Pakoras, Samosas and More

(Photo by kk+)

There’s nothing like tasty Indian snacks to get a party going. Not a surprise, I’m sure, to you or anyone else who’s been within sniffing distance of a samosa or pakora.

Learn how to make these delicously dunkable treats and chutneys to go with them at Tahia Lameer‘s class about Indian appetizers and chutneys on Sunday, April 29, in Los Angeles. For more information, see the class menu below and visit Tahia’s Kitchen online.

Samosa stuff:
The Samosa Diaspora
“An orbifold with just three cone points looks like a samosa.”
The Samosas Spot

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Get The Door. It’s Aasif.

It seems our man Mandvi has a nose for pizza. Seen this?

Venti News For India

Starbucks.Com

American coffee colossus Starbucks is headed to India.

Talks are currently underway for the chain to open up shop there by year’s-end.

The company operates just under 13,000 outlets worldwide and is looking to expand to Bangalore.

While chai culture might still dominate, the consumption of coffee is on the rise in India (a whopping 80 thousand tons worth of beans were consumed there last year alone). “The growth is coming mainly from coffee bars mushrooming all over the country and more young people drinking coffee,” says Hamid Ashraff, the managing director of Tata Coffee, India’s largest coffee producer.

Tandoori Sizzlers? OK.

Doritos Tandoori Sizzlers have made it to British and Canadian grocery stores apparently—and the commercials promoting them are now everywhere:

More YouTube Clips:
Doritos “Bold”
Doritos “Exotic”

Burger King To Have It Y(Our) Way

HinduOnNet.Com

American fast food world domination continues as Burger King looks to enter the Indian market.

A report out today suggests Ravi Jaipuria, (a franchisee for Pizza Hut and KFC) is in talks with the company about expanding.

If true, Burger King would join Domino’s, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s (among others) in its fight for a slice of the desi market.

The “home of the Whopper” has taken its time with the move however, and is seen as a relative latecomer (KFC has been on Indian soil for over twelve years now).

The news will be disappointing to food activists and others concerned about the growing obesity problem in India. NPR’s All Things Considered recently took a look at the emerging issue of “urban, middle-class obesity, especially among children.” The segment is available online.

More:
Mickey Dee’s home in India and its vegan menu offerings

Avial Fo’ Real

Padamadan (video.webindia123.com)

At under five minutes each, Judy Padamadan’s videos offer a brief introduction to many dishes from Kerala, including Urulakkizhangu Ulli Theeyal and sweet Kozhukatta for the uninitiated among us, and straightforward instruction for the more culinarily inclined. Now that I know what avial is (the delicious-looking vegetable dish featured in the video clip above), I would love to try it.

Padamadan is an enthusiast for the cuisines of Kerala and the midwestern U.S. She came to the U.S. from India with her parents when she was a year old. During summer trips to visit her grandparents in Kerala she would spend time with cooks in the kitchen. Back in the states her childhood cuisine was her mom’s “very creative fusion of American, Italian and Indian.” She attended the New England Culinary Institute and has worked as a line cook and food consultant.

More:
Judy Padamadan My Story
Index to 35+ recipes/videos

Patel Bros. Gets Market Makeover

(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)

Patel Brothers grocery is #17 on this year’s Saveur 100, an annual list of “favorite restaurants, food, drink, people, places and things” compiled by the food and travel magazine’s editors.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Patel Brothers flagship store, opened in 1974 on Devon Avenue, is getting a face-lift. What started out as a single family-owned grocery store has expanded into a food empire with 34 Patel Brothers stores in 18 states, and a brand that is carried in some Chicago locations of Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Jewel.

Shoppers will still be able to get those 20-lb bags of chickpea flour and the other traditional staples. Once the makeover is complete, they should also have access to the store’s new features, “a takeout area with prepared entrees and breads, a wider variety of frozen and ready-to-eat items and a pickle bar — much like the olive bar you’d find at Whole Foods.” A cooking demo counter will offer daily samples.

More:
Patel Brothers Grocery, 1984

Beyond the Buffet

KiransHouston.Com

Zagat calls it Houston’s Best New Restaurant of 2006.

Modern Luxury magazine says the currant-fig chutney will prove this is “not your normal curry house.”

We say: in a town with its fair share of Indian restaurants, “Kiran’s” stands out for all the right reasons.

Owner-slash-executive chef Kiran Verma’s culinary roots and training might lie in tradition (the Sheraton New Delhi) but her commitment to the experimental is clear (four words: Curried Venison Osso Bucco).

In Houston, desi fare has historically been relegated to suburban stripmalls, but Kiran’s brings upscale Indian dining downtown.

Critics praise the cilantro-shot aloo gobi, find the pulao “astonishingly fluffy, each grain hyperdistinct” and suggest capping things off with the saffron, pistachio and cardamom-infused crème brûlée trio.

The restaurant hosts dining events—like this Wednesday’s ‘Scottish Fare With Indian Flair.’ Go here to make a reservation.

Filmi Food

Samosas (The Hindu Online)

Quick – what’s the world’s most popular movie theater food? If you guessed popcorn, you’re wrong. According to this video clip from ABC World News Tonight, it’s more than likely a desi snack like samosa or papdi chat. While this segment highlights the culinary offerings at a Bollywood movie night in a suburban New Jersey theater, we at Nirali wonder if the trend might not cross over and become standard fare at theaters serving areas with large South Asian populations. What do you think?

Chicken Tikka Pizza To Go?

Chicken tikka pizza (Chris Duffey)

The East Bay Express has praise for Fremont, California’s Mirchi Cafe & Masala Pizza, a two-year-old Italian-American-Indo-Pakistani eatery.

The recipe for that perfect crust comes from Lisa Ahmad’s grandfather, who had a talent for pizza making. Born Lisa Lucia, an Italian-American who grew up working in her family’s local restaurant, where she met co-worker and future husband Khursheed Ahmad, she was inspired to obtain a culinary degree and pursue a restaurant career.

When she was ready to open her own place in 2004, she “grafted Indian and Pakistani flavors onto the Italian-American food she grew up with. And she tried to re-create the simple restaurant dishes she tasted on twice-yearly trips to Pakistan with her husband.” In addition to its pizzas, Mirchi offers desi style Chinese (Pakistani-style Chinese stir-fries) and desi burgers (the Lahori beef and Punjabi chicken).

Related:
Zante Pizza & Indian Cuisine
Uttapam