Cured Salmon/Gravlax/Grovlox

Since we spend a fortune on smoked salmon, I decided, "Why not try to make Gravlax at home"?
The reasons to not try at home (that quickly bubbled up in my head) are:
1. Food Safety: What if I die from some unknown salmon-related disease?
Answer: Buy pre-frozen salmon, completely thawed before preparation. Freezing it commercially kills the parasites that may be in there.
2. Food Safety: I'm not cooking it, is it safe?
Answer: Well, I eat sushi. I know the sushi-fish is great quality. Make sure the quality of the fish you're using is great. Look at the colour of the fish: Should be a healthy pink. Smell the fish: It should not smell of fish. It should be pretty much odourless. Buy from a store that cycles through their food very regularly.
3. Taste: Will it turn out ok?
Answer: Only way to know is to try it :)

So, I went online and this is the website I liked the most:
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/132/Gravlax

After one trial, I changed the recipe: I used 2 parts sugar to 1 part salt. And I only cured it in the fridge for 48 hours. I did have a thinner piece of salmon.

You have to judge how long your fish stays in the fridge by feeling the firmness of your fish every 12 hours or so. The fish will get pretty firm before it's ready to be eaten. Once you've taken away the packaging, you'll see the fish is still nice and easy to cut through.

Don't use water to wash away the spices and herbs. Just wipe it away with kitchen towel. If you're going to store any of it back in the fridge, then the water might affect the shelf life of your fish. The cured fish, safely stored with kitchen towel wrapped around it to catch excess moisture, will last in your fridge for at least 2 weeks. It will last about 6 months if you slice it and store it in the freezer in air-tight ziplock bags.

Just try it once. It worked out great for us. And we finished the half fillet of salmon in one meal. The smoked salmon we purchased would have cost us $15. This preparation cost us $5.

Pretty neat, huh? Next time I make it, I'll take a picture to post up here.

Perfect North Indian Dry Sabji

This one I've struggled with in the past. Mostly because I'm used to Bengali cooking. But I've never struggled with North American cooking or European cooking as much. Don't know why.

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp powdered garam masala
2 tsp oil
1 pinch asafoetida
2 tsp MDH sabji masala
2 tsp MDH pav bhaji masala
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp haldi
1 tomato chopped

2-3 green chillies
2 tsp ginger minced (fresh)
1 carrot cut into thin sticks
1 small potato, cubed into 1 cm pieces
2 cups cauliflower (cut to bite site pieces)
2 cups beans (green or snap peas)
1-2 tsp salt

2 tsp Amchur powder

1. Heat the oil at medium heat, add cumin seeds and asafoetida. Let it sizzle for 20-30 seconds.
2. Make a paste of all the spice powders with 1 tbsp of water. Add to the oil. Cook for 3 minutes on low heat and stir often. Only thing to remember is don't let it burn. If it starts burning, add 1 tbsp more water &/or lower the heat.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Mash the tomatoes into the spice paste.
4. Add the potatoes. Stir to coat with spices. Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt. Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are nearly done.
5. Add the rest of the vegetables, chillies and ginger. Add the remaining salt. Stir well. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes.
6. Stir in the amchur before serving.

I've eaten this on it's own. I've also mashed a quarter cup of this, put it between 2 slices of light rye bread, and toasted it Panini style - a little bit like Pav Bhaji.

This dish is light in calories because of the ONLY 2 tsps of oil and 1 small potato. I find the potato adds some texture to this dish that makes it more authentic.

Of course, feel free to add/replace any vegetable you wish.

Begun Posto - Eggplant with poppyseed paste

I started looking for a basic Begun Posto recipe online and found a bunch of poser recipes, which annoyed me. Basic begun posto is simple to prepare and absolutely delicious if you like begun (eggplant) and posto (poppy seed paste prepared Indian-style). Now a little bit of history: My grandparents were all originally from East Bengal - which is now Bangladesh. There is a big difference between the recipes in Hindu and Muslim homes. I find the Hindu recipes use more of the local ingredients, and the Muslim recipes try to incorporate ingredients frequently used in North West Indian or Arabic cuisine.

