Get Up and Cook

Mark decided he wanted to try out being a vegetarian. But we were not to have those bland, dull, uninteresting vegetarian meals. No. We were going to have vegetable curries. I love curry. I got out my 660 Curries cookbook, made a list and went off to the Asian market. It doesn't even bother me to be the only white person in the store. Just call me Badeep.

On day one, I made Bhuna Hua Simla Mirch Aur Masoor Ki Dal (slow roasted bell pepper with red lentils) and Bund Gobhi Aur Aloo Ki Subzi (cabbage and potatoes with fennel and chiles). I started cooking around 6:30 and around 8:30 I told Mark he'd have to finish it because I was just too worn out.

On day two, we still had a bit of the dal left over and I made Phool Gobhi Pyaaz (cauliflower in onion-chile sauce) and Kolhapuri Vanghi (stewed eggplant with coconut-chile spice blend). This time I started at 5:00. I needed to start sooner because we really wanted to eat before 9:00 PM and the eggplant recipe called for two teaspoons of Kolhapuri masala, which I would need to make.

The Kolhapuri masala consists of dried chiles, dried coconut, white sesame seeds, black peppercorns, mace, bay leaves, and white sesame, coriander, cumin, mustard, and fenugreek seeds coated in oil and roasted in a skillet. After it cools off you grind it and blend it with cayenne pepper and paprika.

Today is day three. I still have a bit of the dal, as well as the eggplant and cauliflower dishes. I also have a bit of basmati rice, although tonight I will heat up some garlic naan bread. Tonight I'm making Chinnay Vengayam Kari (pearl onions with spinach and tomatoes) and Mirch Ka Salan (spicy banana peppers with coconut sesame seed sauce).  But in order to make the pearl onion dish, I will need to whip up a batch of Sambhar masala and a batch of Punjabi garam masala. And unless I want dinner at 9:00 PM again, I should get started now. Just as soon as I finish clearing the devastation from last night's cooking adventure. (Not one clean cutting board left in the house and I have six of them!) To sustain this type of cooking, I will need a bigger dishwasher, although I have no idea where I'd put it.

These dishes are very flavorful and I haven't missed the meat. But they are "fussy" and require a significant amount of prep time. Even with Mark and I both cooking last night, it still took us two hours to get it all on the table. Those Indian women must start cooking the moment they get up.

I need to rethink this whole Badeep thing.