The Indian in me

Yes, friends, it's me again. The new job, on top of cooking class, has me running circles around myself, so the posts have become infrequent as of late (as I warned they would). But I continue to cook! So here's one fleshed out recipe and a few other thoughts that have emerged from my kitchen.

All credit for the harshi roti (sp?) goes to Mrs. Kaushik, mother of my good friend Vinitha and the woman who contributed to raising me on solid Indian cooking. This was my favorite dish to eat while I was growing up across the street from the Kaushiks, and I've made a valiant effort here to recreate it. It's not exactly "authentic" but it comes close. And I can't even express how happy it makes me to smell these familiar smells in my own kitchen.

*photo credit to Kat Cheng and her shutter skills!

Harshi Roti (adapted from the kitchen of Mrs. K)

- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
- 3 peeled and grated carrots
- 1 knob ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 green chili pepper, seeded and diced small
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp. oil
- salt

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter, pourable but not runny.

Cut a square sheet of tinfoil and spoon about 2/3 cup of the mix onto it. Smooth the batter out into a circle with the back of the spoon and push aside the middle to make a silver-dollar sized hole.

Heat a large pan with oil and wait until a drop of water will sizzle when dropped in. Then turn the prepared batter onto the skillet, leaving the tinfoil to cover for the first few minutes of frying. Remove tinfoil once the bottom of the roti is pretty solid. Add a few more drops of oil to the perimeter and in the center of the roti, and flip once the bottom is well browned. Fry a few minutes on the other side, then remove onto a plate and serve with butter, chutney pudi, raita (yogurt-based condiment) and, my other fave, Indian peanut stew (sounds like "goj") - or any combination therein.

Other things I've churned up (the Cliffs Notes edition):
- Barley with roasted garlic, olive oil, chopped fresh mint, and cumin
- Curry split pea soup (with cardemom, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, etc.)
- Chicken soup with wild rice & quinoa (made with my Thanksgiving turkey stock)
- Black-eyed pea tomato stew with mushrooms and cinnamon