Lamb Biriyani with Raita: Instapot

My Instapot is a 3qt size so as to co-exist peacefully with the rest of the kitchen gadgets that reside on the countertop to make our everyday lives a bit easier. This has not stopped it from being the modern akshayapatra of our household. There is nothing it cannot do on its own! This week it was time for some lamb biriyani. I started off thinking I can use the same recipe used in the chicken biriyani version of last week. How naive was I! Lamb is a whole different animal both literally and figuratively. It has a different cooking time so to match that with the cooking time for rice, a marinate step is essential. Reading a few recipe blogs helped me to decide on a course of action most comfortable for me.

This time the steps were from spicecravings where I also picked up an easy way to sauté/caramelize the onions for this recipe. Essentially I followed what I did for the chicken biriyani for flavors etc and followed most of the steps from spicecravings for the actual cooking. Results were outstanding! I don't know if I'll want to eat out for biriyani anymore when I have my own personal biriyani pot😊

In the Mix

lamb - 1.25 to 1.5 lbs cut into medium sized pieces. 
(beef can also be substituted for lamb)

basmati rice - 2.5 cups

water - 2.25 cups

mint leaves - 1/2 cup chopped

cilantro leaves - 1/2 cup chopped

ghee - 1.5tbsp

olive oil - 4-5 tbsp

for garnish and cooking

cashew nuts - optional

raisins - 1/4 cup

1/2 big onion

shallots - 6

addon -1

cloves - 6

cardamoms - 5

black pepper corns - 1.5 tsp
garlic - 8 pods
ginger - 1.25" thin piece


addon -2
kalajeera - 1.5 tsp (or shahjeera)
cinnamon stick - 3/4 crushed
bay leaf -1
bombay biryani masala - 2 tbsp
salt to taste

addon-3
green chillies - 5 sliced

addon-4

garam masala - 1.5 tsp

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

paprika/kashmiri chili -3-4 tsp

How To Do

Cut the lamb to medium sized pieces, wash and set aside. I had about 50:50 ratio of bone-in to boneless pieces. 

In a pestle, crush all items from addon-1 in that order. Cloves, cardamom, pepper, ginger, garlic. Transfer to a bowl, add the meat pieces along with all items from addon-2. Kalajeera, cinnamon stick, bayleaf, biriyani masala and mix well together. Add salt to taste and marinate overnight in fridge or at least 1-2 hours for better results.  Before cooking, take the meat out and  keep at room temp for at least 30 minutes.

Soak the rice for 20-30 minutes, drain and set aside.

Turn on oven to 425 degrees and wait for it to reach temperature. Mix the onions and shallots with salt, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp ghee and spread on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes stirring in between making sure the onions don't get burnt. Reserve half of the onions for cooking and keep the rest to be used later for garnish.

Turn on the sauté function of the instapot, add 1 tbsp of ghee and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Fry the raisins until they swell up, then the cashew nuts if using and keep with the onions set aside for garnishing.

Add 1-2 tbsp more of olive oil to the instapot pan and sauté the green chili from addon-3. sauté for 1-2 minutes, then mix in the reserved onions, add salt as needed and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Check and make sure that the sauté function is still on while this is going on.

Now add the meat mix and sauté well on both sides for 4-5 minutes. Always check the bottom of the pan and scrape with a wooden spoon to make sure that there is no sticking to the bottom while sautéing. Now add items from addon-4 garam masala, paprika, turmeric and mix well together for 2-3 minutes. Check salt.

Spread rice on top, add water and check salt for taste. Do not mix but make sure the meat stays below the water level. Sprinkle mint and cilantro leaves on top. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 7 minutes. Pressure release at normal for 10 minutes and release any remaining pressure manually. 

Now mix lamb and rice together into a serving dish, garnish with raisins and onions and enjoy endlessly with papads and raita.

All I can say is that the magic pot is here to stay.

Raita

I realized that I have not posted how to make raita anywhere. 

