Sindhi methi machchi curry

I thought I was done with my grocery shopping for the week. I had told myself that we were eating much more than we should be and soon weighty troubles would be knocking at the door. So I had to be careful. But how could I stop myself from picking up those bitter gourds or that bunch of fresh methi when we had to visit the Indian store for chapati flour? Methi - that flavoursome green which perks up any dish? Yes, the bunch was large.. but it was just 1.5NZD. The husband gave a nod of approval to put it into the basket.

Once home, we sat about picking the fresh leaves to put them into an airtight container so that they last. Awakening. There was way too much methi than the both of us needed before it would go bad. So we had to fight the deal that we had struck to try to remain vegetarian until mid March. Methi can be bitter so veggie dishes don't require too much of it and it had to be a non-veg dish that could help use up most of the methi.

After a 8km loop walk around the Orewa estuary, we stopped at the store to pick up some meat. All we could find were pieces of salmon. I picked them up remembering the methi fish curry that Pras gobbled up when we last visited Ooty. So here's how I made the methi fish curry. It is super easy to put together.

Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6) :

1. Fish - with few bones - 750grams
2. Fresh methi/fenugreek leaves - 1 cup finely chopped and densely packed
3. Ginger - 2 inch piece
4. Garlic - 16 pods
5. Green chillies - 6
6. Tomatoes  - 3 medium sized
7. Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
10. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Garam masala - 1 tsp
12. Water - as per gravy requirement. I used 1 cup.
13. Oil - 1/4 cup
14. Salt to taste

How I made it :

1. Clean the fish. Cut into 2 inch cubes Salt it and keep it aside.
2. Make a puree of the tomatoes
3. Make a paste of the ginger, garlic and green chillies.
4. Wash the methi and finely chop them.
5. Now, wash the fish and keep on dry towel.
6. Heat oil in a wide bottom pan.
7. Throw in the fish and let them fry till they are half cooked on all sides.  About 2 minutes on each side.
8. Remove the fish pieces.
9. Throw in the jeera seeds.
10. Once they crackle, lower the flame and put in the ginger garlic green chilli paste.
11. Let that fry till the raw smell is gone. About 3 minutes. 
12. Next, throw in all the dry masala powders. Fry for a minute.
13. Now, put in the methi leaves and let them fry to reduce their bitterness. 
14. After about 4 minutes of frying, put in the tomato puree. 
15. Adjust the salt and let this fry till the fat separates. 
16. Add the water. Once it comes to the boil, add the fish pieces. 
17. Cover and let the fish cook on low flame Took about 10 minutes. 
18. Serve hot with chapatis.

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LIGHTing it up DOWN UNDER - err a bit late.

It's six months since I set foot in the land of the breathtakingly beautiful New Zealand. Time flies but the rollercoaster ride never ends. Well, things are mellowing down now but the initial settling phase was not as smooth as I had expected it to be. "Ignorance is bliss" is not something I used before but we all do learn and our eyes do eventually open up. No wonder we all look back at those times when we were most ignorant as the "best of times". Confused beings that we are, always wanting the good times but trying hard as ever to get ahead. Ha ha ha!

Six months and we move from my birthday to the birth of my nephew, exactly on Diwali. I smile when I think of the silence back at home on this otherwise unusually noisy day at my house. The hustle and bustle to decide who would go to distribute the sweets and if you had got all the people on the list of people to whom sweets need to be distributed, the packing of the sweets, the visits to the temple, the Lakshmi puja, the Saraswati puja, the Ganesha puja and the best drive around the town to get a glimpse of all the firecrackers for free. (wink)

Now, Diwali is known as the festival of lights but has many reasons for its significance. One is the return of the beloved Lord Ram from exile for which the lamps are lit and the night sky lit up with crackers to provide sufficient light for the returning lord, on a moon starved night. (Psst...Diwali usually falls on a new moon day). Another is to mark the end of another harvest season which brings us to the reason for this post. 

It is believed that as a sign of success and prosperity one must eat 7 vegetables on this joyful day and as this blog of mine focusses on recipes amongst other things, I made Sindhi Sai Bhaji with Bhuga Chawara. I ensured that I added as many veggies to the Sai Bhaji as possible. Fortunately for me, I got the quintessential ladies finger here in Auckland. Darn this place, you get a quarter of the veggies you get in India and even if you do get some, you have to buy them frozen. Grrr!!! (Ignorance is bliss until you move to a country only to realize what you have gotten yourself into.) Last year I had made Pav Bhaji with as many veggies.

Here's how we celebrated Diwali this year.

The quintessential start to my day - a cup of chai.

