Vot's for dinner

by Merlot Daruwala Tue May 31, 2011 11:56 am

Too much was vot's for dinner. There was this fabulous Grand Trunk Road themed buffet, with dishes starting from A for Afghanistan to W for West Bengal. Gorged myself on chingdi malai curry, kosho mangsho, zafrani chicken biryani and mutton nihari. There were atleast five other items I wanted to sample, but was too full. Tragedy of tragedies, I could not even look at the sumptuous dessert section (also on the same theme).

PS: Forgot to mention - all washed down with some great cabernet.

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 11:59 am

lol, what a buffet. and boy, you reallly love bong food. Very Happy

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 12:01 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Too much was vot's for dinner. There was this fabulous Grand Trunk Road themed buffet, with dishes starting from A for Afghanistan to W for West Bengal. Gorged myself on chingdi malai curry, kosho mangsho, zafrani chicken biryani and mutton nihari. There were atleast five other items I wanted to sample, but was too full. Tragedy of tragedies, I could not even look at the sumptuous dessert section (also on the same theme).

last night dinner was the typical beach food affair. Fried Oreos, french fries, pizzas, funnel cake and heh heh, diet coke.

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 12:06 pm

@MD actually you gorged on A and W. lol. *imagining zafran is an afghan spice -- dunno*

by Merlot Daruwala Tue May 31, 2011 12:11 pm

Zafran is saffron. Zafrani biryani is probably a persian import - the Grand Trunk Road theme implied this item was from Kashmir.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue May 31, 2011 12:13 pm

Tracy Whitney wrote:last night dinner was the typical beach food affair. Fried Oreos, french fries, pizzas, funnel cake and heh heh, diet coke.

I associate beach food with all varieties of batter-fried seafood - fried mussels, fried prawns etc. Atleast this was the commonest waterfront food one finds in New England.

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 12:15 pm

Tracy Whitney wrote: Fried Oreos

They fry Oreo cookies?

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 12:16 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Tracy Whitney wrote:last night dinner was the typical beach food affair. Fried Oreos, french fries, pizzas, funnel cake and heh heh, diet coke.

I associate beach food with all varieties of batter-fried seafood - fried mussels, fried prawns etc. Atleast this was the commonest waterfront food one finds in New England.

K, should have called it 'boardwalk' food. There was fried calamari in the name of sea food, but we were in 'share' mode with vegetarians or kids. Played it safe.

Yep, they FRY oreo cookies... this is a very common 'carnival' food that I been seeing since last year. It has replaced waffles with ice creams that used to be on my must-have carnival/boardwalk food.

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 12:18 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Too much was vot's for dinner. There was this fabulous Grand Trunk Road themed buffet, with dishes starting from A for Afghanistan to W for West Bengal. Gorged myself on chingdi malai curry, kosho mangsho, zafrani chicken biryani and mutton nihari. There were atleast five other items I wanted to sample, but was too full. Tragedy of tragedies, I could not even look at the sumptuous dessert section (also on the same theme).

PS: Forgot to mention - all washed down with some great cabernet.

Was it an iftar party attended by nagas?
-- posted on behalf my guruvu-gaaru.

PS: Gotta do the mangsho this weekend.

PPS: I am disappointed the Grand Trunk Road ended in West Bengal... it should have gone all the way to Dhaka. Then it would have been A to B. And you could have had shorsho-ileesh.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue May 31, 2011 12:30 pm

charvaka wrote:Was it an iftar party attended by nagas?
-- posted on behalf my guruvu-gaaru.

PS: Gotta do the mangsho this weekend.

PPS: I am disappointed the Grand Trunk Road ended in West Bengal... it should have gone all the way to Dhaka. Then it would have been A to B. And you could have had shorsho-ileesh.

Sir, you are slipping. Guruvu gaaru would have asked "Was it a fashion-secular iftar party hosted by CONartists and attended by brilliant nagas"?

Yeah, it's been a while since I had shorshe illeesh. I think last occasion was the magnificent pujo buffet at Oh Calcutta.

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 1:23 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Sir, you are slipping. Guruvu gaaru would have asked "Was it a fashion-secular iftar party hosted by CONartists and attended by brilliant nagas"?

Haha... true. I am losing touch with all that guruvu gaaru has taught me.

by Impedimenta Tue May 31, 2011 1:25 pm

charvaka wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:Too much was vot's for dinner. There was this fabulous Grand Trunk Road themed buffet, with dishes starting from A for Afghanistan to W for West Bengal. Gorged myself on chingdi malai curry, kosho mangsho, zafrani chicken biryani and mutton nihari. There were atleast five other items I wanted to sample, but was too full. Tragedy of tragedies, I could not even look at the sumptuous dessert section (also on the same theme).

