My Comfort Food

Mahisha has not been feeling well. As any other kids who are sick, she clings to me all the time. So, I had to cook up something really fast. Whenever I am in a hurry, my comfort food is.....

Tomato Tuna

What do we need:




1 can tuna in brine or oil
1 can tomato chunks
2 potatoes, diced
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic pips, sliced
1/2 inch ginger, sliced
1 sprig curry leaves
1-2 tbsp fish curry powder
a pinch of sugar
salt

How do we do it:

Sauté the sliced onion, ginger, garlic and the curry leaves. When it is aromatic, add the diced potatoes, tomato chunks and curry powder. Cook covered until the potatoes are cooked.

Add the drained tuna and peas. Season with salt and sugar.



Tomato Tuna goes very well with bread.

Red Alert

It's Friday again. Felt great staying at home on a week day, like a housewife. Had to be home as my babysitter wanted a day off. I was excited and cooked twice, lunch and dinner. For lunch, I cooked a very simple one dish meal. As for dinner, I wanted something special and of course easy. Thought of roti but what roti? Checked out my pantry and finally made up my mind.

Tomato Roti

What do we need:




1 1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup bread flour
3 tbsp tomatoe purée
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
water, as required

How do we do it:

Mix all the ingredients together. Knead slowly while adding water little by little, if necessary, until it becomes soft & pliable dough.

Divide the dough into 8 equal sized balls. Cover and let them rest for at least 30 minutes.



Roll out the dough into discs. Place the rolled dough on a medium heated greased griddle. Cook for 2 minutes. Flip it over and cook for another minute.

Tomato Roti with Mushroom Stew

I like the colour of the roti, RED and love the taste.

It's Spring !!!!

I went to Sri Lanka during Spring 2003, to visit my in-laws. Hubby's aunt cooked up lunch for us once at her home. She made this terrific tomatoe salad. Though 3 years have passed, I just can't forget the taste of the salad. Bought some totatoes to try making it.

This tomatoe salad is so simple and easy to make yet delicious. It has only 3 main ingredients. I added very finely sliced curry leaves for the aroma. Also to boost up the taste.

Tomato Salad

What do we need:




2 ripe tomatoes
1 onion
1 green chilli
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp sugar
salt to taste

How do we do it:

Slice all the ingredients very thinly. Season with salt and sugar.

Serve cold.

From My Rasoi # 3 - Cooking For Love

Meenakshi Agarwal of Hooked On Heat has been organising an event called From My Rasoi. This time the theme is Cooking For Love. For the 1st time I'm participating in an event. This is fun. It is a great theme as love plays a very important role in cooking. One has to love to cook in order to cook well. Cooking done with love and care tastes totally different.

Cooking and baking has been my passion since young. My father liked my cooking. Everytime I bring home the food that I cooked in school, he would eat them very proudly. He would tell my mom, "my daughter cooked this". After his death, I had stopped cooking. I could not cook well as there were nobody to appreciate it.

When I was 14, my Home Science teacher, Mrs Sundralingam, thought us that To Win A Man's Heart Is Thru His Stomach. Since then, her golden words has stuck in my mind, forever. Have been cooking and baking a lot since I got married. I felt that it is my duty to feed my husband. Like my father, my husband appreciated my cooking. He loved my baked goodies. His endless encouragements boosted me up to become a better cook. He bought me a digicam so that I can snap pictures of my cooking for keep sake and to be posted in food forums. Now that I have started blogging, the camera is more useful.

I had been baking a cake for each of my daughter´s monthly birth anniversaries. For her 1st birthday, I baked and frosted a number 1 shaped cake. When she cut it, there were tears in my eyes. I was overjoyed to see her cutting her 1st ever birthday cake baked by her amma. At that very moment, I decided that I am going to bake all my childrens´ birthday cakes as long as I am alive. It won't be just a normal cake. It is a mixture of love, passion and care baked up.

This recipe that I have chosen to cook for love is Date and Tomato Chutney. It has been sitting in my list to do for quite a while. The reason I chose it is that this dish contains many tastes and flavours which is how love is supposed to be; tasty and full of flavours.

Date and Tomato Chutney

What do we need:

1 cup dates, stoned and chopped
1 large tomato, skinned and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 inch ginger, chopped finely
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tsp chilli powder (depends to individual)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
3 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

How do we do it:

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter, add onion and ginger. Sauté just slightly. Do not fry for long.

Add the dates and tomatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to mix well. Cook on low heat for about 30 to 40 minutes.



Date and tomato chutney is best eaten with rotis. I ate by spreading it on a slice of toast. I like this chutney very much. Hope that anyone who tries it would like it as well.