Jhoota - touched by another, typically by mouth, making it impure for consumption by another. This is a big difference between the communal eating style adopted in some Muslim households and the strictly individual food rituals of most Hindus. Feeding somebody by hand is thus a mark of great intimacy and trust, typically of mother and child, for instance; I suspect even for husband and wife, it's a bit unnerving to get so close. I mean, sex is OK, but why go overboard?
I shall sit out the rest of this war at an undisclosed location. Not too far from Puget Sound sounds approximately right. --- On Sat, 6/6/09, Bruce Metcalf <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Bruce Metcalf <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [silk] Indian foodies > To: [email protected] > Date: Saturday, 6 June, 2009, 2:17 AM > Radhika, Y. wrote: > > > my dad declined tasting sushi because it was (a) too > cold (b) too raw! > > I know a chef who was hired to staff the private car of the > president of > the Tennessee Central Railroad. It is based in Nashville, > which is not > know in the US for gastronomical experimentation. > > Invited on board for heavy hors d'oeuvres, He presented a > large silver > tray covered in what looked like sushi. As our party had > been delayed by > over an hour, I wanly asked if the sushi had been waiting > for us all > that time. > > "Oh no, that's not sushi," he explained, "It's what I call > 'simshi'. > These are roast beef, these ham, these cooked sausage, the > only raw > things on this tray are the vegetables, and even some of > them are cooked." > > It was, I thought, a reasonable accommodation to the rural > sorts who > thing the correct term for raw fish is "bait". Who knows, > some may have > gone on to try the real thing. > > > > my mother turned down Ethiopian food because it was > eaten "muslim-style" in one dish with no regard for jhoota. > > Sorry, have to ask what is "jhoota"? Is that like feng shui > for food? > > > >>> Pacific Northwestern fresh salmon grilled on a > cedar plank is really yummy if you ever get a chance. > > Yes, and my local Pacific Northwest-themed restaurant has > just gotten in > the Copper River Salmon -- my favorite -- which they > prepare this way. > Alas, they no longer serve it upon the flaming cedar plank > -- the fire > marshal was so served one night and the practice was > stopped on the morrow. > > > >> One of the great tragedies of North American > gastronomy is that the > >> only place you can really find fresh Gulf of > Alaska seafood is in the northwest corner of the North > American continent. ... Some of > >> the more remarkable local fish, such as the > sablefish, have a very > >> short shelf-life such that versions found > elsewhere are almost > >> universally awful. > > I don't know, I've had some most excellent sablefish here > in the southeast corner of the country. I suppose it's > mostly a matter of having enough quality seafood restaurants > in one town to oblige them to outdo one another ... that and > regular direct flights from Seattle. > > But perhaps each region has local specialties that don't > travel much. I've never had artichokes as good as in > Castroville, California; crayfish as good as in New Orleans; > calamari as good as Cape Town; nor sweet corn as good as in > Zellwood, Florida. Just as winemakers obsess over terroir, > each crop or species has it's own preferred range, and often > the best is in such short supply that exporting from the > region makes no sense. > > In search of local food on a recent cruise that took us to > Tortola, we walked away from the dock until we found a > restaurant that *didn't* have an American Express decal on > the door. This isn't always a guarantee of good food, but > we've found it a decent approach to finding local food, > which so often takes advantage of local offerings. > > Let me repeat my standing offer to show any silklister in > Central Florida some of the better offerings in town. > > Bruce > > Cricket on your mind? Visit the ultimate cricket website. Enter http://beta.cricket.yahoo.com
