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I've been exploring the menu of a restaurant serving such dishes as Kappa Fish Curry, Beef Fry, Pork Fry and Fish Fry, Karimeen Fry, Duck Curry, Avial, Thoran, Palappam, Chammanthi, Chemmendi and of course Payasam. The menu just uses terms like Kerala spices or sauces or 'typical Kerala dish.' What is the correct terminology for this cuisine: Keralan, Keralese, Keralite or just cuisine of Kerala? Is the term Malayali appropriate here or is that a term denoting a wider or narrower range of dishes?

I will be on a liquid diet for the foreseeable future, so I want to come up with creative ideas on what I can eat other than cream of name your vegetable soups. There can be no chunks, seeds, or other bits in the food. I will pass everything through a strainer just to be safe. It has to be thin enough to drink. Lassis were mentioned in another thread. I was wondering what Indian dishes I could have while on this diet. Thanks! Dan

I have made Chicken Dum Biryani at least three times. Twice on the stove and the third time in the oven. The problem I have every time is that after the allotted cooking time is done and I take a fork to check the bottom of the pan to make sure the chicken is done, there will be juices at the bottom of the pan instead of it being dry. Since there shouldn't be juices once its cooked, I end up cooking it for another thirty minutes or more which cooks away the juices but also dries the chicken. What am I doing wrong? I do marinate the chicken the night before in yoghurt. Would using less yoghurt and draining it from a muslin cloth of excess water do the trick? Any advice as to how to solve this problem would be greatly appreciated! thanks.

I recently read an article about food trends for 2011. One item was a spice blend called (something like) vendaudam??? It is an Indian spice mix that has, as one of it's components, onion. Apparently, it is the next spice that chefs will be using a lot of this year. (Or so the article said.) I actually found a place that sells it but then........I lost the article. To make matters worse, I can't remember where I got the article or the exact name of the spice. I have spent a lot of internet time trying to track this down but have not have any luck. All I could find was vendhayam and vengayam and both referred to onion and nothing else. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Okay, My wife/kids and I lived in Bangalore for 2.5 years, and one of the dishes we fell in love with that I've yet to be able to reproduce was called chicken sholay kebab. I've googled like crazy and can't find anything like what we had. I know each region/restaurant puts their own spin on things, so we were (obviously) in Bangalore, the restaurant was a small chain called Nandhini's, which purported to be an Andhra-style house. The kebabs were red in color, seemed to me they were fried. The red was a ground paste of spices that was fried onto the chicken. They were plated with a handful of fresh curry leaves. The flavor was a mild spiciness, with all the richness of mixed spices, and a bit of a garlicky hit. Has anyone seen a dish like this - have any ideas on how to start? Thanks in advance!

I love jilebi and I often crave the neon orange sickeningly sweet fried snack. I once tried to make my own, but it was too cold (I was living in Japan at the time) inside my house and the mixture wouldn't ferment. But I have a question which may seem stupid. I bought some jilebi the other day, and it's not very good. I don't think it was very fresh, so it's sort of soggy (not soggy, but it doesn't have that nice crisp exterior that fresh jilebi had). Can I rejuvenate it? Stick it in the toaster oven? Crisp it up in a non-stick pan? Or is my only choice to microwave it with some milk, mush it up, and eat it with a spoon?

I'd like to know if a masala dabba translates out of Indian spices . . . I have two kitchens, and in one I have an old ironing board closet (about two inches deep, one foot wide, and tall as a regular closet) that I've converted into a spice rack. This stays dark, and inside I have a large set of spice jars, clear glass, that I keep spices in. For the second kitchen, I had a small spice rack on the counter with glass jars. I found that the exposure to light weakened the spices and I wanted to try a masala dabba, since I can bring it to the stove and change what I have in the box as the seasons change. I put a combination of Indian and non-Indian spices in there, for the most part -- mustard powder, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, basil, oregano, thyme. I realize this is a risk, and because the spices aren't individually covered, may weaken and blend. I am assuming the blending is a good thing for Indian cooking with it's spice mixtures, but maybe a bad thing for the thyme . . . I've just started it, and overall the aroma is intoxicating, but I haven't tried cooking with the individual spices yet to find out if my spaghetti sauce is going to taste like mustard. Can anyone who is using a masala dabba advise? Thank you!

