dinner 19th september 2009

Neighbours Bev and Malcolm, John and Jill missed elder daughter BG's birthday party as they were away on holiday. So we had an evening together before elder daughter BG moved on to pastures new. All seasoned chilli eaters apart from Margaret and Bill both in their seventies.

In days bygone (until about two years ago), I remember staying up all hours of the night making the little crispy puffs known as gol gappas or puchka or puri - numerous attempts to get them right - those puffed up little balloons - with various combinations of flour to semolina ratio or urad daal flour, ground in a coffee grinder. Heaven nowadays when it comes to those tiddly puffs of pastry = they are now available widely in many ethnic shops and the sleepless hard toil nights have disappeared - vamoosh!!! and they are long life too.

Some of the drudgery but also excitement of cooking from scratch has been eliminated. But I still prefer to soak and boil the chickpeas - it does not take long provided some advance planning has been adhered to. Assume each person will eat at least six of those little puffs and one cannot go wrong on quantity. Guess the rest of the melange is all about estimating and hoping that there is enough for all! leftover bits are useful the next day for a tiny snack.

5th August 2009

5th August 1998. My father-in-law, Keshab Chandra Gogoi passed away. Each year on this day a 'hokam' - prayer ceremony - is organised by the family in either Dibrugarh or Guwahati in Assam. The day starts with a 'naam' in which prayers are offered for the soul of the deceased and then a lunch is hosted for family and friends - a big affair. A rather sober affair to begin with. It was a more social occasion in Guwahati with extended family gathering together to remember a well known and loved relative.

After a morning of prayers followed by blessing ceremony for the family conducted by priests, guests were treated to an Assamese meal – plain rice, pulao rice, cauliflower and potato ‘sabji’, dal, ‘ilish’ (hilsa) in a mustard sauce, rahu fish in a tomato gravy followed by rasgulla with yoghurt. Special chefs are hired for the day to cater for the guests.

Being a working day, this family branch abroad paid homage privately. Here in England, we have a very simple ceremony. There are no priests who come to the house to say the prayers and lead the ceremony. No chefs and not many guests either. I turn on some music - sacred Hindu chants - and we say a prayer as a family in the morning and in the evening share a meal with friends or family.

Oops! forgot to mention that 'prokhad' - prashad in Hindi / Bengali ... was also a part of the menu. Prokhad in Assam is a medley of soaked raw chickpeas, mung beans (whole or split with or without the skin), a few grains of rice and fresh fruits. Have questioned the Assamese habit of eating raw beans and pulses – mainly chickpeas and mung beans. It is recommended that beans and pulses are boiled for a few minutes before being consumed and yet the Assamese people tend to partake of these raw ingredients without any side effects! No one has yet answered my question as to why the Assamese do not suffer adversely from the effects of eating these uncooked beans – so if anyone knows the answer, please let me know.

A think and plan ahead recipe!! There is no fast and firm rule for the quantities for prokhad. Most of it is down to personal choice. Mother makes quite a lot when she has guests; she has a real knack for making a great tasting prokhad people say, and they all like to take a 'doggy bag' home. As we only eat a few grains of this raw mixture, I too tend to soak a lot more as the mix lends itself to various other recipes - a type of daal with lots of ginger and coconut and also khar made with the addition of an alkali processed from the burnt skin of a certain variety of bananas, bhim kol, or in the absence of this alkali agent, a good old standby, bicarbonate of soda.

Recipe for Prokhad to be eaten raw and enough for other recipes too

Ingredients

1 cup of dried chickpeas

1 cup of mung dal - whole or split

1 tsp rice (uncooked)

1 fresh coconut - half grated and half cut into slivers

a piece of fresh ginger

fresh fruits

Method

• Soak the chick peas and the mung dal separately overnight in plenty of water in huge bowls as they tend to swell considerably. In winter, it may need a longer soak or if the beans and pulses are old.
• Next day, soak the rice in water for about an hour or two.
• Drain the chick peas and the mung dal, wash again and throw away any that are still hard. The old dal which remain rock hard will rattle against a metal container - the rest will look plump and will squish when pressed between thumb and finger!! Mix them together.
• Add the grated coconut and put the mixture in a serving bowl.
• Scatter the soaked and drained rice followed by finely diced ginger pieces over the mixture.
• Decorate with the fruit.

