Potato Bhaji (turned out pretty well for Kim's contribution to an Indian cuisine day at Cambridge)

For 25 potatoes

10 onions chopped

2 or 3 green chillies, take out the seeds.

10 small tomatoes

One bunch of cotmir

5 tsps of haldi

4 tsps of pepper powder

3 tsps of garam masala

40-50 curry leaves

5 tsps mustard

5 tspns jeera

5 flakes of garlic chopped very fine

1 inch long pieces of ginger sliced then julienned fine.

2tspns of sugar

Salt to taste,

3 sour limes

Cooking oil

Place vessel on stove, When it is hot add oil. (2 tablespoon for 1 kg potaotes)

 

When the oil starts smoking slightly, turn stove to medium, chuck in one tsp mustard. When it stops crackling chuck in a tsp of jeera. When that stops crackling throw in 8-10 curry leaves.

 

Add the chopped garlic. One flake for a kg. and 1/5th of the ginger cut fine. Throw in half a tsp of sugar.

Stir a couple of times, then chuck in the chopped onions. (Two onions for one kg of potatoes)

When the onions turn transparent, throw in two chopped tomatoes (tiny ones), About a tablespoon of chopped coriander,

Add half a green chilli chopped. Stir a bit.

Add the haldi powder now, one tsp. (for 1 kg potato), a tsp of pepper powder, half a tsp of  garam masala. Stir for about a minute. If it is too dry add just a tablespoon of water and stir till the masala is cooked, Maybe a minute or two.

Then throw in the potato pieces. Gently stir with a spoon lifting and mixing rather than mashing it around.Add three tablespoons of water after mixing the masala properly. Close the vessel and keep the stove on simmer for about 3 minutes, open, stir carefully, add juice of half a lemon. Stir gently, then sprinkle a little chopped cotmir on the hot mixture, mix gently. Take it off the stove.

Do that for the remaining 4 kgs.- 1 kg at a time. Make you friends taste one piece of potato and ask if they want less of anything. If they say it is pungent, lessen the pepper and green chilli. you taste the potato for the haldi content. too much haldi will make it too yellow and have a strong turmericy taste. But I am pretty sure 1 tsp on haldi is fine for 1 kg of potato.

Mango curry to die for

Ingredients:
Two half ripe mangoes, sliced into cheeks and seed, slice cheeks into half


1 coconut grated
3 Kashmiri chillies
1 medium onion sliced
4 flakes of garlic
Half a teaspoon of whole jeera (cumin)
Half a teaspoon whole pepper
1 Tablespoon whole dhaniya
1 teaspoon haldi (turmeric) powder
1 nimbu sized ball of tamarind
2 tablespoons of chopped green coriander
1 green chilli slit
10 leaves of curry pata (curry leaves)
Two tablespoon crumbled jaggery


Method:
Put grated coconut, Kashmiri chillies, HALF the sliced onion, garlic, jeera, pepper, dhaniya, turmeric and tamarind in a mixer with half a glass of water. Let it grind to a coarse paste, then add another half glass of water, grind to a fine paste. It will be liquid of course, but the coconut should be ground fine. Takes about five minutes.

Heat a vessel to cook the curry in, when hot, add a tablespoon of edible oil, throw in the other half of sliced onion stir until transparent, add curry leaves and sliced chilli.

Turn flame low, add the masala from the mixer, stir. with a long handled spoon, the curry bubbles somethin' wicked. If you get burned with a flying droplet of curry immediately place the lid of the vessel over and wash your burn, apply Lookman-e-Hayat Tel and get on with cooking. Cooks get burned. That's why they are called cooks. They are part of the cooking process.

Let the curry bubble, remove the lid, add a little water at a time if it is too thick.

Turn the flame to full, cook curry uncovered, but keep a careful eye, the thing boils up and over so quickly, so as soon as it boils, be ready to GENTLY slide the mango pieces in. Let the curry boil again, then turn the flame down to simmer for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle chopped cotmir and gently stir the curry for few seconds. Put stove off. Cover with lid.

