Basic recipe: Peas potatoes

If you are an expert cook then this recipe is too simple for you, thank you for visiting.

Today I get a call from my friend who is newly-wed pampered woman, who has never cooked before and is challenged by her mother-in-law to show some of her culinary skills.


She asks me for a very basic dish, something that is not difficult and tasty as well.


I am not surprised!

Yeah, I have met many such women who don’t even know to fry an egg. For some reason, they have never found reason to cook before marriage.  Busy with studies or career and have enough helpers at home to do the cooking, what is the need to cook? 


There are many parents who will never encourage their children to cook arguing, "Let her rest, there is whole lifetime to cook," so there is chalta hai attitude, 

But after marriage comes a bit of responsibility. One cannot eat everyday out and some basic cooking is important.

This is just the basic recipe which can be cooked by a person who is new to cooking…….

Look into the kitchen for following ingredients

1 tbsp oil

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

2 medium potatoes (diced)

2 green chilies (chopped)

4 cloves garlic (grated)

½ inch ginger (grated)

2 medium tomatoes (chopped)

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 cup shelled peas

1 tsp salt

2 tsp chopped coriander leaves

Let the exercise begin

 Fry onion in 1 tablespoon of oil

Till it gets light brown

Chop potatoes, green chilies and grated garlic and ginger

Add half cup water and Mix garlic, ginger and green chilies

Add chopped potatoes

Add chopped tomatoes

Add dry masalas like coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds and salt

Mix it well

When we become an expert cook, we can start to grate the tomatoes and add, but when new to cooking, this  kind of rough chopping of tomatoes will pass..the more we pamper our guest the better we are expected to perform, Its best to be just our self and do what is comfortable to us’

Add green peas

Add chopped coriander leaves

Put one cup of water, cover and keep it till potatoes are tender.

Serve it with steamed rice or freshly roasted chappatis


Variation: Instead of peas, vegetables like cauliflower, mushrooms or fried okra can also be used,

Dish of the day

Vegetarian Salad

Vegetable Stew

It’s not the cooking that takes time; it’s the thinking about what to cook, of a decision to prepare a particular dish that can take hours. The more the family member we have in the house, the more restricted our choice gets, unless we are ready to cook separately for each member, and of course there are some families that I know, who do even that. How difficult it is, when all the members have different taste, some want food with chilies, some without, some want vegetarian and some strictly non-vegan, some like it dry and some stew, the list is endless and it depends on the woman of the house whether she is ready to comply and please all the members of the house.

It is easier when you have to cook for just one person whom you love too much –

Yes! You get that right! It is easy to just cook for yourself.

Think quickly and assemble the Ingredients

6 pods of garlic, crushed

½ tsp red chili flakes

100 grams vegetarian soya meat

1 medium onion, chopped length-wise

1 medium carrot, chopped slant-wise

1 medium capsicum, chopped length-wise

6 green chilies, chopped length-wise

2-3 basil leaves

2-3 kafir leaves

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cornflour

Let’s cook

1.    On a high flame, stir-fry crushed garlic and red chilies flakes,

2.    Add vegetarian meat, mix till browned,

3.    Add one-by-one, stirring all the time, chopped onions, carrots, capsicum, green chilies, add basil leaves, Kafir leaves, sesame seeds and salt,

4.    Make a corn flour solution by adding 1 tsp of corn flour to two cups of water and add to the vegetables.

5.    Mix till the sauce thickens.

Serve with steamed rice.

Okay, I agree I made too much vegetables,(Burp!) but fret not, dinner was with flat rice noodles

Thank you for the opportunity for sharing my dish on your link at Global Food Festival

Sizzling Mushrooms

When a person says he hates mushroom then we must believe it, right? 


Wrong!


Some people say they hate certain type of food without ever tasting it and my nephew is one of them. The minute he heard that I was to make mushroom he started to hunt for take-away-menu card to order the food from outside. It took lot of persistence and muscle power to make him wait and decide after he has tasted the dish.

The aroma from the cooking pot escaped from kitchen to the room where he was watching TV and distracted him. When the sizzling plate arrived at the dining table, he watched slyly at the other members relishing the taste.

