# We are having guests who want hindi, any suggestions?



## Lugaru (Jan 25, 2005)

I think the guest is bringing some lamb for me to make it into curry and well I have fresh yogurt, mint and cucomber for some raita and also Im thinking of making potato & carrot dumplings. 

Any recomendations as for aditional side dishes? Any recipies or ideas?


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## htc (Jan 25, 2005)

How about some basmati rice or some sort of flat bread to go with the lamb? I pulled these two recipes from this link: http://www.indianfoodsco.com/Recipes/PlainRice/IndianRice.htm
I've never tried it, but both look yummy.

Festive Spiced Rice -  Rajasthani Pilau (Rajasthan)
 Ingredients:
Serves: 4-6
2 1/2 cups long grain rice
3 tablespoons ghee or oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced 
2 sticks cinnamon
6 cardamom pods, bruised 
6 whole cloves
10 whole black pepper
4 cups hot stock or water 
Salt to taste 
Method:
If the rice needs washing, wash well in several changes of cold water and leave to soak for 1 hour. Then drain in a colander for at least 30 minutes.
Heat ghee or oil in a large, heavy saucepan and fry the sliced onion with the cinnamon, cardamoms, black pepper and cloves until the onions are golden, stirring frequently so that they brown evenly. Add the rice and fry for about 3 minutes, then pour in the stock or water. Add the salt and stir well while bringing quickly to the boil. Turn heat very low, cover tightly and cook without lifting lid for 25 minutes. Uncover, allow steam to escape for a few minutes, remove whole spices.
Serve hot with curry.

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Rice with Peas - Mattar Pilau   (Uttar Pradesh) 
 Ingredients:
Serves: 4-5
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 tablespoon ghee
4 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
3 or 4 cardamom pods, bruised
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 
1 1/2cups shelled green peas and diced carrots 
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/4 cups hot water 

Wash the rice well and leave to soak in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain well. Heat the ghee in a heavy saucepan and fry the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods and cumin seeds, for 1 minute. Add turmeric and rice and stir over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add peas/carrots, salt and hot water. Bring quickly to the boil, then turn heat very low, cover with a well-fitting lid and cook for 25-30 minutes without lifting lid or stirring. Uncover at end of cooking time to allow steam to escape for about 3 minutes. Remove whole spices, fork rice grains lightly and serve hot with meat or vegetable curries.


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## buckytom (Jan 25, 2005)

one of my favorite breads is called aloo paratha. it's a naan bread stuffed with spiced potatoes, kind of like small diced home fries with some cilantro inside a pita. i don't have a recipe now; will look for one to post tomorrow.


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## Lugaru (Jan 26, 2005)

Thanks for the recipies HTC! Turns out I didint really get a sous chef (my roomie was sick as a dog and his g.f. was looking after him) so since I was tackling it alone I just did the lamb, curry, dumplings and raita. 

The lamb our guest brought was beautiful though, very tender and fresh rib chops which I ended up just searing and steaming so they ended up super tender and somewhat rare. 

Oh yeah, the other thing is that the reason the guy came over was to try my buffalo chicken wontons so I ended up making a bunch of those too. Go fig, hehe.


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## PA Baker (Jan 26, 2005)

Lugaru, can you please post the recipe for your buffalo chicken wontons?


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## Lugaru (Jan 26, 2005)

PA Baker said:
			
		

> Lugaru, can you please post the recipe for your buffalo chicken wontons?



No prob, I put it in Appetizers and Hors D'oeuvres since you asked for it.


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## GB (Jan 26, 2005)

That dinner sounds delicious Lugaru!

I am going to move this thread to the Ethnic section of the board.


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## Darkstream (Jan 27, 2005)

I am interested as to why someone asked for "Hindi".

As far as I have allways been aware, Hindi is the lingua franca for the Indian part of the Indian subcontinent.

It is a bit like BBC English, understood by everybody who speaks English, even if they cannot speak it very well themselves. It is/was designed so that people who naturally speak Kutchi, Bengali, Gujaratti, and so on could communicate in a common language.

Just like peple who speak Gaelic, Welsh, Yorkshire, Lancastrian, or even E**_S**_S**_E**_X ( 'Oi !  'AWRIGHT??? OR WHAT???) can have a common means of communication.

So does "Hindi" have a different meaning where you are, and if so what is it?


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## Yakuta (Jan 28, 2005)

Darkstream you are well informed.  Hindi is a language, the word Hindu refers to people who follow Hinduism (religion) and either one of the terms have  little in common with the cuisine.  

I hope your clarification has helped the initial poster and others understand the difference.


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## buckytom (Jan 28, 2005)

here is a recipe for the aloo paratha. i have not made it, but it looks very close to what i order from my fav local indian restaurant.

