Quick Indian Cooking

I survived the Saturday wedding. Now it was time to brave lashing rain in full Indian festive gear. The annual reconnect-with-my-Bengali-brethren event has commenced.

I’m talking about Durga Puja. Where London’s entire Bengali community descends to find suitable marriage partners, keep up with the Chatterjee’s, and, of course, pray.

For me and sis, the highlight is the Bhog or food offering. There’s something about standing in the mile-long queue, sizing up the crowds and receiving a miniscule portion of food that makes it two times more special than it tastes.

We arrived in matching deep red salwar suits, the traditional trousers and tops, high heels and overcoats. Waited patiently for the queueing to commence, while catching up with the community. And it never happened. Turns out the Bhog of Khichuri, rice and lentils, and Mishti is reserved for the last day or Dashami.

When someone said said “don’t leave now” and rattled off the names of a dozen other long lost Bengalis who were about to arrive, sis and I exchanged a quick look. Then, we legged it to the nearest Indian vegetarian buffet worth its thali.

We’re about to try our luck again. But I’m not taking any chances. I’ve cooked a large pot of Bhoger Khichuri and Beguni, spicy fried aubergines. It’s not quite the same, but it’ll help any disappointment later. Shubho Biojoya everyone!

PS= I have tried to reach a happy compromise with fat in these recipes. Ghee is limited to half a teaspoon per serving and the aubergine is shallow fried instead of deep fried. Come Diwali, I’m done with all this festive fattening…
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My favourite virtual nutritionist’s “31 ways to a better diet” series has me gripped. If it saves me wrinkles, brittle nails and a muffin top, I’ll eat mud with a side of gravel thanks.

Many years ago, the sight of vegetables made me green. Eating was a mindless chore. I was before my time with that perfect size zero figure. Which relatives took in turns to dismiss callously as “sickly” and “plain wrong”.

Fast forward to this. Lots of cooking, in my kitchen and beyond. I still have a softly, softly approach with vegetables though. I need some prodding to buy a new one and try it out. Kathryn’s series gave me a fresh and bold approach.

Zooming around a supermarket, I now slow down by the veggie counter. Trying to justify buying new and odd looking varieties with:

• Ooooh, that looks rude.
• That so matches the colour of the season.
• I wonder if that will taste better than it looks?

Then I bring it home. Cook it. Tell hubby it’s devastatingly bad for him. Which, in turn, endears him to it for life.

And that’s how I discovered broad beans. Quick research found it has a special affinity with aubergines. And Baingan Broad Bean Sabzi was born. I loved the buttery firm texture of the beans with the soft and sweet aubergines. Next time I’ll ditch the peeling and preparation required in favour of this recipe instead.

Now for another 29 ways to a better diet.

PS = This recipe is dedicated to my namesake Mallika, who nominated me as a Brilliant Weblog and requested an aubergine recipe.
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Food shopping is never simple.

We weave through the aisles bickering about sell by dates and yogurt brands. Fight at the checkout about whose turn it is to pack/pay. Then arrive home with half the essentials missing.

This week it was different. As I turned the herb corner, I spotted bags of new Indian ingredients in my local supermarket.

Curry leaves? Okra? Aisle 2? Eternal bliss!

A silly smile crept on my face and stayed on. Despite the promotional 24-pack beer carton and ready-roasted battery chicken portion being loaded by the man into the trolley.

I entrusted the man with acquiring a bag of fresh frozen grated coconut from the Chinese store by his gym. He brought back fresh frozen shredded coconut instead.

I got to work on a recipe that was guaranteed to keep the smile on my face – soft and flavourful Nariyal Bhindi or Coconut Okra (Ladyfinger). Until the next supermarket trip…

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I rushed out of work with colleagues to catch the new Richard Rogers exhibition. Culture out of the way, we made our way towards bottles of viognier by the sunny Thames.

A few glasses, pizzas and hours of heavy screeching later, I arrived back at home to find a husband prostrate with exhaustion from taking courier delivery of my new red coat dress. And a web browser problem interfering with a client’s urgent press release.

Feeling weary, and a little worse for wear, I flung open the fridge door looking for more vino. And they stared right back at me. Two medium large aubergines/eggplants. Leftover from last dinner party. Distinctly changing colour.

Blast. Is it just me or is summer affecting everything?

The next morning, I decided on a Hyderabad-style spicy and sour baingan. I had pretty much all of the long list of ingredients, including the peanuts I ingeniously fished out of a pack of Bombay Mix. But you could just as easily omit some of the ingredients bar the peanuts, tamarind and aubergine of course.

It was a tangy feast in a frying pan. Perfect to nibble ahead another day of champagne in the sun, meetings and greetings. And even better frozen for an imminent quiet night in.
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