SAJAforum

FOOD: One curry could bust your daily limit, UK magazine finds

Did you know that in order to burn the calories from an Indian food, you need to exercise for 271 minutes? And that's only for men. Women need to exercise 335 minutes to burn the same amount of calories.

In an investigation done by UK's Which? magazine, Indian takeway curry has scored worst on saturated fat - compared to pizza or Chinese takeout meal. The Indian meal had 23.2 grams (0.82 ounce) of saturated fat, 3.2 grams (0.11 ounce) more than what a woman should eat in a day. Overall, Indian food contained 1338 calories. Chinese food contained 1436 calories and a thin crust pepperoni pizza contained 929 calories.

Also, according to the report, one Chinese takeout meal had 19 teapoons (3.39 ounces) of sugar per portion, three times more compared to an Indian meal.

The magazine tested chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and a plain naan, which according to the magazine is one of the most popular meals in the UK.

This is the original link to the report (currently not working because they are redesigning their website).

Takeway meal

On average, the takeaways had more calories a portion than the supermarket versions, but less salt (especially the naan and pilau rice).

Naan bread contained more calories, weight for weight, than chicken tikka masala.

Pilau rice had a similar number of calories weight for weight as the chicken tikka masala.

You might think bread and rice are healthier than the masala, but the problem is how they’re cooked. Pilau rice is fried and naan has a thick layer of butter on it. Half the takeaway meals had more saturated fat per Which? portion (pictured above) than a woman should eat in a day.

Supermarket meal

None of these stood out as significantly healthier or less healthy than the others.

For example, Asda’s meal had the most saturated fat and sugar.

Waitrose’s pilau rice contained more than five time the fat of the Tesco version (which had the least), and M&S's chicken tikka masala had more salt than other supermarket versions.

Also, here are Which?'s tips on eating healthy Indian takeouts:

Avoid deep-fried dishes, such as battered food, prawn toast, samosas and spring rolls.

Choose tandoori, steamed and stir-fried dishes.

Go for curries with tomato and onion-based sauces, such as jalfrezi, instead of creamy sauces, such as kormas.

Choose boiled or steamed rice over pilau or egg-fried rice.

Choose a chapatti instead of naan bread. Include side dishes of vegetables and/or dhal (lentils).

Go easy on the free extras, such as prawn crackers, poppadoms and sauces.

Anyone know how this compares to Indian meals in the US? Please post your thoughts below.

FOOD & DRINK: Al Jazeera on Brick Lane

Last week, Al Jazeera's "Street Food" show had a profile on Brick Lane, aka Banglatown, a long street in east London which has a big Bangladeshi community. This is the same street which became a subject for Monika Ali's novel and then a Sony Classics film starring Tannistha Chatterjee. Read SAJAForum post on the movie.

The information piece on YouTube reads:

Brick Lane, in the East End of the English capital, is a microcosm of the country's shifting ethnic patterns. Once the home of traditional fare, it is now the heartland of the city's Bangladeshi community. What are the future repercussions?

Watch the video below.

Part I

Part II

What did you think? Please post your thoughts below.

PHILANTHROPY: NYT on Mumbai's "hunger cafes"

Anand Giridharadas of the New York Times writes about an unusual kind of philanthropy in Mumbai. From "In a Restaurant Row, Drive-Through Charity":

The world is filled with eating houses of every kind, from hamburger joints to three-star restaurants. There are places you drive through and places where you sit down. But the world may be unfamiliar with a Mumbai variation on the theme: the hunger cafe.

It takes a city like Mumbai, formerly Bombay, frenetic, transactional and compassionate, to erect eateries for the malnourished. They are not soup kitchens, for denizens of this city have little time to serve other people food. In a city that never stops selling stocks and shooting movies, they prefer drive-by benevolence.

The hunger cafes have stood for decades on a stretch of road in the Mahim neighborhood. Mumbai’s broken, drifting men squat in neat rows in front of each establishment, waiting patiently. Vats full of food simmer behind the doors. What separates them from the food is the 25-cent-per-plate cost — a gulf harder to bridge than one might assume. But every so often, a car pulls up and makes a donation, and the men dine.

Read the full story and post your comments below.