Once the prayers and puja are over, mix in some salt and then serve. Salt is never added to prokhad for the duration of the prayers - it is offered in a separate dish. Still have not had a convincing answer from anyone about the separated offerings.

In my parents house, it is my father who prepares the coconut and he does a fantastic job. It is lovely to see the ritual that he goes through. The whole coconut is washed and then he scrapes off the hairs with a paring knife leaving a totally bald brown shiny shell. After that he takes a fine skewer, pokes a hole in the coconut, drains off the 'milk' and saves it in a glass for one of us to drink. The coconut is then 'lined' with a few drops of water around its equator and the back of a chinese cleaver is used to hit the coconut around the equator and plop! the coconut is in two halves. Father painstakingly cuts out neat slivers or grates the coconut on a hand held grater as demanded by mother. Yep, he has patience and all because no one likes to see bits of brown hair in the otherwise pristine whiteness of the freshly grated coconut flesh.

My father-in-law loved fish. Apparently, his taste buds were so fine tuned that he was able to identify which river the fish was from! This year, we tried to duplicate some of the menu that was served back in Guwahati. Here in England, substitution of 'Assamese' ingredients is the norm for us as we are unable to purchase the same vegetables and fish. Unfortunately, most sea fish do not have the same characteristics as river fish - cod and haddock cannot withstand the cooking techniques associated with assamese cuisine. So we have adapted techniques and we substitute sprats for puthi maas, herrings/ sardines for hilsa, haddock or cod for rohu or borali, butterflied sardines for pabho, sea bass or sea bream for rahu ..... salmon used only if it is wild and not farmed - a rarity these days. And husband refuses to eat trout. We do get frozen river fish from Bangladesh and Thailand but the food handling capabilities of some of these ethnic grocers leave a lot to be desired - the fish can get defrosted and frozen many times and a horrible odour emanates when one cooks it.

To recreate the menu here in England, where it is difficult to find indigenous fish, the hiIsa was replaced with fresh sardines and the rahu fish with sea bream. The sardines were cooked in a mustard sauce and the sea bream ended up in a fresh spinach and potato ‘tenga’ – a soupy ‘curry’ with a tang.

For the fish in mustard gravy, horiyoh diya maach, ready made mustard makes life easy. Colman’s mustard powder is an acceptable substitute. Dijon mustard and other mustard mixes do not really produce the authentic taste. This dish does need a bit of chilli – either fresh green chillies or some dried red chilli powder otherwise the finished dish ends up tasting rather bitter. In Assam, pungent mustard oil is widely used for cooking. The mustard oil one buys from the ethnic stores in England all carry a warning – only for external use! Not sure why but we have been using the same brand of mustard oil for the last thirty years but in miserly amounts as it is such a delicacy. During my last trip to India, I got a mustard oil bottle by the brand name of Engine Oil! Sprats are a good substitute if sardines are not available and if you can get hold of ilish / hilsa all the better.

Horiyoh diya maach - Fish in mustard gravy

Ingredients (for four):

4 fresh sardines, washed and gutted

about 3 tbsp oil for frying ( we use sunflower oil or mild olive oil - both neutral in taste)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds or 2 tsp Colman's mustard powder

1 tsp nigella seeds

1 green or red chilli, slit or 1 tsp red chilli powder or 1 tsp red chilli flakes

Method

• Dry the fish, and slash the flesh once or twice, depending on the size of the fish. Rub 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp salt over the fish and leave for about half an hour.
• If using mustard seeds, grind them finely in a coffee grinder. Mix the mustard powder in 200 ml of water and leave it standing.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan or saute pan. When the oil is hot, add the fish but ensure that the pan does not get crowded and fry in batches. Fry the fish on both sides for a few minutes until the fish takes on some colour. Lift out and drain on paper towels.
• Check the amount of oil in the pan. You need about 2 tbsp only - sardines can be oily and will release some oil. In the same oil, add the nigella seeds and let them pop for a few seconds.
• Add the chopped onion and the chilli and fry on a medium heat until the onion is soft and light brown stirring frequently - otherwise some of the onions tend to get burnt if left alone!
• Add the mustard water to the pan. It may sputter!!! so turn down the heat at the beginning. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the fried fish, bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for about five more minutes or until the gravy is the consistency of double cream. If the fish is not covered by the gravy, from time to time, spoon some of the gravy over it or turn the fish over after about three minutes.
• Remove to a serving dish and serve.

No rahu fish? No ayr / ari? No problem. Sea bream or sea bass will do or any other fish that will not fall apart when fried. I suppose trout and salmon will lend itself to this very well - but family preferences excludes the use of these fish. Sea bream looked fresh in the shops so that ended up on our dinner table. Mother grows spinach in her garden in London. She also grows sorrel and a few other Assamese greens too. But this summer, she was too far away from me to get the few handfuls that I needed. So baby spinach it was from the supermarket. New potatoes or old - personal choice. Old potatoes will break down slightly and thicken the gravy, new potatoes will hold their shape. It's really weird how in Assam each vegetable is cut into different shapes or sizes according to the dish they are going to be cooked in and the servants have to get it right. Otherwise they are in a whole lot of bother!

The green chilli is added towards the end so that the gravy is flavoured delicately with just a hint of chilli heat.

Fish with spinach and potatoes - paleng haak aru alu diya maach'or jhool

Ingredients (for four very hungry people or six or eight .... depending on number of dishes to be served) :

2 sea bream - scaled, washed and gutted, cut into steaks

2 tsp turmeric

2 bags of spinach (200 grams), shredded or chopped

1 large potato, peeled and cut in to eighths, or two medium potatoes, cut into quarters lengthwise

piece of ginger

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil for frying

salt to taste

1 fresh lime or 1 lemon - juice only

1 green chilli

a handful of green coriander, washed and chopped

Method :

• Rub the sea bream steaks with the turmeric and 1 tsp salt and let it marinate for about half an hour.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan and fry the fish gently on both sides for a few minutes. Drain and remove.
• In the same oil, fry the potatoes until they are half cooked.
• Add the ginger to pan and stir it around for about thirty seconds.
• Add the spinach and let it wilt - this will take a minute or two only.
• Add about 250 ml of water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about five minutes on a gentle heat.
• Add the fish steaks and some salt, cover and cook gently for another five minutes so that the steaks soak up some of the gravy and the potatoes are cooked.
• Slit the green chilli and add it for the last minute of cooking
• Add the lime or lemon juice to taste.
• Remove and put in serving bowl, sprinkle with the coriander and serve.

Now, in our rather extended family, great debates take place as to what spices need to go into this dish. My mother and husband never seem to agree and it is often hilarious to watch the two of them cooking together. One says it needs a little bit of garlic, the other says no and so it goes on - but whatever ends up on the table is tasty and not worth quibbling about.

mid July 2009 to end July 2009

In a French converted barn in a little village not far from Saumur for two weeks of the summer holidays together with Brother Number 1 and his family. Reminded us of our grandparents home in the village of Namti in Sibsagarh, Assam, India. Chickens, ducks and rabbits in the backyard and a wonderful vegetable patch tended to by Monsieur Gaillemard just like my grandfather used to - the rice fields were looked after by seasonal workers. Courgettes, peppers, tomatoes (six different varieties), French beans, haricot beans, pumpkins, parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic, onions - a veritable treasure trove which Monsieur Gaillemard shared with us. The taste of the sun-ripened tomatoes was remarkable. And the home made wine knocked out the tasters of more than a glass. The eggs came from Monsieur Gaillemard's eighty year old mother's farm as did the opal looking plums. Madame Gaillemard's quince jam and redcurrant jams were fabulous spread on brioche slices, sometimes toasted, for breakfast.

tomatoes in the vegetable garden

monsieur gaillemard's vegetable garden

When Brother Number 1 was living in Toulouse, France, we used to visit him several times a year. Regular feature for nearly twelve years. Really miss that part of France. The 'fritons' - duck skin - fried to a crisp with some salt, the fougasse with fritons - a flat bread with bits of friton, duck rillette, courgette flowers from the market to be turned into yummy 'tempura' - ahhh! just some of the culinary delicacies that we delighted in.

The Poitou-Charente region was lacking in all the above mentioned delicacies except the rillette. But the wine trails and chateaux around the area was an experience. Husband and brother do not really enjoy white wine, but they loved the Saumur Champigny. All enjoyed the trips to the caves near Saumur and as we drove around the region, the smell of charentais melons was everywhere. This region of France, south of Saumur, is supposed to grow most of the charentais melons.

saumur chateau

loading wine cases in the car after a trip to Ackerman cave

Markets all over France are exceptional even in small towns. Loved the scene of the gentleman selling goose eggs for 1 euro each in a corner of Thouars market on a Friday. the pottery stall was a feast of colours and the variety of garlic and shallots was incredible - smoked garlic too.

goose egg seller in Thouars market

bargaining in the pottery stall in Thouars market

garlic and shallots stall in Thouars market

went to Les Rosiers sur Loire - a very small town on the north bank of the Loire, on a market day. Bought a fabulous goats cheese log covered in ashes. The market here had very few stalls. Bought some rather deformed but very tasty tomatoes and french beans from a farmer.

vegetable business in Les Rosiers sur Loire

Introduced Indian food to Monsieur and Madame Gaillemard and to Emile and his wife Elaine. This was their first ever taste of spicy / Indian food. Our spice 'chest ' travels with us wherever we go.

Menu for the evening :

starter of grilled goats cheese drizzled with honey on toasted french bread slices

cumin flavoured pulao rice

moghlai chicken with dried apricots and almonds (no raisins as we were nearing the end of our holiday)

potatoes in a gingery garlicky tomato sauce (adraki aloo),

green beans with garlic and chilli flakes,

tomato and feta salad,

mackerel steaks with onions and tomatoes

followed by

baked figs with honey and almonds served with creme fraiche cooked by daughters and niece,

mango mousse (bit difficult to make without double cream, used creme fraiche instead)

strawberry charlotte with raspberry coulis made by Elaine, and

blackberry crumble made by Anne Marie with blackberries picked in the nearby forest

the home grown strawberries that Elaine had brought along to decorate ended up being decoration for the figs!!! OOPS! sorry Elaine. Conversation conducted entirely in French with several bottles of wine, including home made aperitif brewed by Monsieur Guillemard, downed by the men. Tried to explain to the French guests why husband had decided to serve mackerel - only knew word for bone of meat -os. Husband tries not to serve fish with bones in case fish bones get stuck in throats of guests. My translated version was hilarious to say the least. Elaine loved the potatoes and Monsieur Guillemard remarked that the food may not have been French but that I understood Indian food the way a french person understands french food. and so here's the recipe included in this write-up. I have promised to send her the recipe in French when I get around to translating with my limited and ungrammatical french.

Pulao rice with green beans and adraki aloo

Elaine turning out her strawberry charlotte

Anne Marie's blackberry crumble

Dessert time !

Recipe for gingery garlicky potatoes in tomato sauce - adraki aloo

the chilli heat can be added to taste. If you are addicted to chillies, then add more. Omit the chillies if chilli heat is not required. But chillies can be addictive and once you get hooked on it, you will end wanting more! a slightly bigger or smaller onion than that stated does not matter.

Three years ago, when my cousin, Fiona, organised a hog roast party, I cooked this potato dish with nearly ten kilos of potatoes only for the immediate family members - gathering of over a hundred guests with the hog roast the main centre of attraction. Did not expect the English guests to eat the spicy foods - this dish and a chilli apple chutney - but these two dishes 'sold' out. Tickled the taste buds of people unfamiliar with spiced food and even the French have been won over!

ingredients

1 kg of potatoes, preferably new potatoes or charlotte or pink fir, chopped into 3 cm pieces

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp oil (corn, sunflower or olive oil)

5 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated

6 cloves of garlic, grated

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1 fresh green chilli chopped finely or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 kg fresh tomatoes, chopped or 450 g tinned chopped tomatoes

1 tsp garam masala

handful of chopped coriander leaves or chopped chives- optional

method

• heat the oil in a saute pan and fry the chopped onions in it till golden brown and beginning to caramelize. Do not fry over a high heat - medium is best.
• add the grated ginger and garlic and fry together for a minute.
• add the cumin seeds, bay leaf and the green chilli or red chilli flakes and fry for another minute.
• add the turmeric and then the potatoes. stir the potatoes around till they are coated in the spice mixture.
• add the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook together for about five minutes on medium heat.
• add salt to taste. Cover the pan and cook until the potatoes are done and the tomatoes have turned to a pulp. Stir every few minutes to ensure that the tomatoes do not get stuck. This can take about twenty minutes. There should not be too much sauce and this should be thick enough to coat the potatoes. if there is not enough liquid from the tomatoes, add half a cup of water so that the potatoes have enough moisture to get cooked in. The oil will also rise and sizzle around the pan when the dish is cooked to perfection.
• sprinkle with garam masala and serve garnished with coriander leaves or chopped chives.

I have cooked this dish without onions and garlic too - most Jains avoid these two 'vegetables'. 1/2 tsp of powdered asafoetida (hing) replaces the onion and garlic. As there are no onions to fry, the dish can be made much quicker saving about fifteen minutes. Once the oil is heated, drop in the hing and cumin seeds followed by the bay leaf. Then after a few seconds add the ginger and chillies and fry for a minute or two. Continue from step 5.

The dish can be made with only a tablespoon of oil, but this makes frying the onions a bit nightmarish. Should you opt for the version without garlic or onions, then 1 tsp of oil is all you need to get the flavour out of the cumin seeds.

On return to England, food in hamper consisted of duck rillettes, air dried sausages, mountain ham, cheeses and tomatoes which were all served with French bread from Waitrose for lunch on Nephew Number 3's birthday. Brother Number 1 refused to eat French fare. He settled for a Turkish sheesh kebab from the take-away in Longfield instead. Still hanker for the kebabs from Virsaki in Palmers Green, North London. But that's another story.

Saturday 4 july 2009 - strawberries and picnic

Elder daughter has been pestering me to make her 'favourite' semolina halwa during the week. But after the wonderful sunny days this week, slaving in the kitchen was out. Courgette and spring onion muffins with a hint of chilli had also been hinted at over the week. This happens to be one of my mum's favourites - it's salty! And suitable for diabetics.

So this morning, a wonderful sunny one with some dark clouds hovering around, I decided to fill the house with the aroma of roast spices to wake up the girls. Did they rush downstairs to find out what their mother was concocting? No! They were oblivious to the aroma emanating from the kitchen and had to be woken up at half past ten.

Opened the fridge and found eight pints of milk. Needed to use the milk up so with four bottles (four pints), made some paneer - in the microwave!! Poured the milk into a large pyrex bowl, and in it went for thirty minutes. Then to my next dish. Roasted a handful of cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamon pods and a few gratings of a nutmeg. In went the spices with a few strands of saffron into two cups of hot water and three quarters of a cup of granulated sugar with the peel of two lemons whose juice would be used for the paneer. Should I write this up as a recipe? Hmmm. This does look rather cluttered up. And so the recipe for semolina halwa will follow soon.

As the milk was in the microwave, the 'syrup' for the halwa simmering away, got ingredients ready for the courgette muffins. And no fresh chillies - apart from a rather dried-up half of a red chilli. No matter. Do I always follow exact measurements from a recipe? No. I adapt. The inspiration for courgette and Wensleydale cheese muffins with a hint of chilli? - a recipe I found in a Waitrose magazine which specified Cheddar. I am an adopted Yorkshire lass, so Wensleydale it had to be. Well, it was lying around in the fridge and needed using.