Need the following:

   big red inion - 1 sliced this

   carrot - 1 small diced to small pieces

   tomato - 1 medium diced to small pieces

   1-2 green chillies - sliced to thin disks

   cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped

   salt to taste

   vinegar to taste

   yogurt - enough to mix up the above

Take the onion in a bowl, generously pour vinegar and salt and mix/squeeze all well together. Wash/drain with cold water. Now check salt and vinegar and add both just enough to taste. To this add carrot, tomato, cilantro and green chilies and mix well together. Add in enough yogurt to cover all, check salt again  and enjoy with biriyani of any kind. 

Broiled Tri-Tip Steak

Indian cooking has taken a hiatus in our home lately. As always this dull period is caused by lack of demand from customers. I do push the occasional fish curry, and idli/chutney or egg curry whenever I can but poor oven's been working overtime to meet the increased demand on its output.

My daughter loves to eat steak and so it was that I discovered tri-tip steaks. The important thing is to broil them so it becomes a fast and easy thing to do for dinner on those busy week days. They are relatively less expensive than other cuts of steaks I think and so an easy choice for regular cooking. The trick as with any meat, is to cook them just right so it doesn't dry out. Now that the kid palette's are expanding, there is a demand for flavor. In my quest for flavor I chanced upon this marinade recipe with everyday ingredients and full of flavor. 

In The Mix

Tri-tip steak - 2 lbs

Salt - sprinkle to taste

Steak seasoning - sprinkle to taste

(Steak seasoning can be substituted with just black pepper if you don't want it to be too spicy)

For the Marinade

Soy sauce - 2tbsp

Apple cider vinegar - 2 tbsp

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Garlic cloves, minced - 4

freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp

How To Do

Wash and drain the steaks. They come in large single pieces or medium sized pieces. Mix all the marinade ingredients with the steak and keep overnight for the flavors to set in. On the day of cooking allow the meat to sit for half an hour at room temp. If you are not doing the overnight thing, just marinate outside for half an hour on the day of cooking.

Preheat the broiler oven to 375. Make sure the broiler element is on in the oven. 

It is best to use the broiler pan for this. It usually comes with the oven when you buy it. If the broiler pan is not available, you can just use an oven safe pan. Spread oil on the bottom pan and cover the top pan with aluminum foil. Spear through gently so some of the slits on the top pan are open.  Spray the top foil also with cooking spray or oil. This helps to get the steak off after cooking.

Keep the marinated steaks on the top sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and seasoning or ground pepper. Do this for all sides.

Place the pan in the middle of the oven and cook for about 15 minutes. Then turn the pan, turn over the steaks and cook for another 14-18 minutes to get to medium rare.  Better to watch the last few minutes and take out before the meat gets too dry.  

Let sit for a few minutes and slice against grain. Serve with oven roasted potatoes or fresh bread.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast!

The kids are getting antsy with Indian cooking. So long as it contains red fish curry, papadam and yogurt I don't hear many complaints. But the moment I veer off to a little more of the curried versions, the battle erupts. They do like it but not too much apparently. How can a cook take pleasure when her customers are not happy? I try not to listen too much as the wheel of life has to continue uninterrupted but do try some stuff that I feel is a good match. The recipe for pot roast was found on the package for a slow-cooker sauce. I was led to it by the mother of one of my daughter's friends when I asked her for culinary advice on easy dinners. It is easy enough and both kids and Dad loved it. I am thinking of branching out and finding an Indian sauce solution to the pot roast. Here is the recipe which comes on the package of  'savory pot roast sauce powder' found in grocery stores anywhere. You need a slow-cooker (crock-pot, 4 qrtz. or more) to enjoy the full convenience of it.