FOOD CRISIS: Vinod Khosla's view

It's not every day that you see a South Asian name in the headline of a Wall Street Journal editorial. Today's "Khosla's Conspiracy," complete with one of the paper's signature "woodcut" illustrations, is all about venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

Spiking food prices, global shortages and Third World riots have managed to elicit repentance from some ethanol evangelists. Not Vinod Khosla. As the Silicon Valley billionaire explained last week in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, ethanol's contribution to the crisis is "very minor" and "overblown."

"Food prices have been going up," Mr. Khosla conceded. "But there are massive PR campaigns trying to ascribe most of the blame to biofuels." Apparently "lots of people" are behind the plot, though Mr. Khosla singled out one: "Clearly, the American Petroleum Institute has been very, very concerned about food prices, and you wonder why."

Gosh. API is a trade group for the oil and gas industry that is radioactive on Capitol Hill. But we didn't realize that API's tentacles were wrapped around the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the USDA, all of which blame ethanol for inflationary pressures on food prices. Nor did we appreciate how much authority API's views carried with the U.N.'s special rapporteur for the right to food, Jean Ziegler, who says Western biofuels programs are "a crime against humanity."

Having missed the original SF Chronicle piece, I went back and found it. It was a Q&A (with business editor Al Saracevic and reporters David R. Baker, Ilana DeBare and Deborah Gage) that ran in the paper on Sunday, May 11: "On the Record: Vinod Khosla."

Flush with money and determined to save the world, the green-tech industry stands in full flower of its giddy youth.

TV: Nipa Bhatt goes for Food Network glory

Nipa Bhatt, the 35-year-old former owner of the Gypsy Curry House, in Minnesota, is one of 10 finalists on the Food Network's search for its next star. The reality show, known as The Next Food Network Star, or NFNS, is now in its 4th season. One of the judges is celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

On her bio page, which you can see here (and also watch some videos of her), Nipa says she's a marketing manager who loves reading and watching Hindi movies, as well as playing with her 2 kids. Her favorite food is the lowly fried rice, and the one item she won't touch is barbecue sauce.

Apparently the Food Network is really lacking in the Indian culinary department, so Nipa's using that as her selling point: She wants to demystify Indian food. Here's how she answers the question, "Why you should be The Next Food Network Star":

"I am a marketable person for Food Network because of my versatile background and the result of it. I have been brought up in two vastly different countries and have been able to soak up the best of both worlds. Indian-style food is such a popular type of cuisine now but it’s also the most mysterious. I can teach the nation that ethnic food is approachable and you can cook it nonchalantly."

In one of the videos, Nipa says she mostly cooks Gujarati food but also some North Indian food. Although the show hasn't aired yet, here's what one of the judges, Susie Fogelson said about Nipa:

"She lacks a little polish. She sort of said things that I'm not sure I would say. But... she's spirited. I think she's interesting. And I love her culinary point of view: making ethnic food accessible. That's great."

CONTROVERSY: Bush blames India's middle class for rising food prices

[That's a cartoon by Massachusetts-based Thommy Kodenkandath; you can see a high-rez version at his cartoon blog, "DrawOpinions".]

It all began on Friday, May 2, with a question about rising food prices during a presidential press conference in Missouri. The answer from President George W. Bush, taken from the official transcript, included these thoughts:

Worldwide there is increasing demand.  There turns out to be prosperity in developing world, which is good.  It's going to be good for you because you'll be selling products into countries -- big countries perhaps -- and it's hard to sell products into countries that aren't prosperous.  In other words, the more prosperous the world is, the more opportunity there is.

It also, however, increases demand.  So, for example, just as an interesting thought for you, there are 350 million people in India who are classified as middle class.  That's bigger than America.  Their middle class is larger than our entire population.  And when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food.  And so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up.

And in the last couple of days, there's been a lot of coverage in India about those comments and the heated reaction there from politicians, analysts and others:

• Times of India: Parties unite to slam Bush food remark
  All major political parties, including Congress, BJP and the Left, on Saturday lashed out at US President George W Bush for blaming the growing demand in India for the spiralling global food prices even as the Opposition also used the opportunity to attack the government.