This recipe is a Hindu recipe. Which boils down to this: there is no need for onions or garlic to be deep fried or sauteed at the beginning of everything. (How refreshing.) Because the big problem with that method of cooking is: everything ends up tasting exactly the same. Meat, chicken, fish, vegetables... all taste the same. On the bright side, if you wanted to make a big bag of fried onions and garlic ahead of time, you can add that to any and all dishes.

Here's the Begun Posto recipe.

2-3 cups of Eggplant
2 Tbsp white poppy seeds
1-3 tsp red chilli paste or green chilli paste
1-2 Tbsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 Tbsp mustard seed oil

If you are using a large eggplant, cut it into 2 inch cubes. If you are using the little round "Indian" eggplants, cut it into halves. Wash and set aside.

1. Add salt and turmeric to the eggplant.
2. Heat a little bit of the oil in a pan and cook the eggplants just so there is some colour to the cut sides. I don't like to deep fry my food, so I sometimes just spray the eggplant with cooking spray and cook it till it has colour on the sides. The eggplant need not be cooked through.
3. Dry grind the poppy seeds (I use a coffee grinder). Add the chilli paste (I cheat and use sambal paste). Add about 2 tsps of water to make a paste.
4. Heat your pan and add the oil. Set the heat to medium and wait for the oil to heat up. Add the poppy seed paste and salt and stir. The mixture will be dry so add 1/4 cup of water to keep it to a moist consistency. At this point you can make the dish as dry or wet as you like. But you want to eat this with rice, so keep it to a custard-like consistency. If it gets too dry while cooking, don't be afraid to add 1/4 cup of water at a time. If it's too wet, cook it a little longer.
5. Once the poppy seed paste has been warmed up and starts to cook, add the eggplant.
6. Cover the pan with a lid, make sure there's enough water that it won't burn, and walk away.
7. Stir occasionally and cook till the eggplant is done. Taste for salt and you're done.

Serve with hot rice.

This dish is so incredible.

On a side note: Don't eat this dish the day before getting tested for drugs. This dish is 90% poppy seed and you will test positive for opiates. :) I find this fun fact hilarious!! I'm not saying that I or any of my readers are in an environment where they'll be tested for drugs frequently BUT if you work in a security sensitive environment (like Oil&Gas premises or Govt research facilities) then keep this fact in mind.

Seafood Pan Pizza

Pan pizza has always been a favourite of mine. The first pizza I ever ate was a Pizza Hut Seafood Pizza. It tasted so delicious! I've tried to recreate the same pizza and finally did it today. I was 8 when I had that pizza, so I can't say for certain that it's the same, but it is really really delicious!

Dough:
1 cup skim milk
2 cups of flour (approx.)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp oil
1 package yeast or 2 tsp of yeast
& 4 Tbsp oil, I use extra light Olive oil or Canola oil

Pizza Toppings (the following is enough for 2 pizzas):
1/2 cup Low fat Alfredo sauce
20-25 Cooked Shrimp (about 1 cm long)
1/4 cup Black Olives, sliced
3-4 tbsp Spring onions or Red onions, diced
2 tbsp Chives, minced
1/2 medium Tomato, diced
1 cup low fat Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, sprinkling

Directions:
Just as Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid suggested in their book "Flatbreads and Flavours", I start with the liquid and then add the flour. This is the easiest way to get the right consistency for your dough.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees C.

1. Get the milk to room temperature or a littler warmer, add oil, sugar and yeast. Stir.
2. Add roughly 1 cup of the flour, the salt and mix. Keep mixing till you've got the dough to a bread dough texture. (I did the above in a mixer, but usually I do this with a spoon or I use my hands.)
3. Knead for 5 minutes.
4. Pull the dough together into a ball. Put a light coating of oil all over, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a bowl while you get your pizza ingredients together.

The "Pan Pizza" part:
5. Take two 9" round cake pans. Pour 2 Tbsp of oil in each and swirl evenly. This step is what will make the "Pan Pizza" what it is.
6. Once the dough has risen, divide it into 2, and roll each half so it fits in the pan. Make sure the dough is nice and snug in the pan.
7. Layer the half the Alfredo sauce, mozza cheese, onions, chives, shrimp and olives. Top with parmesan.
8. Bake for 20 minutes.
9. If the top isn't browned, put it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Make sure nothing burns. Keep a close eye on the pizza while broiling.

