Where is the a South Asian CUISINE header ??

[bhajishah 4]

Started up Ladies and closet cooking gents in desi world!!! Im making Bombay byriani tonight. with lamb meat and bones. and all the fixings , cloves, basil garlic fresh cumin seedd well you all desis know about good bryriani what it takes!! Asian secrets!!even some saffron as its is Ramadam Mubarek in the Shah house and all we wanna do is Make you bounce!!!

[Sandrila 1]

hook me up with a nice chicken biryani receipe made from separate spices not just a mix

i am a good indian cook but need something quick to make

i have made before with a mix of biryani spices but i have plenty of raw spices i can add

thanks

[ELW 5]

I usually use the spice mix but have found great recipes online too. Hubby used to roll his eyes when I said I will find a recipe online but now that he has tasted them, tells me "find it online!" I just put a search of what I want to make and mention the region we prefer (like "Andhra Biryani recipe"), there are some great websites out there!

[Imua 0]

I usually use the spice mix but have found great recipes online too. Hubby used to roll his eyes when I said I will find a recipe online but now that he has tasted them, tells me "find it online!" I just put a search of what I want to make and mention the region we prefer (like "Andhra Biryani recipe"), there are some great websites out there!

Hey didi, where do you think I found the recipe for the mula ko achaar that your hubby scarfed down??????

I also found a nice momo recipe that I am dying to try - it has paneer, spinach and mushrooms with lots of spices...*drool*

I will saute them in some Maggi chili garlic sauce and see if they are anything like my beloved 'Momo Chili' that I eat in KTM - haven't found a recipe for that yet.

I made homemade tamarind sauce and I will never use the bottled stuff again.

If anyone wants to try Nepali cooking I can give some links, also 'The Nepal Cookbook' is wonderful - there is a recipe for dal which I believe may help to keep my marriage alive - I made it and it came out almost as good as my MIL's.

[bhajishah 4]

You all making me hungry im making a urid dal dish from scratch no mix..the boy is going veggie tonight afte a week of EID!!! Have been catching some fish in minnesota and the Shan Lahori spice mix for fish is gr8. dont like many of the seasonings my self. national brand is the best i have found. have to travel 4 hrs to Chacago every 3 months to get along with all fresh cut Hilal meat. Devon Avenue is the place to hit!!!! Sabri Nihari restaurant and Khan barbeque awesome...along with king sweets. and Mhugal bakery.

[Imua 0]

Since it is the season I want to find a good recipe for pumpkin(Pharsi) curry or will just ask G when we chat tomorrow - his mom makes it all the time and it sounds yummy. There is also a recipe for 'Pumpkin Vine Tips Curry' in the Nepal cookbook - interesting.

My guy also developed a taste for Thai food when we ate at this great Thai restaurant in kTM so I am experimenting with Thai veggie recipes - my favorite is somtam - spicy green papaya salad - there is also a variation using cucumbers instead. nice to find something i could eat all day long which is actually healthy and low-cal.

Edited October 4, 2008 by Pattu Rani

[ELW 5]

Good point about pumpkins, I should look up recipes for that too. I know in Telugu land they make a thick curry with brown sugar I think.

I tried taking my guy to a Chinese buffet but he didn't like it! Besides a VERY occasional pizza, he only likes Indian food. Luckily I tend towards that too! Wonder if Thai is more similar to Indian or Chinese, I don't think I've had it myself.

A friend just gave me a ton of zucchinis from her garden and my mission now is to make them swim in enough Indian spices that he thinks it is a normal Indian curry. No zucchinis in India!

I love your statement that you "work for momos"! Did that recipe with paneer, spinach and mushrooms work out? Do tell!

How do you make the homemade tamarind sauce? We buy the tamarind paste in small plastic containers and dump a few teaspoons in various dishes.

[bhajishah 4]

tamarand paste hmmmm just might work!!!!

[Imua 0]

I can dig up the recipe - as I recall the key ingredients are canned purple plums and tamarind paste - there are some additional spices in there that give it a little kick. If you have a good blender it's really easy to make.

ELW - I still haven't made the momos yet - soon, as soon as I get through this visa mess and surgery mess, holiday ebay mess.... too much going on now but it will soon be over I hope and I can relax and do some real serious cooking.

[Imua 0]

I found the tamarind recipe: enjoy!!! I used canned plums and it came out very good. It says to serve with momos but it's also good with samosas, pakoras, etc. I've tried a few recipes from this site and recommend it.

Sweet MOMO Achar

(Sweet Tamarind Achar for MOMOs)

Ingredients:

* 3 cups black plum, cut into small chunks

* 3 tablespoons tamarind paste

* 1 cup brown sugar

* 5 fresh red chilies, minced

* 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

* 1 tablespoon ginger, minced

* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

* 1 teaspoon timur (Szechwan pepper)

* 1/4 teaspoon asafetida

* 1 tablespoon cooking oil

* Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:

In a sauce pan, heat oil; splitter cumin seeds until dark brown. Add chilies, garlic, ginger, timur, asafetida, and salt. Fry for a minute or so. Add plum chunks, tamarind paste and brown sugar. Mix all ingredients well and allow simmering in low heat for about 30 minutes, or until plum chunks are tender. Remove from heat and let rest to cool. Puree the tamarind mixture into a smooth paste-like mixture. Serve with steamed momos.

http://www.explorenepal.com/recipe/momo/?i=sweet_momo_achar

Edited October 10, 2008 by Pattu Rani

[Imua 0]

Our favorite dessert(from same site):

Sikarni

(Spiced Sweet Yogurt-Pistachio Dessert)

Ingredients:

* 6 cups regular yogurt

* 2 cups sour cream

* 1/4 cup double cream

* 2 cups sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 1/2 teapoon ground black pepper

* 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

* 1 teaspoon saffron (optional)

* 1 cup unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts, cut into thin slices

Cooking Instructions:

In a large bowl, mix yogurt and sour cream together. Pour the yogurt mixture into a large colander with a cheese cloth liner. Allow draining for about 12 hours. Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl. Dissolve saffron, if used, in luke warm cream. To the yogurt mixture add sugar, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, dissolved saffron, and pistachio nuts; fold in thoroughly. Chill overnight in refrigerator. To serve, scoop a cup of chilled dessert into a serving plate, topped with a generous amount of unsalted, shelled, whole pistachio nuts.

[ELW 5]

I found the tamarind recipe:

Interesting recipe! I'm sure I never had it before. I really don't like plums so...

Our favorite dessert(from same site):

That is one unique recipe, I'm pretty sure I never had such a thing before. It looks good, except for the black pepper! I don't like sweet-spicy things - they gotta be either VERY sweet or nicely spicy, but not mixed.

[Imua 0]

You could probably leave out the pepper and it would still be good, whenever i've had it you don't really taste any spiciness - it's more like chai spices mixed with yogurt.

You wouldn't like titaura then - it's this candy that's a little like fruit leather, they take a fruit called lapsy and puree and dry it and add various spices, usually it's spicy and tart(tito means tart) and sweet all at once. It keeps for a few months so before I left I bought a huge stash. In Hawaii we have Chinese preserved fruits called crack seed with similar flavors so I think that's why I like it - or as Govi says I have a Nepali heart...

There are a lot of tamarind sauce recipes which don't call for plums - this is more of a thin chutney - you might substitute mango and see how it comes out???