FOOD: Costco, Sam's Club limit rice purchase as costs soar

Hey, New Yorkers, if you're a fan of the countless chicken/lamb-over-rice carts that dot the Manhattan streetscape, you might need to start getting worried. A stomach-full of rice and chicken for only four or five dollars might not be an option for much longer.

As the price of rice soars to an all-time high across the world, America's two big retail stores, Sam's Club and Costco, have decided to limit how much rice customers can purchase because of what they call "recent supply and demand trends" (You can buy four 20 lbs. bags at one time).

From The New York Sun:

“Due to recent supply and demand trends, we are limiting the sale of Jasmine, Basmati and Long Grain White rices to four bags per member visit,” a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Kristy Reed, said in an e-mailed statement today. “This is effective immediately in all of our U.S. clubs where quantity restrictions are allowed by law.”

The limitation in purchase of rice is the latest reminder of a major challenge that the world is facing, which the World Food Program has called - "a silent tsunami which knows no borders sweeping the world."

The problem of food shortage and rise in costs - first wheat and now rice - has been making headlines over the last several weeks. Increasing food prices had set off alarms among humanitarian groups, which fear that over 100 million people around the world could be pushed into more severe poverty due to increasing food prices.

From the Consumerist:

"You can't eat this every day. It's too heavy," a health care executive from Palo Alto, Sharad Patel, grumbled as his son loaded two sacks of the Basmati into a shopping cart. "We only need one bag but I'm getting two in case a neighbor or a friend needs it," the elder man said.

The Patels seemed headed for disappointment, as most Costco members were being allowed to buy only one bag. Moments earlier, a clerk dropped two sacks back on the stack after taking them from another customer who tried to exceed the one-bag cap.

The price of rice in itself has increased by 60 to 70 percent from what they were a few months ago, according to Markeplace.

What do you think about the rising food costs and the challenges that we face? Please post your thoughts below.

FOOD: Tabla restaurant now delivers via FreshDirect.com

FreshDirect.com, the grocery delivery service that's popular in New York City, has connected with another major brand-name in the food business here: Tabla, the high-end Indian fusion restaurant run by chef Floyd Cardoz. See this e-mail, which I received this afternoon. Post your comments below.

THE NEW INDIAN CUISINE OF TABLA, NOW AT FRESHDIRECT

LUSH. AROMATIC. DELICIOUSLY ADDICTIVE
Since opening Tabla in 1998, Executive Chef Floyd Cardoz has shown diners what happens when fresh, seasonal American cooking meets the richly layered flavor traditions of India. Now Chef Cardoz and FreshDirect have teamed up to deliver Tabla's groundbreaking New Indian cuisine to dinner tables, offices and patio grills across the city. FreshDirect is thrilled to introduce a new line of Tabla 4-Minute Meals and Ready-to-Cook entrees, so you can enjoy Chef Floyd Cardoz's award-winning New Indian cuisine in mere minutes.

FOR NEW ENTREES & SIDES FROM TABLA, GO TO:
http://www.freshdirect.com/category.jsp?catId=hmr_fresh_tabla&trk=TB1

TABLA 4-MINUTE MEALS:
Sensual flavors, aromatic spices and exotic ingredients make the groundbreaking New Indian cuisine at Tabla simply extraordinary. Now Chef Floyd Cardoz brings India's richly layered flavor traditions to our innovative microwavable packs.

GO TO:

DESI SPOTTING: Bhut jolokia, the world's hottest chili pepper

The Wall Street Journal's Stan Sesser went in search of the the bhut jolokia, the world's hottest chili pepper. He found it, tasted it and lived to write about it in the weekend edition of the paper. Actually, he and the paper went all out: the video below, a photo slideshow and the intense graphic below. From the story:

The bhut jolokia chili pepper fires up the imagination, as well as the taste buds. The thumb-sized chilies are so potent they could be used in pepper spray, says the director of India's Defense Research Lab, R.B. Srivastava. "I've been told the U.S. and Israel have considered it for antiriot material," he says.

Most admirers prefer eating them. The Indian pepper is the latest discovery by a fraternity of eaters who relish the sweaty, addictive pleasures of hot chilies.

 

 
See the graphic below, which maps out chili peppers from the mild to the extreme.

