Posted by Loulou on Aug 2, 2015 | 3 comments

I told you I’d get snuggled by the visitors.  This is only the beginning…

I think I may have used that title before but what the heck. Mama is making a shrimp curry for the hordes but she’ll take some out for one of them who is complete vegetarian and eats nothing with nervous systems (!).

Well, that counts me out, haha.

Now for chapati recipe, which I promised:

Put 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons melted butter or ghee (clarified butter—whatever that is) and reserve a little for making the pancakes.

Add a small carton of plain yogurt and mix well.

Add warm water to make a firm, not sticky, dough, knead well, cover and let rest for an hour.

Take 2-inch bits of dough off the ball and roll them into individual balls.

Flatten well and roll out on a smooth surface into very, very thin pancakes with a rolling pin. If the dough sticks to the surface, brush it with a little of the melted butter or ghee.

Heat a thin metal or non-stick skillet and brush with a bit of melted butter or ghee.

Lay the chapati in the hot skillet and it will bubble. As soon as that happens, turn it over with a spatula and let the other side cook briefly. The bubbles should be nicely browned. Remove to a plate and stack the rest of the chapati on top. Serve immediately, or cover with foil and heat up in a moderate oven before serving, or wrap tight in foil and freeze.

I hope this helps. Mama took some pictures to show you the process.

For the curry, what I have observed in our kitchen is that just about anything can go into a curry: vegetables, shrimp, diced lamb, chicken and so on. So that’s why mama has leftovers in the fridge for inspiration.

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large sweet onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 large potatoes, 2 medium zucchine, 1 small apple (cored), 1 small head cauliflower (optional), half a kilo of fresh shrimp, peeled, 1 small eggplant, and 2 stalks of the tender part of a celery, all chopped into small dice

1 generous spoon of Madras curry powder and 1/2 teaspoons of garum masala, ginger, coriander, and turmeric

1 cup white wine

1 quart rich broth, vegetable or chicken

1 cup coconut milk (optional but good with shrimp curry)

Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic for a minute or two until they soften

“Toast” the spices with the onions for another minute or two to take the raw taste away, and then add the rest of the diced vegetables and shrimp and sauté for another few minutes.

Add the wine and broth, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until you feel you are simply going to have to eat this over rice as soon as possible.

Meanwhile make the rice:

2 cups basmati rice, washed

Pinch of salt

Put the rice in a saucepan with a cover and stick your index finger in it upright. Mark the place with your thumb on your finger. Now put your index finger on top of the rice and add water until it just comes up to the place you marked on your finger with your thumb. Your rice will always be perfect if you use this method.

Over medium heat, cook the rice, uncovered until it “fisheyes”, which is to say when the water is not evident and little craters appear in the surface of the rice. Turn off the heat, cover and let the rice steam until serving time.

I helped a lot with this curry, and mama gave me a WHOLE shrimp. I’m offering my sous cat services more often…

Zucchine, eggplant, and onion for curry–cucumbers for the side dish of raita (yogurt with garlic, thin-sliced cucumbers, and mint)