Re: What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2]

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:44 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
............ but I totally disapprove of their kleptomania, unscrupulously claiming ownership of all varieties of generic South Indian cultural artifacts.

this sounds much like the standard telugu music fan's whine that tambrahms have misappropriated carnatic music, especially thyagraja and his compositions and made them their own. much to their chagrin, the center of gravity of CM has always been chennai. in fact one reason why annamacharya is the more popular composer amongst telugu CM fans is that he has no baggage of being usurped by tambrahms.

by Mosquito Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:12 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
............ but I totally disapprove of their kleptomania, unscrupulously claiming ownership of all varieties of generic South Indian cultural artifacts.

this sounds much like the standard telugu music fan's whine that tambrahms have misappropriated carnatic music, especially thyagraja and his compositions and made them their own. much to their chagrin, the center of gravity of CM has always been chennai. in fact one reason why annamacharya is the more popular composer amongst telugu CM fans is that he has no baggage of being usurped by tambrahms.

Most of us Telugu CM fans object to is the massacring of language by a lot of tamil musicians. They dont learn proper pronunciation and there by many times completely change the meaning of the song. They do that to Dikshitaar to too who happens to be Tamil but mostly composed in Sanskrit. Annamacharya is not more popular than Thyagaraja. Annamacharya was music was completely lost till few years back. Most of his songs were recomposed. He is popular because he was a great poet. I personally think his poetry is better than Thyagaraja.

by Guest Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:34 am

MD wrote:So just because she feeds this every day to her brood, Tracy Trivedi can't misappropriate aloo-pyaz and say it is a Saryuparin specialty.

fortunately for you, I know nothing about roots of any cuisine except high level stuff. Now a days, I don't even exactly cook it's done at my mom's place. It's a combo of whatever I learned from various friends all over from maharashtra, rajasthan, sindh, gujarat, punjab, south and north, and from tarla dalal.

When I do cook something from memory, people here eat and exclaim, 'hmm, it's UP style of food'. And that's when I laugh at mommy dear. She herself never lived in UP, her parents had migrated from there before middle age, and yet, two generations later, I am cooking UP style food without even knowing it.

Some tamil friends eat my tahiri, or watch me cooking and compare it with their punju friend's style.

So yeah, I am quite 'secular' when it comes to food. Forget about naming the brahmin subcaste, I am NOT saryuparin btw.... I can't even name the region. *shrug*

by charvaka Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:46 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
............ but I totally disapprove of their kleptomania, unscrupulously claiming ownership of all varieties of generic South Indian cultural artifacts.

this sounds much like the standard telugu music fan's whine that tambrahms have misappropriated carnatic music, especially thyagraja and his compositions and made them their own. much to their chagrin, the center of gravity of CM has always been chennai. in fact one reason why annamacharya is the more popular composer amongst telugu CM fans is that he has no baggage of being usurped by tambrahms.

Although you begin by calling the Telugus' complaint "whining," but you got it right in the end: it is usurpation. The center of gravity has been Chennai, but Chennai has not always been the Tamil city that it is today.

by Hellsangel Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:53 am

Looks like you have wakened Il Professore from his siesta by mentioning Iyer and south Indian classical music

by Guest Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:57 am

Tracy Whitney wrote:When I do cook something from memory, people here eat and exclaim, 'hmm, it's UP style of food'. And that's when I laugh at mommy dear. She herself never lived in UP, her parents had migrated from there before middle age, and yet, two generations later, I am cooking UP style food without even knowing it.

this is what is called residual memory. it is a residual particle tucked in the deepest recess of your left earlobe that cannot be wiped away even after 100 generations of interstate or intercaste or international relocations. you gots to get rid of that hing-jeera. ok, baby steps. hing first. but immediately.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:07 pm

charvaka wrote:Although you begin by calling the Telugus' complaint "whining," but you got it right in the end: it is usurpation. The center of gravity has been Chennai, but Chennai has not always been the Tamil city that it is today.

i used the word usurpation not to convey how i myself view the issue, but how i perceive the telugus view it. my own view is that there is no such thing as usurpation in art. you could say that eric clapton usurped the delta and chicago blues but you could also say that he has done much to further its cause and make it more accessible.

