I just got a new (here in the Boston area, anyway) cookbook by Mridula 
Baljekar, a name that I have come to recognize.  For the first time, I 
read that she, among other things, has (or has had) a TV food program in 
the UK.  I am wondering what you folks, who have had more exposure to 
her recipes, think of her recipes.  Some of them look interesting to me, 
but that doesn't necessarily translate into good (or authentic, if we 
want to get into that, and I'm not sure we do unless we can keep it civil).

-- 
Jean B.

Quoting from message 
 posted on 2 Jun 2008 by Jean B.
 I would like to add:

> I just got a new (here in the Boston area, anyway) cookbook by Mridula
> Baljekar, a name that I have come to recognize.  For the first time, I
> read that she, among other things, has (or has had) a TV food program in
> the UK.

I don't watch TV so sorry can't comment.

> I am wondering what you folks, who have had more exposure to
> her recipes, think of her recipes.  Some of them look interesting to me,
> but that doesn't necessarily translate into good (or authentic, if we
> want to get into that, and I'm not sure we do unless we can keep it civil).

I have her "Secrets From an Indian Kitchen" we've enjoyed the recipes 
I've used from the book.

-- 
.ElaineJ.  Home Pages and FAQ of uk.food+drink.indian can be viewed at 
.Virtual.  http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones/ufdi/index.html 
StrongArm  Under construction, FAQ, recipes, tips, booklist, links
.RISC PC.  Questions and suggestions please, email or to the newsgroup

Never heard of her here in the UK!

Quoting from message 
 posted on 6 Jun 2008 by Charles Turner
 I would like to add:

> Never heard of her here in the UK!

Her books are on the shelves - or were when I bought mine.

-- 
.ElaineJ.  Home Pages and FAQ of uk.food+drink.indian can be viewed at 
.Virtual.  http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones/ufdi/index.html 
StrongArm  Under construction, FAQ, recipes, tips, booklist, links
.RISC PC.  Questions and suggestions please, email or to the newsgroup

Charles Turner wrote:
> Never heard of her here in the UK!

Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must 
be very well known in the UK.

-- 
Jean B.

On Jun 6, 9:59 pm, "Jean B."  wrote:
> Charles Turner wrote:
> > Never heard of her here in the UK!
>
> Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must
> be very well known in the UK.

I've never heard of her either.

Luke.

lucretia9@lycos.co.uk wrote:
> On Jun 6, 9:59 pm, "Jean B."  wrote:
>> Charles Turner wrote:
>>> Never heard of her here in the UK!
>> Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must
>> be very well known in the UK.
> 
> I've never heard of her either.
> 
> Luke.

That's informative.  Thanks.

-- 
Jean B.

On 7 Jun, 21:31, "Jean B."  wrote:
> lucret...@lycos.co.uk wrote:
> > On Jun 6, 9:59 pm, "Jean B."  wrote:
> >> Charles Turner wrote:
> >>> Never heard of her here in the UK!
> >> Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must
> >> be very well known in the UK.
>
> > I've never heard of her either.
>
> > Luke.
>
> That's informative.  Thanks.
>
> --
> Jean B.

I don't recall her being on British TV, maybe on an obscure channel??

I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
believed it really existed!!) I think if she stuck to real Indian food
recipes, she would be fine. I admit to using her tandoori chat masala
recipe, without the white salt, though!

In message
,
wazza  writes

>I don't recall her being on British TV,
Carlton Food Network

>maybe on an obscure channel??
http://www.mridula.co.uk/cms/index.php?biography
        I'd never heard of her ... but then I don't get tv here
-- 
Rex M F Smith

wazza wrote:
> On 7 Jun, 21:31, "Jean B."  wrote:
>> lucret...@lycos.co.uk wrote:
>>> On Jun 6, 9:59 pm, "Jean B."  wrote:
>>>> Charles Turner wrote:
>>>>> Never heard of her here in the UK!
>>>> Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must
>>>> be very well known in the UK.
>>> I've never heard of her either.
>>> Luke.
>> That's informative.  Thanks.
>>
>> --
>> Jean B.
> 
> I don't recall her being on British TV, maybe on an obscure channel??
> 
> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
> believed it really existed!!) I think if she stuck to real Indian food
> recipes, she would be fine. I admit to using her tandoori chat masala
> recipe, without the white salt, though!

