What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [2 of 2]

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

Propagandhi711 wrote:

dont know what the stuffing is called in queen(r)s english but it's called vaamu in telugu

brie wrote:

Propagandhi711 wrote:

dont know what the stuffing is called in queen(r)s english but it's called vaamu in telugu

i'm not sure but i will have to ask my andhraite (yes he belongs to AP now after bifurcation) friend if these curd chillis are stuffed with vaamu/carom-seeds. actually, very interesting!

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

garam_kuta wrote:

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

absolutely bhaiya! indeed it's the green chillies-even better with a touch of a few crystals of salt that you can caress/smear on it.

BTW, bedekar makes the most hot green chillies pickles- its heavens with curd rice.  it can be more intense than wasabi. Don't taste it without some buffer or you die! it's all like sechs..raw, pungent, violent, and you sweat, but you want more and more

tender mango pickles is another good one to go with curd rice and so is aavakkai - for most pickles, the key ingredient is the  ground mustard that makes it exquisite and does the magic!>>>

Kris wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

absolutely bhaiya! indeed it's the green chillies-even better with a touch of a few crystals of salt that you can caress/smear on it.

BTW, bedekar makes the most hot green chillies pickles- its heavens with curd rice.  it can be more intense than wasabi. Don't taste it without some buffer or you die! it's all like sechs..raw, pungent, violent, and you sweat, but you want more and more

tender mango pickles is another good one to go with curd rice and so is aavakkai - for most pickles, the key ingredient is the  ground mustard that makes it exquisite and does the magic!>>>

>>How about gongkura pickle? I used to like the one without garlic which was available in pretty much any Indian store. The one thing I missed though was the taste of  Indian curd and used to hate Knudsen buttermilk. That may be the reason I outgrew the taste for curd rice, although i did find Bulgarian buttermilk awhile later. I also got in the habit of mixing buttermilk with plain soda and a little bit of salt right before hitting the sack. The Iranians actually have a carbonated drink which I have seen in stores.

Propagandhi711 wrote:

Kris wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

absolutely bhaiya! indeed it's the green chillies-even better with a touch of a few crystals of salt that you can caress/smear on it.

BTW, bedekar makes the most hot green chillies pickles- its heavens with curd rice.  it can be more intense than wasabi. Don't taste it without some buffer or you die! it's all like sechs..raw, pungent, violent, and you sweat, but you want more and more

tender mango pickles is another good one to go with curd rice and so is aavakkai - for most pickles, the key ingredient is the  ground mustard that makes it exquisite and does the magic!>>>

>>How about gongkura pickle? I used to like the one without garlic which was available in pretty much any Indian store. The one thing I missed though was the taste of  Indian curd and used to hate Knudsen buttermilk. That may be the reason I outgrew the taste for curd rice, although i did find Bulgarian buttermilk awhile later. I also got in the habit of mixing buttermilk with plain soda and a little bit of salt right before hitting the sack. The Iranians actually have a carbonated drink which I have seen in stores.

I think the higher fat & milk solids content of buffalo milk used in india makes all the difference in the flavor & texture when it comes to yogurt and coffee for that matter. bulgarian yogurt is a pretty good approximation of what yogurt made in those mud pots back home tastes like. I never skip yogurt when in india (except maybe when am in hyd) coz of that taste.

Propagandhi711 wrote:

brie wrote:

Propagandhi711 wrote:

dont know what the stuffing is called in queen(r)s english but it's called vaamu in telugu

i'm not sure but i will have to ask my andhraite (yes he belongs to AP now after bifurcation) friend if these curd chillis are stuffed with vaamu/carom-seeds. actually, very interesting!

looked up on internets but couldnt find the recipe, maybe it's specific to the area my family's from. green chillies are stuffed with ajwain and couple other stuffing thingies that make it sour(ish) but they're not sundried or fried. the chilli flava is lost when they're fried, I like this raw version much better

Kris wrote:

Propagandhi711 wrote:

Kris wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

absolutely bhaiya! indeed it's the green chillies-even better with a touch of a few crystals of salt that you can caress/smear on it.