BOOKS: Suvir Saran's "American Masala" and the return of Devi

"There are no second acts in American lives," goes the much-disproved F. Scott Fitzgerald observation, and it's been disproved yet again. This time by an Indian-born chef in New York City.

Suvir Saran has pulled off a couple of amazing feats in Manhattan's cut-throat world of high-end restaurants. First, he and fellow chef Hemant Mathur created Devi in 2004, a restaurant that would become the only Indian restaurant to earn a star in the Michelin Guide New York City 2007. The restaurant was owned by Rakesh Aggarwal, and not the chefs, and that came to, well, bite them. In August of this year, Devi was closed in response to a lawsuit against Aggarwal by workers. New York Times chief restaurant critic Frank Bruni wrote an elegy to Devi:

"Devi opened in late 2004 and earned admiring reviews, including the one I gave it. It intended to be — and arguably was — the most ambitious and refined Indian restaurant in New York, where Indian restaurants haven’t taken root or soared to glory to the extent they have in London."

Then on October 22, Saran and Mathur returned as owners of Devi, reopening the restaurant at the same location and with most of the original staff. Many of its signature dishes returned, too, but so did a range of "new classics," such as Masala Fried Chicken and Spicy Mushroom Toasts. Those "new classics" are from Saran's new book, "American Masala: 125 New Classics from My Home Kitchen" (written with Raquel Pelzel).

From the press release below:

Masala is a catchall phrase that means spice mixture — not just the actual seasonings — but also the spice that enlivens our lives. This is the concept that Suvir Saran explores in his brilliant new cookbook, AMERICAN MASALA (Clarkson Potter/ Publishers, October 11, 2007), a delicious blend of Indian and American cooking that combines the best the two have to offer, yielding dishes that are both and new.

Among the testimonials:

"I have cooked Suvir's recipes probably fifty times, never without delightful, fresh, inspiring results. When it comes to contemporary and traditional food, I trust him implicitly. American Masala is a gem." — Mark Bittman, Author, How to Cook Everything and The Best Recipes in the World (and "The Minimalist" columnist in the New York Times)

The book has been featured on several lists of "best cookbooks of 2007," including The New York Times, New York Daily News, San Diego Union-Tribune, Epicurious.com, Edge Weekly, Charlotte Observer, Martha Stewart Living Radio, Miami Herald, Tampa Tribune, Austin Statesman-Chronicle (where another Indian cookbook, about Kerala, is included - "Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts: Recipes and Remem­brances of a Vegetarian Legacy" by Ammini Ramachandran - it was reviewed in the NYT in July).

Commenting on these lists, Saran tells SAJAforum: "To me, greater than coverage in larger dailies and magazines, what is most exciting is when papers enriching the lives of people in smaller cities, do something daring and bring the cuisines or stories of cultures that have little influence on the lives of their readers. That is bold of them and something that encourages me to keep traveling to teach and learn."

In December, recipes from the book were featured on WNBC-TV when Saran came on the news to show how Indian spices can be used for traditional American holiday recipes.

If you are interested in scheduling an interview with Saran or receiving a journalist's review
copy of American Masala, please contact  Andria Chin, andriachin[at]aol.com - please note that she will only be able to respond to members of the working press.

Full note for journalists is below. Also see Suvir.com and DeviNYC.com. Post your comments below.

FOOD: Dosa man Thiru Kumar voted NYC's best vendor

Sri Lankan native Thiru "Dosa Man" Kumar, the most famous dosa maker in New York City - aye, perhaps in the whole nation - was voted best street vendor in the annual Vendy awards competition. This was the third time in the 3-year history of the Vendy awards that the 39-year-old lentil crepe maker of Washington Sq. Park has competed, and although he was judged a runner-up in his previous attempts, he persisted, and now he is redeemed. He even beat out the crew of Super Taco.

The big story, of course, is what this will do for the dosa in the popular imagination. I've always respected Dosa Man's Pondicherry Masala dosa, which includes a sprinkling of raw carrots and other vegetables over a just-right masala. But now, I foresee Americanized knockoffs, incorporating peanut butter and/or Nutella. Maybe a musical, scored by MIA.