Aloo Paratha
Potato-Filled Flat Bread
To make a dough, mix in a shallow, flat bowl or pan: 
2 1/4 cups Indian whole wheat flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
Add: 
about 3/4 cup warm water (enough to make a bread-like dough) 
Cover and set aside: 
To make the stuffing, boil, peel, and mash: 
3 large potatoes (about 3 cups) 
Add: 
3/4 cup onion, finely chopped 
3 Tablespoons fresh coriander leaves (cilantro), finely chopped 
1 1/2 Tablespoons cumin/coriander powder 
1 1/2 teaspoon salt 
3/4 teaspoon garam masala 
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper powder, or to taste 
Method I: To form the paratha, make 18 equal-sized balls of dough. Using all-purpose white flour as needed, roll out 2 of the balls into 5" rounds until about 1/4 inch thick. Place about 2-3 Tablespoons of the filling on one round, and cover with the other. Press gently around the eges, then carefully roll out the paratha until about 1/4" thick and 6 1/2" wide altogether. 
Method II: You can also form the paratha by dividing the dough into 9 equal parts. Roll out each part until about 10" wide and 1/4" thick. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling in the center, and gather the dough circle up around the filling, drawing the dough up to a sealed point at the top. Fold over the point and flatten the dough into a thick patty. Roll out carefully until about 1/4 inch thick and 6 1/2" wide. 
To sauté the paratha, preheat a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil for the first paratha only. Put in one paratha and paint the top surface with about 1/4 teaspoon oil. Flip and paint the second side. Continue to flip the paratha frequently, pressing with a spatula on any unbrowned areas until browned all over on both sides. Remove from the pan and repeat with the other parathas until all are cooked. Serve topped with ghee or plain yogurt. 
Category Breads 
Servings Makes 9 Serving Size 1 
Calories 143 Protein 4 g 
Fat 1.6 g Carbohydrates 13 g


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## kitchenelf (Jan 28, 2005)

Darkstream - it's probably just a mistake - like asking someone if they are Scottish.


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## Lugaru (Jan 28, 2005)

Darkstream said:
			
		

> I am interested as to why someone asked for "Hindi".
> 
> As far as I have allways been aware, Hindi is the lingua franca for the Indian part of the Indian subcontinent.
> 
> ...



Thanks, it does have a different meaning where Im from but again it's wrong when translated. Basically asking for hindi food would be me translating directly from how people would say it in spanish, which in their case would also be wrong but it's what they are acustomed to. 

So indian is the term?


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## buckytom (Jan 29, 2005)

i would think indian, if it's from the subcontinent directly, or more generally southern asian.


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## quidscribis (Feb 4, 2005)

India, the name of the country, is Hind in Hindi, the language, (I've watched far too many Hindi movies!) so it becomes easier to understand where the original Hindi request came from.  On the other hand, if the request was in Spanish, it's also possible, perhaps even likely, that it's a matter of translation as well.

If you're talking generally southern Asian food, you wouldn't call it Indian - that would be incorrect.  Sure, India is a part of south Asia, but so are the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and the cuisine is not the same or even remotely similar by any stretch of the imagination from one place to another.  Heck, Indian food varies wildly from state to state, and Sri Lankan food varies wildly from one part of the country to another.  And to call Sri Lankan food Indian, for example, would be taken as an insult by a Sri Lankan.


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## Darkstream (Feb 4, 2005)

OK. I think I see what has happened.

Hindi may well be the word used in Spanish for “Indian”.  And a direct translation
from Spanish into English would use that word, instead of the generic and colloquial
English word “Indian”, which is still loosely used today in British English to describe
people and things from the WHOLE of the Indian subcontinent. This is no doubt a
hangover from the fact that it was all governed and exploited by the British East India
Company for centuries, and this word has stuck. This is confusing at times, becuse
this word exists alongside “Pakistani” and “Bangladeshi” which identify specific
nations in the area. “Indian” is also capable of having the meaning of refering
specificaly to India.

Asking for an “Indian” is more like asking for a curry. Becuase there are at least 5
distinct regional cooking styles in India alone, not to mention Bangladesh and
Pakistan.

So asking for an Indian is a bit like an Indian asking for a Europen meal, without
making any distiction as between France, Italy, Germany, England etc.

And in restaurants most places, what you will actually get is Bangladeshi or a
Bangladeshi version of some other nation or regions dish.

English as a language is capable of extremely precise and subtle differentiations of
meaning. But it is now so widely spoken that it’s use may cause confusion and
missunderstanding when the same word has two significantly different and location
specific meanings.


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## buckytom (Feb 4, 2005)

ain't it great tho?


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