BTW, bedekar makes the most hot green chillies pickles- its heavens with curd rice.  it can be more intense than wasabi. Don't taste it without some buffer or you die! it's all like sechs..raw, pungent, violent, and you sweat, but you want more and more

tender mango pickles is another good one to go with curd rice and so is aavakkai - for most pickles, the key ingredient is the  ground mustard that makes it exquisite and does the magic!>>>

>>How about gongkura pickle? I used to like the one without garlic which was available in pretty much any Indian store. The one thing I missed though was the taste of  Indian curd and used to hate Knudsen buttermilk. That may be the reason I outgrew the taste for curd rice, although i did find Bulgarian buttermilk awhile later. I also got in the habit of mixing buttermilk with plain soda and a little bit of salt right before hitting the sack. The Iranians actually have a carbonated drink which I have seen in stores.

I think the higher fat & milk solids content of buffalo milk used in india makes all the difference in the flavor & texture when it comes to yogurt and coffee for that matter. bulgarian yogurt is a pretty good approximation of what yogurt made in those mud pots back home tastes like. I never skip yogurt when in india (except maybe when am in hyd) coz of that taste.

>>>The higher fat makes sense. Initially I thought the manufacturing process here involved some preservatives which gave it the funny taste. I found the bulgarian version quite by accident and never went back after that.

garam_kuta wrote:

brie wrote:LOL, LOL, LOL!

i think the best accompaniment to curd rice is curd chillis and... more curd rice!

i added a bit of milk yesterday to my curd rice (thanks GK) and that went a long way to cut the excess sourness! and then i added red chilli pickle (in the pic. to the extreme left) to make it sour! it takes a lot to satisfy the heart!

absolutely bhaiya! indeed it's the green chillies-even better with a touch of a few crystals of salt that you can caress/smear on it.

BTW, bedekar makes the most hot green chillies pickles- its heavens with curd rice.  it can be more intense than wasabi. Don't taste it without some buffer or you die! it's all like sechs..raw, pungent, violent, and you sweat, but you want more and more

tender mango pickles is another good one to go with curd rice and so is aavakkai - for most pickles, the key ingredient is the  ground mustard that makes it exquisite and does the magic!

brie wrote:

Kris wrote:

Propagandhi711 wrote:

Kris wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

absolutely bhaiya! indeed it's the green chillies-even better with a touch of a few crystals of salt that you can caress/smear on it.

BTW, bedekar makes the most hot green chillies pickles- its heavens with curd rice.  it can be more intense than wasabi. Don't taste it without some buffer or you die! it's all like sechs..raw, pungent, violent, and you sweat, but you want more and more

tender mango pickles is another good one to go with curd rice and so is aavakkai - for most pickles, the key ingredient is the  ground mustard that makes it exquisite and does the magic!>>>

>>How about gongkura pickle? I used to like the one without garlic which was available in pretty much any Indian store. The one thing I missed though was the taste of  Indian curd and used to hate Knudsen buttermilk. That may be the reason I outgrew the taste for curd rice, although i did find Bulgarian buttermilk awhile later. I also got in the habit of mixing buttermilk with plain soda and a little bit of salt right before hitting the sack. The Iranians actually have a carbonated drink which I have seen in stores.

I think the higher fat & milk solids content of buffalo milk used in india makes all the difference in the flavor & texture when it comes to yogurt and coffee for that matter. bulgarian yogurt is a pretty good approximation of what yogurt made in those mud pots back home tastes like. I never skip yogurt when in india (except maybe when am in hyd) coz of that taste.