The result will be delicious! The bottom of the crust is crunchy and the inside is nice and chewy. The alfredo sauce is creamy and complements the shrimp beautifully. You won't miss any of the fat in the sauce or the cheese. The black olives are a must, since it brings out the flavours of the alfredo sauce and the shrimp.

If you find this pizza wasn't "Seafoody" enough, feel free to load up on clams, crab, canned oysters, anchovies, anything your mind can fathom.

I hope you make this! If you do, please leave a comment and let me know how it turned out.

Enjoy!

Divine Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

This is divine. Nuff said.
2 PlusPoints of Happiness.

4 tbsps from 1 packet fat free jello chocolate pudding prepared with skim milk
4 tbsps 95% fat free cool whip frozen topping
1-2 strawberries sliced
1/2 graham cracker, broken into smallish pieces
a little sugar or a little caramel syrup (less than 1 tsp)

Take your favourite bowl/cup. (I made this in my beautiful rustic coffee cup.)
Layer pudding, strawberries, coolwhip, graham crackers, coolwhip, strawberries and top with sugar or caramel syrup.

Yes, You're Most Welcome.

Low-Carb Fisherman's Pie

I am so impressed with this dish I ingeniously created. (Actually, it's not that ingenius.) But when you taste it, it'll blow your socks off (if you're a fan of fish pie) when you realize it almost has no refined carbs - mostly complex carbs .
4 servings, 6 PlusPoints

5-7 fillets of white fish (500-700g)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour (read below for a low-carb substitute)
1 cup skim milk
1/2 small onion
4 whole cloves
1 cup peas (or a mild green vegetable like chopped green beans, snow peas or even tiny broccoli florets)
3-4 cups of cauliflower
20-30g shredded mozzarella cheese
salt
pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dry/quarter cup fresh parsley
nutmeg (fresh)

Preheat oven to 350deg F.
1. Boil the fish in the milk, onion and cloves. Remove the fish fillets and discard the onions and cloves. Reserve all the milk.
2. Boil the cauliflower in water. Drain. Mash and try to remove as much water as you can. (I cooked it briefly on the stove to get rid of some of the water.) Salt to taste. Mix in the fresh grated nutmeg.
3. On medium low heat, cook the roux of butter and flour till it isn't raw anymore. I like it till it's a very light brown.
4. Add the boiled flavoured milk to the roux and whisk to make a smooth sauce. Add salt, pepper, garlic and parsley. Boil for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the fish. Mix thoroughly without breaking the fish too much.
6. Take a 9x9 baking dish. Pour the fish mixture evenly. Top with the mashed cauliflower. Smooth out the top. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.
7. Bake in oven for 15 minutes and set under broil for about 5 minutes (until cheese melts and browns on top.)

Enjoy with a salad. This tastes even better the next day! Deeelish!

Tip: If you want to cheat a little and save some time, skip the white sauce cooking part and use bottled low fat Alfredo sauce instead. It'll save you some time and it tastes very very good. And because it's 50% of the original fat, it's very close to the caloric content of this recipe.

Tip#2: As a helpful reader suggested, use full-fat cream or fat free cream instead of the roux if you want to do away with the flour. Substitute the high sugar peas with a lower sugar green vegetable roughly the same size. I haven't tried these substitutes yet, will let you know after I do.

Russian Chicken

This is a delicious Russian dish. Enjoy with some fresh bread or some pasta, and a salad of tomatoes and/or spring onions. I prefer the taste of chicken thighs over the breast meat. Much more flavour in the thigh and it doesn't dry out.

7-8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
3 cloves of garlic minced or paste (Do Not use bottled garlic paste. The taste of vinegar is overpowering.)
2 tbsp of fat free sour cream
1-2 tbsp of oil or butter
salt
pepper
dill to garnish

Rub the chicken with garlic, salt and pepper thoroughly and evenly.
Heat a frying pan or wide pot and add the oil or butter. Wait till it's quite warm but not smoking.
Add the chicken in single layer (they should not be crowded.) Lightly brown both sides on Medium heat. This should take about 4-5 minutes per side.
In a separate bowl, take the sour cream and add 1tsp of water and make a smooth paste.
Pour this sour cream over the chicken evenly and stir. Wait till it starts bubbling gently.
Cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium low heat.

