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[rai]

[J.]

Here is my old stand-by curry: The one that is fast and easy and always tastes good. It's originally " Chicken with tomatoes and garam masala" but I use cut up veggies such as eggplant, potatoes, carrots, sweet pototoes, almost anything with some firmness, and last time I used cubes of firm tofu.

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's recipe from "Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery", an excellent book in my opinion.

Can be served with rice and a dal with garlic and onion for more protein and good taste.

Serves 6 ( supposedly)

5 Tb vegetable oil
3/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
A 1-inch (2.5 cm) stick of cinnamon
6 whole cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
6 oz. (175 g) onions chopped
6-7 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 lb( 450 g) fresh tomatoes and finely chopped ( tinned are okay)
1/8-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala powder (or to taste)
Firm tofu cubes (1 package) if desired, or maybe chick peas
or beans, cooked
Vegetables, cut up in chunks, a few cups

Coconut milk or powder-- a few big spoons, if you like it creamy. (If you eat milk you could substitute yoghurt, but in that case add it to the spice and oil mixture after it becomes brown before you add everything else.)

Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over a medium high flame. When hot put in the cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Stir once and then put in the onions, garlic and ginger. Stir this mixture around until the onion picks up brown specks. Add the vegetables and give it a few stirs, just to carmelize a bit. Then put in the tomatoes, salt, tofu or beans and a cup or two of water and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down the heat to low and simmer for up to 25 minutes until the veggies are tender but not mushy, stirring a few times to prevent sticking. Take off the cover, turn up the heat to medium and add the garam masala and cook about 5 more minutes. I always add water as needed during the cooking period as I like a bit of sauce, and I usually use about a Tb of garam masala.

I use the food processor to mince the ginger, garlic and sometimes onions 'cause it's easier. :) I like it with Basmati or brown rice. Don't forget to look for and pick out the whole spices.

[6810]

[J.]

to the curry tree place. I will try to get one some time, even though my Japanese reading isn't that good.

So you made dosa. I've never made them and I had to look up Uttapam but both look promising. How do you serve the dosa? You said masala, does that mean you served it with a masala sauce?

You must be a mean cook if you can get through a BUCKET of hing. Or maybe you're running a restaurant on the side? :) If so let me know, I'll be right over for dinner.

Any good recipes would be appreciated. :) :) :)

[6810]

Masala Dosai is too easy.

First of all, forget what anyone says, it's not that hard. The hardest part is making them wafer thin, proper Indian style, but unless you have the right tools (I guess some kind of crepe plate/pan) and/or an Indian mother in law (and I have none of the above) slightly thicker Dosai still taste the same, just make sure they're not so thick that they are undercooked in the middle!

Dosai Batter Recipe

1 Portion Urad Dal (If you don't know, look them up, Indian beans tend to have tons of different names depending on where they come from in India, language and the naming conventions of your own language country. Urad dal is the most consistent descriptor though!)
1 Portion Rice (any kind, but best to use white rice.

I say one "portion" because you can make any quantity as long as the ratio of rice to beans is 1:1. In theory, there is no reason why you couldn't make the batter out of some other bean, I am thinking mung beans or pigeon peas which dissolve quickly and are fairly starchy.

Soak the beans and rice separately in enough water to cover for around 4-8 hours (or overnight)

Next day, drain the water and pulverise beans/rice mixed together in a blender or food processor with enough water to make a mix with about the same runny texture as cream. Add as much water as you need to get it right.

Ferment the mix in a warm place for a day.

OR and this is my own time saving innovation based on my pickling/ginger beer/bread making

Add a teaspoon of yeast and place in a warm place for a few hours until the mix goes fizzy and increases in volume from anywhere to 25-50%*

Make your favourite curry sometime before you cook the dosa (Potato masala goes well! But anything is fine, or even nothing, see suggestion below).

Then, add a little salt, pour mix into a really hot oiled pan and cook as you would a crepe.

Be careful because the dosai take little longer to set than a regular wheat based crepe and the length of time will depend on a range of factors from whether you have a gas or electric stove, the kind of pan you are using etc.

When done (crunchy and brown is best), slide dosa onto a plate, top with your curry and dig in.

OR = Option Time

Forget the curry.

Once your dosa is stable, top with sliced onions, tomato, curry leaf, salt, pepper, chilli (fresh or powdered), cumin, your fav mix of the above or anything else you dig on.

Flip over and fry until done. Totally delicious.

[6810]

Well, bucket was a strong word, let's just say that it is a BLOODY big container as opposed to small, medium or standard large.

[J.]

The dosa sounds great! I'll give it a try as soon as I can. Urad dal is just split beans of some kind, I think. Anyone not familiar with the names, including me for a lot of them, can find a glossary section on this site, with a few recipes too. Maybe you know of this guy, since he seems to be from Australia too?

Cooking with Kurma:

http://www.kurma.net/glossary/g4.html

[6810]

Cool link. Of course I know Kurma.

The man himself is pretty bland, but his food is great!

[red dog]

[red dog]

[Amethyst99]

Okay, this seemed like the most on-topic veg thread to bring back from the dead.

I'm vegan, and while I'm not in Japan yet, I've had an interview with AEON and I'm waiting for a reply. I've read/been told a range of things about being a vegan or vegetarian in Japan, from discouraging (even in the supermarket, you'll never know if something has meat/dairy/eggs in it) to great (you can do it if you try, people are nice and want to help you, etc).

I'd like to know how hard it is to get certain things that I like. I'm Canadian, and in the Atlantic Provinces we have a wonderful chain of stores called Bulk Barn where you can get dry goods (pasta, rice, flour, soup mixes, spices, trail mix, candy, vegan stuff, etc) in bulk. Not cost-co bulk, but you can scoop out a half cup, or a kg, or whatever you want of, say, rice into a bag, they weigh it at the cash, and you pay. Is there anything like that in Japan? I know it's unlikely, but I wanted to ask. Bulk Barn is one of the few things that I miss about PEI when I'm not there.

Now, if there isn't that, how hard is it to get the following, either dried or canned?:

Red lentils
Chickpeas
Black beans
Beans in general

I've read soymilk, tofu and tempeh are easy enough to get in supermarkets. I'm assuming pasta and rice are easy to find too, right? What about garlic and ginger? Nutritional yeast? Avocadoes? Whole wheat bread?

[azarashi sushi]

I don't know about country areas, but certainly in Tokyo you'll have no problem getting everything you want/need, either in your local supermarket or an international food store.

[markle]

[Amethyst99]

Thanks azarashi sushi and markle.

[markle]