Bachpan ke din yaad dilaane waala lunch - sai bhaji and bhuga chawara - recipe below

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

Cooking Time : 12-15 minutes

Ingredients (Serves 2):

1. 1 large onion finely sliced
2. 1 cup of rice
3. 1 stick of cinnamon
4. 4 cloves
5. 1 bay leaf
6. 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
7. 4 tbsp oil
8. 2 cups of water
9. Salt to taste

How I made it :

1. Wash the rice and soak in water
2. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil
3. Add the whole garam masala - cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf
4. Once the aroma spreads, add the onions and fry on medium low heat till the onions caramelize into a nice dark brown colour. Do not burn and the colour is essential for the dish.
5. Add the red chilli powder and fry for a minute. 
6. Add 2 cups of water.
7. Add the rice once the water comes to a boil.
8. Adjust salt. 
9. Cover the pressure cooker and when the steam begins to rise, lower flame to minimum and leave for 8 minutes. 
10. Turn off heat and serve with sai bhaji or dal fry.

A visit to the Diwali Fest held by the Auckland Council - good food and company and some of the best fireworks I've seen thus far.

Gulab Jamoons as they were getting ready

Sandalwood scented tea light candles adorning the corners of my house

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150th post - back to my roots - Sai Bhaji with Kichdi

Finally my 150th post, but not necessarily my 150th recipe. I decided to get to my roots and make the famous Sai Bhaji with Kichdi. This combination is absolute comfort food, especially when served with fried potatoes on the side.

Sai bhaji is similar to a keerai masiyal but has added vegetables like carrots, ladies finger, brinjals and potatoes.
The Kichdi is a simple rice dish wherein green mung dal is added to the rice alongwith some turmeric powder.

Ingredients for the sai bhaji :

1. 1 bunch paruppu keerai/spinach
2. 1 small handful of chana dal picked, washed and soaked for 1 hour or toor dal
3. 1 tsp kasuri methi or small handful of fresh methi leaves
4. 1-2 green chilly
5. 1 tsp jeera seeds
6. 1 large potato cubed
7. 4 small brinjals cubed
8. 5-6 ladies finger cut into 2 inch pieces
9. 1 carrot cut into roundels
10. 1 onion chopped
11. 2 large tomato chopped
12. salt to taste
13. 1+1 tsp oil
14. 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
15. 1 tsp coriander powder
16. A pinch of asafoetida
17. 1 tsp Garam masala (optional)

How I made it :

1. In a cooker, heat a tsp of oil.
2. Put in jeera seeds. Fry for a minute till they change colour.
3. Add the green chilly. 
4. After 30 seconds, add the onions.
5. When the onions turn pink, add the veggies. Fry till the brinjals are 80% cooked.
6. Add the tomato.
7. When tomato is soft, add the dal and fry for a minute or two.
8. Add the spinach chopped and enough water to cover everything.
9. Adjust salt and give one whistle on high and 2-3 whistles on low.
10. When pressure releases, mix well, mashing some of the potatoes.
11. In tadka pan, heat one tsp of oil, add red chilly powder and asafoetida. Pour this on top of the spinach dal mixture. Ideally garam masala will be added too. I did not have any so skipped adding it. 
12. Serve hot with kichdi or bhuga chawara

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Sindhi Breakfast - Koki - my favorite

Koki is a kind of mixed paratha. Onions, green chillies, chopped coriander, red chilli powder and salt are a must add to the flour while making the dough. Optionally, jeera/cumin or saunf could be added.

I love koki and think that it is a quickie breakfast. Kokis go well with tea, unsalted butter and sugar, pickle, curd and papad. My mom and aunt's kokis are famous amongst my friends and they, mostly men, have taken to cooking kokis when away from home. There must be something about them right?

Ingredients (makes 2 kokis):

1. 1 cup whole wheat flour
2. 1 medium sized onion chopped finely
3. 3 tablespoons oil + extra for cooking
4. 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
5. 1 finely sliced green chilly
6. finely chopped coriander
7. salt to taste
8. Water - enough to make the dough. I used the whey which is left after making homemade panneer this time

How I made it :

1.   In a wide bowl, mix in all ingredients from 1 to 7. 
2. Slowly add water to make a dough. 
3. Roll out into 1/2 cm thick parathas. 
4. Use a knife to draw a criss cross on one side - this helps it cook more evenly and also makes it look more interesting.
5. On a hot tawa/flat pan, on high heat, place the paratha with the criss cross side on top.
6. After 30 seconds, pour some oil on top and flip it. Reduce heat to low.
7. Cook for about 2 minutes and flip it again making the heat high. Add more oil as desired. 
8. When dark brown spots appear, it is done. Serve hot or cold. These stay for about 24 hours in an airtight container and are perfect for travelling. Have it with a hot cup of chai.

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