Comments on: Namaste! Welcome to my kitchen!

Namaste! Welcome to my kitchen!

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:18:50 -0800

Never had an Indian mom? You poor, deprived wretch! Meet Manjula.
She'll be happy to teach you to make Naan, Rotis, Pani Puri, Vegetable Pakoras, Paneer, Raita, Navattran Korma, Palak Paneer, Pulav, Malai Kofta, Aloo Gobi, Chana Masala, Hari Chutney, Ras Malai, Gajar ka Halwa and much more! I can... almost... smell her kitchen. *sigh*

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:24:19 -0800

omg.

By: Acari

Acari — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:25:21 -0800

I use these recipes all the time! Everything is soooo tasty and simpler than it looks. I heart you, Manjula.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:31:08 -0800

Resolution for 2009: live on fabulously tasty, nutritious and very inexpensive Indian food. Everyone wins!

By: jabberjaw

jabberjaw — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:36:21 -0800

Mmm ... mint julep.

By: troy

troy — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:42:08 -0800

Naan. When I was there Samrat in Tokyo had the best lunch special with all-you-can-eat fresh naan out of the oven curry lunch specials. I've got a crock pot that makes awesome Chicken curry but the nan at Trader Joe's rather sucks so I'm all over this . . . ✓Yogurt ✓Butter ✓Yeast ✓Pizza stone frack, need a rolling pin!

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:49:02 -0800

Do you know that Pillsbury makes Naan? Do you know why? Did I do something wrong?

By: divabat

divabat — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:59:15 -0800

I miss my mummy and my aunties :(

By: Science!

Science! — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:04:27 -0800

Good post. I have spent a lot of hours watching her videos. For those interested, they're all vegetarian and most are vegan.

By: Science!

Science! — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:06:42 -0800

Oh, and I recommend browsing through YouTube because her site tends to take a long time to load, though it does have good photos and recipe info.

By: ericb

ericb — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:09:04 -0800

Mmmm...Naan.

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:18:02 -0800

omg. Concurrence.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:25:08 -0800

I had not seen this; thanks for posting it!

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:27:33 -0800

Manjula's lessons are among those things that make me think, yes, this is why the internet is so great.

By: shoebox

shoebox — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:36:37 -0800

I have an Indian mom! And in my younger, brasher days I used to pester her all the time while she was in the kitchen. One day she finally agreed to let me help her make chappattis as long as I didn't interfere much and kept my self under control. I was delighted. She brought out her large container of dough rolls she had previously made and I set to work with a rolling pin. By the time I had one down flat, she had four already cooked and two more on the pan =O. Fun times.

By: notquitemaryann

notquitemaryann — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:46:57 -0800

Aw, I love Manjula! She's helped me improve so much over the past several months. My favorites are probably her dal makhani, and the potato curry with yogurt gravy, but everything is delicious.

By: gomichild

gomichild — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:55:46 -0800

Oh wow! I'm just in an Indian cooking phase right now too! *dabs some powdered cardamom behind her ears to get in the mood*

By: 1adam12

1adam12 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:40:11 -0800

I didn't have an Indian mom, but I did learn how to cook some Indian dishes on my own. On the other hand, I was allowed to date in high school and choose my own major in college, so I still say advantage: me.

By: mattholomew

mattholomew — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:07:38 -0800

Imagine the outrage if this had been about a western mom.

By: gman

gman — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:16:23 -0800

Imagine the outrage if this had been about a western mom. Stouffer's doesn't really require video instruction.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:41:52 -0800

I thought this was going to be a joke site (like rent-a-negro), where you could rent an Indian mother to browbeat you and do all the things Indian mothers are notorious for doing to their children (which is honestly not that different from most cultures, no matter what Russell Peters says). Still, this is way cool. Someone tell me when she teaches you how to make baingan bharta. That's my girlfriend's favorite.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:42:48 -0800

Western mom? Like Arizona? You fixing up some rattlesnacks? Save the skin, I'm making boots.

By: nomisxid

nomisxid — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:27:08 -0800

I'll need yeast, yogurt, pizza stone, and rolling pin. To start.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:38:13 -0800

I would gladly drown myself in Raita for the chance to eat myway out. ahhhahahaaahhh.

By: sveskemus

sveskemus — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:38:36 -0800

I love this.

By: middleclasstool

middleclasstool — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:45:59 -0800

omg. Concurrence. Strong re-emphasis via not-very-amusing fake anecdote about vigorous favoriting that resulted in mouse damage.

By: the cydonian

the cydonian — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:25:38 -0800

This is strangely serendiptious, given that I had _just_ discovered some heavenly Bengali/ Bangladeshi food at the now-extremely-colourful Lembu Road, just off the perennially fascinating Little India district in Singapore. I'm thinking of it as a Bangladeshi enclave within a bigger, south-Indian-oriented Little India. There's haleem, a Bangladeshi-version of the kichidi but with meat, mashed dal made out of sweet potato and lots lots more. Something to die for. _drooooools_

By: blixco

blixco — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:59:04 -0800

This is fantastic. Better than fantastic.

By: euphorb

euphorb — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:03:45 -0800

I've got a crock pot that makes awesome Chicken curry but the nan at Trader Joe's rather sucks so I'm all over this . . . The frozen naan at Trader Joe's is excellent. Melt some butter and you're in heaven.

By: ms.jones

ms.jones — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:18:25 -0800

judging by the number of favorites, i feel confident in saying you've done a nice job with this post.

