Revelations in the wake of a trip to Little India

[muckefuck]

• Cashew chicken is a lot better when made with cashews. Who knew? I mean, it's not that monshu's previous walnut-based version sucked or anything, but the sauce simply didn't get all creamy and thick like it did this time. Where is the ready resource that will tell us about the culinary properties of our nuts?
• I remember now why I don't allow myself to buy cookies from the Mughal Bakery on Maplewood more often: I ate a frickin' HALF POUND of them in eight hours today. The chand cookies are so ludicrously good with tea I don't know why I bother to drink it without them.
• Speaking of Mughal Bakery, they apparently have the grand launch of a larger Devon Avenue location planned for January. I'm thrilled and worried at the same time. It would be great to see them get more custom and I'm curious to see if their confectionery could live up to the celestial standards of their baking, but they'd be competing directly with proven national champions like Sukhadia and I would sorely miss them if they went down.
• On the subject of new eateries on Devon Avenue, a zabiha halal Chinese place has opened up around the corner from Mughal Bakery and I'm intrigued. In addition, the space vacated by Usmania when they moved into their swank new quarters at the east end of the strip has also been turned into a zabiha halal Chinese joint. I LOVE THIS CITY!!!

Comments

[jhvilas.livejournal.com]

Whenever I have a culinary question like that, my first stop is always Harold Mcgee's On Food and Cooking (http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/). I don't know if your specific question would be answered in there though.

[danbearnyc.livejournal.com]

Having never heard of chand cookies before I googled them and guess whose LJ entry shows up as the first google response...?

[foodpoisoningsf.livejournal.com]

Interesting question. I knew that cashews were actually seeds and not nuts, but this was illuminating. I suspect the cashews break down differently than the walnuts, perhaps rendering more fat into the dish. I also had no idea the cashew is related to poison ivy.

And one wonders how China is dealing with its restive Muslim population.