When the chicken is cooked (no pink inside) you're done.

Plate the chicken and spoon over the delicious sour cream sauce.
Garnish with chopped dill. (Optional)

The tender chicken infused with garlic enveloped in the rich, sour cream, tangy and savoury sauce is almost too good of a marriage of flavours and textures. This really is best with fresh French bread, ready to scoop up the tangy sauce.
Yum!
Enjoy!!

Don't eat after 6:30 p.m.

This is not a traditional recipe, but it is a RECIPE FOR WEIGHT LOSS.

(source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ luigi diamanti)
I've lost almost 60 lbs of excess weight. It took me almost 3 years! But one thing I found out to be a fact, was that when I don't eat after 6:30 p.m., I actually lose weight. When I eat late at night, I just maintain my weight. Even if I eat a light salad after 6:30, I DON'T lose weight, even if I eat and exercise and drink water regularly through the week.

So secret to weight loss:
1. Eat your counted number of calories for the day.
2. Exercise for 30 minutes at least 3 times a week.
3. Drink 9 glasses of water everyday... don't be fooled. If you don't do this, you WON'T lose weight.
4. Don't eat past 6:30p.m.

Other useful tips:
- Don't stuff yourself silly. Eat a little slower than usual, and when you're done about 50% of your meal (total amount of food on your plate) wait and see if you're still hungry. Now here's the super hard part: if you're not hungry, Put the Plate Down and pack the food for tomorrow's lunch! Really hard. But once you've done it for 4-8 weeks, it'll be a new habit you have formed and you'll lose a lot of weight. This is ofcourse assuming you weren't eating a big bowl of potato chips or M&Ms or any other calorie-dense food. Your plate should be 50% veggies, 25% protein and 25% complex carbs.
- Really. Don't eat past 6:30 p.m. I struggle with this all the time. But I enjoy the victory every time. Remember, because you'll be hungry in the night, you'll have a MUCH better sleep and you'll feel hungry for breakfast earlier. This helps with feeling less hungry in the evening. This works! I'm not lying! Eat your supper at work if you are working late... which I used to do far too regularly.

(source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ Ambro)

- Although she's eating sushi above, Try going without rice or bread for a while. All your carb needs for the day can be fulfilled with complex carbs in steamed veggies or raw salad. Once you cut rice out of your diet, it really won't feel quite as "necessary" as all that.

Spinach Camembert Caramelized Onion Quiche

1 ready-made pie crust baked
1 small onion sliced thin
1 bunch spinach
1 wedge Camembert cheese, sliced thin
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt to taste
dash of sugar
dash of pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. On the stove, caramelize the onions on medium-low heat with a little salt and sugar.
3. Wilt the spinach on medium-low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain as much water as you can.
4. Whisk the eggs and milk together.
5. Mix everything together. Pour into pie shell.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

The complex flavours of the spinach, sweet onions and deep camembert dancing with the flaky crusty pie, is simply amazing. You have to try this.

Authentic Manghsor Jhol (Bengali Goat Curry), Kosha Maangho

 Bangali Manghsor Jhol

This is an Indian Bengali recipe for Goat Curry.

In South Asia, the word "mutton" is used to describe lamb or goat. But in North America and Europe, "mutton" simply means lamb - not goat.

I am a little tired of all Indian recipes having cumin and coriander power in it. I don't think all Indian dishes traditionally have had it. I think most Indian restaurants use the formula to simplify their cooking and use one universal sauce for many of their entrees.

Needless to say, when I come across a rich dish without cumin and coriander powder, I think it's probably authentic. This is one such recipe.

Marinade: 2lbs goat meat washed,drained
2 tbsps of ginger & garlic paste (or fine chopped)
salt to taste
1 cup yoghurt
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

Marinade the meat overnight.

