Finally I safe one hour travelling time for every day I go to work. That is even the case when I use my bike to go to work. So I get some exercise, although up to know it's quite exhausting to get back home after work, and I get more time at home.
One thing I can do with that, is concentrate more on cooking and baking. I even might have the chance to work some of the puddings and cakes off with my exercises. Then maybe not, but I should do more sweet stuff anyway.
Today, though, I am not focusing on the sweet side ... although ... hm ... there might be a slightly sweet touch in the dish for today. It's for Bloggers Around the World: South Africa.
So I am having some Bobotie with Yellow Rice and Tomato & Onion Sambal. I did a little bit of research for that, so I reckon, that's the way to have it ...
Now we have to see how to do it ...
A few days ago I decided to give Cooking Around the World a new design. Basically I changed the background colour and the welcoming banner for the blog. I hope you like it! When you look at the picture there are foods and places. One of these places I can see every day, if I want to. Have a guess which one that is! However, there are other places there, I'd rather like to see more often.
Additionally I adjusted my Facebook page as well. It has to reflect the blog.
While I was at all this I decided to change my profile picture. You can only see it partly, but I'm wearing an Indian kurta. It looks like this ...
I just wanted to mention those things. Keep it in mind as you read on. Strangely, things fit all together once more.
Have you ever thought about doing a themed dinner party? You dress up for it, maybe do some decoration, put on music and it all fits to the food you are going to have. How would you like that?
What about doing it alone ... a one person themed dinner party?
Let me tell about it ...
There is a certain person that is running this blog called Belleau Kitchen. As he is doing this random recipes challenge every month I cannot resist, but take part in it. Quite often you end up with cooking food you wouldn't have otherwise.
This time we have the theme 'cuttings, memories and clippings'. That means I have to go and search my shelves for those hidden cuttings and clippings to find some recipes. I don't have as many cuttings and clippings as others and they are also not so well organized.
Anyway I got myself a small pile and rolled the dice of random. I ended up with number 3 - therefore I went for the third sheet of paper.
It was a clipping from a health journal of a health insurance company and ... strange enough ... it featured some Indian dishes. Did I say some? Yes, five to be exactly. Taking the number three further I decided for the third dish and it was ... dhal.
Well, that would be something to have as a side dish. Due to this fact I randomly decided to do the fish curry mentioned on that clipping as well. That is called 'Saraswat Machchi Kadhi'. I tried my Hindi dictionary on that, but gave up quickly. Then I asked the Internet and it called it Goa style fish curry. I even found the same picture of it as was used in this health magazine article.
I made sure I had all the needed ingredients and then, went for it ...
First of all I put on my Indian cooking kurta. Well, I simply declare it that one from now on. By the way, it is not the one shown in the picture above. I have a few more other ones. Why do I have so many Indian clothing to wear? Go ahead and ask me, if you like to know!
Then I put on some music from the soundtrack of a famous Indian movie ... as far as I know.
Now our Indian themed cooking party can start.
Good thing I still had some urid lentils on stock. They went into a pot covered with one centimetre of water.
Meanwhile I prepared the marinate for the fish. I squeezed one lime and mixed the juice with some freshly grated ginger, mustard powder, sesame seeds and coriander seeds. The white fish fillet was cut into small bite sized pieces and went marinating.
Before I continued with the dhal, I brought some basmati rice on the way.
Back to the dhal. I freshly picked a green chili from one of my bushes on the windowsill, cut it in half and tossed it in with the lentils. If I were to change the recipe, I would cut it into small rings and add it to the lentils. Anyway, one bay leaf, a chopped onion and two chopped cloves of garlic went in, too. Here also some grating of ginger is necessary. Some curry powder rounds it up. Now heat it up on medium heat and let it go for 20 minutes, checking every now and then and working through with a spoon.
The fish has nearly enough marinating. However, there is still some chopping of an onion to do. That one made me cry slightly. Then half four tomatoes, spoon out the seeds and then cut the tomatoes into small pieces. Now take the fish, pat it dry and fry it for 5 minutes in sesame oil at a medium heat.
Don't forget to give some attention to the rice when it's ready and to the dhal. After the 20 minutes you have to turn off the heat of the dhal.
Take out the fish from the pan and put aside. Now fry the onions in the pan.
If I hadn't already enough work with cooking I suddenly decided it would be a brilliant idea to have a cucumber raita with it all, as well. So I took some of the chopped onions and put the together with some halved slices of cucumber, cumin, salt, yogurt and water and mixed it all up.
Add some curry powder to the onions in the pan. Then add the remaining fish marinade and some 250 ml of coconut milk to the pan and bring to the boil.
What about some naan breads. Yes, that would have been lovely, but I'm not that crazy today and make some on my own. No, I even didn't buy any ready made ones to just warm up. Sadly!
Remove the green chili and the bay leaf from the dhal and heat the dhal up again, if necessary. We are almost there.