In The Mix

Crock-Pot Savory Pot Roast Seasoning Mix - 1 package
Shallots - 3 peeled and halved
Small red potatoes - 3 cups washed and drained - no cutting needed
baby carrots - 2 cups


How To Do

This is the best part! Since it can be done in 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low you have the choice of when to have it. I put it all together the morning and it was ready when I got back. There are many sites that gives out slow-cooker recipes. I prefer the ones that do not require any extra steps like searing or sautéing before adding to the slow-cooker.

Wash and drain the meat and add to the slow cooker. Mix the packaged powder with 1 cup of water and add to the pot. Add the potatoes, shallots and carrots. Close the lid, turn on to the desired heat and go have fun. Come back to a dinner ready house! I have finally found what I need. Slow cooker, here I come! I think a masala sauce mix would work just as well for Indian palettes. Will let you know once I find a good solution but it shouldn't be rocket science.

Meat Ball Curry

"What in the world?" you might say. Could it be that our recently turned health advocate is posting this obviously loaded recipe, trying to pass it off as healthy? I get it, I get it. Still, what I am about to tell you just might boggle the mind. Or not!  as my son says to most anything lately:-) By the way, middle school can be tricky and I am glad he is managing well so far.

There is no concrete evidence, but based on the different cuisines I have tried after coming here I would say the Indian curry evolved into its current state through a path that is more medicinal than culinary. If we search long enough there should be many articles attesting to this. Who else in their right mind would dig for a turmeric or ginger root under the ground, then clean, dry and pulverize it just to put a 1/4 tsp or so into what you are cooking unless it's been prescribed as necessary? In most other cuisines the main food itself is the star. Its taste not made obsolete by the presence of overpowering spices. When done in moderation even outsiders will be able to enjoy Indian food. When we go out for lunch from work no one votes for Indian food. The consensus is that the food is so heavy that once you have it you have to go home to sleep instead of going back to work:-) It is slowly changing with all the new awareness on Indian food here through blogs and cooking shows. Those who grew up on Indian food don't really realize this comparative heaviness because from childhood our tastebuds and psyche have been conditioned to acknowledge these flavors as "the food".  The whole enchilada of Indian cooking with spices must have originated from the rich and ancient ayruvedic/medicinal traditions that India has which first trickled into and later flooded mainstream cooking. I can proselytize all I want but when the taste bud is looking for authentic Indian taste it will not bow down to the milder versions that easily.

So how does this help? Since I have established that it is medicinal rather than culinary, spicy really means healthy and therefore good for you:-) Good. eh? It is the chili, oil and salt that you need to be careful about and everything else is fair game unless you have specific allergies. So when my son's friend's Mom from Tamilnadu talked about her awesome meatball curry I didn't have to put the thought aside with regret because of this enlightenment.. This meatball curry also appears in a cookbook (Veettammakkoru Kaithoozhi)  by Sr. Dolores Kannampuzha that my HMom had sent long ago. I followed my friend's recipe as well as the book to get where we are. The red meat in question falls into the eat in moderation category and keeping it there is what enabled us to go for this with glee.

In The Mix

For The Meatballs
ground beef - 1 lb.
red onion - 1 medium sized
ginger - 1 " piece
green chili - 5
cinnammon, cardamom, cloves powder mixed in equal measures  - 1/2 tsp
egg - 1
bread crumbs - little less than 1/2 cup

For the Gravy

medium red onion - 1 sliced
ginger - 1" piece sliced thin
green chili  sliced in rounds - 2 or more as needed
curry leaves - 1 sprig
coriander powder - 4 to 5 tbsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp (what did i say?)
black pepper powder - 1 tsptomato - 1 medium diced
potatoes - 1 big cubed small
coconut milk - 1 cup from can diluted with 1.5 to 2 cups of water
warm milk - 3/4 cup
salt - as needed (1 tsp is all it took!)

 How To do
Chop the ginger, chili and onion for meatball finely in a chopper or by hand. Add to the ground meat in a bowl. Break the egg into this and mix all together. Add in the powders,  bread crumbs, salt and combine. Now roll into small balls the size of gooseberries and keep aside.