Here's a link to my review of the pleasures and circus thrills of South Indian Coffee. Enjoy!

Can anyone recommend an Indian caterer or private chef for a lunch that we'll be hosting in mid-September? Thanks in advance.

I drive through Newark Avenue often and notice all of the Indian restaurants and stores. I have not gone to any of them in years, and need some help. Are there any standouts? Thanks, Joana

Looking for good non-Americanised Indian along the Main Line for a birthday lunch for a favorite aunt this weekend. Any suggestions?

Back in the Winnipeg News topic, Dejah asked about Indian food in YWG, so I decided to make it one of projects this summer. We were going to do a review of Indian buffets around town, but I prefer to focus on a couple of dishes because...well...I like to eat things I really like.This year, the focus is on palak paneer and samosas. Last night, as is our tradition, we went to a restaurant straight from the airport. I just wanted to go home, but my mother seemed disappointed, so I obliged. First stop, India Palace. I have always wondered how they managed to stay in business. When they were half of Bombay Snack House, the restaurant was in the more "happening" part of Ellice, but now it's further down, located in the space where they used to hold banquets. They've been in this location for quite some time, but I haven't dined there in a very long time. They're still quite busy, though. Not so much with diners (at least not on a Thursday night), but they were doing a lot of take-out orders. We ordered bhujia, samosas, palak paneer, chappati and mango lassi. Bhujia is often referred to as pakora (I've been to Indian restaurants where I've asked about bhujia, and I've been told, "It's the same as pakora."), but in my experience, pakora are more like tempura--vegetables dipped in batter and fried. At India Palace (and its predecessor), it's different. It has always been a mash of things, including chickpea flour, that has been fried. I've only had it at India Palace (and BSH), and have never even seen it on the menu of other restaurants. I love it. But not any more... The patties we had last night were thick (about 1 cm, possibly more) and dry. They used to be thinner, and fried up much darker and crisper. They also used to have more cumin in them, and that's one of the things I loved about them. The current version is not bad, and if I had never had the previous version, I might have enjoyed them more, but still, I was disappointed. And even greater disappointment was the tamarind sauce. I think they're using tamarind concentrate to make it! It used to be made with real tamarind! It's much sweeter and more syrupy now. Samosas came next--again, not nearly as good as they used to be. The pastry is much thicker, though is still crispy. The innards were an even bigger disappointment. I didn't see a single piece of whole coriander in the thing! Or taste it! It's still spicy, but perhaps they add some sort of powder now, because I didn't discern any chile flakes (as there used to be). Palak paneer (spinach and paneer) is one of my favourite dishes. This version tasted a little watery, to me. It was still thick, as I think palak paneer should be, but perhaps they didn't strain the spinach enough, or perhaps they don't use as much spice in it...I don't know. But it didn't have the depth of flavour (or even much flavour at all) I'm used to. The chappati were thin and delicate, and loaded with ghee. They didn't stand up well to being used to eat the palak paneer, but on their own they were fine. We were also served rice, which was moist (I don't think it was basmati) and tinged with tumeric. It was fine. Mango lassi could have used more mango, but was good. I was talking to my mother about my disappointment, and she mentioned they now hire others to make the food, whereas they used to make everything themselves. I think it's great they're doing so well that they can hire staff. But I miss the old food. I think what they serve is probably still good, but I probably won't go there again. Unless the other places in Winnipeg turn out to be worse, that is. We also took out two gulab jamun. I wanted jilebi, too, but they were out. I haven't tried them, yet, but will report when I do.

Hi, Has anyone made the Indian dessert Barfi? If so and it was successful could you let me have the recipe? Cheers! Richard

I am trying to find a recipe for what i have had described in indian restaurants as a "kati roll." it is a paratha bread wrap with cubed grilled chicken with tandoor or tandoor like seasonings, sauteed onions, lime juice, chilli paste... thats basically my best guess. ive tried to make it and the result is ok but im definitely mising something. If anyone knows what im referring to and has ideas for the recipe id really appreciate it!!! thanks.

