As it so happens my language helper had me over for dinner with her family and they showed me how to make my favorite dish- Aloo Gobhi. It basically consists of potatoes and cauliflower with some spices etc. After my lesson I was excited to try this new cooking experience at home. The next day I bought the needed spices and got to work. I didn’t have any cauliflower so I just left that out, along with a couple of other things, and I added a couple extra potatoes. Everything was going according to plan until I added the water. They originally told me to add what I thought was a glass and a half of water (please keep in mind that this whole conversation was in Hindi, so misunderstanding was possible) well I added the first glass of water and the potatoes were SWIMMING. I decided that this was NOT a good thing so I didn’t add anymore water, and I tried to boil off as much as possible, however it ended looking like florescent, curried mush. (The spices used in national cooking are really bright, and flavourful, but if you spill any of the spices, mixed with oil on your clothes, you're looking at a drycleaner's nightmare). I later found out that for Aloo gobhi you’re supposed to add one glass and a little bit if needed, BUT for just aloo (potatoes) you’re only supposed to add a half a glass of water. Although the texture was a bit mushy, it didn't stop me from eating it. It wasn't bad for my first try- not terribly good, but not bad. It was a tad spicy though, which I don't really understand because I used less spice than they showed me because I ran out, however, the two peppers I DID use added some much spice it was like an atomic bomb going off in my mouth! I promise these pictures make it look worse than it tastes.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Cooking Catastrophe!!!
So most of you know that I am by no means a mastermind in the kitchen. This really hasn’t been much of a problem in the states as my diet in college consisted mainly of Raman noodles, and eggs. Here, however, it has proven a little more interesting. Because food here is made with fewer preservatives you can’t keep things for long, which means cooking from scratch a lot. When I mean scratch I don’t mean cutting open the packet of spaghetti sauce and pouring over your pasta- I mean making your own sauce from scratch because pre-made foods aren’t readily available. Well seeing as I’m in South Asia I thought that I should learn how to cook some national cuisine. 
As it so happens my language helper had me over for dinner with her family and they showed me how to make my favorite dish- Aloo Gobhi. It basically consists of potatoes and cauliflower with some spices etc. After my lesson I was excited to try this new cooking experience at home. The next day I bought the needed spices and got to work. I didn’t have any cauliflower so I just left that out, along with a couple of other things, and I added a couple extra potatoes. Everything was going according to plan until I added the water. They originally told me to add what I thought was a glass and a half of water (please keep in mind that this whole conversation was in Hindi, so misunderstanding was possible) well I added the first glass of water and the potatoes were SWIMMING. I decided that this was NOT a good thing so I didn’t add anymore water, and I tried to boil off as much as possible, however it ended looking like florescent, curried mush. (The spices used in national cooking are really bright, and flavourful, but if you spill any of the spices, mixed with oil on your clothes, you're looking at a drycleaner's nightmare). I later found out that for Aloo gobhi you’re supposed to add one glass and a little bit if needed, BUT for just aloo (potatoes) you’re only supposed to add a half a glass of water. Although the texture was a bit mushy, it didn't stop me from eating it. It wasn't bad for my first try- not terribly good, but not bad. It was a tad spicy though, which I don't really understand because I used less spice than they showed me because I ran out, however, the two peppers I DID use added some much spice it was like an atomic bomb going off in my mouth! I promise these pictures make it look worse than it tastes.
As it so happens my language helper had me over for dinner with her family and they showed me how to make my favorite dish- Aloo Gobhi. It basically consists of potatoes and cauliflower with some spices etc. After my lesson I was excited to try this new cooking experience at home. The next day I bought the needed spices and got to work. I didn’t have any cauliflower so I just left that out, along with a couple of other things, and I added a couple extra potatoes. Everything was going according to plan until I added the water. They originally told me to add what I thought was a glass and a half of water (please keep in mind that this whole conversation was in Hindi, so misunderstanding was possible) well I added the first glass of water and the potatoes were SWIMMING. I decided that this was NOT a good thing so I didn’t add anymore water, and I tried to boil off as much as possible, however it ended looking like florescent, curried mush. (The spices used in national cooking are really bright, and flavourful, but if you spill any of the spices, mixed with oil on your clothes, you're looking at a drycleaner's nightmare). I later found out that for Aloo gobhi you’re supposed to add one glass and a little bit if needed, BUT for just aloo (potatoes) you’re only supposed to add a half a glass of water. Although the texture was a bit mushy, it didn't stop me from eating it. It wasn't bad for my first try- not terribly good, but not bad. It was a tad spicy though, which I don't really understand because I used less spice than they showed me because I ran out, however, the two peppers I DID use added some much spice it was like an atomic bomb going off in my mouth! I promise these pictures make it look worse than it tastes.
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1 comment:
Maybe the cauliflower absorbs more spice? That's weird though. Ah well.
I bet that by the time you're back in the states you'll be able to tolerate any spice in the whole USA! We'll go straight to Taco Bell and try out the "Fire" sauce on you!
Love you,
Benny
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