Gee Bryan and Rex, I guess I will disabuse myself of the notion 
that she is well-known on your side of the pond.  I guess 
promotional material might just make her look better than she 
actually is/was.

-- 
Jean B.

On 21 Jul, 18:08, "Jean B."  wrote:
> wazza wrote:
> > On 7 Jun, 21:31, "Jean B."  wrote:
> >> lucret...@lycos.co.uk wrote:
> >>> On Jun 6, 9:59 pm, "Jean B."  wrote:
> >>>> Charles Turner wrote:
> >>>>> Never heard of her here in the UK!
> >>>> Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must
> >>>> be very well known in the UK.
> >>> I've never heard of her either.
> >>> Luke.
> >> That's informative.  Thanks.
>
> >> --
> >> Jean B.
>
> > I don't recall her being on British TV, maybe on an obscure channel??
>
> > I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
> > believed it really existed!!) I think if she stuck to real Indian food
> > recipes, she would be fine. I admit to using her tandoori chat masala
> > recipe, without the white salt, though!
>
> Gee Bryan and Rex, I guess I will disabuse myself of the notion
> that she is well-known on your side of the pond.  I guess
> promotional material might just make her look better than she
> actually is/was.
>
> --
> Jean B.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

well, JB, I would say you take her with a pinch of namak, and look
towards Madhur Jaffrey (now in NY I believe?) for inspiration,
although I think she sold out to demands for her 'Curry Bible'. Have a
look at books on regional cooking, they seem to be better, in my
experience, though give books on Baltistan a miss.......;?)

wazza wrote:
> On 21 Jul, 18:08, "Jean B."  wrote:
>> wazza wrote:
>>> On 7 Jun, 21:31, "Jean B."  wrote:
>>>> lucret...@lycos.co.uk wrote:
>>>>> On Jun 6, 9:59 pm, "Jean B."  wrote:
>>>>>> Charles Turner wrote:
>>>>>>> Never heard of her here in the UK!
>>>>>> Really!  I thought, after reading the blurb on her book, that she must
>>>>>> be very well known in the UK.
>>>>> I've never heard of her either.
>>>>> Luke.
>>>> That's informative.  Thanks.
>>>> --
>>>> Jean B.
>>> I don't recall her being on British TV, maybe on an obscure channel??
>>> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
>>> believed it really existed!!) I think if she stuck to real Indian food
>>> recipes, she would be fine. I admit to using her tandoori chat masala
>>> recipe, without the white salt, though!
>> Gee Bryan and Rex, I guess I will disabuse myself of the notion
>> that she is well-known on your side of the pond.  I guess
>> promotional material might just make her look better than she
>> actually is/was.
>>
>> --
>> Jean B.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
> 
> well, JB, I would say you take her with a pinch of namak, and look
> towards Madhur Jaffrey (now in NY I believe?) for inspiration,
> although I think she sold out to demands for her 'Curry Bible'. Have a
> look at books on regional cooking, they seem to be better, in my
> experience, though give books on Baltistan a miss.......;?)

Oh, I have a whole large shelf on Indian cookbooks.  I just saw 
that Balti one and got it.  It had some decent-sounding recipes in 
it (well, they sounded good on paper, anyway).  I guess I should 
just not use that "a" word with them?

Madhur Jaffrey...  I don't know when I got my first cookbook by 
her.  It is paperback.  I assume even her first cookbook was 
issued in hardcover first, so I was not amongst the first to get 
it....

-- 
Jean B.

wazza  wrote in
news:c80395e6-7308-463f-a5e9-b66efeed01ba@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com

> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
> believed it really existed!!)

