This is Somerset --
This week the nasty green eyed monster, known as envy, reared its head in the Mashiter household.
I had just waved goodbye to my friend Susan who was off on a luxurious trip to India, discovering the so called "Golden Triangle" which starts off in Mumbai (which when I lived in India was known as Bombay), then Delhi and the delights of the Raj, Agra and the Taj Mahal, Jaipur and then the foothills of the Himalayas on the borders of North Pakistan – quite a journey, and yes I am rather green with envy as, yet again, here the rain is lashing on the window.
Now of course one does get rain in the India subcontinent, and when it rains there are no half measures, when the monsoons arrive it comes down in sheets.
However, there is a very big difference as when the rain stops the steam appears, clouds of it, the sun comes out for a while and life gets back to normality – though it be only for a short time before the rain comes down again.
You cannot do very much either here or in the Indian subcontinent when the weather is inclement (such a wonderful word) other than get into your kitchen and do some good cooking – of the Indian sort, of course! I intend to enjoy my curry alongside yet another viewing of my favourite DVD – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – a real nostalgia trip for me.
Prawn curry
Two medium onions; 2.5cm fresh root ginger; two fat cloves garlic; ½tspn chilli powder; ½tspn turmeric; 2tblspns vegetable oil; pinch each of fennel and ground cardamom; salt and freshly ground black pepper; one medium potato; three firm ripe tomatoes; 150ml coconut milk; 450g peeled king prawns; three spring onions; bunch of fresh coriander
Peel and rough chop the onions. Peel and roughly chop the ginger and the garlic. Put all of these into a blender or food processor and process until the mixture forms a smooth paste-like consistency.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric, fennel, ground cardamom and a good seasoning of salt and freshly ground black pepper and process to blend.
Peel the potato and cut into small dice. Put the tomatoes into a bowl, cover with boiling water, let stand for one minute then drain well. Nick the skins with a sharp pointed knife and slide off the skins, discard the seeds and roughly chop the flesh.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or saucepan and add the onion mixture and cook over a medium heat until the oil separates. Add the diced potato and chopped tomatoes to the pan stirring to mix well, cover the pan, lower the heat a little, and allow to cook for about ten minutes.
Add the coconut milk, lower to a really gentle heat and cook, uncovered, for a further seven to eight minutes. Stir in the prawns, and cook, uncovered, for a further five minutes.
Meanwhile, trim and finely chop the spring onions, and roughly chop the coriander and stir into the curry. Serve immediately with fluffy boiled rice. Reported by This is 21 hours ago.
This week the nasty green eyed monster, known as envy, reared its head in the Mashiter household.
I had just waved goodbye to my friend Susan who was off on a luxurious trip to India, discovering the so called "Golden Triangle" which starts off in Mumbai (which when I lived in India was known as Bombay), then Delhi and the delights of the Raj, Agra and the Taj Mahal, Jaipur and then the foothills of the Himalayas on the borders of North Pakistan – quite a journey, and yes I am rather green with envy as, yet again, here the rain is lashing on the window.
Now of course one does get rain in the India subcontinent, and when it rains there are no half measures, when the monsoons arrive it comes down in sheets.
However, there is a very big difference as when the rain stops the steam appears, clouds of it, the sun comes out for a while and life gets back to normality – though it be only for a short time before the rain comes down again.
You cannot do very much either here or in the Indian subcontinent when the weather is inclement (such a wonderful word) other than get into your kitchen and do some good cooking – of the Indian sort, of course! I intend to enjoy my curry alongside yet another viewing of my favourite DVD – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – a real nostalgia trip for me.
Prawn curry
Two medium onions; 2.5cm fresh root ginger; two fat cloves garlic; ½tspn chilli powder; ½tspn turmeric; 2tblspns vegetable oil; pinch each of fennel and ground cardamom; salt and freshly ground black pepper; one medium potato; three firm ripe tomatoes; 150ml coconut milk; 450g peeled king prawns; three spring onions; bunch of fresh coriander
Peel and rough chop the onions. Peel and roughly chop the ginger and the garlic. Put all of these into a blender or food processor and process until the mixture forms a smooth paste-like consistency.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric, fennel, ground cardamom and a good seasoning of salt and freshly ground black pepper and process to blend.
Peel the potato and cut into small dice. Put the tomatoes into a bowl, cover with boiling water, let stand for one minute then drain well. Nick the skins with a sharp pointed knife and slide off the skins, discard the seeds and roughly chop the flesh.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or saucepan and add the onion mixture and cook over a medium heat until the oil separates. Add the diced potato and chopped tomatoes to the pan stirring to mix well, cover the pan, lower the heat a little, and allow to cook for about ten minutes.
Add the coconut milk, lower to a really gentle heat and cook, uncovered, for a further seven to eight minutes. Stir in the prawns, and cook, uncovered, for a further five minutes.
Meanwhile, trim and finely chop the spring onions, and roughly chop the coriander and stir into the curry. Serve immediately with fluffy boiled rice. Reported by This is 21 hours ago.