Monthly Archives: October 2015

My Curry Is Better Than Yours….Don’t Be Bitter About It!

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by in Food

≈ 6 Comments

I use the term “Curry” very loosely here – to indicate that I am talking about Indian cuisine.  I believe that in India, however, they do not use the word to describe any of their dishes, but rather they have specific names like “Jalfrezi” and “Rogan Josh”.  Alas, I am from an English-speaking nation and we call it all “Curry” – Curried Lobster, Curry Chicken, Curry Goat, and so on.  By the way, the latter is particularly delicious, with all that juicy goat bone from which you can suck the juices!  I do have an issue with the store-bought curry powder in my country though.  It is full of turmeric.

Many of you may not know this, but while turmeric is meant to be good for one’s health, by reducing inflammation, it has an extremely bitter taste, which can overpower and ruin your food just like that.  If you come across a curry powder that smells bitter, that’s the turmeric.  My advice to you – don’t buy it.  I have an alternative that is far tastier than any ready-mixed Indian seasoning you’ll find in the supermarket – make your own.

Preparing “Curry” powder might seem daunting, not to mention time-consuming, but please try this at least once and see for yourself just how quick, easy and scrummy this is.

Firstly, go to an Indian spice shop and procure a minimum of the following:

2oz/55mg coriander seeds
1oz/30mg fenugreek seeds
0.5oz/15mg cardamom pods
0.5oz/15mg cumin seeds
1oz/30mg ground turmeric
1oz/30mg ground black pepper
1oz/30mg ground cinnamon

You may buy larger quantities of these spices and keep in airtight containers or plastic bags in the freezer.

1. Measure out all the seeds and pods, and toast in a dry frying pan over high heat, until they start to brown and pop, and a wonderful aromatic smell is floating through your kitchen.
2. Meanwhile, measure out the ground ingredients into a large bowl. 3. Once the seeds and pods have toasted, bash them for about 30 seconds with a pestle and mortar, and then add them to the ground spices.
4. Using a coffee or spice grinder, grind all the ingredients in batches and store in a glass jar or plastic container in the fridge or freezer.
5. Use according to any recipe requiring curry powder.
N.B. If you usually use the grinder for coffee, clean by grinding bread before and after use, and wiping out with a clean cloth.

Many of you are laughing at me aren’t you? How on earth do I expect you to find time to go and buy any of these items, let alone make your own curry powder? Do I not realise that you work long and hard hours, with a crazy commute on each end of the day, only to come home to kids and their homework? I do, and so I relent. Go ahead and use that yellow curry powder that’s been sitting in your cupboard for years, and when you do taste the bitterness, simply add chopped tomatoes (fresh or tinned) or coconut milk, or both, and that should do the trick.
Whatever you do, don’t be bitter about the fact that I am sitting at my dining table, gorging on my sublimely spiced creations.

40 & Grey, but I’m not a Granny

23 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Humour, Life

≈ 10 Comments

IMG_0106A year ago a sixty-something year old woman whom I have known nearly all my life declared to me that I was looking very old.  I was caught off guard and so I did not respond verbally.  My jaw, however, dropped an inch.  This very young-looking sixty-something year old lady, who is quite beautiful, is not blind.  She saw my jaw drop.  She immediatly followed up with: “but at least you’re thin, so you can get away with looking old.”  Again, I was lost for words.

What I should have said, however, is: “perhaps if you give me the name and number of your fabulous plastic surgeon, I shall be able to correct the problem.”  Alas, I am slow with comebacks most of the time.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when a child at my sons’ school asked me if I was their grandma.  I had not yet turned forty.  I laughed when the child said this to me and told him that I was their Mummy.  I get that it would be quite possible for me to be a grandmother at my age, but seriously?!

For the record, I do not believe that there is anything wrong with being a grandmother, nor do I think there is anything wrong with being a grandmother at my age, but my children are under seven, so it did come as a surprise to be seen in that role.

I feel that I must disclose the fact that my hair is grey and that after dying it for almost twenty years, I was pushed to shave it all off, because the medication that I was taking at the time was causing it to fall out anyway.  My lovely locks were gone and I embraced the baldness.  Equally, I decided to embrace whatever would grow back in its place – a courser and far more grey version of what I had had before.  I turned 40 this week and I am still grey, but I’m not a granny.