated!

While looking through my files, I came across the cocktail specs for a bar I used to work at, Akbar. I uploaded them here So this seems like as good place as any to ask what others are doing specifically with Indian ingredients. Strangely, there was no punch recipes on the menu, or anything approaching an authentic Indian drink (except Lassi and Kingfisher beer). Cheers! George

A month or so i went to a local Indian restaurant and i tried something called Bhunna Ghost, first time i had the dish. Now, i really liked it so last weekend when we again went for Indian, but at another restaurant the closest thing i could find was Bhuna Lamb. Now, the two tasted very different but im not sure its down to the two different chefs or if its two completely different dishes. The first was rather hot whereas the second was somewhat mild. I would be gratefully if someone could educate me on the matter, and an enormous plus would be if someone could share a recipe for them/it. Thanks in advance.

The "where can I find Indian mangoes?" topics are starting to pop up in the US regional forums, however I think the overall most interesting thing about these newly arrived mangoes is that they're irradiated. I'm strongly in favor of irradiation as a food safety technology. I think it's great that these mangoes, previously banned from the US on account of pests, can now be subject to doses of radiation that kill or sterilize those pests without harming the fruit. Still, I suspect that once the information gets out there and various organizations wake up, there will be a consumer backlash against the irradiated mangoes. I haven't seen one of the mangoes yet, but I'm pretty sure the label says nothing about irradiation, so that sets the producers, importers and retailers of these mangoes up for accusations of deception. Even Madhur Jaffrey's New York Times op-ed celebrating the anticipated arrival of the Indian mangoes on US shores neglects to mention the irradiation issue. From the USDA news release:

So I heard last week on the radio about how Indian mango importation is set to begin into the US. A Pittsburgh newspaper article talked about the frenzy over the Alphonso and Kesar mangoes, so I was curious if anyone knew when these would be hitting local Indo-Pakistani groceries? I'm not opposed to taking a trip down to Oak Tree Road to make this happen.

So, as you may have read, Indian Mangoes are now legal to import, and the first shipment has already come into New York! Does anyone know where I can get them? I've been to Patel Bros. in Jackson Heights, but they claim to have no Indian Mangoes and no good idea about when they might get them.

I searched through this forum, and I didn't see any central clearing house for this info, lots of talk about suburban Indian, that occasionally strayed into downtown, and a few topics about specific places. So, let's talk about what's good IN the city. Two interesting bits of info in the Citypaper today in Feeding Frenzy. First: Palace at the Ben is finally open at 9th and Chestnut. It's related to the other Palace of India restaurants, which have been, in my experience, excellent. Looks expensive. Second, the owners of Desi Village in King of Prussia (one of my faves in the burbs) have bought Dahlak on Germantown Avenue (not the original on Baltimore Ave). They supposedly intend to keep serving Ethiopian food, and add the Indian/Pakistani food from Desi Village. The mind boggles. Beyond those new developments, what do we like? Word is good about Tiffin. Where else?

Hi my friend mentioned that her relatives often go back to India and buy these Indian milk sweets which are diamond in shape and come in various flavours like pistachio and so on. I was wondering if anyone has any idea what they are called and if possible where I could find a recipe to make my own? Are they difficult to make? I live in Malaysia and apparently they don't sell them here so I was just really curious about them. Would REALLY REALLY be grateful for any help!

Anyone looking to duplicate the taste of Indian food as its served in British Indian restaurants, this site’s for you: http://www.realcurryrecipes.co.uk/ Real chefs are sharing their recipes for every Indian restaurant dish you ever heard of, and then some. The site’s not very old, but already it’s causing somewhat of a sensation in England. This is not some gimmicky thing. They’re not trying to sell anything. If a brand is mentioned (and that’s only rarely), it’s to help members duplicate a dish exactly. The site has an eGullet mentality -- members cook, post photos, ask questions, experiment, and debate. They're very dedicated curry makers, LOL. And the food? OMG! Start with the Chicken Ceylon and Saag Gosht. I bet you won’t be sorry.

How much do you substitute in a recipe calling for fresh tamarind?

