I AND MY WORDS

It is indeed weird how we remember the strangest of things from our childhood that others have completely forgotten, all because it is linked to food. That could the case particularly for people obsessed with food like me. Perhaps it is this aspect of my memories that influenced why we engage in certain behaviors and have certain skills too. One strange memory that I always carry, while all my other family members have no reminiscence of, was our first cook. She was a puny Bengali girl who was a servant at a neighbor's house, and started cooking and cleaning at our place to earn more and help her family back home. She was a fantastic cook, and introduced our Punjabi palate to several interesting experiments from her own cuisine. One of those was a fantastic raw mango chutney that she would cook. It is so ironic that no one remembered anything about it, though I searched for its reviews for years, and she had since long gone. Today, I found out the recipe, and as I cooked and tast...

There are so many fish curry recipes that keep floating around that one can get boggled very easily. However, cooking fish curry, as I have belatedly realized, is a very simple process. You do not even need very complicated methods or novel ingredients not seen otherwise, and any one who can cook daal can cook this fish curry too. This is a spin-off from the traditional rural fish curries of East and North East. The closest that comes to it is Assam's Masor Tenga , and it is a particular reference from my side if you wish not to try this particular recipe and go for the original instead. Ingredients: 4 medium sized fillets of fish Oil - I don't buy mustard oil in Hong Kong, and use olive oil instead. But stick to mustard oil if you can do that - about 1.5 tbsp. Even ghee will work 3 targe tomatoes chopped/pureed. I prefer a bit of the peel to be present in the fish for a more rustic feel 1 medium onion chopped fine or pasted 2 tsp of Ginger and garlic paste or finely...

Yogurt is a favorite in almost all parts of India, and it also manages to transcend communal barriers. Some of the best yogurt sauces (called Raitas in India) are served with one of my favorite meals, the dum ki biryani at the biryani outlets. South Asia is full of examples of these raitas being served in some form or the other. Now let me be honest. I have no special love for pomegranates. I think they are one of the more boring fruits out there, and it is an extremely laborious fruit. However, they go wonderfully well with yogurt, as I am going to discuss in this recipe. Try it with anything, and I hope you like the combo. Ingredients 1 pomegranate - Kandahari ones are amazing for it, but any other will do as well. about 400-500 gm of yogurt 1/2 tsp salt - if possible use something called sendha namak , other wise used for Hindu fasts 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp shahjeera - its a shorter cumin seed, but regular cumin will do just as well Few pinches of raita masala Preparation...

I have this friend Sweta (read Sweta and NOT Shweta, else she will kill you). She hails from Goa, which is not just fun and frolic land as all tourists think it is, but it is a land of great local food, which symbolizes experimentation at its best. One has to sample just the fish and prawn curries to understand what I am trying to say (unfortunately, no restaurant targeting tourists serves that kind of food). Main course apart, I have this recipe of Chocolate Fudge Cake that Sweta was gracious enough to share. Its an interesting one, especially for all the little trade secrets that she gave out (for which I am grateful to her). So people take down the recipe and share your experience.   Parts List 125 g unsalted butter at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2/3 cup dark cocoa 2 tsp vinegar 1 cup milk 1.75 cup maida 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarb 1 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla essence Procedure 1. beat butter until creamy. then add sugar and beat until light. then egg yolks ...

Some time since I put in a recipe. For all those who love to eat chutneys and sauces on the side, and who also love yoghurt, this is a great idea. Muji Chetein ( muli chutney in Hindi or radish chutney) is a common side chutney popular amongst Kashmiri Pandit.   What you need are the following: 1 white radish - grated 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera) 3/4 tsp salt 400 gm yoghurt 1/2 tsp sugar Simply mix in the ingredients and serve spoonfuls with rice or chapatis . It goes well even with paranthas and makki di rotis . Believe me, its worth a while.

Well, it is always fun to cook for me. I would in fact say that it is akin to meditation for me, as it gives me immense peace of mind. I had tried a new recipe recently from the gourmet's paradise Sri Lanka, and though it is slightly different from the original, the end result tends to be the same. This time around, I tried cooking pumpkin a bit differently. The need to cook it differently arose from the problem that the cold weather poses - tamarind tends to spoil throats, and everyone is already fighting sore throats and sniffing noses. I recalled something I had seen on television aeons ago, and thought I's try. The end result was wonderful. Wattakka Kalu Pol roughly translates to Pumpkin Curry in Coconut Milk, and the recipe is a must try for it gives you an option of eating pumpkin with rice, something unheard of before. So here goes the recipe. Hope you guys enjoy it. This recipe is for 2-3 people, so just adjust if you want to make it for more people. INGREDIENTS 250...

So I was looking for new recipes to cook the other day, since vegetarian food across India has many many variations and ingredients used in making them. One of the recipes pointed out Sweet Potatoes. Now the four of you may start giggling after reading sweet potato. A humble poor man's snack as a main course dish? Yes of course. In fact, follow the way I made it, and you'd like it a lot. There are many options in the way you can cook it. And now, this is a recipe for three. Hope you guys try it out and like it. INGREDIENTS 2 big sweet potatoes  2 big onions four cloves of garlic one-and-half inch piece of ginger 3 green chillies 3 medium tomatoes 3 sticks curry leaves 1 tsp fenugreek ( methi ) seeds 1 tsp coriander ( dhania ) powder 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri chillies) Salt to taste 2 tbsp oil (mustard/olive/canola) 1 1/2 cup coconut milk 1 cup water PREPARATION The way to use the sweet potatoes is up to you. You may wish...

So I love cooking as well, as some of my friends have figured out by now. I keep experimenting with styles of cooking to see what can we come up with. In the course, I certainly have come up with a recipe that is inspired by Kashmiri cooking. I hope you people try it and like it, though for people in India, it is advisable to cook the same during the bitter winters as the ingredients used are heat generating as per our traditional medicine system. I do not have a name for it, but I am searching for suggestions, so please be generous. INGREDIENTS: Paneer(cottage cheese)400 - 500 gm cut into small cubes Milk 2 glasses Onion 1 whole, paste Garlic 2 cloves, paste Turmeric 1 tsp Red chilli powder 1 tsp Dry ginger powder 1 tsp (alternatively, you can use fresh ginger) Fennel seeds powder 1 tsp Brown cardamom 1 Cloves 3-4 Salt 1 tsp Sugar 1/4 ts...