Everything Indian Cookbook

[foodietraveler]

Monica,

Any suggestions on how I should work with your book?

What do you think is best way of reading it, cooking with it?

Do you have favorite recipes?

[Monica Bhide]

Gosh, FT, it's a cookbook. How do you usually read cookbooks? As for favorite recipe, I can't choose, THere's not a recipe in there that I don't llike for some reason or other.

[foodietraveler]

Whole-Milk Fudge

Monica, I have been cooking the 4 cups whole milk for over an hour and 15 minuts now. It is still not come to consistency of mashed potatoes.

Do you think I have used too much milk? I used the 4 cups you ask to use, but maybe recipe is using too much?

Could you please check. I am excited to make it, never made khoya and I am excited to have it to play with.

Since you manage this site, I feel you will come to my rescue. Hope you are online commenting now.

Need your help!

[Amit]

foodietraveler:

for the benefit of those who don't yet have monica's book, maybe you could provide a few more details about this recipe. it's hard to tell what might be going wrong.

[foodietraveler]

foodietraveler:

for the benefit of those who don't yet have monica's book, maybe you could provide a few more details about this recipe. it's hard to tell what might be going wrong.

←

The recipe calls for 4 cups of milk (whole) and says one should bring milk to boil in a heavy bottom pan, stirring constantly. As milk reduces, scrape any dried milk off the sides. Continue to cook until reduced to consistency of mashed potatoes.

Remove from heat and cool. Transfer to heat resistant container and store.

It says the cooking time is between 30-40 minutes. I cooked over an hour and 30 minutes. No luck reducing it to mashed potato texture. And I did not want it to be like the mashed potatoes which I like, but was willing to have it be somewhat wetter, but still, not close enough.

Was there something I should have done differently from the recipe? A step I should know of? A pan I should use instead? I used a very heavy all clad pan. Wide pan, because they reduce liquids faster because of greater surface area.

I have set this as Kulfi and I am sure it will be amazing.

I had never made Khoya, and never seen it in markets here in US. Maybe dried khoya shall be it for me. But I was excited seeing recpe.

[Edward]

Are you boiling it enough while stirring? If it is only simmering it will take a lot longer to get to khoya.

Diffrerent milks have different compositions of fat, viscosity, etc. Could be the milk you are using would take a lot longer.

[foodietraveler]

Are you boiling it enough while stirring? If it is only simmering it will take a lot longer to get to khoya.

Diffrerent milks have different compositions of fat, viscosity, etc. Could be the milk you are using would take a lot longer.

←

Is Whole Milk in the US that different from brand to brand? The recipe calls for bringing milk to boil, I did that. The recipe did not say how the flame should be after, but I kept it high anyways, since I was standing there stirring, and yet, it did not cook in 40 minutes not even almost an hour more later.

Maybe they sold me skim milk calling it whole milk.

[foodietraveler]

cardamom cookies - Monica are these similar to nan-khatai or just the usual cardamom cookies we got in bakeries in India?

I miss the nan-khatai and cookies of India. Will try and make these soon.

[foodietraveler]

Sweetened Yogurt (mishti doi)

Monica, this is another item I want to try. What brand of yogurt do you use? I am worried that maybe I would be using wrong kind. Please advise. I shall make this very soon.

Is it just like Mishti Doi from India or like the kulfi we all make, a close enough version?

Setting myself for having a fair reaction once I taste.

I have never made this before, I have eaten enough for a lifetime, between Calcutta and New Delhi, I have eaten more than my fair share of some of the best. I never thought it possible to make it at home. Your book gives me the recipe.

Any other secrets I should know? Thank you in advance. Maybe i make gf happy this weekend. We both miss Mishti Doi.

[Sleepy_Dragon]

I've finally gotten a chance to cook out of this book, had a friend over and made us:

Chili Coconut Chicken/Mangalorian Murgh Gassi, p. 108

Green Beans with Coconut/Nariel Wale Hare Beans, p. 88

Dry Spiced Carrot and Peas/Gajar Mattar Ki Subzi, p. 80

Potato Curry/Assami Ril Do, p. 82

...plus some steamed basmati rice.

These recipes were a lot easier to handle than I expected. I had to make some substitutions like, um, chiffonaded blanched kale instead of green beans due to lack of beans on hand , and tomato paste in place of the chopped tomato for the potato curry, but they all worked and said friend and I ate very well tonight. Thanks Monica.

Pat

[Monica Bhide]

Many thanks. Glad u liked it :-)