Potato Curry

 

Ingredients

Oil - mustard preferably 

Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp 

Whole black gram -1/2 tsp (urad dal)

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Split Bengal gram (channa dal)

Curry leaves - few leaves

Coriander - a small bunch

Salt to taste

A pinch of asafoetida 

Potatoes 5 large cubed

Method

 Heat oil in a pan.  

Add mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering add channa and urad dal and the asafoetida.  

Add the curry leaves to it.  

Now add the potatoes,  salt, and turmeric to it.  

It is important to cover it with a lid and cook.  

Stir the potatoes  in such a way that you let them slowly roast undisturbed by avoiding stirring too often.  

When it is done, make sure that the flavours are balanced well and garnish with coriander.  

Enjoy!

Eggplant and potato sabzi (Baingan and aloo)

Have you had an experience where you have tasted something and it instantly has the ability to transport you to a different place. A place where you feel like all your longings, desires, and cravings have been met.  Where your thirst for that x factor that can elevate you beyond, to that place of delight, has been quenched.  This is one of those dishes that can do that!

Ingredients

1 large egg plant 

30/50 ml Oil (recomended: mustard)

30 grams butter (optional)

1/2 cup milk (optional)

3 or 4 garlic cloves

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coriander powder

1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

2 tablespoons Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) 

1 tablespoon garam masala

1/2 turmeric powder

1 onion finely chopped

3 large potatoes 

Chillies (1/2)

1 1/2 tomatoes or 1/2 can crushed tomatoes (blended into a paste)

Salt to taste

Method

Cut potatoes and eggplant into wedges.  Heat oil in a large pan.  I highly recommend mustard oil for this dish as it takes the dish to the next level.  When it has reached to medium heat  please add the cumin so the cumin seeds can do a little dance.  Add the green chillies, chopped garlic, and onions to saute till golden brown.  When sauteing veges I tend to add a little salt so that the seasoning is done from the start to get the best results and helps cook them much faster.   Add the tomato paste that you have blended and kept aside, into the pan and continue to saute till it looses some of the moisture, raw smell, and taste.  Now it's time for the turmeric, coriander, and chilli powder to go in.  Time to bring the stars of the show in.  Add the eggplant pieces into the pan with a little salt and salute till it softens a little. Add the potatoes to the eggplant mixture (Make sure that you boil the potatoe wedges just enough so it has a bite to it as we do not want it to be mushy).  Saute the potato wedges a little with a little salt .  It is time to add 1/2 cup of water and combine them together.  Put a lid on top to ensure that all the flavours combine and enter the eggplant as well as the potatoes.  Cook on medium heat.  It also helps it to cook thoroughly.  Please ensure that you stir them often to keep them from getting burnt.  Make sure that you taste it to ensure that the Veges have cooked well and flavours are balanced. When that has happened, we can now add the dried fenugreek leaves and garam masala.  Mix it well, add butter and milk.  I have noticed that it is a good alternative for cream.  It is important to add the dairy elements as it helps reduce the sharpness that comes from the intensity of the flavours from the ingredients.  You can taste it and decide on whether to go with it or not, based on your likeing.  Close the lid and let them cook a little.  Add chopped up coriander to garnish the dish.  Taste before hand to check that flavours are balanced well. The dish goes well served hot with flat breads or rice based dishes.  

Enjoy!

Kebabs

 Kebab

Here is a great meal that you can whip up quickly once the basic components are ready.  Best part is that you can keep the falafel balls in the fridge or freezer for many more meals to come. 

Ingredients

Turkish bread

Grated Carrot

Onions sliced

Capsicum chopped

Parsley finely chopped

Lettuce chopped

Hummus spread

1 tin of chickpeas

1 clove of garlic

1tsp of chilli powder

1tsp of pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Salt to taste

Sauces

Garlic yogurt 

1 clove garlic finely chopped

Sriracha sauce

Falafel 

250 grams chickpeas 

1/2 tablespoon of parsley

Salt to taste

Chillies (dry red chillies/1 green)

1/2 an onion 

4 clove of garlic

Method

Grind all ingredients with very little water to a thick consistency so it can be shaped into bite sized portions.

Shape the dough into balls and fry them in oil at medium heat ensuring that they are cooked well on the inside and turns to darker brown on the outside.

Keep aside.

Assembly

Spread the hummus on the Turkish bread.

Lay the vegetables in the middle in the order of your choice. 

Place 3 to 4 falafel balls over the bed of vegetables.

Squash the balls with a fork.

Strategically place dollops of yogurt sauce and sriracha sauce over the vegetables and falafel so they are distributed evenly.

You can choose to omit the sriracha sauce if it's too spicy.  It's the same with the chillies in the falafel.  You can omit the yogurt sauces to make it into a vegan meal.  Replace or add to sauces to suit your taste.