chennai may not always have been the tamil city that it is, but carnatic music has always been firmly and predominantly a tambrahm pursuit until very recently. that there have been notable non-tamils like balamurali krishna, dwaram, voleti, nedunuri krishnamoorthy and more recently u.srinivas, hyderabad brothers, and malladi brothers does not change this basic fact.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:20 pm

why am i not able to edit my own posts anymore on this thread?

anyway i wanted to add this at the end to the last post:

it is easy to take what i said as an assertion of some kind of cultural superiority. the way maria used to take umbrage at references to tambrahm cuisine. if you want to read it that way you're welcome to. however, i merely wanted to provide an analogy to what MD said about food in a different arena and stated the facts as i see them.

by Mosquito Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:22 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
chennai may not always have been the tamil city that it is, but carnatic music has always been firmly and predominantly a tambrahm pursuit until very recently.

That is just not true! There are as many Telugu and Kannadiga and Malayalee carnatic muscians. It just that you end up listening to Tambrahm musicians.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:25 pm

PseudoIntellectual wrote:
That is just not true! There are as many Telugu and Kannadiga and Malayalee carnatic muscians. It just that you end up listening to Tambrahm musicians.

ok.

by Guest Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:45 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Tracy Whitney wrote:When I do cook something from memory, people here eat and exclaim, 'hmm, it's UP style of food'. And that's when I laugh at mommy dear. She herself never lived in UP, her parents had migrated from there before middle age, and yet, two generations later, I am cooking UP style food without even knowing it.

this is what is called residual memory. it is a residual particle tucked in the deepest recess of your left earlobe that cannot be wiped away even after 100 generations of interstate or intercaste or international relocations. you gots to get rid of that hing-jeera. ok, baby steps. hing first. but immediately.

lol and

well heeng jeera is here to stay. Sometimes I do feel liberated, think about my mil, and use just mustard seeds seasoning. But I do end up adding jeera powder later.

by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:16 am

is there is a serious work on the history of indian cuisine?

by Merlot Daruwala Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:24 am

I've been looking for one too. I had come across some references to an old sanskrit text on the topic but never got a chance to follow up. And I've even forgotten the name of that text.

Sometime back Rashmun had provided a link to a very interesting text (forgotten the name again) on recipes from the Mughal kitchens. The sheer complexity of those recipes and how different they are from today's "mughlai" food was something that still stands out in my memory.

by Guest Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:47 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote: that there have been notable non-tamils like balamurali krishna, dwaram, voleti, nedunuri krishnamoorthy and more recently u.srinivas, hyderabad brothers, and malladi brothers does not change this basic fact.

you cannot be serious! music was integral to telugu folks also. many may not have pursued it as a career but formal sangeetam lessons were not alien to our culture. Andhra also has an old and rich folk music genre also.

by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:57 am

nutmeg wrote:
you cannot be serious! music was integral to telugu folks also. many may not have pursued it as a career but formal sangeetam lessons were not alien to our culture. Andhra also has an old and rich folk music genre also.

this has a very quick way of being misunderstood. let me clarify. i'm fully aware of the historical contributions of telugus and kannadigas to CM. in fact annamayya was the first to give form to the modern krithi and (purandara)dasa was the first to give structure to the basics of training -- CM 101 if you will. that's not what i meant. i meant the twentieth century history of CM, particularly as it pertains to performance, the introduction of the sabha culture, and the general idea of music as a means to making a living. that was totally dominated by tambrahms until recently.

by Rekz Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:03 pm

Had 16 gol gappa:cheers: ..broke my own record...

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:46 pm

What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 Kuzham12

This is the generic recipe. You can add drumsticks instead of dried vegetables.

by Hellsangel Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:47 pm

.|Sublime|. wrote:

This is the generic recipe. You can add drumsticks instead of dried vegetables.

Ha ha! You have the English version?

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:48 pm

Mysore rasam recipe

What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 Mysore10

by artood2 Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:51 pm

Rekz wrote:Had 16 gol gappa:cheers: ..broke my own record...

I once saw someone eat 72 in a row. Did not visit his home for 2 weeks.

