Aasif Mandvi’s ‘Today’s Special’, which premiered at MIACC Film Festival last year, is now showing at the Tribeca Film Festival and getting a theatrical release on November 19. It is a fun and funny movie which gets you involved in the travails of Samir, a sous cook in New York, who has to find himself and his culinary soul. He is helped in the journey of self discovery by a mystical taxi driver who treats cooking like a beautiful, complex raga. (Naseeruddin Shah digs into this meaty role with relish – he’s utterly believable as the charismatic cabbie, a part of the magic of New York).

For fans of Indian cooking, what can be better than Madhur Jaffrey? – Madhur Jaffrey simplified! The noted cookbook writer, who has won the James Beard Award six times, has taught countless women – and men – how to cook. Now she’s set off on a very 21st century mission: Saving time in a hectic world. These recipes retain the classic touch without the classic toil of gourmet Indian food.

Ten years down, who knows what we’ll find. Dosas being served in American schools and college campuses? Dosas in vending machines? Dosas-to-Go at fast food outlets?

Two recipes from ‘Amrit: Luscious and Heart Healthy Indian Meals’ by Purnima Nandkishore with nutritional analysis by Karen Yee, MS, RD, LN. Read how the diet brought about dramatic changes in the health of Nanda Nandkishore who was at high risk for heart disease.

President Barack Obama dropped in at the U.S- India Strategic Dialogue Reception hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna – and amongst all the serious issues, Indian food, inevitably, found its way into the conversation!

“Secretary Clinton, I think as you may be aware, is a great admirer of India, and I know the sentiment is shared in return,” said Obama. “In fact, I’m told that one of the Secretary’s favorite restaurants in Delhi added a new item to the menu —- the ‘Hillary Platter.’ This is true. What does it have — chapatti?”

Who would have thought you’d be getting gourmet food in the rough and tumble of a ball park? Leave it to celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to bring elegance to the usual hot dog, precooked burgers and popcorn routine.

“In our family, the moment a child is born, my grandmother would come with a jar of honey and would dip her little finger into the honey and write ‘Om’ on the baby’s tongue with it. And my mother always tells me, ‘You just opened your mouth and licked up the honey and when she put it again, you licked it up again.”

Little India has everything from precious stones to rich silks to aromatic spices. If you’re craving for a paan or a kesar kulfi – and you’re a continent away from India, this is the place you’ll find it. A photo gallery of the Little India in Jackson Heights.

At Devi, Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, who is a tandoori chef, have found the perfect canvas for their food creations.

When immigrants came to America, they bought their home cures and folk remedies along, a legacy of mothers and grandmothers. It is surprising how many families still turn to ginger as the first remedy for coughs and colds, and even motion sickness.