I've been wondering why there have been so few Alphonso mangoes available this season. An article in The Times explains why. Proof indeed, if it was ever needed, that climate change is a bad thing. What's it like where you live? We still have lots and lots of the Pakistani "Honey" mangoes (Sindhri & Chaunsa) but the Indian ones are almost non-existent. I've seen one box of old Alphonso and i saw a Kessar once at Sainbury's (rare beast indeed).

This is a really unique cuisine that I don't think many people know about, from the community that I come from. There is only 1 recipe book, used amongst members of my community ('South African Indian Delights'), and most recipes are taught in families. You haven't eaten it if you haven't been to someone's home. I've often wondered about starting a blog with some of the recipes, because the food really is exceptional. Does anyone here have any experience with it? Our food takes its inspiration from Indian food, but is very different - it has a lot of Portuguese, African, Dutch and even Middle Eastern influence. For example, our samosas are much smaller and lighter, usually bite-sized, and made of a very light pastry. They usually contain minced beef or chicken that is far plainer but more fragrant - using lots of coriander. We have an amazing thing called popta which are little balls of fried dough, again with minced beef (and egg) inside, but the way they're made kind of creates a pocket so that the filling doesn't touch the dough - there's a little gap of air around them. Our curries aren't as rich as Indian curries, our food is usually drier and more rice-based, and the spices much more delicate. The puri is like golden pillows, to die for, and actually all our breads are really amazing. Our naan is not a flatbread but a bread roll, kind of like challah, but with a different slightly different flavour. I'm sorry for being so eager about this, but it really is an undiscovered cuisine. I want people t know about it - it's so good - and I wish I had gone home for 6 months to learn to cook from my grandmother before she died (she was the best). I should perhaps do that with my other relatives, and then share what I learn with you all

I want to try a recipe which requires mustard oil. I went to a couple of Indian/Bangladeshi supermarkets in Brick Lane, London. They had 5l cans of 'Blended Edible' mustard oil, which I would never use all of. All the smaller bottles had 'External use only' printed on them. The shop assistant I asked said there was no difference and that they were labelled differently for import tax purposes. Is this true? Can I use the 'External Only' version for cooking?

A native of India has opened a small greengrocers close to my house. He is about to start carrying fish. He had a small sign up today, and darned if I can remember what they were except king fish, sardines, and anchovies. I gather he's actually importing them from India. What kinds of fish are commonly eaten in India?

I picked up a couple of packages of Shan brand spice mixes for a friend to experiment with. The instructions call for so-many "glasses" of water. How many ounces might that be? Is there some standard? Thanks, BB

On a whim I bought some goraka because I have a weakness for buying things I don't know how to use. So what is the best way to use it? I understand it is a souring ingredient and particularly useful with fish but other then basic recipes, I haven't been able to find much other info. Can it be used as a substitute for tamarind?

I just went to an Indian party and eat the best lamb patties ever with a great mint sauce , I am dying to make them myself any good recipes??? the patties were spicy and the sauce had yogurt I think ...Thanks

So I've been living here in unincorporated Auburn (half way between Auburn and Fed-Way) and have not found a decent Indian restaurant yet! (Not that I've been trying very hard lately since my finicky toddler dislikes Indian food.) I really miss Taste of India up in the U-District. Anyone have any good suggestions for this area of WA? TIA!

Dear Friends Need help!! Planning a snacks party on Diwali. Please give suggestions for the menu and the recipes!!!!...

Browing the adjacent store at Shalimar Restaurant in Salisbury, Md., I found a jar of Kashmiri tea with instructions on the side (I didn't have enough post-dinner cash to buy it). It said to boil the tea leaves with three glasses of water down to one, then adding more water and reboiling until it was the right shade of pink. Then there were further steps with milk, cardamom, pistachios, etc. My question is, how or why does it turn pink? The leaves looked green like other green tea.

Looking for a suggestion for good Indian near the strand, pre theatre next week. All suggestions appreciated. I was thinking red fort, but think it will be too far a walk.