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:08:37 -0800

Already after watching just a few of these, they look to be the gold of internet video content, which speaks to both the absolute awesomeness of Indian food and the frustrating difficulty of learning to cook it for yourself if you didn't grow up cooking in an Indian kitchen. There are just all these things the cookbooks are not telling me, and at my best I seem limited to producing tasty food made with the same ingredients that is not entirely unlike Indian food. These videos may change that, because I already noticed some things she does to make palak paneer that I didn't know to do, and I've been trying for about 4 years now. Her end result looks more like the restaurant versions I've enjoyed the most. What I can make nowadays actually is similar to what I've had at a few places but didn't like nearly as much as other versions. If there is also a Chinese series like this somewhere, I may owe the internet my first-born child.

By: jocelmeow

jocelmeow — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:27:58 -0800

I'm with you, Tehanu. I started out about 15 years ago by staining most of the pages in my copy of Yamuna Devi's phone-book sized _Lord Krishna's Cuisine_, and even I'm learning from these videos. Like Devi's recipes, the lack of onion and garlic is sort of a bummer, but I know where they go and can add them. Great post, AV!

By: Foosnark

Foosnark — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:06:53 -0800

nice find!

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:12:39 -0800

mmmmmmm...naan.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:35:54 -0800

For anyone curious about why she doesn't use ANY onions or garlic. From her FAQ, and an expanded explanation of rajasic and tamasic foods.

By: exhilaration

exhilaration — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:51:46 -0800

Very interesting, Ambrosia. It should be pointed out that Garlic and onion are avoided by spiritual adherents because they stimulate the central nervous system, and can disturb vows of celibacy. Garlic is a natural aphrodisiac. *adds garlic to shopping list*

By: HotToddy

HotToddy — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:04:56 -0800

I heart Manjula! And how about that, cooking shows that are entertaining and informative without gratuitous soft-porn closeups of the cook's buzzies.

By: rtha

rtha — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:14:11 -0800

omg. Concurrence. Strong re-emphasis via not-very-amusing fake anecdote about vigorous favoriting that resulted in mouse damage. Yes. Although I will be adding garlic and onions.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:43:53 -0800

I heart Manjula! And how about that, cooking shows that are entertaining and informative without gratuitous soft-porn closeups of the cook's buzzies. Bears repeating.

By: rossination

rossination — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:08:17 -0800

I love things like this, where the cook is using department-store pots and pans, an electric stove, generic brand chickpeas, etc. Mark Bittman does this too, a bit -- his "studio kitchen" for the NY Times videos is nice, certainly, but he doesn't have a fancy gas stove or expensive knives. There needs to be more stuff like this on the Food Network. Not that I don't love Mario Batali or (even) Rachael Ray, but people need to realize that you don't need to drop $150 on a Le Crueset dutch oven (much as I love mine) to make a soup, for instance. I've never been a big fan of Indian food, but I will certainly give some of these a try! Thanks!

By: infini

infini — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:25:12 -0800

the best part of traveling the world is coming home. mom's in the kitchen cooking dinner. stir fry chilli chicken boneless and parathas *quits whining about her mother, realizes she's the envy of the interwebs ;p*

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:32:55 -0800

I love things like this, where the cook is using department-store pots and pans, an electric stove, generic brand chickpeas, etc. My favorite cooking show as a kid was the Cajun guy who cooked stuff that was pretty no-nonsense, all while telling you some story or other.

By: selfnoise

selfnoise — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:44:03 -0800

Thanks a ton for this post! We made the potato yogurt curry tonight and it was really delicious. I think I might try some of the dessert recipes for a little bit of something new during the holiday season.

By: goshling

goshling — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:47:07 -0800

I often say that everyone should have an Indian granny. My daughter has a close friend who has an Indian granny at home and she spends a lot of time over there after school, allegedly doing homework, but also eating lots of awesome Indian food and being fussed over by Indian granny. My daughter doesn't have any grandparents, so she gets to bask in a little bit of grandparental nurturing from Lal's Indian granny. I wish I had an Indian granny. I should ask Lal's Indian granny to give my daughter cooking lessons!

By: contessa

contessa — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:33:18 -0800

I've been a Manjula fan for a while. You can tell the woman really cooks with love. Whenever I'm feeling stressed out or annoyed, I settle back and watch some Manjula and everything in the world seems OK again.

By: hardboiled

hardboiled — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:12:49 -0800

Om nom nom nom

By: infini

infini — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:48:06 -0800

do I know you hardboiled?

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:17:26 -0800

Wow. Manjula is the internet's aunt. Can I say that? It all looks so deliciously loving and lovingly delicious! I need a pizza stone, too.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:26:38 -0800

Aloo Gobi ...from the DVD extras from Bend It Like Beckham SERVES 8 (change servings and units) * 1/4 cup vegetable oil * 1 large onion, peeled and cut into small pieces * 1 bunch fresh coriander, separated into stalks and leaves and roughly chopped * 1 small green chilies, chopped into small pieces (or one teaspoon chili powder) * 1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths * 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even pieces * 2 cans diced tomatoes * fresh ginger, peeled and grated * fresh garlic, chopped * 1 teaspoon cumin seed * 2 teaspoons turmeric * 1 teaspoon salt * 2 teaspoons garam masala Directions 1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan. 2. Add the chopped onion and one teaspoon of cumin seeds to the oil. 3. Stir together and cook until onions become creamy, golden, and translucent. 4. Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt. 5. Add chopped chillis (according to taste) Stir tomatoes into onion mixture. 6. Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly. 7. Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn't stick to the saucepan). 8. Ensure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce. 9. Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked). 10. Add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir. 11. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry. 12. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving. (if it's runny, leave it on the heat)

By: bluefly

bluefly — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:02:17 -0800

Found this because of the podcast. These are really great. I wish there was a South Indian equivalent of Manjula. I think I'm going to film my mom cooking sometime and put those up on YouTube.

By: infini

infini — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:32:17 -0800

http://www.mahadevanramesh.com/Articles/ramesh40.html http://www.south-indian-recipes.com/index.html