Resisting Saturday Sloth

Read more here about the Madhur Jaffrey project - one of my 2010 goals. For an index of recipes, click here.

I was sitting around at home feeling really lazy on Saturday afternoon. But, then, there were a bunch of veggies sitting in my frig threatening to die. And so, I got to work.

First I made a list of what I hoped to get done. (As it turns out, this was a very optimistic list. )


Then, I popped in my favorite CD in the player.

I noted the time. (I am such a geek.)


I got cooking.

And three hours later (!) I had 4 dishes done, lots of veggies used up, and food in the frig for the week ahead.

Jan 16 Cooking: Green beans with fresh coconut and sesame seeds; Cabbage and tomatoes cooked in mustard oil; Potatoes and tomatoes cooked with fresh coconut; Diced potatoes with spinach.





And finally, I congratulated myself for not sitting on the couch the entire afternoon.

I had a friend over for dinner, so I got a chance to try out all the food, and it is all delicious.

Food Notes:
- I especially adore the potatoes and tomatoes, which tastes very kurma-like. (The link leads to a recipe that looks similar, though the recipe I used is simpler - fewer spices & less grinding.)
- I've made beans with coconut before, (in fact, frozen veggie cooked with coconut is one of my staples - a good 5-minute dish.) This version also has cilantro chopped with the coconut, which is unusual to me. (I wonder which part of India it is from. Coconut usage is heavy in South India, but this particular mix of herbs & spices was new to me.)
- The cabbage was yummy, plus I've never cooked cabbage with tomatoes. New food combo!
- Of all the recipes, I was a bit underwhelmed by the diced potato with spinach, but I think it is because it is a fairly common Indian dish (aloo palak or aloo saag - most Indian restaurants will have it, though with considerable amounts of butter & cream added.)

I've still some pictures to post, and my index is seriously out of date, something to rectify. I do keep an Excel spreadsheet to track my progress though (I've already admitted to being a geek) and right now, I'm at 14.26% complete. (69 recipes cooked; 415 to go.)