I am new around here but would like a good recipe for Dahl, if someone could help me please. Thanks

I was in a little Indian restaurant in Salt Lake City. Their menu was huge and the friend I was visiting confided in me that they had really bitten off more than they could chew. One listing caught my eye. It was for a pappadum spring roll, deep fried, stuffed with all sorts of goodness. I was intrigued. When I got back to Houston I made some attempts to soften a pappadum to the point where it could be folded. I wasn't as concerned about the filling, I knew that I could fill the papadum with hot filling and then proceed to experiment with either deep frying or baking or microwaving it to get the pappadum to puff out. None of my efforts to soften the pappadum worked (heat, steam). I went to visit my buddy Kaiser at his restaurant. He suggested that I try softening the pappadum in a light bath of cool tap water. Still no success. The pappadum started disintegrating in the center before the outer edges were sufficiently softened. So, I throw myself at your feet. First, has anyone ever been to a restaurant that does these? How do they taste? Do they just have a potato and pea, samosa style filling? Next, has anyone mastered the technique to make these? Best regards. Jay

On a recent visit to Austin our friends treated us to an excellent dinner at Bombay Bistro. Both food and service were very good. Honestly, after several disappointing experiences at various Indian restaurants in the DFW area I was somewhat skeptical as we walked into this restaurant located in a strip-center. It only took a minute for me to change my opinion. I was impressed with the clean and uncluttered look of the place. There was no mingled aroma of spices and fried onions lingering in the air. The tables were neatly set with clean cutlery and cloth napkins. The menu featured typical Indian restaurant dishes along with several not so typical but authentic dishes. The menu contained mostly northern Indian dishes, along with a few southern Indian specials. The wine and beer list was quite long, and also contained some interesting mixed drinks under the title "magic potions". They had some interesting names - Bombay margarita, Jaipur Royale, East India Company and so on. My husband ordered a Bombay Blues- infused Bombay sapphire gin dirty martini with jalapeno stuffed olives. A martini with a hint of jalapeno heat.- a perfect combination- was his verdict. We ordered several dishes and shared. The curry dishes came with servings of rice. Kerala shrimp curry was the favorite at our table. Chicken vindaloo was quite spicy as the name vindaloo suggests; flavors of spices were well balanced and it was cooked just perfect. The tikka masala was good too, but the chicken pieces were not as tender as in the vindaloo. We also ordered Methi aloo, a mildly spiced vegetable dish made with fenugreek leaves and potatoes; a dish you don't usually see in a restaurant menu. I had tasted some excellent version of this dish at the homes of my Gujarathi friends. Bombay-Bistro's version was equally good with subtle seasoning and no excess oil. We enjoyed it with paneer kulcha and naan. We were so full, we did not order any dessert or tea or coffee. Will certainly go back there the next time we are in Austin. I certainly hope they would open a branch in the Dallas area. Menus and directions are on their website bombay-bristro.com.

Almost every time I tried to prepared anything with yogurt, such as curry yogurt recipes, I had a problem with the yogurt - when heated, it becomes, well, a cheese - milk solids separate from water, etc. Resulting dish doesn't usually goes well What's the secret technique am I missing here, how to make yogurt to stay... yogurt when cooked?

I can appreciate that the Owner of the Indain Foods store here in town doesn't want to give out his Dal "family recipe" without me signing up for his Sunday cooking class for $40 - I brought him my Food TV recipe today and let him have a look over so I could buy the ingredients at his store - basically, he scoffed at the recipe and wasn't much help after that. Anyone out there know how to give lentils that necessary love that turns them into Dal?

I'm working on a magazine ar6ticle about cooking classes in India. Does anyone know of any teachers they'd recommend who speak English? The classes could either be in the person's home or at a hotel or ir anyplace else suitable for a tourist (but a serious tourist). Many thanks for any help-- Dr. Wingo drwingo@aol.com

And so begins the great tug of war... My family wishes to be a major part of my graduation (and they should be, they're family, and what's more, they've paid for my education.) My very capable, though at times zealous family has their own ideas of how they'd like to celebrate the event, and I have my own. I've resolved to try planning ahead of time in an effort to try to combine everyone's ideas into a reasonable compromise. The idea is to have an all inclusive party, family and friends. I had an epiphany of a theme, "Bollywood Nights." I'm thinking Indian food, I'm thinking Indian decor, Hindi music, even saris. What sort of foods should I include? What decor, or even customs should I include to give the party a really good feel? Any fun suggestions or personal experiences that might be helpful? Thanks all!