Are you suggesting that Balti food does not exist? I ask semi-seriously 
and at the risk of reading more into your "as if ..." than you put into 
it. I read this every now and then, here and elsewhere. The region of 
Baltistan certainly exists and Baltistan is something of a historical 
frontier territory. I don't know anything about what the Baltis eat but 
it would not surprise me to find that they have distnctive food. Export 
of their frontier influences may have spread it far enough that it is no 
longer distinctive. Of course, I accept that it is highly unlikely that 
the stuff sold as Balti food has anything to do with what the people of 
Baltistan eat. I also accept that the authentic Balti food may lack 
variety and range, in that local conditions are tough and, historically, 
survival may have been as much as people asked for. Finally, the tiny 
population may have been too small to sustain any identity of their own 
with regards to food and culture. It may still be worth noting that 
there are valleys in Baltistan, adjacent to each other, separated by a 
mountain ridge (OK, a major mountain ridge), where the languages are 
probably not derived from the same linguistic roots.

As a complete non-sequitur I offer the following ramble which may 
interest a few people:

If you use Google Earth, look at the northern section of Kashmir. The 
extraordinarilly rugged area south of K2 is Baltistan. Given the 
politics of South Asia and advancing years, I suspect I will never go 
there. That is my loss. It is a stunning place.

The towns of Skardu and Askole are the default staging places for hikes 
and serious climbs in the region. Concordia (45.5 N, 76.5 E 
approximately), the confluence of the Baltoro and Goodwin-Austen 
glaciers in the Karakoram, cannot have peers anywhere in the world for 
the view it provides. That view includes four peaks taller than 8000 m 
above sea level, not little bumps in the ground like Mont Blanc or 
Denali or Aconcagua. You stand at about the altitude of Mont Blanc and, 
less than 15 km away you see K2 rise almost that much again above 
Concordia. To my knowledge there is no other spot in the world where you 
can stand and see four of these giants. Perhaps if you are standing on 
top of Everest but that view probably does not have quite the drama.

If you are interested in that sort of thing, read the travel/exploration 
literature of the late 19th century, such as the work of Francis 
Younghusband and his contemporaries.

If mountains interest you at all and if, by some chance, you do not 
already know about Concordia, do a search for images of Concordia in the 
Karakoram. And, just for entertainment, look at the spectacular image at 
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/316199. While I think this is outside 
Baltistan (it is north of the natural watershed of the Karakoram) it 
would be a pity not to see it while you are in the area, even if there 
only vicariously. If you do look at the picture, hit the link to see it 
in Google Earth, if you use it. It is worth the effort to see it in its 
context.

I will shut up now and go away.