>>>The higher fat makes sense. Initially I thought the manufacturing process here involved some preservatives which gave it the funny taste. I found the bulgarian version quite by accident and never went back after that.

what props says is interesting but i have my doubts. after the white revolution and pasteurization of most of the milk in india, the fat content is standardized to a fixed percentage -- be the milk of water buffalo's or cow's or mix (often mix). we buy milk from a local buffalo & cow dairy AND packaged mother dairy milk. the curd made from both milk tastes the same. mother dairy's or amul's packaged curd also tastes the same. i think it is the strain of bacteria that differentiates curd from yoghurt. i recall .|Sublime|. mention that she made her yoghurt/curd in USA (i think in she resides in buffalo, lol) using indian curd as a starter and that she kept the fire perennially lit.

Propagandhi711 wrote:


ofcourse the culture makes all the difference in the world when it comes to taste, I do the same vis-a-vis making yogurt at home in US with yogurt culture imported from india but there's a definite difference in texture, thickness and general creaminess of what you get in india w/buffalo milk and here in US. I can't attest to difference between cow milk and buffalo milk in india, almost never had cowmilk there.

brie wrote:

Propagandhi711 wrote:


ofcourse the culture makes all the difference in the world when it comes to taste, I do the same vis-a-vis making yogurt at home in US with yogurt culture imported from india but there's a definite difference in texture, thickness and general creaminess of what you get in india w/buffalo milk and here in US. I can't attest to difference between cow milk and buffalo milk in india, almost never had cowmilk there.

makes sense. yes, high fat milk like that of buffalo's would make for a different texture of curd.

trivia: india is the largest exporter of beef (brazil is 2nd). water buffalo meat is classified as "beef" by FDA in US. whatever india exports as beef is water buffalo meat. the export is not to US per se but to mid east and east asia. i've tasted both. they taste the same in minced form (hamburgers) but as steaks, buffalo meat is a bit chewy but tastes the same.

ashaNirasha wrote:I'm glad much of the discussion about curd/ curd rice is without pics. I can't stand the sight or smell of both, and can't even look at people eating them. Never used to sit and eat at the dining table, always sneaked out on some pretext or the other. If forced to sit with others, I was done and gone, long before others got to that part. 

For the longest time, I refused to touch or clean up the utensils or plates that were used to eat them. Now, I might buy yogurt if a dish or curry calls for it. Store bought stuff doesn't smell at all and I can deal with it. I close my eyes, quickly ladle a couple of spoonfuls into the dish, stir it and close the lid. Done. 

Also guilty of making people choose between yogurt and me. Sad, but can't help it.

ashaNirasha wrote:I'm glad much of the discussion about curd/ curd rice is without pics. I can't stand the sight or smell of both, and can't even look at people eating them. Never used to sit and eat at the dining table, always sneaked out on some pretext or the other. If forced to sit with others, I was done and gone, long before others got to that part. 

For the longest time, I refused to touch or clean up the utensils or plates that were used to eat them. Now, I might buy yogurt if a dish or curry calls for it. Store bought stuff doesn't smell at all and I can deal with it. I close my eyes, quickly ladle a couple of spoonfuls into the dish, stir it and close the lid. Done. 

Also guilty of making people choose between yogurt and me. Sad, but can't help it.

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:

ashaNirasha wrote:I'm glad much of the discussion about curd/ curd rice is without pics. I can't stand the sight or smell of both, and can't even look at people eating them. Never used to sit and eat at the dining table, always sneaked out on some pretext or the other. If forced to sit with others, I was done and gone, long before others got to that part. 

For the longest time, I refused to touch or clean up the utensils or plates that were used to eat them. Now, I might buy yogurt if a dish or curry calls for it. Store bought stuff doesn't smell at all and I can deal with it. I close my eyes, quickly ladle a couple of spoonfuls into the dish, stir it and close the lid. Done. 

Also guilty of making people choose between yogurt and me. Sad, but can't help it.

dang girl, you got a bad case of Giaourtiophobia.