For the gravy, heat oil in a pan and add onion, ginger, green chili, curry leaves and saute well. Add curry  powders and 1/4 cup water to mix all together. Add diced tomatoes and saute for a while. Now add potatoes and saute together in medium to low heat.

Once the aroma starts rising add diluted coconut milk and salt as needed. Remember to be done with all your stirring needs by now as we don't want to upset the applecart once those delicate balls are added. Add more hot water at this stage if needed and boil everything. Once you are ready for the deed and identified enough space in the gravy to add meatball, start doing just that. Add the balls gently and one by one. If you need to combine the balls don't use a spoon. Rotate the pan on its handles as needed. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until meat balls and potatoes are cooked. Now add the warm milk and gently boil before removing from heat. Of course give it a small whirl to get all mixed up well. Pour over hot soft rice and dig in! I haven't tried it but it must be good company for our Appam. Hmm..  Yum..Maybe next time.

Kappa Biriyani - Tapioca (Cassava) with Beef

Anything Kappa does not last for long in our house once made. So we always make this in large quantities. It can be had as a main meal or as a filling snack. Remember those hungry evenings when you get back from work ready to eat an elephant? Just roll the Kappa Biriyani into a large ball and take as big bites as you can and that will assuage the hunger right away. To heat or not to heat is totally up to you... I didn't dare venture into making Tapioca here till later. But once I hit on the right way of doing things, cannonballs couldn't stop me. The easiest for Kappa is of course this drum cut version. That has its own charms but the version with beef is unparalleled in yumness and I can't keep my hands off of it once prepared. In The Mix Tapioca - 4 to 5 roots or pieces. Shredded Coconut - 2/3 cup Red onion - 1 full - thinly sliced (can use 5-8 large shallots also) Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Green chili - 2 or 3 Salt to taste For The Beef Beef - 1/2 to 1 lbs or what comes in a small pack Red onion - 1 large thinly sliced garam masala - 1/2 tsp turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp coriander powder- 2 to 3 tbsp chili powder - 3 tsp ginger - 1" pelled and thinly sliced garlic - 2 or 3 pods, crushed & then sliced across curry leaves - as many as makes you happy or 1 sprig salt to taste oil to season mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp How To Do This method of preparation was considered labor intensive and I wasn't going to try anything regardless of how good it tasted. Then I figured out an easy way - sans some elegance - and now Kappa Biriyani is a regular feature whenever we come across a healthy bunch of tapioca roots in the Chinese store. Drum cut the 'kappa' like you would for the 'chendamuriayan' and peel off the skin. Normally the next laborious step is to chip away into smaller pieces till only the central vein remains. This step is not a must and you can just go on and cook with salt and water. The only drawback is you might have to pull out veins from the final dish. If an ardent eater like me thinks it is not a big problem then you can can plunge along with me and have an easy life with Kappa Biriyani to keep you company:-) It is easier to just remove the vein gently from the cooked tapioca whenever you come across one. There you have it. I have divulged the secret! Anyway, do cook the tapioca please and drain the water. Be careful not to get burnt while doing this. Add The Gravy Prepare the gravy mix while tapioca is being cooked. Take the coconut, tumeric, salt, onion and green chilies and grind together in a blender with enough water. As soon as the water is drained from the cooked tapioca, make a hole and add half of the mix towards the bottom. Add the rest to the top and cover over with tapioca. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat. Be nearby to prevent any burning up. Then remove from heat and mash with a wooden spoon like there is no tomorrow. As mentioned above, do remove any veins that you come across. I will not be responsible for any vein damage. Mix well so that the gravy is well spread and the tapioca is mashed nicely. Not too mashed up but mashed enough to keep it all sticking together. Add The Beef The beef can be prepared at this stage as I have done many times or while tapioca is on the stove. Either way it will be OK. Break mustard in heated oil and add onion and curry leaves. Add salt and saute well. Add ginger and garlic and saute on low heat. Once everything mixes together nicely and begins to brown, add all the powders together. Add a little water to help all blend together in the pan. Roast till the familar scent of the spices fill the air and add the meat. Fry on medium heat for a few minutes. Cover and cook. No need to add water at this stage. Add this beef to the prepared tapioca and mix gently but surely together till the biriyani of your dream emerges. Sit down and enjoy with a cup of coffee and some pickle or yogurt if you are into those. Will keep in fridge for almost a week and watch your hungry evenings fly by like a dream...