If anyone spots a photo of the trimphant Thiru - perhaps hoisting a trophy overhead, filled with dosa batter - do send in. (photo of Thiru by Preston Merchant, from SAJA Convention '06)

Coverage elsewhere, by the Associated Press - more to come. For now, 'feast' on this pre-award YouTube video, featuring Thiru and other contestants.

FESTIVALS: Janmashtami coverage in the Houston Chronicle food section

[UPDATE: A reader informs us that the following article only happened because Hindus in Houston complained about the one-sidedness of an earlier Chronicle article, about an evangelical church in India. The criticism prompted a meeting between Hindu readers and Chronicle editors - alluded to by Mary Vuong, below - which was covered by the India Herald. More on the matter from Ramesh Rao at ReligionAndSpirituality.com] 

I'm visiting my hometown of H-town and was rather pleased to see a big, bold Janmashtami piece on the front of Wednesday's Houston Chronicle Flavors section, "Feast and celebration," about how the "Hindu holiday honors the birth of Lord Krishna with offerings of sweet, savory Indian dishes."

Reporter Mary Vuong wrote the piece, which was supplemented by some great shots by photographer Steve Campbell (I wish the online images weren't cropped versions of the print images). There are also a number of recipes, for Salt Seedai ("these crisp, cumin spiced balls are fun to snack on"), Pal Payasam and Rava Kesari, all of them adapted from Latha Ramdas, the subject of the article.

She prays in the morning and evening. This afternoon, Ramdas invites her whole family into the prayer room, lit with incense and oil lamps, to demonstrate what they typically do on Krishna's birthday. They bring the homemade snacks and a silver platter of butter, milk, betel nut shavings, betel leaves and flowers to offer the lord. Jayaram prays aloud in Sanskrit, sprinkling water and holy tulasi leaves over the offerings.

Afterward, Ramdas serves the snacks to her guests on traditional steel plates and bowls. She starts with the rice pudding because it is typical to offer a sweet to someone you've just met.

Janmashtami is being celebrated on September 4. I used to go downtown in Houston to the big Janmashtami celebration - it's where I first learned how to wield a dandia, surrounded by thousands of expert Gujarati raas participants. I also learned that if you want to stop the Guju nation in its tracks, jump in their raas line like a true novice. You'll see it grind to a halt in mere seconds, and watch as the entire crowd bores their eyes into your dark, disruptive Southie soul.

One mistake in Chronicle article - "that Ramdas was raised in the Indian city of Tamil Nadu, in the state of Karnataka," has been corrected. I wrote to Vuong and she told me a little about how the article happened:

The food and wine editor and I were approached by the editor who oversees the religion section (not to be confused with the “religion editor”) with the idea.  She had recently met with some folks from the Hindu community here and though I wasn’t at the meeting, I imagine potential story ideas were discussed.  The subject was referred to me by one of the community members.

She also pointed me to some negative comments that the paper received, which were reproduced at the Chronicle' blog. Here's the first:

I have enjoyed reading the Flavor section of the Chronicle for years, but today's page disappointed me and offended me greatly. I really do not believe that you need to promote Hinduism and prayer to Lord Krishna on your food page. I use to read the Religion page, but now it is just as bad promoting all these religions for the world. How about getting back to the kitchens of the U.S. and good food recipes. 

FOOD: Devi Restaurant Closed in Response to Workers Lawsuit

Devi, one of the most celebrated Indian restaurants in New York, closed earlier this week. The restaurant helped bring chefs Suvir Saran (pictured here in a photo by Ozier Muhammad, who taught a photo workshop at the SAJA Convention this year) and Hemant Mathur to prominence, but litigation against the owner, Rakesh Aggarwal, apparently forced his hand. Workers - South Asians and others - complained of substandard wages and tips being skimmed.

One major fan of the restaurant was Frank Bruni, the chief food critic for The New York Times, who posted "An Elegy: Devi" on his blog. He said he was stunned to hear of the closing.

"Devi opened in late 2004 and earned admiring reviews, including the one I gave it. It intended to be — and arguably was — the most ambitious and refined Indian restaurant in New York, where Indian restaurants haven’t taken root or soared to glory to the extent they have in London."

