Food

Pork sausages and vegetables in a coconut stew

I am a big fan of one pot meals, they have everything a great dish needs and you do not have to labour much over these dishes as the many ingredients marry beautifully. This great dish has the flavour of pork which uplifts a vegetable stew to another level. For this dish use any hardy vegetables you like or have. I used what I had in my refrigerator . You can use peas, cauliflowers or beans besides the ones suggested below. Never use capsicums for this dish. Feel free to substitute the pork for chicken

Pork sausages – 500 grams
White pumpkin – 400 grams
Mushrooms – 200 grams
Carrots – 200 grams
Onions – one large
Coconut milk powder – 50 grams
Cinnamon – three one inch sticks
Cardamom – 4
Cloves – 6
Pepper corns – 10
Bal leaf – 2
Green chillies – 2
Curry leaves – 5 sprigs
Corn flour – 1 1/2 tablespoon
Salt and oil ( use coconut oil) as required

Cut the vegetables into one inch dices; onions included. Cut the pork sausages into half or the size of the vegetables. In a pan heat oil and add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf and peppercorns. When they swell in size and release their oils add the green chillies (whole) and the curry leaves. Add the sausages and fry for about three minutes on a high flame. Now add the onions and stir this in for a minute before adding all the vegetables and about two cups of water or enough to cover the vegetables and the sausages. Allow this to simmer for about ten minutes.

In a bowl add the coconut milk powder and the cornflour with water (never hot water). Mix well and add to the vegetables stirring well. It is always good to allow the vegetable mixture to be brought to simmer rather than add the coconut milk when it is boiling. This will cause the coconut milk to split. However adding cornflour to the coconut milk mix prevents this from happening. Allow this to simmer for a few minutes more and then turn off the gas and allow the vegetables to cook in its own heat

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Food

Karela with dried prawns and potatoes

Karela – 500 grams
Dried prawns – 50 grams
Potatoes – two
Onion – one large
Curry leaves – five sprigs
Turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger and garlic paste – 1 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Dry mango powder – 1 teaspoon
Oil and salt as required

Method
Soak the prawns for five minutes and allow to drip dry. Cut an onion very fine and the potatoes into half thumb nail dices. Scrape the external peel of the Karela with a potato peeler. Slit in the centre and remove the seeds and pulp. Cut the Karela into juliennes (long thin strips) and place in a colander. Add a heaped teaspoon of salt and mix well and allow it to stand for ten minutes. After ten minutes squeeze the Karela in your fist like as if you are mad at someone. Do this for all and set aside

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Food

French beans in a spicy masala

At the end of the recipe you will find some interesting gyann that I have pulled out from the net which explains how french beans got their name. In any case, this vegetable when married to Indian spices brings east and west together in a perfect match. Today I have provided you with a second meat masala recipe that I used for this dish. Thanks Cora for the recipe for this meat masala. 

French beans – 400 grams
Onions – 2 large
Tomatoes – one
Curry leaves – four sprigs
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon
Meat Masala – one tablespoon
ginger and garlic paste – 1 1/2 teaspoon
Coconut grated – one handful
Fresh coriander – A few sprigs
Mustard oil

For the meat masala (Cora’s Recipe)- You can bottle and store

2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons fennel
3 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
2 tablespoons kasuri methi
2 bay leaves
2 nos.  Javatri (mace)
3 star anise
5 one inch pieces cinnamon
2 tablespoons pepper corns
1 tablespoon cloves
50 grams Kashmiri chillies
50 grams  Beydgi chillies.

Roast the above separately on a hot pan beginning with the biggest ingredients. Cool and powder in a grinder. Mix in 1 tablespoon haldi powder.

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Art/ Heritage


 Although the British expelled the Carmelites in 1789, the unpredictable history of the Bombay Seminary had miles to go. In 1791 the British recalled the Carmelites and the Bombay Seminary was reopened at the Vicar’s residence at Fort. Next in 1794, the British introduced the turbulent Double Jurisdiction.

The Vicar Apostolic, Dom Pedro D’Alcantara, found himself stranded amidst stormy seas. Foreign missionary support was impossible. To meet the need of acute clerical shortage Dom Pedro was determined to establish a proper seminary to foster local vocations.

‘A seminary is needed for the formation of good priests…,I shall make every effort I can for the erection of a Seminary. At present the young candidates and aspirants to the priesthood come to the residence of the Bishop where Father Raphael Cicala teaches them the Roman Catechism, the Council of Trent, liturgy and moral theology. After lectures they return home and make no great progress in their studies or in piety, the spirit of which they generally lose at home through distractions and intercourse with lay people.” (cf. Gense, 1960)

However the make-shift Seminary at the Vicar’s residence did meet with some success. By 1825, Dom Pedro had ordained around eighteen priests. In 1819 the single minded and strong hearted Dom Pedro applied to the British for ‘leave to establish a proper Seminary.’ The grant he sought was finally approved in 1828. The Government assigned a monthly subsidy of Rs 150 to the Bombay Seminary.

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Food

This is not a gravy dish but a thick sauce in which the vegetable is cooked. While tendli is a very sturdy vegetable with its own distinct flavour it is often served diced or sliced in order for the masala to mix with the vegetable. This dish allows you to keep the tendlis whole while cooking it in a nice coconut sauce. A word of caution; the dish requires patience.

Tendli -250 grams
Meat masala – 2+1 teaspoons – for the recipe go to http://www.pottypadre.com/home-made-meat-masala/
Onions – 2 large or 200 grams
Tomatoes – 2 large or 150 grams
Curry leaves – five sprigs
Ginger and garlic paste – one teaspoon
Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Coconut milk powder – 50 grams or the thick juice of 1/3 coconut
Mustard oil – as required
Salt – to taste

Method

Wash and clean the tendlis and then slice them in the centre on either sides. Leave a little gap on the top and the bottom of each tendli. (See the image below). Do this slowly and patiently as the tendli will split. In a teaspoon of water mix  two teaspoons of meat masala and a little salt and stuff the tendlis. Set this aside.  

In a non stick pan, heat the mustard oil and crackle the mustard. Ensure that the mustard crackles or your dish could taste bitter. Add the curry leaves and allow it to fry for a minute. Now add the two onions which you have minced and let them fry till they are brown. Add the tomatoes and rend them down for about three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the ginger and garlic paste and one teaspoon of the meat masala. Fry this for a minute and after  a while add a cup of water.

Allow this mixture to come to a boil and then cook it on simmer for three minutes. Now add the tendli and keep the gas set to simmer. Cover with a lid and leave for five minutes to cook. After five minutes mix the coconut milk powder with quarter cup of water or add thick coconut juice of 1/3 a coconut. Continue cooking for ten minutes on a slow heat. 

Your dish is best left to rest for an hour before reheating. Garnish with curry leaves.

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

Fr Warner D’Souza

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