Beef Coconut Fry

Time to immortalize this recipe that seems to have captured many a heart er.. tummy here. The basic recipe is from a friend, the method from my Mom and the addition of coconut is my husband's suggestion. He is the one who painstakingly broke the coconut, shelled it out and cut into nice thin pieces all for the sake of having it included. I used to make this sans the coconut but since it has added exponentially to the taste, will forever remain a part of the recipe. The major trick for this to come out fabulous is the slow frying at the end. The longer you can do this, the better. All measurements for this one are mostly approximate as I forgot to keep up with it...

In The Mix

beef - 2 lbs (diced, washed & drained)
coconut - fresh diced from a half shell
onion - 2 medium sized, sliced
tomato - 2 medium sized, diced
chili powder - 1 to 2 heaped tsp
coriander powder - 5 to 6 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (2X)
vinegar - 1 tbsp
garam masala - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp (made of equal measures of cloves, cardamom & cinnamon powders)
oil - 1 to 3 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
shallot - 1 sliced thin
curry leaves - as many sprigs as you want:-)
salt to taste

How To Do
Marinate the beef overnight with the vinegar, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp chili powder.

Heat some of the oil and saute onion till brown. Add all the remaining curry powders and roast well. Add tomato, mix well and saute. Add diced beef and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add coconut pieces to this mix and saute for some more time. Add 1 cup of water if the beef does not have a lot of it. Cover and cook in medium heat. 15 to 20 minutes should do.

Heat remaining oil in a thick bottomed pan and break mustards. Add shallots, curry leaves and saute well. Add the prepared beef to this and mix very well. Boil at high heat to remove water if in excess. From now keep it low heat and slow fry till dry. Stir occasionally so it won't stick to the pan. May take as long as 30 -45 minutes for this last step depending on the amount of water you started out the step with. So long as you remember to check back you can actually do other pending stuff like finishing off that book or playing with the kids. The resulting beef fry is one to die for! Enjoy it with Kerala porotta, rice & buttermilk curry, tapioca or just by itself. Any way you consume, it is a winner:-)

Beef Stew for Appam

Let's say you have finally managed to arrive at that magic recipe catered to your needs which brings out somewhat decent if not superb Appams. Now what? Sure, people have been known to eat them as is without any issues but you definitely need an accompaniment to fully realize the taste. Nothing serves this better than the 'Stew'. Be it veg or non-veg version. Oddly enough while here I am willing to opt for the veg version, my usually veggie conscious husband wouldn't budge if it does not have some beef - not chicken, mind you - with it. So we have always prepared the 'beef stew' which essentially is the veggie stew, only with beef added.

Think I have mentioned elsewhere about the Stew getting into Kerala homes from the English. Meat indeed is a main ingredient of 'that' stew. Looks like an 'Irish Stew' is more like it? Anyway I had also heard that milk was used in stew for its gravy and was adapted with coconut milk in the land of coconuts (Kerala). True or not this is why I almost always use warm milk as a substitute for coconut milk in any recipe calling for it. I also derived courage from the fact that my HMom commonly uses milk as a substitute. This recipe is adapted from Mrs. KMMathews's cookbook and is kind of similar to Fish Moli.

