Potato, Cauliflower and Green Peas Sukhi style (Dry Curry)

I think I will be very busy this year if I want to learn and keep up the plans for the blog. Take a minute to read the comments from the last post. Throws up a lot of interesting questions.

Prepared veggies

1. Can fish be organic?
2. Is industrial food production really bad?
3. What is local food movement? Is it just a yuppy feel good kind of thing?
4. Can organic farming really provide food for the exploding population of the planet?
5. What exactly is crop and seed diversity?
6. Is organic cost efficient to actually make a difference?

All good questions and we will strive to explore all of them in due time.

I primarily wanted to learn more about GM(genetically modified), bio-engineered seeds and how lack of bio diversity was going to harm food production. But the issues that have been brought up are all inter connected and a good idea to be researching about all of them.

Mixed with spices and ready to be covered and cooked

Over the last decade on every visit to India I have heard mom and several others mention that certain varieties of several vegetables are not in the market anymore. When this particularly hit hard was when the broad beans I was seeing on the last visit was very broad and really big. It was the first time I have even seen it but everybody seemed to think broad beans were always that way. That is so not true, the visit before last the broad beans were the size they always were. Is this a new variety that people have gotten used to quickly or does it make its appearance only during the summer? I have no idea. Next was when I was trying to get seeds for the country tomato (naatu thakkali) the sour short and stout tomato with ridges and my uncle sadly said that the seeds were not available even in the seeds co-operatives that regularly. Were these varieties going to disappear for ever, probably.

Lid closed and cooking

For quite a few years now tomatoes that are readily available in the market are mostly the smooth oval shaped ones called Bangalore tomatoes, much sweeter and in my opinion dull and blands the tastes of rasam, sambhar or tomato rice that they are used in. We have gotten used to them like we eventually do.


What is a bio engineered or genetically modified seed?
Biotechnology has made it possible to inject genes from other plants and animals into plant seeds to create traits that would help the plant deal with adverse conditions like drought, withstand pesticide exposure, increase yields creating characteristics that do not occur naturally. The most bio engineered seeds are corn, soybean, cotton and canola. This term also includes breeds of crops created by selective breeding.
Source

After the first 15 minutes

What is a hybrid seed?
Hybrid seeds are those that are produced by artificial cross-pollination to create desirable traits like increased yield, drought resistance, better looks and disease resistance.

What is a heirloom seed?
Heirloom seeds are those that have been preserved over several years and handed down from the gardeners who preserved them. These are seeds that have to be created by open pollination. Open pollinated plants are those whose seeds are capable of producing plants just like their parent preserving all the good qualities.

There is no denying the benefits of hybrid seeds, it has increased agriculture output and the ability of governments to pull their masses out of poverty. This seems harmless when compared to GM seeds. Animal characteristics in plants? Is that desirable? Has technology gone overboard? GM seeds which were used in mostly large industrialized farms have now started to contaminate non-GM seeds.


Now to the recipe of the day,
The best aloo gobhi I have tasted so far was in a hole in a wall place which sold fresh hot foods at a very reasonable prices. The kitchen was visible from where the order was placed, a much needed confirmation because the place was really dirty. The place was closed by the authorities, no surprises there. I lost my source for aloo gobi and had been on the lookout for something similar till I saw Sookhi Gobhi Aloo over at Mad Tea Party. This is what I have been looking for along with the added bonus, no grease. Some version of this aloo gobhi has been made every week at our house ever since. Sometimes I have followed the exact recipe while other times I improvise a little bit like this one with green chilies.

Ready for serving

Serving : 6 people
Dry Potato, Cauliflower and Peas Curry
Ingredients
1. 2 Russet Potatoes + 2 Red potatoes (I prefer red potatoes but only had Russet potatoes, DH went shopping) - 4 Cups (peeled and cut into bite sized cubes)
2. Cauliflower split into small florets - 2 cups
3. Green Peas - 1 Cup
4. Green chilies - 4 slit
5. 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger grated
6. 5 garlic cloves crushed and chopped
7. 2 tsp turmeric powder
8. 1 tbsp sambhar powder or coriander + red chili powder
9. 1 tsp cumin powder
10. a small pinch of asfoetida
11. salt to taste
12. 2 tsp oil

Method
1. In a flat bottomed pan, heat oil and add the cumin seeds, asfoetida, garlic and ginger. Saute till the ginger and garlic are fried , take care not to burn.
2. Add the turmeric powder and green chili and saute for a minute.
3. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, peas, saute for 2 minutes or so.
4. Add the sambhar powder and salt and give a good mix.
5. Close the lid and set the heat to less than medium, cover the lid and cook for 15 minutes.
6. Open the lid, toss and add more salt and chili powder if required, close and cook for another 8 minutes.
7. Switch off the heat.