Let the tomatoes meet their destiny by adding them to the boiling coconut milk mixture. I guess the fish can go for some swimming, too. Go for it! Warm it up again.
If I'm right now, all the food is ready. You just need to plate and bowl it up and decorate everything with some fresh coriander. I already know that the remaining coriander will not survive too long in my kitchen. I should use it up in the coming days.
Here we are with the food ...
Sitting alone at the table and tasting the fish curry, memories spring to my mind. The food wasn't dangerously spicy. I still remember the fish curries of my Tamil friends and Tamil food in general. They always used to say they have to adjust the spices to the European palate. However, the first time I tasted a dish, I had the feeling it wasn't adjusted sufficiently.
Having this fish curry in front of me, I wished it would be going at least a bit in that direction. Don't get me wrong, it still tasted delicious. It was only thinking. While doing this I thought ... well, I'm sitting here all by myself eating this lovely food ... and then ... I put away the fork and went on eating as we used to do it with the best tools ever, my fingers.
Once more, I managed to end up with something lovely, doing random recipes ... and that's not cheating. After all, why should I keep any clippings with rubbish recipes.
Moreover, I ended up with fish again. This wasn't the first time either.
So far about random recipes this time. Time and again, I thought about cooking through one cookbook. After all, I nearly baked myself already through a book about French bread.
Now I have a few books in mind I seriously want to choose one from and go completely through it and report about it here on my blog. One of the books on that list is 'Tasting India' from Christine Manfield (Christian and Christine?). That post now made me hungry for that book. However, things haven't been decided in the final and I won't start before April.
In the meantime I still have a voting going on my Facebook page. If you don't mind, please head over there one time and give your vote. That would be very much appreciated. You can also suggest other books to make it more interesting.
You see, once more, it came all together ... strangely ... as last time. India was on my mind and suddenly it's all India!
Any thoughts? Just leave a lovely comment!
'I guess now it's time for me to give up. I feel it's time.'
In 2012 ... a lot of things happened that shouldn't have had!
'Whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it.'
While kicking 2012 farewell I was a bit mean and some started worrying ... well, at least some worried whereas a lot wouldn't, if I'm not there anymore.
What now?!
Was the beginning of Cooking Around the World something that shouldn't have happened? Will anyone miss crazy stories intertwined with cooking that don't have anything to do with cooking? What about recipes that make the truth appear on your hips? Besides that who can stand the truth???
Then there are the things that have the capacity to bring you a burning sensation several times to your body ...
... 2013 ... Happy new year? Who knows about such things???
It's up to you to be happy ...
Besides that ... things go on as they have been before ... but will it be back for good?
The answer is shrouded in darkness ...
You didn't understand a word? Well, then directly continue with the burning ... and have a Hot'n'Fruity Potato and Carrot Curry ...
Ingredients (everything you don't like is optional, but then you might end up with nothing much):
1 red onion, finely chopped
500 g potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes (sort of)
500 g carrots, peeled and cut in cubes (you know)
1 tbs flour
500 ml vegetable stock
1 chili (oh, oh, I used a habanero one), finely chopped
100 ml coconut milk
2 tsp mango chutney
2 tsp curry powder
Juice of one lime
Preparation (beware not to make 'the' mistake):
Let's talk business now and put this Hot'n'Fruity Potato and Carrot Curry together.
We start off by softening the onion in a pan with some oil at low heat. After that we chuck in the potatoes and the carrots and turn up the heat a bit to fry them a little bit. You will see some colour appear on the potatoes.
Spread the flour all over it ... if you can and then pour over it the vegetable stock. Go with a wooden spoon through it and ... add the chili. While talking about chillies, just keep in mind to be careful, when handling them or otherwise they will burn also in another way. We will talk about this a bit later again.
Did you add the chili? I did and the coconut milk, mango chutney and curry powder goes in as well. Spoon things through again to have it all spread evenly (sort of).
Then it's time to put a lid on it and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Don't worry too much about the things you don't have! After all, you could have added some pieces of chicken breast and some pieces of mango as well, but ... we didn't ...
So, don't worry, be happy!
After the simmering is over, turn off the heat, remove the lid and add the lime juice. Use that spoon once more. Then you are ready to heat. Should you be as stupid as me and have used the habanero chili, you will have quite a burning feeling in your mouth. However, there will also be a certain fruitiness. Guess why!
Once the meal is over, I hope you are still happy ...
Nevertheless, there comes the point in once life where you have to rub your eyes, because of something ...
... what a stupid idea!!! A really stupid idea, when you have handles chillies and removed the seeds with using your fingers. Even if you wash your fingers afterwards, something still remains. Yes, rubbing your eyes using those fingers is really stupid ...
... yet another reason to cry! Will it ever end?
I only know that this was not the first time I did this chili part and for sure it will not be the last time ...
If you dare to try this Hot'n'Fruity Potato Carrot Curry, let me know what you think about it!
That's all for now, but is it back for good?!