Prawn curry

Ingredients:


1/4 to 1/2 kg prawns, shelled and de-veined, sprinkle with salt. The heads separated from the hard shell should be added to the masala in the mixer. Makes the curry really outstanding.


Shelled heads of the prawns or a few small cleaned prawns (4 or 5).
1 coconut grated
4 Kashmiri chillies
1 medium onion sliced
4 flakes of garlic
Half a teaspoon of whole jeera (cumin)
Half a teaspoon whole pepper
1 Tablespoon whole dhaniya
1 teaspoon haldi (turmeric) powder
1 nimbu sized ball of tamarind
2 tablespoons of chopped green coriander
1 green chilli slit
10 leaves of curry pata



Method:
Put grated coconut, prawn heads or 6 prawns Kashmiri chillies, HALF the sliced onion, garlic, jeera, pepper, dhaniya, turmeric and tamarind in a mixer with half a glass of water. Let it grind to a coarse paste, then add another half glass of water, grind to a fine paste. It will be liquid of course, but the coconut should be ground fine. Takes about five minutes.

Heat a vessel to cook the curry in, when hot, add a tablespoon of edible oil, throw in the other half of sliced onion stir until transparent, add curry leaves and sliced chilli.

Turn flame low, add the masala from the mixer, stir. with a long handled spoon, the curry bubbles somethin' wicked. If you get burned with a flying droplet of curry immediately place the lid of the vessel over and wash your burn, apply Lookman-e-Hayat Tel and get on with cooking. Cooks get burned. That's why they are called cooks. They are part of the cooking process.

Let the curry bubble, remove the lid, add a little water at a time if it is too thick. Sploosh, stir, check, sploosh, stir, check. Only you would know the consistency of the curry you would like to eat. I like it slightly thick, definitely not too thin and watery, eww. Add a little salt.

Turn the flame to full, cook curry uncovered, but keep a careful eye, the thing boils up and over so quickly, so as soon as it boils, be ready to GENTLY slide the prawns in. Let the curry boil again, then turn the flame down to simmer for 10 minutes. Taste the curry for salt, add half a teaspoon of sugar or a small piece of jaggery.

Sprinkle chopped cotmir and gently stir the curry for few seconds. Put stove off. Cover with lid.

Fish curry

Ingredients:
Fish : 2 or 3 Mackerels, or a 3 or 4 king fish, or 1 pomfret, or 15 sardines. Cleaned and cut in pieces (two or three pieces if it is mackerel, slices if it is king fish or pomfrets and whole sardines. You have to scale, behead and gut the fish, and sprinkle salt on it 

1 coconut grated
4 Kashmiri chillies
1 medium onion sliced
4 flakes of garlic
Half a teaspoon of whole jeera (cumin)
Half a teaspoon whole pepper
1 Tablespoon whole dhaniya
1 teaspoon haldi (turmeric) powder
1 nimbu sized ball of tamarind
2 tablespoons of chopped green coriander
1 green chilli slit
10 leaves of curry pata



Method:
Put grated coconut, Kashmiri chillies, HALF the sliced onion, garlic, jeera, pepper, dhaniya, turmeric and tamarind in a mixer with half a glass of water. Let it grind to a coarse paste, then add another half glass of water, grind to a fine paste. It will be liquid of course, but the coconut should be ground fine. Takes about five minutes.

Heat a vessel to cook the curry in, when hot, add a tablespoon of edible oil, throw in the other half of sliced onion stir until transparent, add curry leaves and sliced chilli.

Turn flame low, add the masala from the mixer, stir. with a long handled spoon, the curry bubbles somethin' wicked. If you get burned with a flying droplet of curry immediately place the lid of the vessel over and wash your burn, apply Lookman-e-Hayat Tel and get on with cooking. Cooks get burned. That's why they are called cooks. They are part of the cooking process.

Let the curry bubble, remove the lid, add a little water at a time if it is too thick. Sploosh, stir, check, sploosh, stir, check. Only you would know the consistency of the curry you would like to eat. I like it slightly thick, definitely not too thin and watery, eww.