- Shankar

On 30 Jul, 03:14, Shankar Bhattacharyya 
wrote:
> wazza  wrote innews:c80395e6-7308-463f-a5e9-b66efeed01ba@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com
>
> > I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
> > believed it really existed!!)
>
> Are you suggesting that Balti food does not exist? I ask semi-seriously
> and at the risk of reading more into your "as if ..." than you put into
> it. I read this every now and then, here and elsewhere. The region of
> Baltistan certainly exists and Baltistan is something of a historical
> frontier territory. I don't know anything about what the Baltis eat but
> it would not surprise me to find that they have distnctive food. Export
> of their frontier influences may have spread it far enough that it is no
> longer distinctive. Of course, I accept that it is highly unlikely that
> the stuff sold as Balti food has anything to do with what the people of
> Baltistan eat. I also accept that the authentic Balti food may lack
> variety and range, in that local conditions are tough and, historically,
> survival may have been as much as people asked for. Finally, the tiny
> population may have been too small to sustain any identity of their own
> with regards to food and culture. It may still be worth noting that
> there are valleys in Baltistan, adjacent to each other, separated by a
> mountain ridge (OK, a major mountain ridge), where the languages are
> probably not derived from the same linguistic roots.
>
> As a complete non-sequitur I offer the following ramble which may
> interest a few people:
>
> If you use Google Earth, look at the northern section of Kashmir. The
> extraordinarilly rugged area south of K2 is Baltistan. Given the
> politics of South Asia and advancing years, I suspect I will never go
> there. That is my loss. It is a stunning place.
>
> The towns of Skardu and Askole are the default staging places for hikes
> and serious climbs in the region. Concordia (45.5 N, 76.5 E
> approximately), the confluence of the Baltoro and Goodwin-Austen
> glaciers in the Karakoram, cannot have peers anywhere in the world for
> the view it provides. That view includes four peaks taller than 8000 m
> above sea level, not little bumps in the ground like Mont Blanc or
> Denali or Aconcagua. You stand at about the altitude of Mont Blanc and,
> less than 15 km away you see K2 rise almost that much again above
> Concordia. To my knowledge there is no other spot in the world where you
> can stand and see four of these giants. Perhaps if you are standing on
> top of Everest but that view probably does not have quite the drama.
>
> If you are interested in that sort of thing, read the travel/exploration
> literature of the late 19th century, such as the work of Francis
> Younghusband and his contemporaries.
>
> If mountains interest you at all and if, by some chance, you do not
> already know about Concordia, do a search for images of Concordia in the
> Karakoram. And, just for entertainment, look at the spectacular image athttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/316199. While I think this is outside
> Baltistan (it is north of the natural watershed of the Karakoram) it
> would be a pity not to see it while you are in the area, even if there
> only vicariously. If you do look at the picture, hit the link to see it
> in Google Earth, if you use it. It is worth the effort to see it in its
> context.
>
> I will shut up now and go away.
>
> - Shankar

Hello Shankar,

My eldest son made it there (Baltistan) a couple or three years ago.
He didn't report any unusal differences between that region's food and
the rest of Pakistan, and felt rather dissapointed by the experience
(or lack of it!). His only really positive note was that the people
were very kind and polite.
As I see it, the food known as 'Balti' has nothing to do with
Baltistan, maybe in name only. I understand that the word Balti was
coined by people in Birmingham to try to differentiate their food from
'Indian' food, and was therefore a marketing exercise. Although I have
never had a 'Balti' dish, reading the menus, it's obvious it's the
same old slop served up in a small karahi (or even a bucket, would you
believe! I've seen this, the reason given was that Balti meant bucket
in Hindi?). Of the couple of books I have on Balti cooking, there does
not seem to be any difference between Balti recipes and ordinary
Indian food except the unexplained universal use of a wok (karahi), or
should that be bucket?

My local 'Indian' restaurant has a new range of dishes, called tawa,
you've guessed it, same old slop served on a tawa (a slightly concave
frying pan used to make chapati and dosa).
cheers
Waaza

