Yes, it's the little boy's first solid food! We haven't seen as much of him as we'd like, even though we live less than 180 miles apart in England- often cancelled trips due to C*****.
The yellow daal is split moong, the green is whole moong, skin on. I'm ashamed to say I can't give specific cooking instructions to a lot of what I'm going to show. I was never a very enthusiastic vegetarian, and my wife and daughters don't like the spiciness of my mother's cooking, so I rarely cook Indian food. That's why this topic appears under Indian dining rather than Indian cooking.
The mackerel is very fresh. It was bought from the boat on the beach that morning, and the woman who carries it on her head to sell it called on our neighbour, a regular customer. My parents live alone and my father is not keen on fish, so my
mother has asked the neighbour to give her a shout whenever the fish woman comes in case there is an excuse- like today! It's actually not as strong in taste as what I'm used to in Europe, barely a fishy smell. The seasoning is robust, especially the curry, which is, frankly, hot. A prominent feature of Keralan fish curry is pot tamarind, sour and not as sweet as the more common long tamarind. You can see the fried curry leaves in the plate of fried mackerel. I love curry leaves and I'm thankful you can get them fresh in the UK much more easily now than in the past.
We wash our hands before and after the meal. We eat with the right hand, of course.
I didn't mention the pot of yoghurt at 11 o'clock to the plate. Made at home, tangy but not sour.