Turn the flame to full, cook curry uncovered, but keep a careful eye, the thing boils up and over so quickly, so as soon as it boils, be ready to GENTLY slide the fish in. Let the curry boil again, then turn the flame down to simmer for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle chopped cotmir and gently stir the curry for few seconds. Put stove off. Cover with lid.

Plain fluffy rice

Boiled rice is the healthiest. It's reddish or brown in colour. Very good for making kanji to sort out stomach upsets and fevers. But if you buy the regular rice, Take two katoris of uncooked rice, clean it, wash it. Wash it more than three times or I will get sick and die. That's what a little girl told Aunty Lina next door and she told me that now she washes her rice five or six times since she forgets to keep count. I did likewise, even  after Mama died, so that wherever she was, she would be happy and healthy. But back to the rice.


Fill a vessel with water about a couple of inches from the top. Set your timer for 10 minutes.Once the water comes to a rolling boil, boiling all over the place, tilt the vessel with the washed rice into the boiling water. Don't drop it from a height because you can get splashed with the boiling water. Easiest is to touch the vessel with the washed rice to the boiling water, allow some water to enter the vessel, swirl it around and let the rice gently slide into the boiling water. Do the swirl thing until all the rice grains are in the boiling water.  Gather some boiling water in the washed rice container and keep it aside for later use. Sprinkle a thumb-forefinger-middlefinger-ring-finger pinch of salt and sprinkle it over the boiling rice water.Stir then if the water boils over, turn the flame a little low. Keep timer for 10 mins again. After 6 or 8 minutes add the boiled water you kept aside.


You should test and taste a couple of grains boiling away. If the grain is soft but firm, it's ready to take off the stove. Now keep a basin in the sink. The rice water is very healthy. You can drink it, or give it to a stray dog in your neighbourhood. I water down Paklo's lunch with rice water. Used to do it for Cutie Pie too and she lived long and prospered.


Place the lid on the cooked rice vessel. Holding vessel and lid tightly together, turn the vessel upside down so that the rice water flows into the basin. When all the water has flowed out of the cooked rice, keep the vessel inclined upside, propped against something firm. After 10 minutes, the rice is ready to be forked and served. 


When you overboil the rice
Turn the stove off, take a glass or two of cold water and pour it all over the overcooked rice. Swirl it around and then drain. The rice generally turns out fine, unless you've cooked it to a paste, then just add sugar, chopped almonds, milk and cream and make it a nice rice pudding.

Cheese smothered sunny side up egg

Heat  a frying pan, pour a little oil, spread all over, pour out the excess oil. When the oil gets hot, break an egg into it, spread out the white of the egg so it cooks uniformly sprinkle sea salt and pepper. Lift the egg on to a plate. Arrange slices of Kraft cheese over it. I say Kraft cos I used Kraft cheese today. Take two slices of bread and toast them lightly on the pan. You can lift the egg smothered with cheese on to one slice and cover with the other slice. It's absolute heaven. Or you can eat the genteel way with a fork, egg and cheese and a nibble of bread. Really, totally sets you on your feet for the day. I've finished dinner and I'm still thinking affectionate thoughts of this morning's breakfast :D

MOIST AND FLAVOURSOME - This pic is pretty close to what I cooked up this morning

Brinjal sweet and sour

What I'm going to do is this. I'm going to put the main ingredient of the recipe in the title, so if you have brinjal all you have to do is write brinjal in the search box and recipes with brinjal will pop up.

Buy half a kilo of medium sized brinjals. Wash them. Angle your knife like you are sharpening a pencil and shave off the top green stem and leaf type thingy that holds the brinjal to the stem. The stem and the holder leaf type thingy can be used as a hair clip. :D Just kidding. Throw it in the bin.


The bin. That's another thing. I like keeping a small bin on the kitchen counter, next to the work surface so you don't drop bits and pieces of chopped veg waste all over the kitchen floor between work area and dustbin. Line the bin with newspaper and you're good to go. 


Now you have the washed and trimmed brinjals. YOu have to cut them into half inch, or one centimetre cubes. You can cut the brinjals lengthwise in half then half inch slices, then half inch strips and across the strips to get your cubes. Put in a holding bowl. 