Shankar Bhattacharyya wrote:
> wazza  wrote in
> news:c80395e6-7308-463f-a5e9-b66efeed01ba@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com
> 
>> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
>> believed it really existed!!)
> 
> Are you suggesting that Balti food does not exist? I ask semi-seriously 
> and at the risk of reading more into your "as if ..." than you put into 
> it. I read this every now and then, here and elsewhere. The region of 
> Baltistan certainly exists and Baltistan is something of a historical 
> frontier territory. I don't know anything about what the Baltis eat but 
> it would not surprise me to find that they have distnctive food. Export 
> of their frontier influences may have spread it far enough that it is no 
> longer distinctive. Of course, I accept that it is highly unlikely that 
> the stuff sold as Balti food has anything to do with what the people of 
> Baltistan eat. I also accept that the authentic Balti food may lack 
> variety and range, in that local conditions are tough and, historically, 
> survival may have been as much as people asked for. Finally, the tiny 
> population may have been too small to sustain any identity of their own 
> with regards to food and culture. It may still be worth noting that 
> there are valleys in Baltistan, adjacent to each other, separated by a 
> mountain ridge (OK, a major mountain ridge), where the languages are 
> probably not derived from the same linguistic roots.
> 
> As a complete non-sequitur I offer the following ramble which may 
> interest a few people:
> 
> If you use Google Earth, look at the northern section of Kashmir. The 
> extraordinarilly rugged area south of K2 is Baltistan. Given the 
> politics of South Asia and advancing years, I suspect I will never go 
> there. That is my loss. It is a stunning place.
> 
> The towns of Skardu and Askole are the default staging places for hikes 
> and serious climbs in the region. Concordia (45.5 N, 76.5 E 
> approximately), the confluence of the Baltoro and Goodwin-Austen 
> glaciers in the Karakoram, cannot have peers anywhere in the world for 
> the view it provides. That view includes four peaks taller than 8000 m 
> above sea level, not little bumps in the ground like Mont Blanc or 
> Denali or Aconcagua. You stand at about the altitude of Mont Blanc and, 
> less than 15 km away you see K2 rise almost that much again above 
> Concordia. To my knowledge there is no other spot in the world where you 
> can stand and see four of these giants. Perhaps if you are standing on 
> top of Everest but that view probably does not have quite the drama.
> 
> If you are interested in that sort of thing, read the travel/exploration 
> literature of the late 19th century, such as the work of Francis 
> Younghusband and his contemporaries.
> 
> If mountains interest you at all and if, by some chance, you do not 
> already know about Concordia, do a search for images of Concordia in the 
> Karakoram. And, just for entertainment, look at the spectacular image at 
> http://www.panoramio.com/photo/316199. While I think this is outside 
> Baltistan (it is north of the natural watershed of the Karakoram) it 
> would be a pity not to see it while you are in the area, even if there 
> only vicariously. If you do look at the picture, hit the link to see it 
> in Google Earth, if you use it. It is worth the effort to see it in its 
> context.
> 
> I will shut up now and go away.
> 
> - Shankar

Oh no!  Don't do that!  I was thinking it was so nice to see 
you--a rare treat.

And you raise a whole other issue re food from Baltistan as vs. 
Balti cooking.

-- 
Jean B.

