sartoric

Tomato rice with brussel sprouts kurma (both from the Bangala Table), dal parripu, choko kootu, pineapple chutney and methi flatbread. On the side, coconut and mint raita, lime pickles, garlic chutney. The sprouts starred, my co-eater has never been a fan but agreed these were delish.

It rained all day here, so I happily spent time in the kitchen. Lemon & dill rice, eggplants in tomato gravy, dal parripu, chow chow kootu, spinach paneer, roti paratha. On the side, mint, dill & green onion raita, carrot salad, green chilli chutney, garlic chutney.

A big day in the kitchen yesterday. On the plate - aged basmati rice, fish (NZ Hoki) in mustard gravy from 50 Great Curries by Camellia Panjabi, chow chow kootu from The Bangala Table, aloo gobi (potatoes with cauliflower). On the runner - roti parathas, lime pickle, tomato chutney, kosambri (carrot, moong dal and coconut salad), pineapple chutney, mint and dill raita. Chow chow is the Indian name for chokoes or chayote, I tried it in India and wondered how anyone could make this bland veggie taste so good. Memories of a favourite uncle who peeled and boiled all veggies for at least 20 minutes (including zucchini). I also remember people pleading to give them away as the vines were so prolific. Not these suckers, $7 a kilo !

A cup of chai and still warm from the oven flourless orange cake, with double cream of course.

A feature I really like about an almost exclusively Indian diet is the ability to holdover a dish or two, and the ability to change the flavours of a held dish into something a little different. In this case, a new tempering was added to yesterdays chana dal with zucchini - I heated ghee, added mustard and ajwain seeds, then asafoetida, before pouring over the hot lentils. I also added chopped dill to yesterdays cucumber raita. Chapati, cumin rice, eggplant with tomato, yesterdays two potato dish, bitter melon coated in spiced semolina, lentils with zucchini. On the side, garlic chutney (wow, that's good), a new batch of tomato chutney, cucumber raita and lime pickle.

Cumin flavoured rice, spicy potato and sweet potato, cucumber raita, chana dal with zucchini, lime pickle and methi thepla. Methi thepla is a Gujarati flatbread made with wholemeal flour and fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves. There is a teaspoon of gunpowder chutney hiding behind the fork. Post photo a large dollop of mango chutney was added.

Leftovers last night, I only cooked fresh rice. Clockwise, chicken with cashews in black spice, peas with paneer, green onion and mint raita, eggplant with yoghurt, spinach dal, lime pickle and a blob of tomato chutney. Roti paratha on the side, straight out of the freezer and onto a hot tawa.

In a departure from my usual thali style meal, I made Andhra chicken rice from Tasting India by Christine Manfield. To go with, a kachumber of tomato, red onion, cucumber and peanuts dressed with chaat masala and tamarind, a green onion and mint raita, and gunpowder chutney (chilli and sesame). The gunpowder is seriously hot with 50 grams of dried chillies, roasted dals and roasted sesame seeds. Blew our heads off it did.

@zend, thanks. I mix about a cup of grated fresh coconut (frozen, thawed) with a cup of yoghurt, 1/4 cup water, minced green chillies, pepper and salt, then pour over a tempering of hot ghee into which I've fried a tsp of mustard seeds til they crackle, 1.5 tsp of urad dal til they brown then curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. Mix well and serve at room temperature. Cup measure is 250 ml.

Lemon rice, quick spiced potatoes, eggplant in yoghurt, spinach dal, roti paratha, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, lime pickles. The lemon rice is becoming a firm favourite way to use leftover cooked rice. It's so simple, fry a tsp of mustard seeds in oil, add curry leaves, minced chillies, and juice of half a lemon. Add rice and mix through.

Chicken with cashews in black spice (recipe by Camilla Panjabi) ginger cauliflower, spinach dal, rice, roti paratha, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, green mango pickle.

