Culinary Legacies and the Experience of Time

I've been thinking a lot about my favourite foods recently.... Like, a lot. They are so different from that of my immediate family, and that's when the realisation that my own food experiences have been shaping and changing my own diet.

Crazy.

In Friday I sat down at my favourite Turkish restaurant, Zara's in Upper Hutt eating a falafel Iskender. Gorgeous thing. There was a side made of mint leaves wrapped around rice of some description, served cold. It was wonderful, but while eating it I realised we hardly ever had rice growing up. True, we did have "Rice Risotto" in a box, and rice pudding... But not the range of rice flavours. Now with a pantry with wild rice, basmati rice, brown rice, and jasmine rice, it's amazing to think that I'll eat it a couple of nights a week.

When did I first eat falafel? Well, it was a trip to Wellington with a friend and his mother, to buy a suit for a wedding. We had kebabs for lunch. I was a vegetarian so just ordered the vegetarian option, and my love of Turkish food began.

My other favourite is Mexican food. Normally at the Martinborough Fair which we attended yesterday, there is an amazing Mexican man serving traditional street food from Mexico. He runs a business in Wellington, and I always try something new every time I go there. But a toasted flauta or a breakfast burrito fill me with spicy joy.

When did I first have Mexican food? I was staying in Christchurch on a school trip, and the mother of my host family made nachos with corn chips, canned beans and sour cream. The spice changed my life, and not long after returning home, I was making it for the family... Slowly trying new meals. Now I have several traditional Mexican cookbooks and my own tortilla press.

And then Indian food. We never had curry growing up.... Well... I lie. My grandfather used to make a cabbage and raisin dish with plenty of curry powder and whole chillies. Once in a while a wonderful Sri Lankan woman stayed with my grandparents, she would make a curry on occasion. It was spicy and I liked it.

Pass over the next 10 years and I married an Indian. His family and manny many cookbooks, as well as tips from every Indian restaurant I have visited, and now I can make so many wonderful curries, sides, breads and dips.

Growing up we never had onions, garlic, pasta unless it was mac 'n' cheese, brown bread, couscous, lentils, spinach, chillies, zucchini, coloured lettuces... The list goes on.

So why think about this today?

Yesterday eating Swiss rosti... And Thai flavoured nuts.... And weeding my bok choi.... Talking Hot Pot and Steamboat with a Cambodian and a Phillipino, reminiscing about living in China... That's when I realised I need to keep branching out and trying new things.

Bring on Hungarian Langosh. Deep fried, garlicky, salty, and light. Gorgeous I could have tried the chimney cakes, but why? I know I love cake.











I guess the moral of the story is this: expose yourself to food. I've eaten foods I hate, but at least I know why I dislike them. Expose your children to different cultural food experiences. You never know when you will find yourself eating taro leaves or dragon fruit. Try something new every single week... Whether it's a food, a meal, a cuisine, a drink, a spice. Something. Life will be all the better for it.

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Meatless Monday: Indian Curry Dhal with Onion Bhajias

Today was a good day to make my favourite dhal, which I have posted before. However, for some insane reason I decided to make dhal, naan bread, onion Bhajias and raita. It was delicious.... Even if it was a little chaotic in the kitchen.



Onion Bhajias

You will need:
2 brown onions
1 cup Chana flour (regular will do though)
1 green chilli
2 cloves garlic
Handful of coriander
2 teaspoons cumin powder
Tablespoon Olive oil
1\2 cup water (ish)

1. Slice the onions into half circles. Smaller would be better for smaller ones, but I decided to make big ones. Sprinkle with salt, and sit in a colander while you do the rest. These need at least 10 minutes to lose as much moisture as possible.

2. Put the garlic, coriander and chili in a food processor. You can add a little ginger if you like as well. Blitz until everything is a small, uniform size and shape, but not liquidised.

3. Sift flour into bowl. Add the cumin and the green stuff from the food processor.

4. Add oil, and water and stir together into a thick-ish batter.

5. Place oil in a fry pan to heat (or use a deep fryer. I don't have one, so I use a pan).

6. This gets messy... But give it a go. Take about half a handful of onions from the colander (which should be pretty dry by now), and place in the batter. Using your hands form a battered ball of onion. Place into hot pan. Work quickly, which will be messy, but it washes off easily... Just don't wipe your eyes.

7. When golden brown on one side, flip the Bhajias over and cook again on the other side.

Serve with raita.
Makes about 8 large Bhajias

Raita

You will need
1/2 cucumber
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Handful of fresh mint
Handful of fresh coriander
Juice from one lemon

1. Dice the cucumber and chop up the mint and coriander.

2. Throw into medium sized bowl. Pour over the lemon juice.

3. Mix in the yogurt. You can season with salt and pepper if you like at this point.

Use as a dip for the onion Bhajias.





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Eggs Masala (Meatless Monday)

The husband still isn't convinced of meatlessness as a good thing, but he doesn't complain at these eggs. I like them for lunch, and they are the ideal using up the end of the ingredients before grocery shopping.



Ingredients
1/2 onion
1/2 tomato
3 eggs
Chillies to taste
Garam masala
Turmeric
Cumin seeds
Garlic clove
Olive oil

1. Dice onion and tomato. Toss in a hot pan with oil and cumin seeds, crushed garlic, finely chopped chillies, and other spices to taste.

2. Cook until the onion is clear.

3. With a fork, whisk the 3 eggs in a separate bowl. Tip into the pan with the rest and a little salt and pepper.


Serve on toast, or I prefer rolled into a wrap and toasted in a panini press.



These little containers are brilliant reminders of part vege in my fridge. Whenever I have the tomato and onion I know I am nearly ready for eggs masala.


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Bombay Potatoes

Okay, these are truly nomlicious.  And I could eat them all day.

Bombay Potatoes on the Left.  (the other side is a meh chickpea curry)

Ingredients

5 medium potatoes
Olive oil
1tsp yellow mustard seeds or fenugreek
2 bay leaves
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1tsp turmeric
1tsp coriander (ground)
1tsp chilli powder or 3 green chillies (finely sliced, seeds in)
juice of one small lemon

Method

1.  Boil the potatoes whole, skins on.  When soft to the touch, but skins still attached, drain in a colander and allow to cool.

2.  Heat oil in a deep fry pan.  Throw in the bay leaves and the mustard seeds.  Lid on the pan as the little seeds jump everywhere. Add onions.  Saute until they are clear.

3.  Throw in the garlic, turmeric, coriander, chilli and mix until all combined.  Add the lemon juice to the hot pan.

4.  Dice the potatoes into big chunks and throw them in the pan.  Stir to coat all the flavours over them.  Fry with the lid off to get them crispy. 

Serve with fresh coriander, or on the side of another curry.  They keep in the fridge for a couple of days... in theory... but these never last longer than next-day-lunch.