Lost in the Translation

My husband works with a wonderful man named "V" who is from India. "V" recently met and married a very lovely young woman. Unfortunately, although we wanted to, we could not attend their wedding in India. We had them over for dinner last Saturday and I made some Indian fare. I am pretty confident about following recipes. The thing that really puzzles me about Indian food is trying to figure out what region it is from and what goes with what. I try to put in searches like Southern Indian food but it is not always fruitful. There is also a lot of blogs that have a not so traditional take on recipes. But I wouldn't know the difference. Certainly I can not be the only one lost in the translation with Indian food. Oh well, it all tasted pretty good anyway, especially the raita.

If you have not seen or tasted a curry leaf I urge you to go to your local Indian Grocer and buy one. Spend some time with it. Smell it, toast it, get to know it. It is one tastey amazingly addictive leaf. I fell in love with it the first time I tried it. I can't imagine having missed out on that flavor.

Dosai

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt
10 curry leaves, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons cumin seeds

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add water little by little to form a loose dough. Cover and set aside for a couple hour. Add some more water to the dough so that it becomes a consistency that is pourable.

Laddle a 1/4 cup of batter onto a very hot griddle. Using the back of a spoon, working quickly, spread the batter out into a round circle. The circle should be about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

Note: If you are use to making crepes, that is exactly how to work this batter. The consistency of the dosa is more like a corn tortilla than a crepe.

Carrot Raita

11/2 cups grated carrots
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 small onion, chopped
1 chopped green chili
1 tablespoon ghee
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
aromatics:
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
10 curry leaves
salt

1 tablespoon desicated coconut
1 1/2 cups yogurt



Grate carrot and set aside. In a skillet heat ghee add the mustard seeds and let them sputter (stand back), Add cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Fry for 20 seconds. Add ginger, green chili and onions. Fry for five minutes. Add turmeric to carrots and add to the frying pan. Frying until carrot wilts. Cool this mixture on a plate.

In a larger bowl stif the yogurt until the lumps disappear. Add the cooled carrot mixture to the yogurt. Chill.



Butternut Squash Curry

3 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 large tomato (about 1 cup chopped)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
2 dried red chilis chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon corriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
10 cloves of garlic
10 curry leaves
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat oil in a large pot. Add mustard seeds and let them sputter. Add cumin seeds, dried red chilies, garlic and curry leaves. Fry until light brown. Add chopped onions and fry until transparent. Add squash, tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Let cook on low for about 20 minutes.

Add chili powder, coriander, sugar and mix well. Add 3/4 cup water, cover and cook on low until squash is fork tender.

Note: I served this with rice and the above recipes.