Do you mean besides all the cooking forums here at GW? Dave Here is a link that might be useful: GW - Cooking Forums

Jimtex, it appears your wish has been heard. Sankum HAS been posting regularly; check out the link. Welcome to the forum, Sankum! So tell us about yourself a little. I'm finding, mostly on the Recipe Exchange, that what was always assumed to be spam type posts sometimes turn out to be interesting bloggers. Annie, I hereby nominate you (assuming you are at work) to test out all the questionable links to save our computers from risk! Recipe looks good, I would leave out the yogurt (kosher issues for us) and the green chilis. Interesting method of layering the rice and cooked meat to finish off the dish. I'm making port/pomegranate braised lamb shanks tomorrow night (requested repeat from DS #2, thud) but I love Persian/Indian so this may make it on next week's menu. Plus I found a good source of lamb in my neighborhood, w00t! Here is a link that might be useful: Sankum's posts

You can find lots of variations on this red kidney bean curry online at Indian cooking sites, etc. This is the only recipe I can vouch for. Mixing up just the right balance for a curry I'm finding is very difficult. Also, for some reason I am just much more in love with the flavors of the Mediterranean. Here's another recipe I make in the crockpot. It is a soup, but pretty thick. Black Bean Soup with Red Paprika Sauce 1 lb. dried black beans, soaked overnight and drained. 8 cups water or broth (I always use mild veggie broth) 2 chopped med. onions 2 ribs celery 2 cups chopped tomatoes 2 TBLSP paprika 2 tsp. ground cumin 2 bay leaves 1/2 cup cilantro 1 cup corn Simmer beans and veggies until beans are soft. Then add tomatoes and spices and cook a couple hours more. Add the red paprika "sofrito" after the soup is done, just before serving. Do not add peppers to the dish while it's slow cooking, because peppers get bitter made in a slow cooker. I basically throw in everything except the tomato into the crockpot, add the tomatoes towards the end, and then when it's finished I stir in the Red Paprika Sauce. Yummo! Part of the charm of this soup comes from having good paprika on hand. If you miss a smokey taste in your black bean soup you can throw in some chorizo or ham or something. Being vegetarian, I sometimes add a tiny dash of fake bacon bits. Or fake sausage. But this soup I like plain. Red Paprika Sauce 2 TBLSP olive oil 1 large red pepper, diced 3 scallions, minced 2 tsp. paprika, or less, to taste 2 tsp. salt 2 TBLSP lime juice Sautee the peppers and onions in the olive oil and add the paprika, salt and lime juice at the end. Stir into the black bean soup. That's what gives this soup its yumminess, the addition of this fresh herb sofrito at the end. Here's another one that is easy and hearty, but I don't make it because it takes me so long to eat it up. Bean Cornbread Crockpot Casserole from vegetarian.about.com Serves 6 1 med. onion, chopped 1 med. green pepper, chopped (add at the end to the crockpot) 2 cloves garlic or 1/4 tsp. minced garlic powder 1 16 oz. can of kidney beans 1 16 oz. can of pinto beans (I'm not a pinto bean fan so I probably would use black beans) 1 16 oz. can chopped tomatoes 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard 1/8 tsp. hot sauce or chopped jalepeno to taste Cornbread topping to be added at the last 1.5 hours of cooking. 1 cup yellow cornmeal 1 cup all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 TBLSP sugar 1 1/2 cups milk 2 eggs 3 TBLSP veg. oil 1 can cream style corn (8 oz. can) Lightly grease crockpot. Add bean chili ingredients except peppers. Cook 8 hours on low. Add peppers and cornbread topping for the last 1.5 hours. Cook on high for the last 1.5 hours. (Directons sound kind of confusing but I think this is one of those "throw it in the crockpot and go to work and have dinner ready when you get home" recipes. So basically cook the bean chili all day on low in the crockpot, and when you get home make the cornbread topping and add the peppers. I'd sautee the peppers.) But I don't cook at all on the weekdays, so I made this on the weekend and adjusted the times accordingly. I cook the chili for 5-6 hours on low, then add the cornbread crust and the sauteed peppers, finish it off, and have it for Sunday dinner. And Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday. Which is why I don't make this often!

I have the Julie Sahni cookbook but I've found that I never use it. When I look up a recipe like Saag Paneer, it will include instructions like "first follow these steps to make your own Paneer" which will take about 48 hours, and then ..... Which is not very helpful when I'm looking for what to make for tonight. I have devised and refined my own version of Saag Paneer, which while not "authentic" is relatively easy to make, and IMHO better than some I've had at restaurants. CURRIED SPINACH WITH FETA CHEESE MY INTERPRETATION OF THE INDIAN DISH: PALAK PANEER Serves six to eight 16 oz frozen chopped spinach 1 cup water 4 tbsp Pataks mild curry paste (or 2 tbsp curry paste, 2 tbsp mild curry powder) 1 stick butter 1 tbsp mint chutney 1 tbsp sweet mango chutney 4 oz feta cheese (cut into 3/4 inch cubes) Put spinach and water in large pot, heat uncovered over medium heat until spinach is thawed and simmering. Add curry paste, mint chutney and mango chutney, continue to stir and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, add feta cubes, stir thoroughly and serve with basmati rice and/or lightly toasted pita bread. If you cannot find the mint chutney you can substitute 2 tsp dried spearmint leaves. --------------------------- If I can find the Julie Sahni cookbook, and if you are interested, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping, since I virtually never use it, and not at all since moving a year and a half ago.