Browsing: Indian food

Forget sex, forget travel, the biggest fantasies people seem to have are about – Indian food! Yes, home-cooked comfort food just like mom made. The fantasy is to have such a meal whenever and wherever the urge arises – with minimal effort.

Well, that’ s a reality now thanks to Saffron Fix, a brand new creation by two entrepreneurs, Ankita Sharma and Madhuri Sharma.There is such a hunger for this that the duo, hoping to raise $10,000 on Kickstarter, were rewarded within days with $13,761 – and are still going strong.

The fabulous Helen Mirren, the quite wonderful Om Puri – loads of French and Indian food – and a love story with music by AR Rahman. Add to it Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey! Perfect ingredients for an unexpected romance set in France.It is based on the critically acclaimed book by Richard C. Morais which has been a best seller in 29 countries.

Like a breath of fresh air from the Himalayan river valleys here are some mouth-watering recipes from Vikas Khanna’s new book ‘Return to the Rivers’ (with Andrew Blackmore-Dobbyn). Vikas Khanna traveled to India’s Himalayan valleys as well as countries of Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal to gather a taste of dishes rarely eaten in the West. Here are a few tantalizing bites – and recipes.

Bombay Duck? Chote Nawab? Thelewala? No, you are not lost on a Mumbai street nor are you watching a Bollywood movie – these happen to be the names of new casual restaurants which have sprung up in New York City.
Not fancy like the Michelin Star rated Indian restaurants like Tamarind, Junoon and Tulsi, nor no-frills like the many small eateries in Curry Hill, there’s a new breed of Indian restaurants, offering authentic Indian eats in a fun atmosphere with low prices. Many of them have come up in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and West Village, a gathering spot for students and tourists.

We all know that Christopher Columbus was looking for India and its tangy spices when he took a wrong turn and stumbled into America instead. Now some enterprising Indians have brought India and its cache of cardamom, cloves and peppers right into America. These immigrants have brought not only spices but entire kitchens, cooking pots and chefs along, opening hundreds of restaurants, takeaway joints, mithai shops and Indian supermarkets. Americans are now eating spicier food, ‘samosa’ is an English word now and right in the middle of Manhattan there are ‘dosa’ carts!

Yes, the Big Apple is fast becoming the Big Mango! So how has this big change come about in American food habits?

Looking ahead to the golden days of Summer, Chef Hemant Mathur shares some delightful recipes for the outdoors – with desi spices! Recipes for grilled shrimp, chicken Tikka and tandoori vegetables. Just right for the holiday weekend!

From today I’m inviting you to a new daily feature on Lassi with Lavina – Lavina’s Picks! Hop into my yellow and black taxi cab as we cruise the web and find the most meaningful, fun, provocative, silly or useful articles from the globe! So do click and come along for the ride!
Can you divorce your spouse on Skype? Which fashion brands are the heroes in Bangladesh? Can NYT serve you garam-masala spiked nuts with your reads?

Foodie Alert! For those who love good food – a great new way to get it! Here are the Top Ten Reasons for Getting MyPref!
10. Missing Ma? Longing for your mom’s daal makhani or mattar paneer? No one can match that but MyPref will get you the closest match at hundreds of Indian restaurants. (Sponsored)

“When I was in Mumbai on holiday I was invited to an absolutely opulent, lavish Marwari wedding for 5000 guests. The entire set up and décor around the venue of the function was simply exquisite, especially the Mandap (stage on which the Wedding Ceremony is performed by the priest), which was carved with gold arching.
Great food, music and dance – and I got to meet – Karan Johar! ” Guest blog by Zoran Saher

It’s true – there’s hardly an Urdu couplet without the mention of wine, yet wine has rarely been part of an Indian meal. So it was only a matter of time before you had an entrepreneur looking to fill this gap. Sam Bhatia has just introduced a trio of offerings under the name of the poet Mirza Ghalib to the American market.

The name of the company is even more ambitious – Sufi Wines. Says Bhatia, “The Sufis were people who celebrated life, art and poetry, We wanted our wines to invoke that kind of creative spirit in the people who drink it, and so we named our company Sufi Wines.”

So what’s on the menu? Chef Roshni Gurnani showcases Fusion Sushi, Curry Infused Swordfish with creamed spinach, and Coriander crusted rack of Lamb with Bombay smashed potato, baby carrots and an onion tomato salad. Bon Appétit!

Chef Roshni Gurnani’s earliest memory of cooking is having her own mini rolling pin set and of rolling out chapatis next to her mother. The first meal she ever cooked was at the age of 5 when she whipped up some eggs and toast. By the time she was 13, she was working at a local Toronto restaurant.

