Monica Bhide

Okay finally here is dinner -- 1. For appetizers (I realized later I did not take pictures of the rum spiked spice water that went into these.. sorry) I made gol gappas -- these are tiny crips that look like small balloons. Most Indian stores sell bags of them for a few dollars. They are then filled with boiled potatoes, diced onions, chickpeas and minced cilantro. Top with Tamarind chutney (store bought today) and "Gol Gappa water" -- Gol gappa water is sold in Indian stores as "Pani Puri" Mix -- see here( Gol Gappa is Delhi, Pani Puri is Bombay talk for the same thing.).. SO the way to eat this is to pick up one with your fingers, top it with chutney, pour the spice water into it and put the whole thing in your mouth. For dinner we had two types of Okra.. OKRA RULES BY THE WAY. The first one was thinly sliced okra seasoned with spices and then dusted with chick pea flour and deep fried -- The second was okra subzi -- typical of Delhi -- here is how my mom makes it -- Heat some oil. Add onions, whole green chilies, and sliced ginger. Fry for a few minutes. Add okra and cook on high heat until the okra begins to crisp just a little. Add red chilies, freshly ground coriander powder, turmeric and salt. Saute for a few minutes. Cover and cook on low heat till the okra is done. Serve hot This is one of the most loved dishes in my classes. Next we did a raita-- Take a cucumber and grate it on a cheese grater (side tip-- save all the water that the cucumber releases, it makes a great face mask). Anyway, press the cucumber in the palms of your hands to release all the water. (you can also do a variation with diced cucumber. Or diced cucumber and onions) Next add yogurt that has been seasoned with salt, sugar and freshly grated ginger. Now top it all off with freshly roasted roughly ground cumin and crushed red chilies. Serve We ate it with Indian bread. For dessert-- tomorrow I promise rice pudding. Today we went to McDonalds and ate a sundae. Hey life is too short.

Well here he is - my life my monkey

YAY - I love them to. Our korean store around the corner sells them really cheap.. My plant although its alive is not thriving. Perhaps I need to add something to it.. any suggestions for those with a green thumb????

Let me ask a few people here -- sounds like lentil fritters. WOuld your son like potato fritters or onions ones.. similar to tempura.. I can show you how to make those easily.

Okay - lets do both. One tomorrow and one on next monday -- i forgot how long I am doing this Dinner pics in a few minutes.

Thanks Lone Star. I should read that other book... have not read it yet.

They are a trend. You are correct and I love it. Will be posting dinner pics later tonite

She will love me -- my son loves to fold laundry, clear the dish washer, lay the table and say nice things about my hair

If we agree on one -- perhaps I can post the ingredients and we can make it together online??

Anoop - your chicken curry is in this months issue of COoking Smart - check it out in Borders. I did a piece on curries for them and its part of that.

Please vote -- For tomorrow's dinner -- Malaysian Chicken Curry with shallots, star anise and coconut milk or a Chicken Tikka Makhni (butter chicken) with dried fenugreek and fresh tomatoes. I will try to post pictures and as much details as I can on preparation.

I had a very dissappointing lunch at a relatively new Indian place in this area. I am sorry but its not worth posting about. SO I will go and make rice pudding to make up for not posting lunch pictures. Bad food, really bad. Its ironic - the week I blog, I find a bad place.

It isnt. we started yesterday -- see how much I can talk

I dont actually... but would love to hear from others. We stayed at the Westin and there were a few caribbean dishes on the menu --- a lamb curry that was very tender but the "curry" part was very mild and different from Indian curry. They did do a dynamite mango chutney

Yes - southern and coastal I believe. My mom rarely uses it (to make her kadhi- a yogurt based curry) and wonders why and how I do. I love the flavor -- it is an addiction of sorts.

Bacon. ← How could i forget bacon!

BTW - how do you top your scrambled eggs?

Confession - I sneaked in a scrambled eggs with illegal quantities of crushed red pepper as a snack before lunch. Now I am headed out. See you all in a bit. And for those who kept sending me emails about MONKEYS -- i am talking about my son.. read the whole blog and you will know. LOL

Probably not what you had in mind Monica, but rum golgappas sound pretty good! ← That is exactly what I meant. I usually spike the gol gappa water with vodka but will do it with rum today so they become little shots... for the rest of you -- wait till you see the pics tonite to know what the heck I am blabbering about here.

Thanks for your sweet post. I try mostly to cook homestyle and cook with the seasons. I love cooking what is freshly available -- hard in winter. I cook restaurant style dishes in my classes -- people love the classics and its fun. I think my family likes to have a variety of dishes for dinner and the menu is selected alternately by my son or my husband. So tonite my son selected okra (yes he likes okra) and tomorrow hubby wants to do the Malay chicken. Tonite we will do appetizers -- Gol Gappas - a typical Indian street food and I will use some of the coconut rum I got from St. Johns and I if I get the time I will make a rice pudding.

Lunch - I am checking out a brand new Indian restuarant in my area. WIll be back with a review and pics.

I love the champagne mangoes, too. As sweet as I've ever found here. What kind of events did you hold? This is fun reading. And your photos of St. John's are amazing. I'm so envious! When were you there? For how long? ← I used to do booksignings for my book and tastings. We were there for a good week -- it is such a gorgeous place. Case in point Would you look at the water? I stayed on a small boat and read "Like Water for chocolate" cover to cover. What a fantastic book. It was like a long poem. I loved reading it. Such a fantastic style. It reminded me of the Mistress of Spices. Another one of my favorites. It has been pushing me to write fictional short stories on food.

People swear by frozen leaves. I just prefer to use them fresh. I think time it such that you can use it.. they are inexpensive now. The other thing is to spend five bucks and get a tiny curry plant. That way you have them when you need them. ANd they are always fresh. Heck even I can grow a curry plant.. trust me.. I kill silk flowers. So if I can do it, anyone can ← I do use frozen leaves as well, but that is usually my extra stock when I buy a fresh packet and don't use them all. I just take the leaves out of the freezer about 10 minutes before I want to use them. Not bad, but fresh is always better. I'm definitely interested in getting a plant now, though. Would you recommend I look online for a seedling to purchase, or in a nursery? I grow a lot of herbs, but I don't think I've ever seen one. Would an Indian market sell this sort of thing? ← Yes you can buy them online. Better yet go to your local Indian store and see if they will sell you one. Ours did not have one in stock but the owners wife grows them and he made six pots for me that he sold to me. I use them as gifts for students who attend my classes.

I hope you feel better dear. I did not make the guava cake - a friend bought it. It was like guave gelatin. really good.