I am a newbie

[Sunflower77]

Hi,

I am new to US and this forum. I just got married recently and moved from Delhi, and missing indian food. :cry: There aren't any indian grocery stores nearby. Does anybody know where I can shop online for indian grocery items?

Thanks
Rajalakshmi

[hehehewalrus]

Sunflower77,
welcome to the forum :) I am sure you will find several delicious recipes from here!!
in which city and state are u in? Let us know and we can tell some alternatives for u.

[Sunflower77]

We're in a small town just south of Louisville, Kentucky.

[hehehewalrus]

Hope this helps

India Spices
Louisville
4746 Bardstown Rd Kentucky (KY) Phone: (502) 499 6776

Shalimar Indian Grocery
Louisville
1834 S Hurstbourne Pkwy Kentucky (KY) Phone: (502) 499 9791

[Sunflower77]

Thanks, hehehewalrus. We'll make a trip to Louisville soon.

Also, is there any substitute available for Besan? I wanted to make pakoras and was wondering if there's anything available at Walmart that I can use instead of Besan.

[Sunflower77]

Can anybody suggest a good way of storing fruits and veggies fresh longer? I just threw away a carton of strawberries from the refrigerator and it hurts to see food go waste :(

My husband's friend gave us a bag full of corn on the cob, and there's no way we are going to finish it soon. He also gave us a bag full of potatoes from his farm. How can I store them so they stay fresh longer?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Sunflower77
P.S - I love this forum.

[deepali128]

Hi,

i don't use potatos much so i had to throw half the bag. but now i am storing them in freez and i can save it for more than 2 week.

about strawberries: if i have excess i will make their paste with milk and sugar and keep it in freezer in a tight container.

[dev]

Hi Sunflower,

try freezing the corn...here r the steps t do it...
http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingcorn.htm

Hope this helps...

[Sunflower77]

Thanks fellow hubbers, Dev and Deepali.

Deepali, the web site is really helpful.

Sunflower

[riceandbeans]

Whenever you have more strawberries than you will use, always wash them then, cut the stems off and freeze them as they are or split them in half, mix them with sugar and freeze. They won't be firm if you thaw them but you can use in syrups, yogurt, puddings, cakes and/or frozen in smoothies. Better than wasting.

The vegetables can be chopped, blanched and frozen.

Usually if you keep potatoes and some other in the vegetable drawer in the fridge they should last for quite a while.

[riceandbeans]

Another thing to remember is strawberries do not like cold so they won't last long in the fridge. Better buy them only when you are going to use them right away. Planning your cooking really helps avoiding waste, I found out.

[hehehewalrus]

one rotten potato spoils the whole kilo. Generally we get potatoes from walmart and on the second day, I take them out of the polythene bag and keep them individually in the fridge. It never gets spoilt

[Sunflower77]

Thanks! Planning is what I need to learn. I am totally new to cooking, so don't know much yet. :oops:

Also, is there a substitute available for Besan?

Sunflower

[RedPepper]

chickpea flour = besan (flour) = gram flour = cici flour = chana flour = garbanzo bean flour Shopping hints: Look for this in Indian markets or health food stores. To make your own: Lightly roast dried garbanzo beans, then grind them in a blender until mixture has the consistency of flour. Substitutes: lightly roast dried yellow split peas, then grind them in a blender until mixture has the consistency of flour OR all-purpose flour (different flavor and consistency)

Check out this website : http://www.foodsubs.com/Flournw.html
This is where I got the above info. It says we can substitute all purpose flour. But I wouldn't do that. :wink:

[kritica]

Hi,
is it always better to cut the veggies and put them inthe fridge as to same time in cooking.... regarding onions would be good if i cut then and put them in fridge.... or freezer...... well i have come to know that all veggies breath... so its always better to leave them open or u can put them in a bag and have a hole in it for air flow.. this way u can store them fresh.... i dont know if that is applicable for other veggies but works good for tamoto... cabbage capsicum..etc
hope this helps
Kritica.....

[ash_970]

Sunflower,

To substitute BESAN try mixture of

Strach Flour + Plain Flour and Fine Bread crums if you are ok with eggs you can add eggs to this batter and the end product is as good as besan and more crispier...enjoy your pakoras...hope you will find this good enough for your recipe..let me know