Another Sunday at the Bundall farmers market. The haul - tomatoes, cauliflower, English spinach, eggplants, potatoes, ginger, lemons, garlic, habanero chillies, zucchini and a pigs ear for Patch. All rather pedestrian. By contrast, last weekend we drove about 30 minutes to the Burleigh Heads farmers market, and scored - potatoes, silverbeet, leek, shredded green papaya, bitter melon, tomatoes, Thai eggplants and birds eye chillies. Nearly all the stall holders were Asian, and the produce more interesting to me. We've nearly finished all those chillies...

A beef and veggie casserole seemed appropriate for this chilly weather. The beef is chuck, the veggies are leek, carrots, celery, sweet potato and mushrooms, all slow cooked together with a fresh bouquet garni from the garden. Served with mozzarella mash and broccoli in blue cheese sauce, plus garlic bread. Followed by a slice of apple and honey cake from the book Sesame and Spice by Anne Shooter.

More Indian, the last of my homemade dosa mix (too cold to ferment properly now with winter here), basmati rice, potato masala, silverbeet with paneer, snow peas poriyal. On the side, fresh tomato chutney, sambar, fresh coconut chutney, kaffir lime pickle (an experiment, limes from our tree, it works). The meal plated, showing the typical use of sambar, spooned over the rice to moisten. Very excited, we've decided on our holiday destination for later in the year - Sri Lanka (sometimes called India lite). Yum.

Yes @blue_dolphin, it's homemade using this recipe http://vst.to/S7dWMEP although I double the chilli. Recently our huge kaffir lime tree provided an abundance of fruit, so I made kaffir lime pickles. We'll be trying them out tonight.

Yakhni pullao (basmati rice fried with whole spices and cooked in chicken stock), sesame potatoes, cauliflower curry, shredded green papaya as a vegetable, roti bread. Served with cucumber raita, lime pickle and mango chutney.

Hey BV, it's the first day of winter today, currently 14.5 C ...chilly, brrr. Your food looks fantastic!

Mostly leftovers from last night with newly made silverbeet paneer, lemon rice, and roti breads. The lemon rice uses cooked rice, so is also technically leftover. Fry a diced green chilli in oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, a few cashews and the juice of half a lemon, add rice and toss to heat through, easy peasy.

Another guest = another Indian feast. Rice in the blue dish, Keralan chicken curry, dal trevini, whole eggplant in tomato gravy, potato masala, tomato chutney, mint & coriander chutney, radish raita, kachumber, lime pickle and home style dosa. Our guest (a man with Chinese parents) found a new appreciation for Indian food.

I made this tart thing. Shortcrust pastry, parmesan, mozzarella, wilted greens (silverbeet, spinach and rocket) with slices of garlic and sultanas, just cooked potato cubes, slivers of olives and more mozzarella.

Thai green curry with fish and snow peas, curry paste from Charmaine Solomon's Thai Cooking. From the same book Som Tam (green papaya salad) and pan fried bitter gourd. We'd never tried bitter gourd before, liked it a lot.

A friend came to dinner, so Indian food was served family style. From the top - steamed rice in the blue bowl, roti parathas, aloo matar or potatoes and peas (from our garden), goat rhapsody (adapted from the excellent Tasting India by Christine Manfield),whole eggplant with tomato (also Christine Manfield), red onion raita, hot mango chutney, creamy dal with spinach, tomato chutney, lime pickle. Both the goat and eggplant dishes starred here. I used my pressure cooker for the goat, it was sooo tender, the sauce fragrant with cardamom. The eggplants are the Thai white golf ball sized guys. They were split to the stem and simmered in a spicy tomato based sauce until tender. The stems made a neat handle, better seen in this pic Follwed by shop bought barfi and ladu.

Anna is right, I meant the metal trays and dishes. You're also right, it's usually eaten with the fingers. Thali can also be served on a banana leaf, like this....

My never ending quest to plate the perfect Thali (minus the correct serving ware). Clockwise - lemon rice, fresh tomato chutney, chickpea curry, lime pickle, creamy spinach dal, cucumber raita, potato and cauliflower curry, roti, and in the middle date & tamarind chutney.

I'll add a belated Happy Birthday from down under ! What a feast you had.