Season with salt if required.

Make ìt into wraps and use sandwich press to warm it just enough so that the bread  goes soft and warm.  It should not go crisp.  

Enjoy!

Soul Food

This school holidays - generally supposed to be fun and, relaxing - have been a wake up call!  When I did have the time to relax by lazing around watching Tele, indulging on delicious food, a tiny bit of guilt crept in about not being more resourceful knowing that holidays come with an expiry date. 

So a large portion of couple of weeks were spent on cleaning and organizing the house.  Suddenly, it all seemed amazing but the feeling was short lived.  This was followed by a rush of unease.  I was not able to put my finger on what it was.  

Looking for ways to calm myself down, I made myself a list of things to do.  Unsure of where to start, I started jotting down things to do.  Maybe I need to focus on my health, my kids, my passions - Wait a minute, what is my passion and how do I arrest the unrest within myself? 

After trying some meditation, walking, spending time with friends and family, it dawned on me that my soul is crying out for attention.  I realised that I was severly defficient. Ignoring all the things that sparks joy, Is detrimental.  Be it a quiet time to sing, draw, or walk for instance can be just the right remedy for infusing the positive drive needed and douse the flames of unrest!  

My point being - feed your soul consistently.  While leading our busy lives, one must remain loyal to our own heart's desire to ensure a life of peace, joy, and tranquility!  In fact the joy can spread to other areas of our daily lives.  

Melt pain with massage

Massage your way to relieve pain.  Here is a simple recipe for a massage oil.  It is a recipe used traditionally in certain parts of India and have been passed on from one generation to the other.  I have seen it being used by my mother-in-law and her mother.  It is used in various parts of India.  In the southern parts of India sesame seed oil is used for its numerous health benefits both internally and externally; making it part of an all purpose health and beauty regime.  Particularly being in the warmer parts of India, it was a natural choice for cooling down the body, protecting from sun damage and keeping skin moisturised and fortified with essential nutrients.  Not only that; in traditional medicine it is known to penetrate beyond skin into organs and bones, healing and replenishing it.  It is known to help with bone growth.   Furthermore with anti-inflammatory properties;  it is a perfect combination to combat pain,  heal and benefit the body giving it a much needed TLC.   

Ingredients

Sesame seed oil

Ginger (1/4 an inch chopped up)

Garlic (1/2 clove chopped up)

Fenugreek seeds (1/2 tsp)

Caraway seeds (Ajwain) (1/2 tsp)

Method

Let the ingredients simmer in the stove and infuse into the oil.  Let it cool down and it's ready for use.  Store in an air tight container.  All you now need to do is to massage it into those areas that are prone to pain or where you are experiencing pain.  Regular use may help in dramatically reducing pain and give noticeable relief from it.  It is generally recommended for external use.  If you are having pain or tiredness in the feet, legs, back pain, hip, neck etc.  you should definitely give it a go!  

As always I have to remind you to not use any of the ingredients that do not suit you.  Wishing you an ongoing energized and blissful halo of well being!  

Living for the image

It is so heavy to carry the load, you wish you could just drop it down for a little while, so you could take a breather.  What I am talking about is the image of you, that you want others to perceive.  We get upset when someone says something regarding us which maybe the exact opposite of what we want others to say about us.  We go the extra length and breadth to make sure that the 'image' stays alive and well at any cost.  What a tough job, carrying this load around, huffing and puffing! - not to mention managing the series of emotions that arise based on the responses we get from the outside world and the impulsive actions we take as a result of that!

Why don't we feel judged by a tree that we are walking past yet predominantly, the other way when we pass a human being?  What would life be like for us, if we didn't bother about what others thought about us?  It is just a thought!  

What would life be if we just lived for ourselves rather than the image?  We will not be fueled by whether someone gave pleasantries to us or the opposite of it.  We will truly know our self-worth from within regardless of any situation.  We will then be able to gauge to understand what a brilliant being we are!

are!  

Peel the layers away

When we come across various situations where we need to make decisions, we often have so many filters that fog our vision from seeing what is really happening or should happen.  

There are less or no problems that arise, from decisions based on  what is the most humane thing to do at that point.  If you remove all filters and look back on past decisions which have been taken otherwise and compare them, you will see the difference.  

Clearing the filters, what ever they may be, is not hard when you base it on making humane decisions.  If we all did that, the world is definitely going to be a better place. 

Teaching children to view life without those filters rather than with, could change the quality of the world they create for themselves and others.  Imagine a world without prejudices based on appearance for example.  A child would be released from the burden of having to look a certain way in order to be accepted or succumb to the pressures of media etc.  The child would then love, accept and be at peace with what they are.  It is not only that, they will be able to accept others the same way too!  The decisions made by such individuals will be more authentic and humane and not a by product of numerous filters clouding their decision making process.