I like the sound of "holding bowl".  You  don't cook in it. You hold the stuff you are going to put in a vessel for cooking. Buy nice shiny, easy to clean holding bowls of three different sizes. Small medium and large. The large one can double as a salad bowl.


So now you have the cubed brinjals in the holding bowl.


Chop an onion. You know how to do that right? Chop the top and the bottom. slice down the length. Peel off the outer layer. By the way I think when you keep your mouth open, or talk when chopping onions, your eyes water, if you keep your mouth shut, your eyes don't burn. I may be wrong. But my eyes don't burn when I'm chopping onions silently.


Place the onion cut side down, slice fine lengthwise, turn it around and slice horizontally. If you watch cooking on TV, they take a cleaver and chop rapidly up and down the pile of chopped onion. You can do that, but all it does is impress you, does not make much difference to the cooked dish. But finely chopped onions or finely sliced are easier to eat.


Chop one green chilli lengthwise then across as tiny as you can.


Chop one tomato finely


Chop about a tablespoon of fresh coriander (cotmir)


About 10 large curry leaves (curry patta)


One tsp ginger garlic paste


A tsp of whole mustard


A tsp of whole jeera


1/2 tsp haldi powder


1/2 tsp pepper powder


1/2 tsp dhania powder


1/2 tsp chilli powder


1/2 tsp mango powder (amchur)


A small lump of jaggery maybe 1 inch (optional)


Juice of one lemon 


Two tablespoons of water


Put your cooking vessel on the stove, let it get hot, keep flame high. 
When hot put in a teaspoon of oil. Swirl the oil around, so it coats the base of the vessel.
When the oil heats in half a minute, drop the mustard in. Turn the flame low, else the mustard will burn.
When the mustard stops popping, throw in the whole jeera.
A few seconds later when the jeera turns darker, throw in the curry leaves.
When they get brown, throw in ginger garlic paste. Stir it around for a about 10 seconds.


Now throw in the onions and stir them all over the place, so everything mixes nicely. Turn the flame up and stir till the onions get transparentish, or pink. There has to be some action there. Ideally, the onions should turn golden brown, but I find it annoying waiting for the stupid things to turn golden brown and if you dream a little, as it is PERFECTLY NORMAL to do, the stupid things get black. Less is more is what I say.


Chuck in the tomato, stir,  the chilli, stir,  the haldi, pepper, dhania, chilli, mango powders, stir until it's all mixed, chuck in HALF of the chopped coriander, now empty the chopped brinjals from the ahem, holding bowl, stir carefully until the masala is mixed nicely and evenly with the brinjal cubes. Turn the flame low, else you'll be coughing and sneezing all over the place.


Sprinkle a little water over not more than two tablespoons of water. You should never use lots of water to cook veggies, cos the vitamins go, and it tastes horrible. Again, less is more. Leetle water is all you need.


Add the jaggery and stir it around until it dissolves.


Close the vessel and check that the flame is low.


Let it cook for 7 minutes.


Open. 



Add juice of one lemon


Stir.


Replace lid of vessel. 


Cook for another 2 minutes.


Taste a cube and see if more salt is needed.


If it is not spicy enough, make a note next time to add another chilli and maybe some more chilli and pepper powder. Don't add any more things now. 


Turn stove off.  Add remaining chopped coriander, stir gently. Close lid.


VARIATION 1:


YOU CAN ADD FRESH PRAWNS AFTER THE SPICES ARE ADDED TO THE ONIONS AND A TABLESPOON OF WATER. (I used to do this when you both were small, but el kunjooso stopped that when frugality became his god)


VARIATION 2:


YOU CAN ADD FRESH PRAWNS AND CHOPPED POTATO CUBES, THE SAME SIZE AS THE BRINJAL CUBES, AFTER THE SPICES ARE ADDED TO THE ONIONS. HERE YOU'LL HAVE TO ADD TWO MORE TABLESPOONS OF WATER SO THE POTATOES CAN COOK FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. THEN ADD THE BRINJAL CUBES.