Quick Meal Planning Update...

Continued from "A Good Indian wife..."

If you've read my last post, you would know that Wednesday was not such a good day for us! 

So bearing in mind my morning, the afternoon was a little better. A couple of friends who live close by had just spoken to C at work and dropped by to see me. I wasn't really prepared for a visit, not dressed, house a mess, but I put the kettle on and we had a good old natter (they both don't have any problem with talking a lot!)

A is Indian, from Delhi but spent a good few years in Goa, running a successful restaurant and S is half Punjabi and half Scottish and grew up in Leicester. So it's really nice to have them to talk about our situation ,because they understand where we are coming from. Most people just think we are crazy hippies and haven't got a clue why we would want to live in the middle of nowhere in India.

They helped me fix up the window in the car with hardboard, plastic and lots of tape, swept out the glass and tidied up the path (a difficult job with a toddler on a busy road) and after 3 hours and a lot of cups to wash up, they left me to do a quick blitz with the hoover before preparing dinner.

Wednesday... Aloo Gobi with Homemade Chapattis

Well the homemade chappattis were out of the window, not literally! So I put on some rice. I'll attempt them this week :)

Note on Rice...

1 cup of rice is enough for 2 adults. Add 2 cups of cold water and bring to the boil with a lid on. Boil vigorously for 2 minutes and then turn off the heat. Don't take the lid off. Rice will be ready in about 10 minutes but you can leave it there for hours and it will be perfect. Michael puts a paper towel under the lid to keep in the steam, I guess us eco-conscious could use a clean t-towel, but I don't because my lid fits quite snug.

Potatoes (quartered and par boiled if waxy like the British pots)

Cauliflower

Onion
Tomato
Garlic
Ginger
Chillies
Ghee (or oil)
Garam Masala
Cumin (seed or powder)
Coriander (seed or powder)
Turmeric
Salt and black pepper

Preparation

In a large wok or pan, heat the ghee and add the onions to fry on medium heat. Add the Garlic and ginger, then add the spices, then the cauliflower and potatoes. Cook over a moderate heat for 10 minutes adding water if needed, then turn off the heat and cover.

(Note to self: Don't walk away and lie down on the sofa thinking 'what a stressful day, I deserve a rest'... this adds an altogether new ingredient to your lovingly prepared dinner... smoky barbeque flavouring! It also wastes the valuable electricity you have been working so hard to save...and your extra portion for lunch!)

Thursday... Chicken Bolognaise 

I was a bit dubious about using chicken instead of beef, but wow, I'm impressed with this one and so was my husband and he's hard to please when it comes to food. The sage and chili worked wonders on my palette.

Onions

Garlic

2 chopped chillies

Chicken mince

Tomato puree

Chopped tinned (or fresh) tomatoes

1 Beef and 1 Chicken Oxo

Lots of sage

Prepare as you would Bolognaise. Fry onions and garlic, then meat, then throw the rest in and cook for 10 minutes, then cover and leave on the heat. Serve with pasta and grated cheese.

Friday... I was lazy and we ate Kheema from the freezer.

Saturday... we had a vegetable and four lentil casserole.