 “Okay, I will taste a bit, although I don’t think I will like it much” he said as he took a spoonful of cooked mushroom to ‘just taste’

Soon, he was grabbing second serving and then the third and finally, “Why do you cook so little?” he said.

Sizzling Mushroom

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic (crushed)

6 green chilies (cut diagonally)

500 grams Mushrooms (halved)

2 capsicum (chopped length wise)

4 medium size spring onions (chopped length wise)

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp corn flour in 1 cup of water

8 cabbage leaves (steamed)

Lets Cook

On a high flame, keep sizzler plate for heating.

In a wok, stir fry garlic and chilies in oil, add mushroom and stir well. Add capsicum and spring onion, add salt and black pepper. Make a solution of corn flour and pour it over mushroom, stir till sauce is thick and creamy.

Move the red-hot sizzler plate on the wooden tray. Arrange the steamed cabbage leaves at the base. Pour the mushroom in sauce over the cabbage and add the oil-water mixture on the plate to make it sizzle.

Serve with garlic bread. 

Potluck Party to Celebrate Terra Madre Day

People in Kenya revived the tradition of cooking in the earthenware pots, People in Istanbul gathered to discuss the importance of wheat as ‘Our wheat, our history’ Some people had honey festival, some people celebrated with workshops, art and discussion on seed and garden food, all the food-conscious people who wanted to revive the age-old tradition were celebrating around the world, a day called Terra Madre day. 

The worldwide Terra Madre network is working to create an alternative model of food production and consumption, in line with Slow Food's philosophy of good, clean and fair, good for our palate, clean for humans, animals and the environment, and fair for producers and consumers. 

10th December was Terra Madre day and it was going to be celebrated in my town, in Mumbai too.

A group of Mumbai food bloggers would cook traditional regional dish and enjoy the potluck party at one of the bloggers’ terrace. Rushina, our mentor brought all the food blogger together to celebrate this day. Nikhil Merchant was kind enough to do us the honor of sharing his terrace as a perfect venue to celebrate this event. The theme for this potluck was unusual traditional dishes from regional cuisines of India.

At 8pm, I arrived at Nikhil’s terrace to enjoy the potluck party. It was a full moon night and food bloggers had gathered in smaller groups, some sitting on a swing, some around the pool table, some near the drinks bar and some closer to the serving tables to enjoy their multiple visits for each serving, all enjoying the food and clicking their best shots. Everybody was excited sharing their dish, talking about its history and food culture associated with that particular cuisine. It was interesting to listen to other food blogger relating their story and some were happy to share their recipe too.

 I had brought with me the traditional mutton dish. It is the spicy dish cooked in cardamom and black pepper.

This is the traditional Sindhi dish and has been relished since Sindh days, when my family lived in Pakisthan, before the 1947 partition days. Mutton is stir fried in ghee with black pepper and cardamom till it is properly coated with the ingredients. Spinach, tomatoes, green chilies, ginger, coriander powder and salt is added and it is allowed to cook till all the juice dries up. It is then mixed and stirred till the oil begins to float. One cup of water is added and it is allowed to simmer till it is tender. Chopped coriander leaves, black pepper and lime juice is added before serving. This is a very healthy dish and tastes good when served with a buttered Bhakri roti

Talking about food makes one more hungry, and I shifted my gaze towards the drinks station, some were enjoying varied combinations of the drinks I am not familiar with. I stuck to my usual fresh juice.

 Finger food is what I am fond of and most of the parties that I attend; I normally have my fill on snacks.

 There was a huge variety of main dishes, just spoonful of each was not doing justice to the food, but since that was the only way that I would be able to taste all the dishes, I tasted as many dishes as I could.

 I am not a desert person; therefore, at desert station it was just tiny-viny bits to taste the flavor.

 The best part of this event was the take-away goodies which were on and under the Christmas tree. The cookies and goodies hung on the tree, sauces, masalas and sweets packed in beautiful packets surrounded the tree.

 I met some interesting people, made new friends and came back with happy memories of the event spent with like-minded people.