Tushar Sheth, a staff attorney at AALDEF (the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund), tells us that workers from Devi will be protesting the closing on Thursday, which they say is 'in retaliation" to a lawsuit they'd brought against Aggarwal, charging him of labor violations. Details:

Date/Time of Protest: Thursday, August 30, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Location: Devi Restaurant, 8 East 18th Street, Manhattan
Directions: On 18th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue

SAJA EVENT: "Flavors Beyond Borders," Celebrating Indo-Pak 60th Anniversary in NYC

These photos by Preston Merchant are from a first-time-in-NYC event: Indians and Pakistanis jointly celebrating their Independence Day anniversaries. On Aug. 14, 2007, on the 60th anniversary of the British leaving the subcontinent, SAJA, Indo-American Arts Council and ifood.tv hosted "Flavors Beyond Borders," an evening of cross-border food and drink. See glimpses in the videos below.

EVENTS: India's Independence Day with a Jewish Twist

An unusual event in NYC to celebrate India's 60th Independence Day (though this says "58th Anniversary").

A Celebration of India’s Independence Day with a Jewish Twist
India celebrates its 58th Independence Day on August 15th. Join us in a display of solidarity among India, Israel and the United States. The program will include representatives of the Israeli and Indian consulates in New York and entertainment featuring both Indian and Israeli music and dance. Refreshments will be served. Co-sponsored with the Indian Jewish Community of the USA.

Sign up online here

EARLIER ON SAJAforum:

• SPORTS: Indo-Jew Bowl VII
  

TECHNOLOGY: Amy Smith and Her Students Try to Change the World

A nugget from Pakistani journalist (and former Nieman Fellow) Beena Sarwar's always-interesting e-mail list. "Check out this amazing video talk by Amy Smith, an MIT engineer," she says. It's from the legendary TED conferences ("Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers"). You can spend hours learning new things from the videos on the site. The online talks are free; the actual conference itself costs thousands of dollars.

About this Talk: Fumes from indoor cooking fires kill more than 2 million children a year in the developing world. MIT engineer Amy Smith details an exciting but simple solution: a tool for converting farm waste into cleaner-burning fuel. Plain-spoken and passionate, Smith talks about some other tools she and her students are creating, including an incubator that stays warm without electricity and a grain mill that frees women from hours of grinding every day. These are basic tools with world-changing results.

About Amy Smith: Amy Smith designs cheap, practical fixes for tough problems in developing countries. Among her many accomplishments, the MIT engineer received a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2004 and was the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT SPrize for turning her ideas into inventions. [ More on Amy here ]

BUSINESS: India's #1! (on contaminated food list)

China's been getting all the press lately for exporting nasty/toxic products to America and elsewhere, but it's India that has the worst record, with seemingly-yum products like black pepper, shrimp and basmati rice riddled with seemingly-yucky diseases like salmonella. Check out this graphic from a New York Times article, "China not sole source of dubious food."

The Indian government says things are getting better:

Banarshi Harrison, minister of commerce at the embassy of India, said India had recently strengthened its food safety laws. He said contamination of spices and pickles might occur on occasion because they were processed by many small manufacturers. “There is really no evidence of a systematic problem for any particular product,” he said.

While India has the most food violations (although China leads in overall shipment violations), its total exports to the U.S. are only $22 billion, versus $288 billion from China and $198 billion from Mexico.

But according to this Times of India article, the U.S. isn't such a virtuous trading partner either. American wheat, according to an un-released Indian report, is not fit for India's consumption:

FASHION: Padma Lakshmi in the new GQ

The August issue of GQ features photos of Padma Lakshmi, host of TV's "Top Chef"
and soon-to-be former Mrs. Salman Rushdie (though the divorce happened after they went to press), talking about cooking and eating and an unusual fantasy:

COOK FOR US, PADMA    
Yes, Padma Lakshmi is stunningly beautiful. But she’s a lot more than that. Here the former model talks to Adam Rapoport about hosting the hit series ‘Top Chef,’ and why being stripped naked and covered in chocolate has always been her fantasy

By Adam Rapoport; Photographs by Greg Kadel

See the story and photos. See her official site. Post your comments below.

FOLLOW UP: 7-Elevens Turn into Kwik-E-Marts

[UPDATE: July 19, 2007: See an update on the controversy]

We posted a piece in March about the new "Simpsons" movie and the tie-in that's turning 7-Eleven stores into  Kwik-E-Marts in honor of Apu, one of the stars of Springfield. Well, the makeovers of the stores have happened - complete with Apu nametags for clerks and giant Apu dolls.