Tastes best with rotis (wheat breads) or even with steamed white rice.

Chicken Curry with yogurt and plans for the year

We have started the New Year off with frigid temperatures requiring a brave heart and heavy clothing to step out. As you all know I like very much to complain about the weather but I'd let that one go, being the first few days of the new year and all.

Among all the bickering and bad news emanating out of DC, some good news for the environment and by extension for the people who live there. Washington DC's Plastic Bag Tax Takes Effect This Week.

It has nothing to do with this post but I wanted to share that anyway and hopefully all 50 states will follow suit.

And the agenda for the year ahead, I am hoping to discuss, write about and hopefully learn about the sources of the foods that we consume.

International treaties and multinational companies have done a lot to do away with crop diversity. Where there were hundreds of varieties of a single crop now there are only a handful of bio-engineered seed varieties. This lack of diversity should be very scary, because a single disease or calamity could wipe out whole sources of food. Imagine a world where you are surrounded by people who look the same, speak the same language, eat the same food and behave the same way. That is by far what is happening in the corn, wheat and soy worlds. There are all the same.

As consumers and in particular as food bloggers we are ahead of the curve in matters of food and environment but there is a lot to learn. I am humbled and a bit actually a lot scared at how much ignorance there is about industrial food production and harm that it has been causing. One only need look, as there is information all around. This will be my primary interest this year.

The chicken recipe to be presented today and the chicken especially has a story. For years I have been buying chicken in chain grocery stores, where the chicken looks and feels like weeks if not months have passed before it hit the shelves. I read/heard somewhere that a few chicken processing plants in California ship the chicken (I forget if they were alive or not) to China to be packaged to save on costs. A sane person should have stopped eating chicken then and there right? But the insanity continued primarily because I'd rather cook at home than visit a fast food chain when the craving hits. The biggest take away is when possible be aware of where the produce comes from.

I have purchased chicken from the Lancaster Dutch Market a much loved local store run by Amish folks from Lancaster County, PA every now and then and know that they taste far superior to the supermarket variety. They are open only 3 days a week and a bit of planning is required so I sort of went back to the supermarket till I woke up startled one day and after a friend brought up the same subject. The chicken are grown free range with no antibiotic and hormones and moreover they are brought in fresh. Now we only eat chicken bought at the market and have learned to go without otherwise.

We had DH's cousin visiting when I made this chicken curry and he could not stop appreciating about how good the chicken tasted. I will share the secret folks, it had nothing to do with the spices, masala, cooking technique and all to do with the fresh good quality chicken.

I bet this story can be repeated for any fruit or vegetables. How it is grown matters a great deal.

Chicken Curry with Yogurt
Ingredients
1. 2 lbs chicken cut into chunks, washed with turmeric powder and set aside
2. 1/2 onion chopped
3. 6 green chilies slit
4. 2 inch piece of ginger grated
5. 8 garlic cloves chopped fine
6. 1 tomato chopped fine
7. 3 tbsp yogurt whisked
8. 2 tsp turmeric powder
9. 2 tsp dried curry leaf powder
10. seasonings whole spices: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, fennel seeds,cumin seeds, curry leaves

For the paste
1. 1/4 cup onion chopped
2. 1 tbsp coriander seeds
3. 1 tsp pepper corns
4. 1 tsp cumin seeds
5. 3 red chilies

In a bit of oil saute the onions followed by the other ingredients. Cool and blend with the minimum amount of water.

Method
1. In a kadai heat 2 tsp of oil and add the whole spices and when they start to turn color and a nice smell comes add the onions and green chilies and saute till the onions become brown.
2. Now add the garlic and ginger and saute for minute followed by chicken and turmeric powder, saute for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and salt, saute for a minute, cover with a lid and let the chicken cook for another 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the paste and let it cook on medium low heat till the curry comes together about 8 minutes.
Alternately - 1-4 can all be dumped together in a pressure cooker and cooked for 2 whistles.
5.Put the flame on low, add the whipped yogurt and let simmer for a few more minutes.
The yogurt gives the curry a nice creamy texture and taste.

Serve with rice or chapatis.