Cooking with Amita

Amita had kindly given me a standing offer of Indian cooking lessons, and so when my friend Joyce casually mentioned she would like to know how to cook Indian cuisine, I had the perfect excuse! 

Amita pulled together the menu and Joyce, Linda, Joanne and I had the chance to roll a chapati or two as we learned how to put together some healthy and economical vegetarian meals. 

After the lesson we enjoyed the dishes and finished off with some Bollywood dancing in the living room. Shoba, Amita's mom, was visiting from India and looked on, grinning as she rated our dancing technique. 

It had been a long, cold, and mucky winter so Indian flavours were just what we needed. Thanks Amita!

Joyce took copious notes and I tried to capture measurements as we went along. Here are the recipes:

Savoury Semolina

~ 10 minutes prep + 15 minutes cook ~

Ingredients

- 1/3 cup semolina flour

- Himalayan salt

- 3 - 5 TB oil

- green chili to taste

- 1/2 onion

- vegetables to taste (tomato? carrot? peas?)

- raisins or nuts (optional)

- water

Directions

1. Slice onion. Chop vegetables & coriander.
2. Put semolina in about 3 tbsp sunflower oil, cook 3-4 minutes until fragrant and crunchy (but not brown!). Take out of pan & let cool.
3. If using raisins and nuts, cook in pan until golden and crunchy. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add more oil to pan. Add onion. Cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes,  other vegetables, green chili and cook until tender.
5. Add semolina back in pan. Add salt. Add hot water (1 part semolina to 1.5 parts water) with stove on high. As it cooks, semolina will absorb water, reduce the heat. Keep stirring until done!
6. Top with raisins and nuts, add fresh green coriander.

Banana curry

~ 10 minutes prep + 10 minutes cook ~

Ingredients

- 2 banana or plantain

- 1 cup of onion

- 3/4 cup tomato (use pureed and some freshly diced)

- 2 TB vegetable or sunflower oil

- sprig of curry leaves (optional)

- green chili (optional)

- 2 TB chopped coriander leaves

- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (optional)

- pinch asaphoetida (also known as hing (optional)

- 1/8 tsp turmeric

- 1/4 to 1/3 salt to taste, or to taste

- 1/2 tsp jaggery (cane sugar)

- 1 1/2 tsp ginger/garlic paste

- 1 tsp red chili powder

- 1 tsp garam masala (optional)

- 1/2 tsp coriander powder

- water

Directions

1. Slice banana OR If using plantain, slice and then boil or steam to soften but don't make them mushy. 10 minutes should do it
2. Gather spices, chop coriander
3. Cut up onion and tomato, chop coriander
4. Add oil to pot and heat
5. Add cumin seeds (and mustard if using). When they begin to sizzle add hing, onions, and green chilies if using. Saute until onions are golden.
6. Add chili/garlic paste until raw smell goes away. Add powdered coriander and cumin
7. Add pureed tomato, stir couple of minute
8. Add bananas and salt, then 1/2 cup of warm water
9. taste, adjust spices if needed... more salt, heat or cumin/coriander.... add jaggery
10. Add fresh coriander, leave for 2 minutes, then serve

Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients

- 1 cup basmati rice

- 6 whole green cardamom divided

- 4 cloves divided

- 1 tsp salt divided

- 1 1/2 TB + 1 tsp ghee divided

- 2 medium red onions

- 2 -3 cups  mixed vegetable (potato, carrot, cauliflower, green bean)

- 1 1/2 mixed vegetable

- 2 TB broken cashews

- 4-5 large garlic cloves crushed

- 1 1/2 TB oil

- biryani masala spice mix (store-bought)

- 2 TB turmeric

- dried red chile to taste

- pineapple

- fresh mint

- fresh coriander

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1. Prep ahead of time: boil potatoes and mixed veggies, make rice
2. Add six tsp/tbsp oil medium high heat and then cook sliced onions, stir until softened, add garlic gloves
3. Add handful of cashews, pre-boiled potatoes and mixed veggies (chicken optional)
4. Add biryani masala MIX (store bought), 1-2 heaping tbsp, turmeric and red dried chili
5. Empty pot.
6. Add oil and butter. Add pre-cooked basmati rice and potatoes/veggies and mix
7. Add pineapple and mix
8. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and mint and eat!

