Faith

From BIRTHday to DEATHday – Saturday, 17th week in ordinary time – Matthew 14: 1-12

This has got to be a birthday party you want to forget about. There was no cake cut but a head chopped. What began as a ‘birth’ day ended as a ‘death’ day. St Matthew is borrowing this narrative from the text of St. Mark which was written a couple of years earlier and was already in circulation. The difference in the texts is that St Matthew cuts to the chase leaving out the details of the drama and simply comes to the point. 

Even though Chapter 13:54 to the end of chapter 17 deals with the ‘acceptance of Jesus by his disciples’ it begins with his rejection by his own people in Nazareth and is followed by this narrative which seems to be the reason for Jesus to begin his journey to die for us. The death of one martyr is the trigger for the Son of God to lay down his life. In both the death of John and Jesus the similarities are not lost on the reader.

John and Jesus are both hauled before men in charge of leadership, (Pilate and Herod Antipas) who were not really convinced that they should be put to death. Both men were pushed to a bad decision by people who would ‘profit’ from such a death. Herodias would have got rid of the voice of conscience that condemned her adulterous and incestuous union to Herod and Caiaphas and gang would have got rid of what they saw as a religious rabble rouser who could set off a very edgy Roman army. Both men gave succumbed when they executed the death warrant; Herod to the lust of the flesh and Pilate to the lust of power. Both were edged on by public perception; Herod was worried about his oath before his guests and Pilate was worried about his loyalty to Caesar.

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Food

Bhindi cooked in vindaloo masala

Bhindi – 500 grams
Vindaloo masala – 2 heaped tablespoons
Onions – 3 large or 300 grams
Tomatoes – 2
Curry leaves – 4 sprigs

Method
Wash Bhindi and wipe absolutely dry. Cut off the ends and use in your garden as manure. Now cut the Bhindi in one inch pieces. Slice onions and tomatoes.

In a hot pan add oil and let it heat but it should be below smoking point. It is very crucial that you pan and oil is super hot. Now add half the quantity of Bhindi or enough to fill the pan but make sure that every piece of Bhindi touches the pan. If you need to do this in three batches that is fine as Bhindi cooks quickly but you most certainly don’t want it to be slimy if it starts stewing. Allow the Bhindi to cook for about half a minute and then toss in some curry leaves and sprinkle in some salt . Fry the Bhindi and when done set it aside and begin with the next batch. Bhindi cooks quickly.

In a pot add oil and fry the sliced onions till they brown but not burnt. Add the tomatoes and rend the tomatoes down. Add two heaped tablespoons of vindaloo masala and salt (see link for vindaloo masala recipe) and add a cup of water. Cook this till the water evaporates. Now add the Bhindi and stir gently till the masala has mixed with the Bhindi. Turn off the gas and allow the dish to sit for two hours before reheating. Vindaloo masala takes it time to kick in.

Recipe for my vindaloo masala can be found at 

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Food

Chicken curry

This dish can be cooked as a curry to be served with rice or can even cooked as a thick gravy to go with naans or chapati. If you do not want a curry to go with rice then simply go easy on the water. I used boneless chicken because that is what I had. You can use chicken with bone which enhances the flavour of your curry. Chicken with bone always makes a better gravy, if you are cooking chicken with bone use the same ingredients for one kilo chicken.

Here is something for you to keep in mind – Chicken with bone is always flavourful as the flavours of the bone enhance the curry. How you cut your chicken also determines the overall cooking time of the dish. The bigger the pieces the longer the cooking. Let chicken cook on a slow flame for about twenty to twenty five minutes after having introduced the chicken to the dish. Remember also that the flesh of the chicken cooks the best around the bone and when cooked begins to leave the bone and fall off. overcooked chicken is stringy to eat. 

Chicken 600 grams boneless
Onions – two sliced or 200 grams
Tomato – one
Coconut – 1/2
Curry leaves – two sprigs
Meat masala – 3 heaped tablespoons (see below for the link)
Green chillies – 2 (you can use more if you want it super hot)
Ghee – one tablespoon
Oil – as required
Salt as required

For meat masala see link http://www.pottypadre.com/home-made-meat-masala/

Method
Clean and cut the chicken breast into bite sized dices. Grind the coconut with the tomato. You may have to add a little water wile grinding. In a pot heat oil and fry the curry leaves, remove and set aside. Now add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown. When done add the meat masala (three heaped tablespoons) and cook this with a cup of water till the water evaporates eighty percent and the oil begins to float on the side.

Now add the the coconut and tomato mixture and stir it all in. Add a cup of water bring this boil and drop the heat. Let this cook on simmer for ten minutes. Add the chicken and mix it in the gravy. Again bring the dish to boiling point and then drop the heat to simmer. Cover the dish and let this cook for twenty minutes on simmer. Turn off the gas and infuse the slit green chillies. Garnish with the curry leaves you had set side.

For more food recipes go to http://www.pottypadre.com/category/food/

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Food

The Tapestry of Taste – why your curry is not as good as your grandmothers.

We all have powerful memories of being cooked for. There is a flavour of a childhood curry or a dish that lingers at the back of our head but has not yet been replicated on the tip of our tongue. Even family recipes that have been handed down like heirlooms are not able to replicate that particular taste of a fish curry whose flavour along with the aroma seems to be fast fading in some bygone wood fire kitchen. If only our charred earthenware which have now been replaced with Teflon coated utensils could tell the true story of authentic cuisines. What is most tragic is that our children will never know the flavours we have known; their taste buds have been forever altered. 

Aunty Julie never really tells you what she puts in her fish curry?

We blame the loss of traditional food flavours to inaccurate or altered recipes and while that may possibly be true what is also true is that traditional farming  and cooking techniques along the demand for certain foods have given way to strains of produce whose goal is not the production of the best quality ingredients and food but one that rings the cash register loudest.

Ever wondered how come your supermarket has so much honey on its shelves?

The demand for honey keeps soaring while ironically bees are dying in record numbers thanks to the indiscriminate use of insecticides. Yet the production of honey is on the rise and surprisingly met with by the use of hidden additives and other shady tactics. Read the label carefully and what you don’t understand research.

Cooking shows turned the humble garlic into a multi-billion-dollar crop giving rise to garlic that is bigger in size and easier to clean but one which lacks flavour if not messes up your body. Today, growing sugar is like printing money for it has infiltrated all forms of food. From chocolate to avocados, beautiful food can come with an ugly back story.

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Art/ Heritage

THE BOMBAY SEMINARY: The Dark Ages

 Post the treachery at the Fort Seminary, the new Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Fortini in 1841 appealed to Rome for a sound man to take charge of the Bombay Seminary. His precise prerequisites were –‘mature, discreet and of sound doctrine and good moral character.’ It is important to note that unlike his predecessors, Bishop Fortini took residence at Salvation Church, Dadar and not the Fort Chapel.

In 1846 the Fort Chapel buildings underwent renovation which compelled the transfer of the Seminary. The exact date of this transfer is not recorded and the exact location can be debated. However we do know that the Seminary was shifted ‘from Medows Street to the large and pleasant house, purchased as a villa house by Bishop Fortini in 1841 (at Parel).’ (Gense, 1960:161)

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