Quick Indian Cooking

I can´t believe my holiday is almost coming to an end. I´ve been at my in-laws´place in Huancayo, a town nestling in the Mantaro valley of the Andes (pictured) for the best part of two weeks. And spreading the word here about real Indian cooking has been easier than I thought.

For a start, Bollywood is as popular here as eating guinea pigs, drinking pina coladas and colourful fiestas. Secondly, my in-laws run a children´s charity which not only educates, clothes and cares for disadvantaged young children but also operates a vocational traning centre teaching them basic skills like cooking, dressmaking and carpentry.

Isai, the chef and professor of the cooking class let me take a morning session on Indian food. Hubby agreed to translate and take pictures. And voila, an Indo-Andes cooking class was born.

The easy part was working out what ingredients I could get here: cummin, fresh coriander, some whole spices. The tricky part was working out how to keep the kids interested given my broken Spanish and inexperience of cooking at an altitude of 3300m above sea level.

We made Tomato Chicken, a slightly dry and sweet dish that´s best eaten with rotis. We bought all the plates so the children could sample the food (with rice) instead of seeing it sold to other hungry bods. The class was a resounding success even though I firmly refused to do any Bollywood singing, dancing or performing.   

Interestingly, they don´t use cloves and cinnamon in savoury cooking in Peru. My little students were ace at chopping, stirring and eating the food.

Here is the recipe to serve 12 little mouths or six grown ups:

12 pieces of chicken (roughly 1.5kgs)

4 large onions

4 large tomatoes

4 fat cloves of garlic

3″ ginger

1 tsp turmeric

Half tsp chilli powder

Whole spices: 8 cloves, 2″ cinnamon, 4 bay leaves, 2 tsp whole cummin

Fresh coriander to serve

Salt to taste

3 tbsp oil

Two cups of water

Chop the onions and tomatoes roughly. Heat the oil and fry the whole spices. When they start spluttering, add the onions and fry until brown.

In the meantime, chop the ginger and garlic finely. We used a grater for speed.

When the onions are brown add the garlic and ginger and fry for a while until they start going brown too. Now add the turmeric and chilli powder, frying the mixture until the powders lose their pungent smell.

If at any time the mixture starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a little water and stir.

Then add the tomatoes and fry on a high heat until they disintegrate. Add a cup of hot water, lower the flame and let the mixture simmer.

Slowly, holes will form in the mixture and it will start oozing oil. When most of the water has evaporated, add the chicken pieces, raise the flame to high and stir them into the masalas.

Add another cup of water, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked. This dish should be dry and slightly sweet. It is best eaten with bread.

Share this:

In the usual manic run up to a holiday, I didn´t get around to telling you that I´m in Peru for three weeks visiting my in-laws.

We arrived in Lima on 27th January and I kicked off our break tucking into a giganormous plate of barbequed cow´s hearts. There goes my award for Hindu of the year.  

We are off to Huancayo this afternoon, the Andean valley town home to my mum and dad-in-law. It´s a gruelling six and half hours through the mountains, which inevitably involves a landslide, travel sickness and Pollo a la brasa (roast chicken… don´t ask).

Once I get there, I plan to cook salt and spice-free food for my mum-in-law. But also, spread the word about authentic Indian food using sign language and very broken Spanish. I hope the Huancayinos are ready for the onslaught.

The good news is that my in-laws are way less technologically challenged than my considerably younger mother and have embraced the world of broadband and working computers with ease. This means I can try to update QIC even in the Andes, with creative Indian recipes that don´t require a speciality store for ingredients.

Mirar este Espacio, as they say (I think) over here…     

Share this:

I am about to have a birthday soon. Normally, I would invite everyone I know, plan my own surprise party and buy a whole new outfit.

But this year, it’s different.

I am edging closer to 30 by turning 29 and as far as I’m concerned, it ain’t no cause for celebration.

While I’m going all coy on the number, I thought it would be sensible to send my hubby a modest list of my preferred birthday presents (just thinking about it now makes me cringe). So this is what I send him:

If anyone asks… this is what I want for my birthday:

The Bharti Vyas Ayurveda Book
A £25 Mac make up voucher
A Waterstones voucher for cookbooks
A new garlic press (a really good one)

xx

I should have seen this coming, but within seconds he had forwarded this to all our friends, his brother and my sister, adding:

1 carat diamond platinum ring
Boob job to size DD
Driving licence (or driver)
2 babies, a boy and a girl

So while I sit back as the centre of attention for the wrong reasons and butt of all jokes, I thought I’d share with you how I know I’m ageing:

1. I like brussels sprouts and spinach
2. I enjoy trips to the countryside
3. I refer to anyone under 22 as “youth”
4. I call the noise police on neighbours partying beyond 3:00am

I will head home soon to sulk…

Share this:

The number of recipes on this blog certainly has no relation to the amount of food I’ve been consuming lately. The weekend was a food fest. I made two kinds of risotto on Friday night for guests and then on Saturday totally pigged out on superb home-cooked Indian food at my Telegu friend Rithika’s flat. She’s promised to give me the recipes for her sinful lamb chops…

Remember I posted a while ago about Bengali food? Today is Andhra Pradesh day.

Padmaja, who blogs about all things Andhra food-related, kindly put together a crash course on food in the South Eastern state of India.

The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is reputedly the spiciest of all Indian cuisine. Rice is the staple food and is eaten pretty much with every meal along with a variety of vegetable and meat curries.

The state has a rich variety of cuisines, which changes widely from region to region. The Vijayawada/Guntur region is known for extremely spicy dishes. The capital city, Hyderabad is known for its Biriyani and one would do very well to savour it. Because of the rule of the Nawabs there is also a strong Muslim influence on the cuisine in the form of rich, spicy local dishes, especially in the area around the capital.

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, a blend of rice and meat cooked over hot coals is a delicacy cooked with generous amounts of exotic spices and ghee, nuts and dry fruits. The popular Nahari, the Kulcha and the Kebabs have a lot in common with Mughlai cuisine served in northern parts of India.

In terms of typical Andhra food Gongura, also known as Andhra Maatha (Mother of Andhra Food), is a delicacy and no religious festival is complete without it. Pulihara or tamarind rice is the main food here in Andhra Pradesh, and green chilies add spice to the cuisine. Andhra pickle, sharp and extremely hot—is a favorite all over the country.

Other very famous dishes are the Bagara Baingan, or seasoned eggplant, Pesarattu Upma ( Moong Dal Dosa)and many more. Chepala Pulusu (Fish in tamarind gravy) is one of the popular dishes among the varieties prepared from fish.

Sweets and ‘kheer’ are not everyday affairs but form part of the meal on special occasions in any part of the State. It is mainly during festivities that full rein is given to the preparation. Among the popular sweet dishes are sheer khorma (a milky vermicelli sweet), double-ka-meetha (a bread pudding) and khubani-ka-meetha, a syrupy speciality with apricots and lots of sugar.

Moghlai cuisine definitely tops the list of favoured foods, with typical Andhra food coming a close second.

The trend definitely seems to be for spicy and sour food with influences from the Mughal rule. I’m hungry and I may just do some Indian cooking today…

Share this: