Writing from my kitchen

I grew up loving my fish!....please, don't get me wrong; I still favor my mom's spicy fish curry above all else. But like I started to say...I grew up loving my fish and couldn't savor my lunch or dinner without it. Vegetables were tolerated as second cousins to the fish but if the hero itself was missing I'd rather starve than put myself through the torture of a boring mealtime. Then something changed in my life. I lived in Calcutta for a while, met my husband and learnt that vegetables may be not so boring or in fact very interesting. The moringa ..... or drumstick as I have always called it suddenly became very appetizing. When mom in law made it in a mustard gravy it no longer stood shyly behind but suddenly took centre stage at the dining table. Then recently my mom made it her way and I loved it!, just that and steaming rice. Talk about changes! Wash and scrape about two thick and fleshy drumsticks and cut them into three inch length pieces.... ( if the drumsti

After a number of trials I have finally mastered the art of making momos. These aren't really as perfect as the ones you would find made by the deft hands of ladies from tibet or nepal, but they were passable and did have quite the zing of the standard street fare. The recipe is quite simple and does not require learning much technicalities, but the route to perfection definitely lies in the precision and care taken while preparing each element. The kneading of the dough, its rest and the mixing of the filling all have a purpose to it which finally adds to the end product. Knead a cup of all purpose flour with cold water to a soft, smooth and pliable dough Leave the dough to rest under a wet napkin.....(the wet napkin is to make sure that the dough doesn't dry out) Mix about two cups of mince chicken along with two cups of minced onions, and a tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves......(substitute the chicken with mince of mushrooms, bean sprouts/ cabbage and carrots an

The title of this blog was born out a telephone call between me and my aunt a couple of weeks ago. I have been wanting to put it down since then but the though kind of shifted to back of my mind only to resurface today. She wanted to know if she could do something with eggs for an eggetarian lunch party. I kept rolling out a couple of standard egg dishes but she kept ruling them out. Finally out of sheer desperation to get ahead in our telecon I blurted out "how about that egg n coconut concoction" and she was thrilled. Thankfully the call ended and I got on with my life. But my 10 year old suddenly pounced on me and demanded that I make the egg n coconut concoction for him. I wondered why and soon was rewarded with an answer..."you never make different desserts"...this is not a dessert,..it is as spicy as you want to make it. Boil four eggs to perfection....( perfection is indicated by a clear white and a well formed but soft yolk) Grind to a coarse paste four