Comments on: The First Indian Food I Ever Made: Rogan Josht

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 04:17:31 +0000

I lived in Huntington for about eight years. I first went to college at Marshall, then moved away and went to Ohio U here in Athens. There were many years in between, though.

I prefer it here in Athens.

Glad you are liking the blog–come back anytime!

By: Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 04:03:46 +0000

I didn’t know that you lived in Huntington. I grew up there, though I haven’t lived there in 12 years. I am really enjoying reading through your blog.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 04:19:03 +0000

I remember that post, Brett–you did the Brahmin version with asafoetida in it, as opposed to my Pakistani Muslim version!

You know–I really like the smell of asafoetida–I don’t know why everyone else seems to think it smells bad. It is a homey smell–strong, pungent, yes, but not bad. But then, I like the residual smell of garlic on my fingertips, so what do I know, anyway?

By: Brett

Brett — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 03:47:18 +0000

Hi my fellow Sumeet-loving friend! I don't know if you caught my Kashmiri posts in December. I also made Rogan Josh largely based on one of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. You can read it here. I like the idea of cooking it in a pressure cooker. I was just looking at pressure cookers today in the store, largely because you are always mentioning how much you like yours. If it works half as well as a Sumeet, I'll be happy. Take care!

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:48:29 +0000

Glad you liked the story, Sher–it was a big step for me to cook Indian food before ever tasting it.

Ashwini–I am learning more about the foods of Goa, and some about the vegetarian foods of the Vaishaiva Hindus. They have a beautiful vegetarian cuisine that has delicious recipes–I think that if I ate mostly Chinese and Indian foods, I could be mostly a vegetarian without feeling deprived of anything.

But I am still learning, and having a good time doing it! And someday, I do hope to see India. I still long to see the Taj Mahal in person, because when I was a child, it was my favorite building in the world. To me, there was no place more beautiful. I remember my mother gave me an alabaster carved miniature of it for Christmas one year, and it was my prized possession for many, many years.

Sadly, it was broken and lost long ago in a very bad situation. But that was how much I had longed to visit India, that I would look at that carving for years and dream.

A strange thing for a little girl to dream of, I suppose, but I was probably just an odd child.

Hello, Ashley!

I am sad to hear that the market in Huntington is not that great, though good baklava almost makes up for the market’s deficits.

And an Indian restaurant, too? That is wonderful! We even have one here in Athens, and it is pretty good, but not perfect.