What? No
'menoctionary' item? [men-occh-shun-ary; reference table of terms used in
relation to menopolyxinaemia].
You can
blame what is about to happen on a late night chatterbox item. Aitch had been lamenting the demise of the
ANL/pdf that I had been posting to
friends and others alike, bombasting them with the sort of menosoupal mayhem
that, since March 1, the world at large can now view. Amongst other things, it often contained a
recipe from my experiments with the OnePot1der.
This is
not particularly original in and of itself, but this is YAMs take on the use of
kitchen item over and above it's advertised purpose. I had mentioned in menoxcited a certain small
travel kettle. In the ashram, all food
is provided. However, for reasons I will
not go into here, the occasional meal of pasta or soup was required.
A little
before it 'died' I had succumbed to temptation and purchased the
OnePot1der. As you see, it is a rice
cooker with steamer tray. Of course, it
has cooked waaayyyy more than simple rice and steamed veges! So, by round about request, on the final
Friday of each month, a OnePot1der recipe will be shared with you. They are of course all vegetarian. I accept there will be meat eaters who cannot
bare the thought of even one meal without flesh in it. So where, it is appropriate, I have indicated
possible substitutions.
This will
also introduce you to the world of Indian spices. Nothing to be afraid of. Used lightly and minimally, they can add an
amazing dimension to the simplest of dishes.
Used more liberally and complexly, they change the world. Not everything will include them, but you
should certainly have four basics in your stock; jeera (ground coriander),
garam masala (mixed ground spices which will include things like mace, clove
and cardamom), haldi (ground turmeric) and mirchi (ground chili).
As we go
along I will provide further information and advice on building your
collection.
Of
course, you don't have to limit yourself to a rice cooker - your standard stove
and pan will do just fine - and I envy you that kitchen!
Right, so
where will we start? Well - with my
birthday lunch of course!!
All quantities are for ONE PERSON (or could do two if used as a side
dish to barbecued chops/sausages…. If you must…)
1 'nest'
buckwheat or wholewheat eggless noodles
1 third
of 450gm can of red kidney beans (washed and drained, reserve the balance of
beans in fridge)
1 large
tomato, diced
1
tablespoon finely sliced celery
1 cup
pumpkin diced (approx 1 cm cubes)
1 teasp
of sesame oil (or good olive oil)
Quarter
teaspoon each of jeera, haldi, garam masala
Pinch of
mirchi, salt and crushed black pepper
In to the
pan put the oil, tomato, celery and pumkin adding quarter cup of water. Turn on heat and cover with heavy lid. Bring up to fast simmer and continue this
till the pumpkin begins to soften. Add in the spices andseasoning along with
the beans. Stir and 'temper' the masala
blend for a minute then add 1 cup of water and the dried noodles. Bring to boil then knock back to moderate
simmer (not an option in the OnePot1der of course, but am factoring in
flexibility for you!) and ensure the noodles open out and settle well into the
liquid. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes.
Turn the heat right back ("warm" option on rice cookers) and
allow the mixture to sit for another 10 minutes. Keep an eye - may need less according to the
noodles you have used and the difference in equipments. You are looking for lovely moist juicy
noodles with minimal gravy to keep it interesting. Don't let it dry out completely.
Turn out
into bowl and if you have any fresh coriander (cilantro for you USA folks!),
that would be a great addition on top!
On my
thali there you also see nimbu pani (sort of like lemon barley water without
the barley), santera (mandarin orange) and Gulab Jamuns - little deep fried
milk flour balls in heavy syrup. These
you can easily buy nowadays from any good providers who have interest in
regional foods - Haldirams is a famous and excellent brand.
Bueno
appetito - over the teeth and round the gums, look out stomach here it comes -
AUR KHANNA!!
Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me, Happy
birthday dear……….. I know it, don't tell
me.. It'll come to me soon…..
Happy Birthday to you my dear sister and friend. Wishing you all the blessings of Guru Dev, and Jesus alike.
ReplyDeleteJanma dinamidam ahi priyasake, santanotute sarvada mud am.
Oh dear friend may your birthday bring you goodness and joy forever.
Lov ya, from me and the three boys.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteoohhh - all warm and fuzzy now!
The food sounds great, though it would necessitate quite a shopping trip for me. We're not big meat-eaters and enjoy a lot of vegetarian food.
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a very happy birthday. :-)
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteHave had truly spiritual and love-filled day, thank you Perpetua-ji!
Initial set up may seem challenging, but I can assure, Tesco will have pretty much all these ingredients...and I bet they could deliver them too 8*> YAM