I don't have a love of it, but I have put it in places wherever they have told me to put it, for benefits and such. (hope I didn't ruin your afternoon, sorry).

garam_kuta wrote:

ashaNirasha wrote:I'm glad much of the discussion about curd/ curd rice is without pics. I can't stand the sight or smell of both, and can't even look at people eating them. Never used to sit and eat at the dining table, always sneaked out on some pretext or the other. If forced to sit with others, I was done and gone, long before others got to that part. 

For the longest time, I refused to touch or clean up the utensils or plates that were used to eat them. Now, I might buy yogurt if a dish or curry calls for it. Store bought stuff doesn't smell at all and I can deal with it. I close my eyes, quickly ladle a couple of spoonfuls into the dish, stir it and close the lid. Done. 

Also guilty of making people choose between yogurt and me. Sad, but can't help it.

interesting! may I ask you whether in your school days, your lunch box was most frequently packed with curd rice and pickle?

ashaNirasha wrote:

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:

ashaNirasha wrote:I'm glad much of the discussion about curd/ curd rice is without pics. I can't stand the sight or smell of both, and can't even look at people eating them. Never used to sit and eat at the dining table, always sneaked out on some pretext or the other. If forced to sit with others, I was done and gone, long before others got to that part. 

For the longest time, I refused to touch or clean up the utensils or plates that were used to eat them. Now, I might buy yogurt if a dish or curry calls for it. Store bought stuff doesn't smell at all and I can deal with it. I close my eyes, quickly ladle a couple of spoonfuls into the dish, stir it and close the lid. Done. 

Also guilty of making people choose between yogurt and me. Sad, but can't help it.

dang girl, you got a bad case of Giaourtiophobia.

I don't have a love of it, but I have put it in places wherever they have told me to put it, for benefits and such. (hope I didn't ruin your afternoon, sorry).

Man, I hope it's not what I'm thinking it is. If it is, there are other, pleasant, sweet things you know.

ashaNirasha wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

ashaNirasha wrote:I'm glad much of the discussion about curd/ curd rice is without pics. I can't stand the sight or smell of both, and can't even look at people eating them. Never used to sit and eat at the dining table, always sneaked out on some pretext or the other. If forced to sit with others, I was done and gone, long before others got to that part. 

For the longest time, I refused to touch or clean up the utensils or plates that were used to eat them. Now, I might buy yogurt if a dish or curry calls for it. Store bought stuff doesn't smell at all and I can deal with it. I close my eyes, quickly ladle a couple of spoonfuls into the dish, stir it and close the lid. Done. 

Also guilty of making people choose between yogurt and me. Sad, but can't help it.

interesting! may I ask you whether in your school days, your lunch box was most frequently packed with curd rice and pickle?

Not really. Surprisingly, never had anyone in my childhood group of lunch buddies bring that either. One girl brought rice with sambar every single day in all her school years, with different vegetable curries ( stir-fry  types) on top.

pravalika nanda wrote:men are not men these days.

Seva Lamberdar wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:men are not men these days.

?

brie wrote:doi ilish (ilish cooked in curd and mustard seeds)

brie wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:

brie wrote:

Hee hee, a most divine representation of Kali!

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Why, don't you get this easily in Kolkata? Quite commonly available here.

brie wrote:finally got the much coveted, much awaited SHAN MASALA!!!!!!  time for some motton biryani and curry!

garam_kuta wrote:

brie wrote:finally got the much coveted, much awaited SHAN MASALA!!!!!!  time for some motton biryani and curry!

watch out the salt content, bhaiya... it may be included already! in their home style channa masala, it is,...the first time I used, it was a mess and I kind of redeemed it by immersing a lots of potato cubes!

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:OMG poori with that alu sabzi is the ultimate! And halwa!!!

Happy Vijaydashami!

Kris wrote:

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:OMG poori with that alu sabzi is the ultimate! And halwa!!!

Happy Vijaydashami!

>>>Yep. Thought of my mother.. this was her favorite combo. And it so happened that I had this last night at an Indian joint when I had a couple of hours waiting for my son.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

Kris wrote:

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:OMG poori with that alu sabzi is the ultimate! And halwa!!!