wazza wrote:
> On 30 Jul, 03:14, Shankar Bhattacharyya 
> wrote:
>> wazza  wrote innews:c80395e6-7308-463f-a5e9-b66efeed01ba@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com
>>
>>> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
>>> believed it really existed!!)
>> Are you suggesting that Balti food does not exist? I ask semi-seriously
>> and at the risk of reading more into your "as if ..." than you put into
>> it. I read this every now and then, here and elsewhere. The region of
>> Baltistan certainly exists and Baltistan is something of a historical
>> frontier territory. I don't know anything about what the Baltis eat but
>> it would not surprise me to find that they have distnctive food. Export
>> of their frontier influences may have spread it far enough that it is no
>> longer distinctive. Of course, I accept that it is highly unlikely that
>> the stuff sold as Balti food has anything to do with what the people of
>> Baltistan eat. I also accept that the authentic Balti food may lack
>> variety and range, in that local conditions are tough and, historically,
>> survival may have been as much as people asked for. Finally, the tiny
>> population may have been too small to sustain any identity of their own
>> with regards to food and culture. It may still be worth noting that
>> there are valleys in Baltistan, adjacent to each other, separated by a
>> mountain ridge (OK, a major mountain ridge), where the languages are
>> probably not derived from the same linguistic roots.
>>
>> As a complete non-sequitur I offer the following ramble which may
>> interest a few people:
>>
>> If you use Google Earth, look at the northern section of Kashmir. The
>> extraordinarilly rugged area south of K2 is Baltistan. Given the
>> politics of South Asia and advancing years, I suspect I will never go
>> there. That is my loss. It is a stunning place.
>>
>> The towns of Skardu and Askole are the default staging places for hikes
>> and serious climbs in the region. Concordia (45.5 N, 76.5 E
>> approximately), the confluence of the Baltoro and Goodwin-Austen
>> glaciers in the Karakoram, cannot have peers anywhere in the world for
>> the view it provides. That view includes four peaks taller than 8000 m
>> above sea level, not little bumps in the ground like Mont Blanc or
>> Denali or Aconcagua. You stand at about the altitude of Mont Blanc and,
>> less than 15 km away you see K2 rise almost that much again above
>> Concordia. To my knowledge there is no other spot in the world where you
>> can stand and see four of these giants. Perhaps if you are standing on
>> top of Everest but that view probably does not have quite the drama.
>>
>> If you are interested in that sort of thing, read the travel/exploration
>> literature of the late 19th century, such as the work of Francis
>> Younghusband and his contemporaries.
>>
>> If mountains interest you at all and if, by some chance, you do not
>> already know about Concordia, do a search for images of Concordia in the
>> Karakoram. And, just for entertainment, look at the spectacular image athttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/316199. While I think this is outside
>> Baltistan (it is north of the natural watershed of the Karakoram) it
>> would be a pity not to see it while you are in the area, even if there
>> only vicariously. If you do look at the picture, hit the link to see it
>> in Google Earth, if you use it. It is worth the effort to see it in its
>> context.
>>
>> I will shut up now and go away.
>>
>> - Shankar
> 
> Hello Shankar,
> 
> My eldest son made it there (Baltistan) a couple or three years ago.
> He didn't report any unusal differences between that region's food and
> the rest of Pakistan, and felt rather dissapointed by the experience
> (or lack of it!). His only really positive note was that the people
> were very kind and polite.
> As I see it, the food known as 'Balti' has nothing to do with
> Baltistan, maybe in name only. I understand that the word Balti was
> coined by people in Birmingham to try to differentiate their food from
> 'Indian' food, and was therefore a marketing exercise. Although I have
> never had a 'Balti' dish, reading the menus, it's obvious it's the
> same old slop served up in a small karahi (or even a bucket, would you
> believe! I've seen this, the reason given was that Balti meant bucket
> in Hindi?). Of the couple of books I have on Balti cooking, there does
> not seem to be any difference between Balti recipes and ordinary
> Indian food except the unexplained universal use of a wok (karahi), or
> should that be bucket?
> 
> My local 'Indian' restaurant has a new range of dishes, called tawa,
> you've guessed it, same old slop served on a tawa (a slightly concave
> frying pan used to make chapati and dosa).
> cheers
> Waaza

A quick perusal (and perhaps faulty memory) have me thinking of 
Indian stir-fries and also premade sauces....

-- 
Jean B.

wazza  wrote in
news:8dc4219c-fd86-4675-8e4f-b4d56dd26760@56g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

> Although I have never had a 'Balti' dish, reading the menus, it's
> obvious it's the same old slop served up in a small karahi (or even
> a bucket, would you believe! I've seen this, the reason given was
> that Balti meant bucket in Hindi?).

Yes, "balti" means bucket. As to food being served up in a balti, it 
is reasonable to regard it as an affectation in a London restaurant. 
However, at Indian communal feasts, traditional weddings in the 
villages and some in the cities, at religious events which involve 
meals for many people, it is still quite common for the servers to 
come around with a bucket and a ladle to serve food to people sitting 
cross-legged on a mat on the floor, in serried rows, with plates or 
banana leaves or plates made of bel leaves stitched together with 
slivers of wood, placed on the floor before them.

My most recent such experience was a few months ago, in an Indian 
temple on Long Island, not thirty miles east of the Empire State 
Building. People sat on the floor, on mats. They had plastic plates in 
front of them. Food was served from buckets. A bucket is a very 
practical way to serve food at a meal like that. You can carry a lot 
of food. You can put the bucket down on the floor easily. You can 
serve people sitting on the floor rather easily with a ladle. I helped 
serve. Nobody thought it was even slightly odd, except perhaps the US-
born children who had never seen this before.

The plastic plates were novel, of course, an adaptation to the expat 
life.