Manish Vij at Ultrabrown.com has been covering the reaction - both good and bad - via several posts here, here, here. So when CNN went looking for someone to talk about the makeovers, they naturally turned to Vij. He was on CNN Tuesday night on "Paula Zahn Now" and you can watch the video here or see the YouTube version below.

FOOD: Desi "Wins" $650,100 Lunch with Warren Buffett

Mohnish Pabrai put up $433,000 and a friend, Guy Spier, put up $217,100 on eBay to win the right to have lunch with Warren Buffett. From K.P. Nayar's report in The Telegraph:

An Indian investment fund manager in America has put up the money for what is probably the most pricey lunch in the world.    

Mumbai-born Mohnish Pabrai has won an auction to have lunch with billionaire-philanthropist Warren Buffett with a bid of $650,100 (Rs 2.66 crore).

   

Pabrai said in Nebraska after winning the bid that he would use the opportunity to seek Buffett’s advice on setting up a charitable foundation to help poor children in India acquire technical education.

   

Pabrai, managing partner of the $600-million Pabrai Investment Funds in California, has just published a book that extols the Patel model of doing business.

   

The Dhandho Investor — The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns draws on the experience of the Patel community from Gujarat, who are now said to own more than 70 per cent of motels in America.

Post your thoughts below.

 

HUNGER: Have dinner with Tom Friedman for just $10,000

The Asia Society is organizing a cozy little dinner at the Upper East Side home of trustee and Goldman Sachs managing director Henry Cornell, with special guest Tom Friedman. As many as 20 others can join in the fun, with tickets going for $10,000 (thanks, Ravi-Chandran).

Here's the blurb from the Asia Society's website:

"The “Golden Straitjacket,” “glocalization,” “flatteners,” the “China Price."

Be the first to hear what concept this Pulitzer Prize-winning author and New York Times columnist will analyze and envision next.

But don't expect to sit on the sidelines. Ask hard-hitting questions. Give your own ideas. Savor a delectable dinner by celebrated chef Daniel Boulud in a magnificent private Upper East Side home. Join Friedman in a lively discussion on global issues affecting U.S.-Asia relations, like education, the environment, and public health.

Director of Special Events Jeannine Glazewski told us this is the first in a series of events (no other names yet). She also said the tickets are moving and likely will be sold out by dinner time, June 19. So far, the guest list is shaping up to include a healthy mix of South Asians, other Asians, and Caucasians.

FILM: 'Namesake' reviews bereft of requisite masala references

As long as there have been articles about South Asians in the United States, there have been punny, culturally-appropriate headlines: "Bombay Dreams: A Sari State of Affairs," and so on.

The food trope has been a favorite for copy editors. But as SAJAer Sandip Roy writes, that tradition is, sadly, dying out. He points us to headlines for The Namesake...

"...the best thing about The Namesake is that a quick scouring of the headlines in mainstream media reveals a miracle – no “spicy” “masala” “curry” or any such food-words to describe the film, at least not in the headline.

Here’s a sampling – "Modernity and Tradition at a Cultural Crossroads" – The New York Times

"The Emotional Journey to a New Home" - San Francisco Chronicle

"A Guilt Trip to India Gets to the Heart" – Newsday

"Depth of family is in ‘The Namesake’" – USA Today

Sandip says that only the Wall Street Journal's review sticks to tradition. It's headline: "Namesake Is A Richly Spiced Immigrant Saga"

Feel free to contribute your own headlines, real or imagined, punny or curry-tinged.

FOOD: South Asia connections to James Beard Award Nominees

The James Beard Awards, the most prestigious awards in the food and restaurant business, announced their nominations today (winners will be announced in early May). I see two South Asian connections in this PDF document - let me know if you catch others:

CATEGORY: BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY (FIVE BOROUGHS)
[one of five nominees]
Floyd Cardoz
Tabla
11 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 100101
212-889-0667

Category: Webcast
[one of three nominees]
Savoring the Best of World Flavors: Volume One: India, Spain, Mexico and Thailand
Host: Bill Briwa
Website: www.ciaprochef.com
Producers: John Barkley, Greg Drescher

Floyd Cardoz has received a lot of attention for his work at Tabla - see the press clips and read about his new book, "One Spice, Two Spice," here.