Curry:
"Phoron": 2 each of cardamom, cinnamon stick, clove and black peppercorns 1 large bay leaf 1 whole red chilli
2 small or medium onions, chopped
2 small or medium tomatoes, diced
1 tsp minced haldi root or turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil

Heat the oil in a large pan on medium hot heat. When oil is hot add the "Phoron". Swirl around and keep on heat for at least 30 seconds (till aromatic but before the red chilli gets too dark or burns).
Add the onions and turmeric. Fry till onions are a light brown colour.
Add the tomatoes and lightly fry for about 2 minutes.
Add the meat mixture. Stir well. Lower heat to medium, cover the pan and walk away.
Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes stirring every 20 minutes or so.

It's important to not add any water. I didn't add water and cooked the meat on medium heat. The yoghurt added enough water for the meat to cook in comfortably for the full duration.

Potatoes: 2 medium potatoes cut to 3 inch chunks
2 tsps oil

Lightly brown the potatoes. This keeps the shape of the potatoes in the curry.

Once the 1:15:00 have passed, add the potatoes, stir and cover for another 15 minutes.
When done, turn off the flame and enjoy!!

This will be one of the most delicious meat curries you have ever eaten. By not adding water, the dish comes out quite thick and rich.

Bengali Mutton Curry

Now, if you do feel like adding water to make a bit more of a curry sauce, add half a cup when you add the goat meat and then add more if you want a thinner curry. Enjoy!

Samosa chaat is Food For Gods

No, really, it Really Is.

I think the Mighty Krishna would eat Samosa chaat on a relaxing Sunday evening. Or Indra. Or Jesus. Seriously.

And the best Samosa Chaat recipe in the world is:
Best Samosa Chaat Recipe by Pratibha

Pratibha K. Sharma: Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I tried it and made some changes (because I was missing ingredients). I skipped ginger pieces and special Namak. Oh, and I also added Hari Chutney (Dhania+Pudina/Coriander+Mint Chutney) because I had it in the fridge. And I added 2 tsps of Bhujia Sev (Haldiram's) because it was there.

Thank you Thank you Thank you. Best chaat I ever ate! Dukaan se bhi Badiya!!

I took some pictures after finishing half the chaat.... sorry :)

Boil milk WITHOUT it sticking to the bottom

I finally discovered the secret to not letting the bottom of the pan burn while boiling milk. I used skim milk. I have 2 separate recipes. They are two independent recipes. Try them and let me know how it works out for you.
The background: In the North American dairy industry, it is their procedure to take out the fat from the milk and only leave in less-than-1%, 1%, 2%, or 3.25% milk fat. This removal of milk fat causes the milk to burn when boiled on a stove. Boiling milk is a very essential step in preparing Indian food, especially desserts, so obviously this is a problem. Burnt milk smells really awful.

There are 2 ways to overcome this problem. "METHOD 1" below "tricks" the milk into boiling without sticking. The second "METHOD 2" essentially turns the milk back into what it was when it came out of the cow. I have given measurements for the milk available in my region. You may need more whipping cream in the milk, depending on where you live.

METHOD 1:
Ingredients:
1-2 cups water
4 cups Milk
2 tsp butter

Steps:
1. Take a non-stick pot. Fill it with about 1/4 cups of water and set it to boil. Let it come to a gentle boil on medium-low heat.
2. Take the milk you will boil, put it in a microwave safe container, and boil it in the microwave. Stop the microwave as soon as the milk starts boiling.
3. Take your non-stick pan with boiling water, and discard all but 2-3 Tbsp of boiling water. Set it back on the stove. Pour your boiled milk in this pot now. Add 2 tsp of butter to this.
4. Stir the milk and scrape the milk off the sides of the pan periodically.

Now you can boil the milk and make your milk-based dessert.

       _________________________________________________________________________

METHOD 2:
Ingredients:
3 cups milk (can be skim, 1%, 2%, 3.25%/homo)
1 cup of full-fat whipping cream (36% or more)

!This is not a low fat recipe!

Steps:
1. Take milk container out of the fridge. Let the milk come to room temperature. Should take 10-15 minutes.
2. Take a non-stick pot. Pour the whipping cream in it and on medium-low heat let it come to a gentle boil.
3. Once the whip cream has started to boil gently, add 1/2 cup of milk at a time, till it comes to a gentle boil. It is important to add the milk only 1/2 cup at a time.
4. Once the cream+milk mixture is gently boiling again, add another 1/2 cup of milk.
5. Keep repeating above step till all the milk has been added and is boiling.
4. Keep stirring continuously throughout steps 1, 2 and 3.