In The Mix

beef - 1/2 lbs cut into small pieces (can substitute with boned chicken pieces)
lemon drops - 6 or 7 (optional)
chili powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
coriander powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
salt to taste (optional)

potatoes - 2 medium sized, peeled and cubed into medium sized pieces
carrot - 1 peeled and sliced into 1/4" round or quartered 1/2" long pieces as you please
beans - 15-20 cut into 3/4" pieces.
cauliflower - 5-6 florets (optional)

cinnammon - 1 or 2 sticks broken into medium pieces
cardamom - 5 or 6 crushed so pod is slightly open
cloves - 12
freshly ground pepper - 1/2 or 1 tsp

red onion - 1 or 1/2 sliced thin depending on your love for onion
green chilies - 5 sliced long into two
ginger - 1 1/2 " piece sliced long and thin
garlic - 4 large cloves crushed and sliced. Crushing garlic always bring in the flavor as opposed to cutting it.
curry leaves - 1 or 2 sprigs

vinegar - 1 1/2 to 2 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp

warm milk - 2 cups or more as needed for gravy
water - 1 cup or more as needed for gravy
ground pepper - 1/4 tsp

How To Do

Marinating the beef is optional for this recipe but if you do, it works wonders for the general taste. If you are so inclined, marinate with the optional lemon drops, salt, chili, coriander overnight or at least for half an hour:-) You can even marinate with just the lemon and salt.
I do the whole enchilada.

Heat oil in a pan. Add cardamom, cloves, cinnammon, pepper and fry shortly. Take good care so it won't burn. Add onion, green chilies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves preferably in that order. Add salt, mix well and saute till onion browns and curry leaves look appetizing. Now remove the mix from the pan and set aside.

Add beef to the remaining oil, stir and saute gently. Don't skip this step no matter which meat you use. (If you are not adding meat then go to the next step and follow all but instead of cooking 5 minutes add the veggies etc)

Add 1 cup warm milk and 1 cup water to this. Boil once and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in between. Don't worry if the milk separates. Stir well whenever you can and eventually the whole dish will come out fine. Add potatoes, beans and carrot at this point. Boil once, add the set aside masala, add more water and 3/4 cup warm milk and cover and cook. It is better if the veggies are not overcooked. Check salt and stir occasionally. Once done add the remaining milk and remove from heat. Immediately add the vinegar, stir well and and add the remaining pepper powder and serve hot with 'hot' appams or idiappams.

VediIrachi (Hunted Meat) Preparation with Beef

I have not taken up hunting in case you are wondering:-) We just bought some beef to cook and HMom was interested in making it like they used to prepare hunted meat. In her childhood days her Dad – Paternal Great Gandfather to my kids – used to bring home meat from hunting trips to the backwaters. Mostly wild birds I think. We were all for making it this way. It does not need a lot of things to make it an extremely tasty concoction and therefore is assured of its place on our dining table.

In The Mix

Beef – 2 lbs

Fresh ground pepper powder – 1 tbsp

Whole dry red chilies – 9 to 10 torn lengthwise

Shallots - 2

Curry leaves -1 sprig

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Coriander - 1/2 tsp (optional)

That's it. I told you it can stand almost on its own. Didn't I?

How To Do

Cut beef into thin pieces and marinate with salt, lemon squeezed from a half and (2 tsp) pepper for a minimum of 2 hours. Cook the beef covered in a pan at first on hight heat and once water comes out on medium to low heat. No need to add water as water from the beef will be enough. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of water only if no water is forthcoming after a decent amount of waiting. Stir occasionally. Once cooked well, drain the juices and keep aside. Now fry the beef lightly in the pan it was cooked in. Add 2 of the torn chilies and some fresh curry leaves at this time.

In a separate pan heat oil, saute the sliced shallots and move a little to the side. Add rest of the chili, pepper powder and saute some. Add some curry leaves turmeric and coriander at this time and saute together. Add the meat, mix well, and add the juices set aside earlier. Dry well by frying in low heat. If there is a lot of juice, then start out at high heat and once the water subsides, turn to low heat. Do not cover during this time and also afterwards as the vapor on the lid will get onto the beef to render it less crisp. Towards the end make sure to remove from heat before it is entirely dried as the retained heat will continue the drying and we don't want the end product to be dried and shriveled up but slightly tender and crispy.

