Food Articles
Diwali Snack - Shankarpali
- Details
- Category: Festival Food of India
- Published: Saturday, 22 October 2011 00:00
- Written by Dinesh
- Hits: 8208
 |
Its Diwali time, which means our house gets into the Diwali snacks preparation phase. One of the savory snacks we make every year is the Shankarpali, also called Shankarpara, Namkeen, Tukdi and many other terms across the country. Shankarpali is a deep fried snack in the shape of a diamond. Shankarpali is made from a dough of ghee, maida, semolina and salt. The mixture is made into dough and then mechanically cut into diamond shaped units which are deep fried in Ghee or Butter. |
Tips and Lessons Learnt Growing Okra in the Backyard
- Details
- Category: Gardening Articles
- Published: Sunday, 02 September 2012 00:00
- Written by Dinesh
- Hits: 14561
 |
Okra (or Bhindi as its called in India) is a very popular vegetable in India. This year decided to grow Okra again because we had a good yield last year. I asked a few friends and they recommended some herbs like basil & mint and also Okra. They said Okra is easy to grow and requires little maintenance overhead. Since we love Okra I decided to give it a shot and for the most part I was successful in growing it and also cooked a couple of dishes but not before we learnt a few lessons which I thought would make for some good reading. 1. Spacing of the Okra Plants - The instructions said to plant the seeds about 12-24 inches apart (but who reads instructions) and I must have planted them 6-8 inches apart. Not a big deal, or so it looked like for the first few weeks but once they grew big, I realized my mistake. You can see from the pictures the all of plants are bunched close together and its quite messy. Plant your seeds about 18 inches apart or better yet, read the instructions. 2. Harvest / Pick Everyday - After about 7-8 weeks, you will start seeing the first signs of the Okra pods (which was super exciting) but I had no idea when to pick them and so we let them grow and grow (and grow they did). Some got to about 6-7 inches and I decided to read instructions (you are seeing a pattern here) and realized that its probably best to pick them when they are between 2-3 inches long. You will be surprised how fast they grow so you have to look at your plants everyday or 2 days at the very max. I have probably lost half my harvest because I was too late. You need to go look at your Okra plant everyday. |
3. Okra plants are very itchy - I wish this was in the instructions (which I would have read after 2 lessons learnt). Yes, Okra plants are very very itchy. Sometimes just touching one leaf can give you a pretty strong itch. Given how close our plants were, I had to move some leaves and dig in to pick the Okra and I got a strong itch which lasted a few hours (a little Cortizone cream and a wash helped). Given that its summer time, most of us would not wear long sleeves, but please wear long sleeved shirts or gloves and make sure your face does not touch it. This is probably the most important tip. Okra plants are very itchy, so make sure you are well covered.
4. Okra plants are very generous - Once the plants grow and the pods start to form, you will be amazed how much Okra you will get. With about 4 plants, we could harvest enough in a week to make something with it.
Lesser known facts about Okra :
- Gumbo is Swahili for okra.
- It also also called Lady's finger in some countries.
- Okra seeds may be roasted and ground to form a caffeinate-free substitute for coffee.
Overall, its been fun growing Okra this summer. I never had a Green thumb but I certainly do have an itchy thumb now.
Disclaimer : I am not a farmer or claim to be any expert on growing Okra or any other vegetables for that matter.
Read more: Tips and Lessons Learnt Growing Okra in the Backyard
Traditional Indian Stone Grinder - Ragado
- Details
- Category: Traditional Indian Cooking Techniques
- Published: Wednesday, 08 June 2011 00:00
- Written by Dinesh
- Hits: 15464
We are a fairly lucky generation as we have access to modern tools, technology and round the clock electricity (or at least most of us do). Our modern kitchens are therefore equipped with gadgets such as grinders, microwaves, ovens, griddles, toasters....you get the drift. My grandparents and the generation before them were not so fortunate and had to rely on hand operated tools and gadgets in the kitchen. One of the kitchen "appliances" my family used was the "Ragado" (that's what we call it in our native Konkani language). The Ragado or a stone grinder consisted of two heavy stones just like a mortar and pestle but really big (as you can see in the video above). The Ragado has been passed down through the generations and one of the them is still in our home. My mother does not use it as often as she used to and relies more on the electric mixers for her day-to-day needs but she says that the batter made in the Ragado is much better than any machine can make. Electric version of this are available in India now, so one does not have to learn the skill. The old-school Ragado will die with this generation so we thought it would be good to capture it on film. |
British Curry Awards 2012
- Details
- Category: Indian Food Events
- Published: Saturday, 03 November 2012 00:00
- Written by Dinesh
- Hits: 9533
 |
The awards, now in their eighth year, have become the countrys main showcase for the £3.5bn a year curry industry. The winners of the British Curry Awards 2012 will be announced at the Battersea Evolution, London, on Monday 26th November at a black tie gala dinner. Be prepared to be amazed. |
This year, the UK audience will be swelled by the over 2.5 million curry lovers with the help of our partners and associates. It will be first time ever record breaking number of nominations expected to be received. The British Curry Awards is the pioneer in this industry and even our Prime Minister David Cameron dubbed the ‘Curry Oscars and ‘uplifting & inspiring evening the British Curry Awards really is in his video message and when he attended the awards dinner in 2009 remained the gold standard, and the biggest night of the year for the near 100,000 people involved in the industry.
Alongside the usual categories, there will be one new one this year - Best Delivery Restaurant/Takeaway. This will be open to restaurants that are takeaways only and also those restaurants that offer a home delivery service. This category will be judged on a nation-wide basis. There will also be the usual high level guests and presenters and a quality programme of entertainment.Subcategories
Global Cuisine
History of Popular Indian Kebabs
In this section of our website, we will try and uncover the stories behind some of the popular kebabs available today. Many kebabs have interesting stories about their origins, many of which relate to royalty.
Mumbai Street Foods
Mumbai is one of the greatest cities in the world and thousands move into the city everyday. Over the history of the city, these immigrants have had tremendous influence on the food of the city. You can find all kinds of cuisine in Mumbai but there are some things that are very Mumbai in nature and this section of the website tries to look at the food items that define Mumbai. Having spent my early life in Mumbai, the thought of many of these items make my mouth drool. Many of these items are now available elsewhere but there's no better place than the streets of Mumbai to have this.
We hope you enjoy this new section and if you have any ideas on things to add, please let us know.