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:52 pm

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:52 pm

Hellsangel wrote:
Ha ha! You have the English version?

what were you expecting?

by Hellsangel Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:58 pm

.|Sublime|. wrote:
what were you expecting?

Maybe the Tamil version.

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:59 pm

HK - I am not a big rasam fan but I like Mysore, neem and garlic rasam.

In the recipe for neem flower rasam, it should read neem flower not flour in the ingredients. Not sure if you get them where you are but if you do, look for the dried variety, not the fresh ones. fresh ones are good for ugadi patchadi but not for rasam.

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:00 pm

Hellsangel wrote:
.|Sublime|. wrote:
what were you expecting?
Maybe the Tamil version.

it would be of no use to me. or to HK.

by Guest Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:35 pm

.|Sublime|. wrote:HK - I am not a big rasam fan but I like Mysore, neem and garlic rasam

txs for the recipes .|Sublime|. we will try them all (starting with pepper rasam) and then decide on whether we like rasam at all.

by ashaNirasha Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:02 pm

What is kandathippili, arisithippili?

by Hellsangel Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:08 pm

ashaNirasha wrote:What is kandathippili, arisithippili?

http://vegconcoctions.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/kandathippili-sathumudu-rasam/

by Impedimenta Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:48 pm

aiyaiyooo...WHERE in the world ARE THESE RECEPIES that you guys keep referring to?

by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:17 pm

sublime -- you posted so many pages and none of them mention ollocks? is this really meenakshi ammal's magnum opus?

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:39 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:sublime -- you posted so many pages and none of them mention ollocks? is this really meenakshi ammal's magnum opus?

LOL ollocks was used in the old version. I had the old version and had no idea what kind of measurement it was. So i bought the newer edition and guess what - looks like they just did a find replace on ollocks with cups.

by Guest Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:36 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Sometime back Rashmun had provided a link to a very interesting text (forgotten the name again) on recipes from the Mughal kitchens. The sheer complexity of those recipes and how different they are from today's "mughlai" food was something that still stands out in my memory.

from the site:

1. Biryán. For a whole Dashmandí sheep, take 2 s. salt; 1 s.
g'hí; 2 m. saffron, cloves, pepper, cuminseed: it is made in various ways....4. Kabáb is of various kinds. 10 s. meat; ½ s. g'hí; salt, fresh ginger,
onions, ¼ s. of each; cuminseed, coriander seed, pepper, cardamums
cloves, 1½ d. of each... 6. Dupiyázah. 10 s. meat,
middling fat; 2 s. g'hí; 2 s. onions; ¼ s. salt; 1/8; s. fresh pepper; cuminseed,
coriander seed, cardamums, cloves, 1 d. of each; 2 d. pepper: this will give five dishes....8. Dampukht. 10 s. meat; 2 s. g'hí; 1 s. onions; 11 m. fresh ginger;
10 m. pepper; 2 d. cloves;...K'hichri.
Rice, split dal, and g'hí 5 s. of each; ...10. Halwá.
Flour, sugarcandy, g'hí, 10 s. of each, which will give fifteen dishes; it is
eaten in various ways... 9. Halím. The meat, wheat, gram,
spices, and saffron, as in the preceding; 1 s. g'hí; turnips, carrots, spinach,
fennel, ¼ s. of each: this gives ten dishes.

yes, the sheer complexity is mind boggling and note how different they are from today's mughalai and awadhi cuisines.

by Guest Fri Jul 22, 2011 4:00 am

mysore rasam (recipe upthread/here) with bhindi (okra) fry and rice.

What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 Imag0218

What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 Imag0219

we tasted the rasam before the tadka. omg, it was hot hot hot. and that when we had used 3/4 of the qty of red chillis recommended in the recipe. we went into panic mode -- no one was going to eat it; not the kids! since we weren't adding tomatoes (it's optional in the recipe), we wondered whether to dilute and and tomatoes or more tamarind to cut back on the hotness. finally we decided to add more tamarind water and one tomato -- that fixed it. readers, be wary of the proportion of red chillis in the recipe. the dish was awesome. mysore rasam is very flavourful. i have a feeling that this might be the best of the rasams we will make (it's definitely better than the one we normally make at home).

by Merlot Daruwala Fri Jul 22, 2011 4:17 am

HK bhai, nice pictures.