Er... only at this point I realised that I don't have any picture to go with this because I had deleted the ones I took. They didn't come out blogworthy. But, what is a food blog without a picture? So I have uploaded a rose from our garden till I get some pictures:-) I am planning to make some this week so it won't be long.

April 30:
I made it again yesterday and have uploaded the correct picture. I am leaving the rose here.

An Egg Curry with a Story

It was a Saturday evening and not a curry was found in the fridge. It was a busy day for all and one thing led to another with no time to be had for grocery. A heavy depression surrounded all – esp Mom & Dad – who didn't want to go out again just for grocery on this cold, cold rainy day. Dad who was suffering from an onslaught of seasonal cold allergies decided to sleep it off with a nap and make do with toasted bread for the whole family when the time came. After giving it some thought, Mom decided to investigate the fridge. And there it was! A lonely, lonely egg all by itself in the egg carton. Egg is a favorite ingredient of Mom's and this provided the inspiration for a curry.

With added zest Mom was able to discover the following:

A 2/3 piece of green bell pepper.

Some (8-9) small red potatoes – the kind that does not need to be deskinned!

2 pathetic looking but still alive carrots

½ a head of cabbage

1 big onion – this item was plentiful but only one was needed

Other stuff deemed necessary to make it into a curry:

coriander powder – 4 tbsp

chili powder - ¼ tbsp

kashmiri chili powder – 2/3 tbsp

turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

garam masala powder - ¼ tsp

½ cup milk

2 ½ cup water

salt to taste

What happened:

A pan was out on the stove with oil to heat.

The onion was sliced and added to the oil. Salt was added and stirred well together.

All powders were added and mixed together by adding little water. At this point Dad woke up from the heady aroma of roasted curry mix in the air and remembered the frozen thinly sliced beef in the freezer. This he thawed in the microwave with new found vigor and added to the pan. The meat was saute'ed in the mix for 3-4 minutes. 2 ½ cups of warm water was added and after boiling once, diced and sliced veggies except cabbage were added. After boiling once the pan was covered and allowed to cook for 10-15 minutes. Once the all the ingredients were cooked, the one lonely egg which was behind all this was broken into the boiling water and scrambled to join the rest of the crowd. As you can see from the pic it all but disappeared!! Cabbage was added last and mixed well. Then ½ cup of warm milk was added and after boiling once, removed from heat.

This was heartily enjoyed by the whole family with fresh cooked rice and a dollop of yogurt. The wonderful meal with the things found in the fridge was surprisingly tasty and wholesome!

The whole thing reminded me of a story I remember reading in a Children's Magazine (Poompatta?) long time back. There was this man who liked to spring visits on families just as they were having their meal so they'd have no choice but to invite him to join them. One day it so happened that the family who spotted him from far away finished their meal rather fast and informed him of this “sad” fact. Not to be fazed in adversities the guy said that they could still have some dessert. When the family mentioned that they have no ingredients for any dessert he said “ but you don't need any ingredients to make vellarankallu payasam/kheer and it is so tasty you'd want more” Vellarankallu are small white stones/rock pieces that can be found anywhere in the land. This of course raised the familiy's interest and the visitor generously offered to make some for the family as a favor. In no time he got them to boil a pot of water to which he added the cleaned stones the kids brought in. After a while he tasted the “payasam” and said that it would have been even better if only he had some milk. The family by now fully vested in the making of this extraordinary payasam brought out the milk. After a while he tasted again and in similar fashion got them to provide him with jaggery, coconut and other “normal” payasam ingredients without the family catching on!! The 'vellarankallu payasam” was finally ready and the eager family tasted to find that they were conned into making a payasam for their cunning guest after all... The visitor left after having his fill of the wholesome payasam!

So here it is, my “Egg” Curry:-)