Food on the Road - Simple Potato stir fry with green chilies and onions

Most domestic airlines charge special fees where ever they can. Now that we have gotten used to buying/packing our own food to take on the plane we are hit with having to pay for checked baggage. The whopping fees make sure we downsize on our luggage which may even be a good thing.

On a short trip who has the time to deal with missed or late luggage. This trip we were quite a few people, making it possible to fit everything we wanted in just our carry ons.

Besides clothing the most important item in our luggage is our trusted electric cooker. Packing the electric cooker is usually worth the hassle. Skipped taking sambhar powder for fear of the TSA monster but we took our chances withparuppu podi and tomato thokku.

Yogurt, rice and some pickles got us through dinners when we had to get over the tiredness of all the stuff we had eaten during day. Soma's comments on the stuff she thinks are required stuff for a trip on the last post helped with the list. With just the items listed below it is possible to have a decent mealeven when in a a hotel room with no kitchen.

Required stuff for a road trip
1. Electric Cooker
2. Pickle
3. Paruppu Podi
4. sambhar powder
5. Dal of some kind

This quick and easy potato stir fry is multipurpose. Simple but can be used as a side for rice or as a filling for sandwiches or pita pockets.

Simple Potato Stir Fry with green chilies and onions
Ingredients
1. 3-4 potatoes of any kind peeled and cut into small dice
2. 4-5 green chilies chopped
3. 1/2 -1 cup onions chopped
4. 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder or sambhar powder (optional)
5. salt to taste
6. 1-2 tsp of oil

Method
1. Boil the potatoes in salted water till soft but still holding its shape (10 minutes max)
2. In a wide mouthed pan heat oil, add the onions and saute till translucent
3. Add the chopped chilies and saute for a few minutes
4. Now add the drained potatoes saute for 10-15 minutes
5. Sprinkle the chili powder if adding and salt and saute for a few more minutes

Garden Update - August Rule

August is by far the most rewarding in the vegetable garden. Most vegetables are starting to fruit and the tomatoes are ripening and everyday there is a few to be picked. I am seeing bitter gourd, snake gourd, ridge gourd and brinjals besides the occasional butternut or delicata squash.

Cooked delicata squash like its other name sweet potato squash, tasted very similar to sweet potato. Cooks very fast, very delicate and tasty.

Split delicata squash -

The August rules is not to buy vegetables other than onions, carrots and potatoes. We have been surviving on vegetables and greens from the garden.

Beans - long beans, string beans and broad beans

I have never tried growing squash. Zucchini is the only one I have tried and they were a disappointment this year. Squash has done pretty good considering the seeds are from god knows how many years ago. The ridge gourd which gave fruits like crazy a couple of years ago have lost their potency and are only flowering and fruiting very sparsely. The age of the seeds does matter.

Green Chili Time

The chillies are just starting to make their presence felt. The very tender green chilies are not spicy as the fully mature ones.

Produce from the Garden

Date	Vegetable	Quantity	Recipe
August 16 - 25, 2010	Tomatoes	10-20 everyday	Frozen
Aug 15, 2010	Snake Gourds	3	Snake Gourd with split val beans
Aug 17, 2010	Ridge Gourd	1	Ridge Gourd with tomatoes chutney
Aug 18, 2010	Black Nightshade greens	8 packed cups	Stir fried greens with coconut
Aug 20, 2010	Swiss Chard and Mustard Greens	3 Cups	Greens with toor dal
Aug 21, 2010	Black Night Shade, Bitter Gourds	1 cup, 5	Chutney, Puzhikuzhambu
Aug 22, 2010	brinjals	10	Brinjals with black channa