It's a darn good idea for people to start naming the dishes after their home towns. When you name it as Mysore rasam, klepto iyers have a tough time misappropriating it. Of course, they'll still copy the recipe and call it Pandanallur rasam or Mylapore rasam (and trace provenance to some 2nd century text), but it just won't have the same authentic ring as My-sore rasam.

by Guest Fri Jul 22, 2011 6:56 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:HK bhai, nice pictures.

thanks bhai! *choti choti khushiyan*

When you name it as Mysore rasam, klepto iyers have a tough time misappropriating it. Of course, they'll still copy the recipe and call it Pandanallur rasam or Mylapore rasam (and trace provenance to some 2nd century text), but it just won't have the same authentic ring as My-sore rasam.

ha ha ha. we already have mysore rasam, mysore masala dosa and mysore pak (maybe a few more that i am missing).

by Guest Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:00 am

HK, whaat are you doing? You are supposed to eat all this si nonsense on the sly. NOT post pics of them. kyaaa tum bhi.

by Guest Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:07 am

Tracy Whitney wrote:HK, whaat are you doing? You are supposed to eat all this si nonsense on the sly. NOT post pics of them. kyaaa tum bhi.

he he he. jab pyar kiya to darna kya??

by FreeStyle Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:13 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:mysore rasam (recipe upthread/here) with bhindi (okra) fry and rice.

Nice pictures Huzefa. Everything looks so Yummy!

by Guest Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:37 am

thanks freestyle. maybe, sometime in the future, google will let us smell and taste pictures too.

by Guest Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:43 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:thanks freestyle. maybe, sometime in the future, google will let us smell and taste pictures too.

I know you are just talking about food here, but .... what an !dea sir!

by Guest Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:37 am

sunday special lunch. cholar dal (split chana), luchis, alur dom & payesh/kheer. kamal used to like this dal. kabir doesn't like it.

What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 Chola_10

What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 Chola_10

by Guest Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:09 am

just realized i have repeat posted the above meal in this thread. scratch

the previous image was more colourful too btw.

by Merlot Daruwala Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:53 am

Nice. Your pictures are always good enough to eat off the screen.

Didn't know alur dom could be dry as well. I've only seen the gravied version, and much enjoyed it with radha-ballabis.

My lunch was chicken reshmi kebabs, mutton rogan josh (which, in Mumbai, is just code for a generic, spicy mutton curry) and roti. Will have some rose-flavored falooda now.

by Guest Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:03 am

HK wrote:kamal used to like this dal. kabir doesn't like it.

great pic. It's 9:00 am here and boy I want alu poori. Hmm, maybe I should make that for brunch. And no, won't attempt to make kheer. I tried it once and it was such a fail.

by Merlot Daruwala Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:36 am

Just made some pan-fried baby potatoes. Came out nicely browned..could have been better, though. I panicked when I smelt the tadka burn and lowered the flame..tsk.

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What are you cooking / having cooked / eating today? [1 of 2] - Page 5 P7150210

by Guest Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:37 am

Yummy batata, I just had my morning coffee.Is it supper time?

by Guest Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:39 am

"And no, won't attempt to make kheer. I tried it once and it was such a fail."
Trace, I make kheer in the micro, comes out good.

by Rekz Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:41 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Just made some pan-fried baby potatoes. Came out nicely browned..could have been better, though. I panicked when I smelt the tadka burn and lowered the flame..tsk.

Very good....but you have not garnished and presented your baby potatoes nicely...moreover can't eat only the potatoes..did u make rotis/phulkas? Incomplete post:P

by Merlot Daruwala Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:12 am

Rekz wrote:Very good....but you have not garnished and presented your baby potatoes nicely...

No garnish with fried potatoes. And yes, I do have a lot to learn on presentation from HK bhai.

by Guest Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:19 am

Rekz wrote:Very good....but you have not garnished and presented your baby potatoes nicely...moreover can't eat only the potatoes..did u make rotis/phulkas? Incomplete post:P

ha ha ha. he probably had it with bread. what's that clamp thing (to hold the hot vessel) called in english? we call it sandasi.

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