Happy Vijaydashami!

>>>Yep. Thought of my mother.. this was her favorite combo. And it so happened that I had this last night at an Indian joint when I had a couple of hours waiting for my son.

Poori bhaji is an all time classic. Only, for bhaji, I prefer the dryer variety served up in Maharashtra and the South. If it has to be masaledar, then I would go with a Bengali aloor dom.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

Kris wrote:

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:OMG poori with that alu sabzi is the ultimate! And halwa!!!

Happy Vijaydashami!

>>>Yep. Thought of my mother.. this was her favorite combo. And it so happened that I had this last night at an Indian joint when I had a couple of hours waiting for my son.

Poori bhaji is an all time classic. Only, for bhaji, I prefer the dryer variety served up in Maharashtra and the South. If it has to be masaledar, then I would go with a Bengali aloor dom.

brie wrote:

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

Kris wrote:

Beatrix Kiddo wrote:OMG poori with that alu sabzi is the ultimate! And halwa!!!

Happy Vijaydashami!

>>>Yep. Thought of my mother.. this was her favorite combo. And it so happened that I had this last night at an Indian joint when I had a couple of hours waiting for my son.

Poori bhaji is an all time classic. Only, for bhaji, I prefer the dryer variety served up in Maharashtra and the South. If it has to be masaledar, then I would go with a Bengali aloor dom.

i agree. on another note, i do not like the north indian samosa (too big and spicy). i prefer the bengali ones (smaller and the alu inside is exactly the bhaji in your pic 1 with a few peanuts thrown in).

Kris wrote:
>>>I don't care for the big sized samosas that much either. A side note: I guess this made its way across the Indian ocean. I remember going to a party at an Ethiopian (fellow) student's place and she kept talking about 'sambosas'. It turned out to be  samosas with some meat stuffing. She was puzzled when I told her it was Indian. Must have made the journey with Gujaratis who settled in East Africa.

brie wrote:i googled a bit more. samosa, the name, has sanskrit origins. it is more likely it reached ethiopia via the arab route.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samosa#History wrote:The samosa is claimed to have originated in the Middle East (where it is known as sambosa^[8]) prior to the 10th century.^[9] Abolfazl Beyhaqi (995-1077), an Iranian historian mentioned it in his history, Tarikh-e Beyhaghi.^[10] It was introduced to the Indian subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by traders from Central Asia.^[6]
Amir Khusro (1253–1325), a scholar and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate, wrote in around 1300 that the princes and nobles enjoyed the "samosa prepared from meat, ghee, onion and so on".^[11][12]
Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century traveler and explorer, describes a meal at the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq, where the samushak orsambusak, a small pie stuffed with minced meat, almonds, pistachios, walnuts and spices, was served before the third course, ofpulao.^[12][13]
The Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century Mughal document, mentions the recipe for qutab, which it says, “the people of Hindustan callsanbúsah”.^[14]

brie wrote:sorry kris i stand corrected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samosa#History wrote:The samosa is claimed to have originated in the Middle East (where it is known as sambosa^[8]) prior to the 10th century.^[9] Abolfazl Beyhaqi (995-1077), an Iranian historian mentioned it in his history, Tarikh-e Beyhaghi.^[10] It was introduced to the Indian subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by traders from Central Asia.^[6]
Amir Khusro (1253–1325), a scholar and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate, wrote in around 1300 that the princes and nobles enjoyed the "samosa prepared from meat, ghee, onion and so on".^[11][12]
Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century traveler and explorer, describes a meal at the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq, where the samushak orsambusak, a small pie stuffed with minced meat, almonds, pistachios, walnuts and spices, was served before the third course, ofpulao.^[12][13]
The Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century Mughal document, mentions the recipe for qutab, which it says, “the people of Hindustan callsanbúsah”.^[14]

samosa does not have sanskrit origins -- with wiki note demands citation in-link.