[Sca-cooks] cardamom (was rosewater)

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

From: Alexa <mysticgypsy1008 at yahoo.com>
>HMM, ok, now I have to not only find a middle eastern
>store but an indian one too....or, wait, wouldnt they
>both be about the same?  It's getting late, the brain
>doesnt work so well.

Nope. Not the same at all.

Indian makes up most of the South Asian subcontinent, along with 
Bangladesh and Pakistan, with Sri Lanka floating off the southern end.

Middle Eastern = Southwest Asia - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, 
Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia, The Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, etc.

Iran is generally considered Middle Eastern even though Farsi is an 
Indo-European language, and there has been quite a bit of Central 
Asia influence in the culture over the centuries.

Turkey straddles the Near East and the Middle East, although the 
Turks are Central Asian in origin

The Near East is Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and 
historically Muslim Sicily and al-Andalus in Spain.

While there are some relationships between the Middle East and South 
Asia, there are many differences, and the cuisine is quite different, 
generally speaking.

Get some rest :-)

Anahita