PS: Forgot to mention - all washed down with some great cabernet.
Was it an iftar party attended by nagas?
-- posted on behalf my guruvu-gaaru.

PS: Gotta do the mangsho this weekend.

PPS: I am disappointed the Grand Trunk Road ended in West Bengal... it should have gone all the way to Dhaka. Then it would have been A to B. And you could have had shorsho-ileesh.

you and MD, even if you throw in a few human beings into this foodie talk, i wouldn't know. just saying again...but i would ewwww

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 1:29 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Zafran is saffron. Zafrani biryani is probably a persian import - the Grand Trunk Road theme implied this item was from Kashmir.

i know zafran is saffron. "zafran" is the hindi name for "saffron." but i did not know where it came from. kashmir it must be -- they use it a lot in their cuisine.

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 1:33 pm

isn't the more popular name for saffron kesar?

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 1:35 pm

yes it is. but zafran is equally popular. zafrani j/zarda?

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 1:39 pm

wait. i think i am wrong. zafran is not kesar (or saffron! yikes! i'll revert tomorrow)

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 1:51 pm

they are the same. zafran in urdu and kesar in hindi.

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 1:52 pm

Impedimenta wrote:
you and MD, even if you throw in a few human beings into this foodie talk, i wouldn't know. just saying again...but i would ewwww

LOL... good point. One of the first things I learnt from my guruvu gaaru was that eating meat was the first step on a slippery slope towards gobbling up human beings.

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 1:55 pm

[quote="charvaka"]

Merlot Daruwala wrote:PPS: I am disappointed the Grand Trunk Road ended in West Bengal... it should have gone all the way to Dhaka. Then it would have been A to B. And you could have had shorsho-ileesh.

ha ha ha. is that better than an ilish-hilsa or a gobi-gobi on an A to Z scale?

by Hellsangel Tue May 31, 2011 1:57 pm

charvaka wrote: One of the first things I learnt from my guruvu gaaru was that eating meat was the first step on a slippery slope towards gobbling up human beings.

Eating a human being is better than being cruel to a helpless Maltese puppy.

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 2:01 pm

[quote="charvaka"]

Merlot Daruwala wrote:And you could have had shorsho-ileesh.

come to think of it, i don't think you have been eating your ilish. i did not realize this in my post above (that i had made in haste).

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 2:06 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:gobi-gobi

Reminds me... how is jahanpanah, shahanshah, kaiser-e-hind, badshah doing today?

by Hellsangel Tue May 31, 2011 2:07 pm

charvaka wrote:
Reminds me... how is jahanpanah, shahanshah, kaiser-e-hind, badshah doing today?

His sausage might have been barbecued by a complimenting co worker on Memorial day.

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 2:10 pm

charvaka wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:gobi-gobi

Reminds me... how is jahanpanah, shahanshah, kaiser-e-hind, badshah doing today?

we will see. the jahanpanahs are known to be fond of their melons and alus

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 4:54 pm

[quote="Huzefa Kapasi"]

charvaka wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:And you could have had shorsho-ileesh.

come to think of it, i don't think you have been eating your ilish. i did not realize this in my post above (that i had made in haste).

Why do you say that? Because of my bad Bangla grammar?

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 11:05 pm

no, your bangla grammar is very good (as is mine, ha ha ha). but did i read you wrong? you don't have to go to dhaka to taste sorshe ilsh. sorshe ilish is a WB specialty. dhaka would be shorse hilsa.

by charvaka Tue May 31, 2011 11:23 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:no, your bangla grammar is very good (as is mine, ha ha ha). but did i read you wrong? you don't have to go to dhaka to taste sorshe ilsh. sorshe ilish is a WB specialty. dhaka would be shorse hilsa.

Oh, I am just ignorant (and proud of it) when it comes to all things Bangla. So you are very likely right. Besides, my Bangla connection is fake (the wife's family moved to Orissa hundreds of years ago.) I operate on the principle of having just enough knowledge to be dangerous. For instance, I interject into intellectual conversations with the phrase amAr shonAr horin chayi without a clue about the direction of the conversation, just to blend in with the overall high-browed nature of the conversation. That one immediately makes people think I am a real truth seeker -- whether they are talking about the situation of the Venezuelan peasantry or the ever-rising price of mangsho and the attendant decay of Bangla civilization.

by Kris Tue May 31, 2011 11:35 pm

My f-i-l drops the phrase 'Shonar Bangla' every so often while in the company of Bengalis, no matter what the conversation is and there are usually at least a few smiles as a result.