No surprise then that for Gurnani, food was destiny.

She became the winning contestant on the popular Food Network show Chopped, and also participated in Hell’s Kitchen. She went on to become executive chef at an elite club, supervising a staff of 22. She is now part of 5 Star Chefs, noted chefs who travel and cook around the country. Food has certainly taken Chef Rosh, as she is popularly known, full circle.

Who would have thought Tribeca would turn into an outpost of Southern cooking – dosa, uttapam and sambhar, that is! For those who thought they have to go to Chennai or at least to Jackson Heights or Curry Hill for their sambhar and dosa hankerings, the place to head to is – Whole Foods Market.

Early immigrants would have just about fainted if they had heard that America’s tres chic Whole Foods supermarket has now got their finger-lickin’ fiery sambhar and choice of dosas and uttapams too.

Hari Nayak’s Semolina Dosa with Pulled Butter Chicken with Brie Cheese – recipe!

One never knew there could be so many shades, so many textures and so many patterns in black and white! At the Children’s Hope India Black and White Ball, over 450 guests had come dressed in these two stark, striking colors and created a surreal, stylish world. This being an Indian event, the color red had been thrown in, and even the decor, right down to the table linens, was black and white with a touch of red.

Pier Sixty in Manhattan was transformed into a stunning black and white universe in celebration of CHI’s 20th year of service to children. Two decades ago this New York-based non-profit started as a small group of women professionals hoping to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children.

Does your family try to smuggle Tupperware containers filled with daal chaval into Disneyland?

Do your parents have drawers full of ketchup packages from McDonalds?

Do your parents yell into the phone even when they are not calling India?

Does your family own a Toyota or a Honda?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are definitely, really, Indian! These are part of a quick quiz by light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek ‘anthropologist’ Sanjit Singh whose book ‘Are You Indian?’ is a humorous look at growing up Indian in America. Singh checks out the Indian-American phenomenon right from infancy where the little bachas are being already prepped for the spelling bee by their anxious and ambitious parents to SAT and College Admission, right on to the traumas of finding a mate.

There was a time in America when Indian food, like Rodney Dangerfield, got no respect. Westerners (and some embarrassed Indians) tried to eat rotis with knife and fork, complained of the greasiness and the smell of the cuisine, and thought Indian food began and ended with ‘curry’.

That was then – this is now!

In our new global world, Indian cuisine is hot – and cool! Everyone seems to understand the language of Indian food, Indian chefs are stars and Indian cuisine has many fans, is anointed by Michelin and Zagat, and is the subject of great reviews. So it was inevitable that a glamorous award ceremony celebrating these successes would be next – the Varli Global Culinary Awards for the best and brightest in Indian cuisine…

Get into the kitchen with noted chef Maneet Chauhan and it’s a daring marriage between Indian spices and ingredients from around the world. Chauhan, who’s cooked up a storm in India and the US, including the critically acclaimed Vermilion, is now working on two cookbooks and is a judge on Food Network’s Chopped. Here she shares some of her unusual recipes which pair the quintessentially desi masalas like Sambhar powder and pau bhaji masala with unlikely items like edamame and olives, which are rarely used in Indian cuisine.

She’s a svelte and golden goddess with a cooking utensil in her hand and she’s coveted by all those in the world of cuisine.

We’re talking of course of the Varli Culinary Award, in the form of a lithe sculpture – and now the most talented chefs are going to be able to take her home as a testimony to their cooking talent.

On November 15, foodies, chefs and restaurateurs will gather for the first Varli Culinary Awards at the Altman Building in New York City to honor the best talents in Indian cuisine. The chief judge of the evening is renowned cooking authority Sanjeev Kapoor whose show ‘Khana Khazana’ is a huge hit on TV. The hosts for the evening are popular New York actors Manu Narayan and Pooja Kumar.

“I have to say that I was very blessed as a child as I grew up in a family that was blessed with great cooks! My dad is amazing at making meat based dishes, my mother – I think she should be called the Vegetable Whisperer – has a delightful way with vegetables and pretty much my entire extended family either cooks well or knows where to take you for a great meal!

My fondest memory as a child is sitting in the kitchen with my dad and watching him cook his legendary butter chicken. Not only did I know the dish would turn out amazing (it always did) but it was a time for us to connect and talk about his world travels. I adored listening to his stories and was thrilled whenever he would make this dish as it meant he would be in a mood (and have time) to talk!”
Monica Bhide chats with the Single Desi on Food, Family – and recipes for the perfect date!