- Shankar

On 30 Jul, 21:28, "Jean B."  wrote:
> Shankar Bhattacharyya wrote:
> > wazza  wrote in
> >news:c80395e6-7308-463f-a5e9-b66efeed01ba@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com
>
> >> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
> >> believed it really existed!!)
>
> > Are you suggesting that Balti food does not exist? I ask semi-seriously
> > and at the risk of reading more into your "as if ..." than you put into
> > it. I read this every now and then, here and elsewhere. The region of
> > Baltistan certainly exists and Baltistan is something of a historical
> > frontier territory. I don't know anything about what the Baltis eat but
> > it would not surprise me to find that they have distnctive food. Export
> > of their frontier influences may have spread it far enough that it is no
> > longer distinctive. Of course, I accept that it is highly unlikely that
> > the stuff sold as Balti food has anything to do with what the people of
> > Baltistan eat. I also accept that the authentic Balti food may lack
> > variety and range, in that local conditions are tough and, historically> > survival may have been as much as people asked for. Finally, the tiny
> > population may have been too small to sustain any identity of their own
> > with regards to food and culture. It may still be worth noting that
> > there are valleys in Baltistan, adjacent to each other, separated by a
> > mountain ridge (OK, a major mountain ridge), where the languages are
> > probably not derived from the same linguistic roots.
>
> > As a complete non-sequitur I offer the following ramble which may
> > interest a few people:
>
> > If you use Google Earth, look at the northern section of Kashmir. The
> > extraordinarilly rugged area south of K2 is Baltistan. Given the
> > politics of South Asia and advancing years, I suspect I will never go
> > there. That is my loss. It is a stunning place.
>
> > The towns of Skardu and Askole are the default staging places for hikes
> > and serious climbs in the region. Concordia (45.5 N, 76.5 E
> > approximately), the confluence of the Baltoro and Goodwin-Austen
> > glaciers in the Karakoram, cannot have peers anywhere in the world for
> > the view it provides. That view includes four peaks taller than 8000 m
> > above sea level, not little bumps in the ground like Mont Blanc or
> > Denali or Aconcagua. You stand at about the altitude of Mont Blanc and,
> > less than 15 km away you see K2 rise almost that much again above
> > Concordia. To my knowledge there is no other spot in the world where you
> > can stand and see four of these giants. Perhaps if you are standing on
> > top of Everest but that view probably does not have quite the drama.
>
> > If you are interested in that sort of thing, read the travel/exploration
> > literature of the late 19th century, such as the work of Francis
> > Younghusband and his contemporaries.
>
> > If mountains interest you at all and if, by some chance, you do not
> > already know about Concordia, do a search for images of Concordia in the
> > Karakoram. And, just for entertainment, look at the spectacular image at
> >http://www.panoramio.com/photo/316199. While I think this is outside
> > Baltistan (it is north of the natural watershed of the Karakoram) it
> > would be a pity not to see it while you are in the area, even if there
> > only vicariously. If you do look at the picture, hit the link to see it
> > in Google Earth, if you use it. It is worth the effort to see it in its
> > context.
>
> > I will shut up now and go away.
>
> > - Shankar
>
> Oh no!  Don't do that!  I was thinking it was so nice to see
> you--a rare treat.
>
> And you raise a whole other issue re food from Baltistan as vs.
> Balti cooking.
>
> --
> Jean B.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Shankar,
the food served in buckets that I saw were for one portion only, I
like to think the people serving (and the owners) were politely taking
the mickey ;?)

Jean,
stir fry, yes, traditionally using leftover meat and lots of chillies,
but sauce, probably not. I'm told this dish originated in Bengal to
feed the Raj Brits. I did a survey of Indian restaurants in and aound
Chester a few years ago, ordering chicken jal frezi in each,. You
would not believe some of the stuff I was served in the name of jal
frezi. Nice made with chicken breast meat or prawns, and I prefer
fresh red chillies to green ones.