And VOILA! No milk solids sticking to the bottom of the pan!

Enjoy!

Omurice

Recipe is here:
Cooking with Dog: Omurice
Runnyrunny999: Omurice

Easy Tuna Salad (Tastier than you'd think)

I never thought you could make something so fast and so delicious and so healthy with so little.

1 can tuna
1 celery stick diced
1/2 small onion diced
1/2 tomato diced
1-2 tsp raspberry vinegar
1-2 tsp low fat or fat free mayonnaise
salt, pepper to taste

Mix it all up. It is high in protein, low in fat, and very very tasty. The combination of raspberry and tuna is a sure shot.
Alternatively, if you don't want to do all of the above, just take tuna, add whatever veggies you want, and add Raspberry Vinaigrette available in the salad dressing section of the store. Sure shot!

A-May-Zing Alu Tikia/Tikki

This must be one of the easiest and most satisfying Alu Tikki recipes I have ever come up with. Most times, Alu Tikki is disappointing because the spices in the patty aren't right. Undercooked is the biggest complaint I usually have. So what did I do? Read on...

For 2 Tikki: (You can easily double, triple the recipe)

1 cup mashed potatoes (genius way to use leftovers)
1-2 tsp oil x 2
1 clove of garlic minced or finely chopped
1/2 tsp of ginger minced or finely chopped
1/4 tsp of garam masala
1/4 small onion finely chopped
1 green chilli chopped/sliced thin
salt to taste
coriander leaves if you have it

1. Warm the oil in a frying pan medium heat.
2. When hot enough, add the ginger garlic. Fry till aromatic, about 5 minutes on low heat.
3. Add the garam masala and cook for about 1 minute on low. Turn off the heat. The residual heat of the pan will cook the garam masala enough.
4. Add the above spices, onions, green chilli and coriander leaves to the potatoes. (Do not add the potatoes to the frying pan. It'll get too oily and won't form patties.) Add salt to your liking. You can add pepper too if you want. Mix thoroughly. Shape into patties.
5. Take about 1-2 tsps of oil in a frying pan. Place patties in the frying pan. We are shallow frying the tikki.

This is the key: Before, I used to keep tossing and turning the tikki, and then wonder "why does it not keep the shape" or better yet "I'm just no good at making tikkis", etc etc.
This is the secret: Keep the Frying pan on medium low heat, place the tikki on it, and then leave for at least 15 minutes. Just leave. Don't obsess about the tikki, don't touch it, don't prod it. Make no contact with it. Make sure it's not burning. But if it's on medium heat, it shouldn't.

Then, after 15 minutes, Flip the Tikki and again WAIT for 15 minutes. You might add some more oil so the patty doesn't stick to the pan.

Et voila. Awesomely flavoured, tasty Alu Tikki is ready.

I made a sandwich out of this one, but you can have it with chaat or just like that or with daal and rice/roti. It's a very versatile Tikki. Best part is, because you cooked the spices earlier, it doesn't have that raw taste to it.

Alu Phulkopir Kalia (Potato Cauliflower Thick-Gravy)

Kalia is a strong word to use for this dish, but the dish is substantial. So enjoy!

1/2 medium cauliflower (florets)
2 medium potatoes (1 inch diced)
3 small onions (diced)
3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
2 medium tomatoes (diced)
garam masala (whole)
2 bay leaves
cumin powder (2 tsps)
coriander powder (4 tsps)
turmeric powder (1 tsp)
ginger (minced or powder 1 tsp)
oil (3 tbsps)
salt
coriander leaves

1. Heat oil. Fry whole garam masala and bay leaves. Add onions and garlic and fresh ginger (if using). Fry till light brown in colour.
2. Add tomatoes, turmeric, cumin and corinander powder. Fry till it's fairly dry.
3. Add potatoes, salt. Add 1/2 cup of water, stir and cover.
4. 15 minutes later add cauliflower florets, stir well, cover for 20 minutes.
5. Give it a final stir and check for doneness of potatoes and cauliflower.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with rice, roti or luchi.