Matar Paneer

Ingredients

- Paneer

- 4 tomatoes

- 1-2 onion

- cashews

- Ghee

- Yoghurt

- 2-3 bay leaves

- 1 dried red chili

- 1 TB garam masala

- 1 TB jaggery or brown sugar

- 1/4 cup chopped coriander and/or mint

- salt & ginger & garlic to taste

1. Prep ahead: 
1. Soak cubed paneer in water, turmeric, salt
2. Make Sauce Puree
1. Melt about 2 tbsp butter in pot
2. Add onions, diced tomatoes, cashews
3. Add 2-3 bay leaves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves
4. Stir for 5-7 minutes
5. Take off heat and cool
6. Remove bay leaves. Blend with yogurt and/or milk/water, ginger and garlic until pureed
2. Add butter and melt in pot. Add sliced onions, cook until softened. 
3. Add 4 heaping soup spoonfuls tomato puree
4. Add garam masala 1 tbsp-ish
5. Add sauce puree, ½ cup water, dried red chili, turmeric, 1 tbsp brown sugar
6. Add paneer]
7. Check seasoning & adjust to taste (salt, chili)
8. Stir on low for 5 minutes
9. Sprinkle coriander and mint, and eat!

Roti / Chapati

Ingredients

- Stone ground whole wheat flour, about 2.5 cups

- 6 tsp oil

-water

- salt to tast

Directions

1. Add salt to flour stir
2. Make a well in the flour and add 6 tsp oil
3. Slowly add water, about 1 cup, and smoosh by hand until doughy
4. Near the end, add oil to your hands and make smooth
5. Take a ball of dough little bigger than a golf balls
6. Roll thin in SIX rolls 
7. Pan on medium heat
8. Put dough on pan and count to 5, then flip
9. Tamp and spin until nicely browned, then flip once more
10. This time your chapati may puff!
11. Stack - put a small bit of ghee on chapatic

Countdown to Japan

The itinerary for our upcoming trip to Japan is set! How many years I've wanted to go, and now it's happening. 

In cherry blossom season!!!

Lots of research and You Tube videos have helped the adventure feel less daunting. Alex set us up with our Suica transit cards today, and the eSims are ready to go too. My capsule wardrobe is all picked out and everything will fit nicely in a single carryon. Still need to book trains between destinations.

Yes, it will be crowded, so we will take in sights early in the morning and later in the day, and get off the beaten track a bit in between.

We have a good balance of different activities, and flexibility built in to our plans. Just being in each city will be a delight, each with its own flavour.

• Tokyo (3 nights): arrive! tour with guide around city and then explore Asakusa
• Hakone (2 nights): Onsen!! and Open Air Museum
• Kyoto (5 nights): explore the districts, Philosopher's Walk, temples (including Higashiyama Jisho-ji)  and zen gardens and take time to go Off the Beaten Track
• Nara (2 nights): Todai-ji Temple, Tsubosaka Shrine
• Osaka (3 nights): Kayukan (Aquariium) + food, food, food +view from Umeda Sky Building
• Tokyo (3 nights): Team Labs, Tokyo Museum, Michelin restaurants, parks, izakaya, karaoke, markets

Sāikōu!!!

Dreaming of gardens in St. Lucia

In St. Lucia, both the properties we stayed at had beautiful trees in their gardens. Palm, banana, cashew, calibash, cacao, papaya, golden apple. 

Lush lush lush. 

If lived there I would definitely try to start a forest garden. Pots of snake plant and cactus on the terrace!  Along the path to the front door, frangipani and jasmine for scent. And some bougainvillea and hibiscus for the hummingbirds!

Cacti on the terrace in Laborie

Calibash on the path in Laborie

We did get to Diamond Falls botanical garden, as well as the Tet Paul Nature Trail.

It seemed like exotic plants and flowers were at every turn.

Plants that would only survive indoors back in Canada, like Snake plant and Prayer plant, were naturalized in the hilly landscape. Unfortunately,  so was invasive bamboo.