We had an amazing lunch today and I am really proud of myself for getting it right in every respect.
There was Hungarian roasted pepper and paprika chicken (yum!) served with a side of tomato & basil couscous and golden crusted brussels sprouts on the table.
It was a feast and both V and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
Yet, none of the above is the dish I will be talking about today. But don’t worry! I’ll post those recipes- because really I can’t keep all that good stuff to just me. You guys should be in the know too!
You guys should also be in the know of these burgers that I made over the weekend.
This post has been in my folder for a long time and what’s a better day to post it than at the end of the four-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee!
If you have been watching the coverage on TV of the the celebrations, I am sure you have been enamored by the grandeur that they were. Of course critics have argued that at such tough economic times do these celebration seem befitting. To avoid any debate, I will just stay clear off that topic (although there is a part of me that agrees, but this is a food blog and I want to keep it that). I do understand that it is a big deal and maybe at such times you do need a reason to celebrate, even if it seems frivolous.
Nonetheless it was fun. It was like watching Kate and William’s wedding all over. And as befits a big British occasion, the rain was persistent and relentless.
I started Garam Masala Tuesdays with three aims- one, to familiarize non-Indians with Indian cooking; two, to familiarize Indian cooking to Indian ladies like me, who had only recently forayed into Indian cooking and who like me did not have the pleasure of their moms to guide them through various aspects of Indian food and three, to share recipes handed down by my mother or friends or relatives or seen on different sites along with giving a little background about the dish.
Now, because of the above three aims I am always in a dilemma when I write any post for the GMT. I wonder if I am writing the recipes for Indians, non-Indians or for Indians who are living abroad.
Indians living in India have access to all kinds of spices and vegetables and their taste buds are used to eating Indian flavored dishes. Indians living abroad have access to most spices, but might not have access to all and if they have been born and raised abroad might not be used to the different flavors of Indian cuisine. Non-Indians might not have any of the spices and even though they like Indian food, they might find it a pain to stock up on the oh-so-many spices that most Indian dishes call for. On the other hand, if I post a recipe without the necessary spices, Indians who might cook from my blog will lose out on the flavor that these very spices hand to the dish- and then for them the particular dish won’t be the real thing.
So, the dilemma always remains- how do I make sure I cater to everyone’s needs?
Of course I can’t and won’t even attempt to. And today I thought I’ll try to cook from a non-Indian’s pantry perspective. I think that’s something that GMT misses out on occasions.
We had an amazing lunch today and I am really proud of myself for getting it right in every respect.