We got a flyer for Tiffin, the new Indian take out at 710 W. Girard. (I lived in England for 10 years, and had some great Indian food. I also cook Indian food. Our office is near Karma on Chestnut St and Cafe Spice on 2nd. We love good Indian food.) Tiffin's menu is limited, but has options for vegetarians as well as omnivores. For our first foray we tried the Vegetable Samosa, and the Onion Bhaji. Main courses Saag Paneer and Chicken Vindaloo. The vegetarian Saag came with dal, Basmati rice, raita, and pickles. The chicken Vindaloo included rice, cabbage subzi, raita and mango chutney. We didn't order nan, because we some Trader Joe's in the freezer (TJ's nan's are very good and only take 3 minutes at 450F). Everything was excellent. We lover the main courses. The chicken vindaloo was very flavorful and spicy without being too hot. The saag paneer had a great taste of spinach and the paneer was not soggy. The only disappointment was the onion bhaji, which was a bit undercooked.Everything was super. This was our first experience ordering from this place and we were very pleased. The meal came to $20 plus tip including delivery.

I love Indian food, and I've lived in NYC all my life, but I still haven't really found a truly extraordinary Indian restaurant in the city. I'm finally going to check out Chola tonight, which I'm very excited about, but I'd still love to hear everyone else's thoughts and recommendations. I am ready to begin questing for a favorite. Plus, I couldn't find a thread that really gathered together a list of everyone's favorite Indian restaurants yet. So, let us remedy that gap in our collective knowledge: What do you think is the best Indian restaurant in NYC? And why?

Indian River Consomme Serves 8. This soup is a very light starter--a little tart and very unusual. Great served (like you'd serve hot cider) at large gatherings with cheese straws. (From my cookbook "Nobody Cooks Like Ruth: Menus from Cherotree" 2003, Infinity Publishing, www.buybooksontheweb.com) 1 medium onion, sliced 2 T butter 32 oz tomato juice 8 oz double strength beef broth 2 oz orange juice concentrate 2 tsp lemon juice 1 T sugar, or to taste 1/4 c vermouth White pepper 1/4 c fresh basil, cut in chiffonade Saute onion in butter until soft. Puree in food processor or blender, adding a little tomato juice to rinse it out. Combine with all remaining ingredients except basil and simmer 20-30 minutes. May be made ahead and reheated. To serve, reheat and garnish each serving with basil. You may use a 10 ounce can of beef broth, undiluted, instead of the home made beef broth. Keywords: Soup, Easy ( RG1860 )

Hi, I thought some of you might be interested in this backyard Tandoor oven I made at my house. Well, here it is in pictures: Started with a base of firebrick. An inverted clay pot (the biggest one I could find), and cut off the bottom part. Reinforced the pot with fireclay mortar (in case the temps got too much for the pot; so far no cracks). Now I have the pot enclosed in a square housing made of hollow blocks and insulated with perlite and sand (loose). It's important to insulate so the heat you worked so hard to accumulate does not escape. The "bricks" are just for decoration. They're not real bricks. It's all done. It took me and 2 Masons 1 week to complete. Here's the side vent for air (to keep the coals burning) and for cleaning out ashes. The opening to stick the skewers in and cook the food. My skewers and spit. All homemade (machine shopped). A close up of my skewer and spit. Getting the fire started Full blast! 500 degrees Centigrade. Well, hope you can come over for some Tandoor cooking! Regards!

I am a Chai nut, but I've recently been told to keep away from milk for certain health reasons. Does anyone have good advice on a solid Chai recipe that can be either made with a milk substitute or just water?? Thanks!!