"indian cuisine" news and stories

Schnitzel. Photo: c(h)ristine, Flickr

• Brauhaus Schmitz revitalizes Philly's German food with 20 German beers on tap and hearty fare.
• Looking into just what makes one of those well-stained and cherished cookbooks.
• Pizzeria Stella is "economical, accessible and open late" while dishing serious pies, plus Tiffin Etc.'s Indian pizzas.
• A chat with Guy Savoy, "famous French toque and longtime Georges Perrier pal."
• Le Grand pestos are gaining cult status.
• Philly restaurant news.
• Recipes: Bacon-Wrapped Pork Cutlets, Leek "Noodles" With Beurre Noir.

Wow. All I can say when I look at Meena's Chilli Paneer on her blog Hooked on Heat is "wow." Sometimes I wonder if in a previous lifetime I was an Indian princess (not just Indian, but a princess!) because the spices, flavors and ingredients of Indian cuisine give me shivers like no other. Aside from the fact that this dish is absolutely glisteningly gorgeous in the photo, I was totally taken by how long, er rather, short the preparation time is. Meena sears the Indian cottage cheese cubes (which, to me, have a texture similar to a crumbly tofu) in oil, then basically stir fries them with onions, garlic, and chili peppers. The dark color comes, oddly enough, from soy sauce.

I am not shy about my obsession with Indian food, and today is no exception. When I'm in a restaurant or ordering in, I almost always order palak paneer. I say "almost" because sometimes, it's called "saag paneer." Either way, the dish is a curry made of spinach and lightly sauteed cubes of paneer, a fresh Indian cheese. Hooked on Heat has made palak paneer at home and the photo makes me want to dive into my laptop screen with a giant piece of naan. As delicious as it looks, it seems that it's not overly complicated to make, though it does require a bit of time to make the cheese.

Other bloggers make palak/saag paneer:
Mahanandi
Food, in the Main
SaiLu's Food

I've been trying to force myself out of my chicken tikka masala rut at Indian restaurants. I tried and loved the spiciness of a lamb frankie, bindhi masala (okra), and even some creamy daal (lentils).

Sev puri are small, deep-fried wheat-based crackers or bread (puri) covered with sev, a chickpea based noodle that has also been deep-fried. Sev puri are considered a type of chaat, which refer to small savory snacks that are served from street carts all over India. Puri, which are the crackers, can be topped with a number of fillings to create different kinds of chaat. Bhel puri are filled with puffed rice, pani puri has potatoes, chickpeas, and a number of chutneys on top, and dahi puri is about the same, except with a yogurt sauce.

Normally, the words "food porn," conjure images of decadent desserts, soft, sultry, totally sexy sweets oozing with chocolate and frosting, dressed in nothing more than a dollop of whipped cream, and perhaps a few berries that have toppled off onto the plate in the haste to get to the...table.

But food porn isn't just desserts; it's anything that makes my eyes widen and mouth salivate when I look at it, like a couple of pieces of thick, fluffy, puffy, soft and chewy, charred-in-all-the-right-places naan stuffed with sweet onions. I've had garlic naan many times before. Onion naan was my first time. I might, just might, not ever go back to garlic naan again.