As an aside, I have to admit, this is probably the one group (if I had to engage in a stereotype) that usually has more guys in any party who know more useless trivia than moi Smile

by Guest Tue May 31, 2011 11:51 pm

charvaka wrote: amAr shonAr horin chayi

ha ha ha. in my experience, the oriyas prepare sorshe ilish best. our favourite bengali dhaba is actually an oriya hotal. btw, i just checked sorshe hilsa on google and did not find one result.i suppose even the bangladeshis call it sorshe ilish. it *is* a hindu bengali dish.

by charvaka Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:02 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
charvaka wrote: amAr shonAr horin chayi

ha ha ha. in my experience, the oriyas prepare sorshe ilish best. our favourite bengali dhaba is actually an oriya hotal. btw, i just checked sorshe hilsa on google and did not find one result.i suppose even the bangladeshis call it sorshe ilish. it *is* a hindu bengali dish.

I was given to understand that the dish originated in East Bengal, because the fish lives in the Padma. I heard tales in college about ilish being in high demand after East Bengal victories over Mohun Bagan.

by Guest Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:16 am

you are right. i just checked banglapedia and even in bangladesh, the fish is called ilish. somehow i had the (incorrect) notion that it is called hilsa in bangladesh and ilish in west bengal.

by Guest Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:46 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:.i suppose even the bangladeshis call it sorshe ilish. it *is* a hindu bengali dish.

that is not correct.

by Nila Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:55 am

I skipped dinner and about to make coffee...I am so exhausted after homework...(SAT exams, u know) and cooking and cleaning. I wish someone made coffee for me ...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Life is a hell!

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:44 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:.i suppose even the bangladeshis call it sorshe ilish. it *is* a hindu bengali dish.

that is not correct.

jeez louis!! make up your mind already!

by Guest Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:48 am

yes, lock kardo computerji. Very Happy

ilish = ilish in bengali, hilsa in english
zafran = kesar = saffron
it zafrans mainly in the plains of kashmir.

lock it.

by .|Sublime|. Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:03 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:yes, lock kardo computerji.

ilish = ilish in bengali, hilsa in english
zafran = kesar = saffron
it zafrans mainly in the plains of kashmir.

lock it.

yea yea dont trouble google too much. too bad you do not win anything

by Guest Wed Jun 01, 2011 4:01 am

google?

amma saat pushton se ye gyan carried down ho raha hai meri family me. i periodically go down to the basement to check with my dog-eared manuscripts. google ki aisi taisi.

by Another Brick Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:19 am

charvaka wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:gobi-gobi

Reminds me... how is jahanpanah, shahanshah, kaiser-e-hind, badshah doing today?

shhh... mr J is fasting. he will be back with a bang and a baingan soon.

by Guest Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:19 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:ilish = ilish in bengali, hilsa in english

ewwww.

total reverse helicopter moment. txs to .|Sublime|. for egging me on (by poking a dig at me); i had to do a truthseeker today.

i spoke to a bengali friend. turns out hilsa is a colloquial name for liish. it is more common among the uneducated and in the interiors. the literate class call it ilish though. there is a slight snob factor to calling it ilish (it's like calling kesar...zafran!). i also checked with my wife. in bihar the fish is called hilsa. this matches with the etymological notes in this site:

Whether Ullam, Ulla or Hilsa, it seems the fish got its name from its bony nature.

The root Ul stands for sharp, pointed, spiky etc., in Tamil, Sinhala and Dhivehi (Maldivian). The word is a cognate of Sanskrit / Prakrit Sula and Hula (spike, trident etc). Note how the Bengali, Hilsa (from Hula) and Tamil/Sinhala Ullam and Ulla
are etymologically connected to one another. Also note the similarities
in the word formation shared by Tamil, Sinhala and Maldivian (see
table).

so, in my opinion, ilish is a sanskriticized name for hilsa (hilsa being closer to prakrit). so there is merit in the notion that i had nursed that ilish is more commonly called hilsa in bangladesh.

the name hilsa is also used for taxonomic purposes (i think ilish is considered as one variety of hilsa).

also shorshe ilish might not be a hindu bengali invention (but then it might be for all muslims in this part of the sub continent were once hindus, or tribals). but ilish does have it's pride of place in bengali hindu rituals.

E.O.D. (i hope)

by Another Brick Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:23 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

ewwww. total reverse helicopter moment.

hahaha@reverse helicopter moment.

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