I wasn't familiar with CIAProChef... No, it's not that CIA - it's the Culinary Institute of America. The nomination is for "Savoring the Best of World Flavors" and you can see the India portion here.

Reax? Post your comments below.

NOTE: I served as a judge of the multimedia food writing category - didn't have anything to do with either of these categories.

FOOD: Kanye West's $3,900 biryani

Rap artiste Kanye West may not know it, but he and his promoters are giving New York's Indian restaurants a bad name. They've chosen to outsource a meal they'll have in Manhattan to the British Raj restaurant, in Cardiff...

For a feast of onion bhajees, chapati breads, biryanis, pappadums, a specially prepared fish dish and vegetables on the side, the bill will top $3,900, plus travel and accommodation for the restaurant's head chef.

The meal would normally cost about $17.50, according to the AP report.

The meal will be prepared, cooled, shrink-wrapped and packed in dry ice in the British Raj's kitchens and -- along with head chef Kaysor Ahmed -- will be helicoptered from Wales to London's Heathrow Airport on Tuesday.

From there, the chef is to hop a flight to New York -- monitoring the food's temperature all the way -- clear customs, and head for Manhattan, where the meal is to be served during a meeting Wednesday.

TV: Padma Lakshmi's new food show, Top Chef

Youch:

“Top Chef” offers the reliable, although perhaps not always intentional, hilarity of its blunt product endorsements and of its host, Padma Lakshmi, a k a Mrs. Salman Rushdie, a model-turned-actress whose epicurean musings are less riveting than her sluggish, mouth-full-of-molasses style of speech and strenuously come-hither poses.

As she makes her costume changes you can almost read her thoughts: “Does this skirt go with hamachi?” “Is this too much cleavage for a chicken liver canapé?”

But you can get similar sorts of comedy and sociology elsewhere in the world of reality television.

That's from the New York Times review of the show, written by Frank Bruni (generally the review is more positive about the show). Last time the Times was rough on Padma, the husband didn't it take lying down.

Witnesses say Rushdie walked up to [Guy] Trebay at a National Arts Club event three days later and said, “If you ever write mean things about my wife again, I’ll come after you with a baseball bat.”

Slate also has a review of the show - less positive overall but it spares Padma, simply calling her "foxy."

Here's a recent interview with her.

EXPRESS: Are there any dishes your husband asks for?
LAKSHMI: He's an omnivore and eats anything and everything. I still don't know his favorite dish after seven years together, but he does like it when I make him fried okra. It's very hard to make Indian okra the right way.

FOOD: The history of vegetarianism

There's a pretty interesting article in The New Yorker about the rise of vegetarianism in the West since the year 1600, and the competing philosophies that have developed since then (I was tempted to title this post Meat-Eat Manifesto, but for whose sake?). However, towards the end of the piece, the writer, Steven Shapin, tells us about non-vegetarianism's amazing comeback:

" ...the world’s per-capita consumption of meat rises relentlessly: in 1981, it was 62 pounds per year; in 2002, the figure stood at 87.5 pounds. In carnivorous America, it increased from 238.1 to 275.1 pounds, and the practice is spreading in traditionally herbivorous Asia. Indians’ meat consumption has risen from 8.4 to 11.5 pounds since 1981; in China, it has increased from 33.1 to an astonishing 115.5 pounds. This result has nothing to do with principle and everything to do with prosperity."

The article also looks - a bit too briefly, I thought - at India's impact on vegetarianism in the West. Here, 'Stuart' refers to Tristram Stuart, author of “The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times”:

Europeans, having long believed that animal flesh was necessary to sustain vigorous life, were astonished at the existence of the pagan yet pious Brahmins, who ate no meat but evidently thrived. Stuart, a British historian who lived for some years in India, endeavors to show that the spread of vegetarian doctrines in the West during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was a result of growing familiarity with the customs of colonized India.

On that note, he concludes:

"Like so many other arguments in the vegetarian debate, though, the news from India could be used by both sides. Were the Brahmi