wazza wrote:
> On 30 Jul, 21:28, "Jean B."  wrote:
>> Shankar Bhattacharyya wrote:
>>> wazza  wrote in
>>> news:c80395e6-7308-463f-a5e9-b66efeed01ba@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com
>>>> I have a couple of her books, one on Balti food (written as if she
>>>> believed it really existed!!)
>>> Are you suggesting that Balti food does not exist? I ask semi-seriously
>>> and at the risk of reading more into your "as if ..." than you put into
>>> it. I read this every now and then, here and elsewhere. The region of
>>> Baltistan certainly exists and Baltistan is something of a historical
>>> frontier territory. I don't know anything about what the Baltis eat but
>>> it would not surprise me to find that they have distnctive food. Export
>>> of their frontier influences may have spread it far enough that it is no
>>> longer distinctive. Of course, I accept that it is highly unlikely that
>>> the stuff sold as Balti food has anything to do with what the people of
>>> Baltistan eat. I also accept that the authentic Balti food may lack
>>> variety and range, in that local conditions are tough and, historically,
>>> survival may have been as much as people asked for. Finally, the tiny
>>> population may have been too small to sustain any identity of their own
>>> with regards to food and culture. It may still be worth noting that
>>> there are valleys in Baltistan, adjacent to each other, separated by a
>>> mountain ridge (OK, a major mountain ridge), where the languages are
>>> probably not derived from the same linguistic roots.
>>> As a complete non-sequitur I offer the following ramble which may
>>> interest a few people:
>>> If you use Google Earth, look at the northern section of Kashmir. The
>>> extraordinarilly rugged area south of K2 is Baltistan. Given the
>>> politics of South Asia and advancing years, I suspect I will never go
>>> there. That is my loss. It is a stunning place.
>>> The towns of Skardu and Askole are the default staging places for hikes
>>> and serious climbs in the region. Concordia (45.5 N, 76.5 E
>>> approximately), the confluence of the Baltoro and Goodwin-Austen
>>> glaciers in the Karakoram, cannot have peers anywhere in the world for
>>> the view it provides. That view includes four peaks taller than 8000 m
>>> above sea level, not little bumps in the ground like Mont Blanc or
>>> Denali or Aconcagua. You stand at about the altitude of Mont Blanc and,
>>> less than 15 km away you see K2 rise almost that much again above
>>> Concordia. To my knowledge there is no other spot in the world where you
>>> can stand and see four of these giants. Perhaps if you are standing on
>>> top of Everest but that view probably does not have quite the drama.
>>> If you are interested in that sort of thing, read the travel/exploration
>>> literature of the late 19th century, such as the work of Francis
>>> Younghusband and his contemporaries.
>>> If mountains interest you at all and if, by some chance, you do not
>>> already know about Concordia, do a search for images of Concordia in the
>>> Karakoram. And, just for entertainment, look at the spectacular image at
>>> http://www.panoramio.com/photo/316199. While I think this is outside
>>> Baltistan (it is north of the natural watershed of the Karakoram) it
>>> would be a pity not to see it while you are in the area, even if there
>>> only vicariously. If you do look at the picture, hit the link to see it
>>> in Google Earth, if you use it. It is worth the effort to see it in its
>>> context.
>>> I will shut up now and go away.
>>> - Shankar
>> Oh no!  Don't do that!  I was thinking it was so nice to see
>> you--a rare treat.
>>
>> And you raise a whole other issue re food from Baltistan as vs.
>> Balti cooking.
>>
>> --
>> Jean B.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
> 
> Shankar,
> the food served in buckets that I saw were for one portion only, I
> like to think the people serving (and the owners) were politely taking
> the mickey ;?)
> 
> Jean,
> stir fry, yes, traditionally using leftover meat and lots of chillies,
> but sauce, probably not. I'm told this dish originated in Bengal to
> feed the Raj Brits. I did a survey of Indian restaurants in and aound
> Chester a few years ago, ordering chicken jal frezi in each,. You
> would not believe some of the stuff I was served in the name of jal
> frezi. Nice made with chicken breast meat or prawns, and I prefer
> fresh red chillies to green ones.

Interesting project.  I like that!

-- 
Jean B.