And another brunch weekend for the family - muffins, semolina halwa followed by fresh pineapple with blueberries. I know, strange combination. But life is short. Girls and husband 'remarked' that the muffins would have been tastier with a few sweetcorn to add crunch as well as a few more bits of spring onions and a little bit more chilli.

Courgette and spring onion muffins

Makes 12

Prep time : about 15 minutes
Cooking time : about 20 mins, depending on oven

Equipment

Mixing bowl
grater

Measuring spoons
Measuring jug
Scales

12 standard silicone muffin cases or 12 cup muffin tin or baking parchment cut into squares

Ingredients

• melted butter to grease paper muffin cases
• 150 g self raising flour
• 150 g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150 g Wensleydale cheese, broken into chunks - not grated!
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp (or more!) cracked black pepper
• 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
• 200 ml whole milk
• about 150g courgette (zucchini) (two small ones are quite acceptable), grated and some water squeezed out
• about 8 stems of spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped or 2 tsp dried chilli flakes

1. Heat the oven to 180ºC / Gas 4.


2. Paint the silicone muffin cases / muffin tins with some melted butter or use baking parchment cut into squares to fit the muffin tin.


3. Sieve the two flours together with the baking powder into a large bowl.


4. Add the cheese and the seasonings together with the finely chopped chillies.


5. Beat the eggs and the milk together until smooth.


6. Add this liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently until well combined. Lightly stir in the courgettes and spring onions.


7. Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin tin and cook for about 20 minutes until the muffins are risen and golden, and are firm but springy to the touch. Leave to cool.

If you unpeel the muffins while they are still warm, some of the batter might appear to be slightly uncooked where the courgettes have ‘leaked’ – that’s why I recommend that the courgettes are gently squeezed and the water discarded before adding to the batter.

Serve warm with some chutney.

Store in an airtight container for up to three days or freeze them for up to two months.


Checked the raspberry bush - about eight raspberries to harvest in a day or two. Checked the pair of redcurrant bushes. Just a few green ones. None for a meal!



At mid-day the sun appeared. Elder daughter decided that we should go for a picnic. While she baked some vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate bits, younger daughter and I went to pick some strawberries. English strawberries warmed by the sun are the best. We have been picking strawberries in Kellington for the last seventeen summers. Record? I think so. As a baby, younger daughter use to be carted around the fields in her car seat and then in a pushchair. Last week we were informed that the fields would be closed from next year. Insurance and Health and Safety issues. Today, we were informed that the fields would probably remain but only in a smaller field where it is difficult to get the big machines in to plough the fields. Hooray!!! Since all the other strawberry farms in Norton and in Beal have closed down, Kellington have been a bastion of British PYO culture. By the way, you can also get sacks of potatoes and carrots with the strawberries there.




Went to Lotherton Hall for the picnic. The wallabies have disappeared. And the talking mynah birds. The condors and the deer are still around and the roses looked beautiful in the formal gardens. Played cards. Won!!

flowers in the hanging baskets in lotherton hall, leeds, uk

roses in front of lotherton hall, leeds - perfumed air!!

picnic of freshly picked strawberries from kellington and vanilla cupcakes

Husband cooked moussaka for dinner. Adapted from a recipe of Rena Salaman's Greek Food. Of course it is pepped up with some chilli. Dried chilli flakes from Sardinia. A present from Helen, our hairdresser. Daughters loved it.



Was on the phone when dinner was being served and others could not wait for me to begin dinner. Hence the half served bowl of moussaka when I finally got around to the dinner table and managed to grab a photograph.


What happened to the paneer? Made. in a slab. will be appetiser for tomorrow I guess as there is not a lot of it. Simply did not fit into today's food. How will it be done? Simply cut into cubes and deep fried with a sprinkling of garam masala and 'bogori guri' - a sour berry from Assam that has been dried and ground - hence 'guri' - the taste not dissimilar to 'sumac' from the middle east. That's the best way, apparently, according to elder daughter.