Chef at Large

Watching a travel program this evening motivated me to run into the kitchen and start doing *something*, not knowing exactly what I was going to end up with.
I started by cutting a few slices off a gourd and sauteing them in a little olive oil. Next came the tuna, which was steamed, shredded, seasoned with [...]

I found these lovely, smooth skinned and firm potatoes at the vegetable market yesterday and thought up this recipe just to use them! I also found some onion stalks with the buds on. If you haven’t seen these, they look like spring onion stalks, only they’re thicker, firmer, totally hollow and quite long, with a [...]

This is a deliciously different stew, that can be made with any kind of meat you like, in any form. I’m not sure which cuisine to categorise this under, since as it is a little American and a bit Asian. It does have a very interesting flavor nonetheless and goes very well with a hunk [...]

Vermicelli is a popular breakfast food in South India. Cooked in sesame oil with chopped onions turmeric, salt, chilli, black mustard seeds and curry leaves, it tastes wonderful. Even better if you have a little mullagapudi - a hot concoction of spices that is mixed with oil and used as a condiment. Also called ‘gunpowder’ [...]

Jeera Aloo is a typical North Indian dish, probably made in thousands of homes every day. Easy to make and quick too, it goes equally well with rotis or parathas.
Boil and dice some potatoes. Heat oil, add jeera (cumin seed), put in the potatoes, add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric (haldi), dhania (coriander) powder and [...]

This is a spicy, juicy and tangy dish that can be used to stuff your samosas, filo pastry / puff pastry parcels, sandwiches or simply eaten with hot rotis/naans.
My brother dropped in last night and sleepily expressed a desire this morning, to eat a stuffed omelette. Now, stuffed omelettes are quite passè for me, considering [...]

This is a wonderfully spicy, yet not hot, tangy and delicious curry. While I wouldn’t call it simple to make, it ain’t tough either.
Pre-cook the colocassia (arbi), preferably one whistle in a standard pressure cooker. Slice thickly, fry till it has a crisp outer covering and reserve. Cut chicken any way you like and quickly [...]

Jackfruits are quite common in India and this part of the world and I learnt something new today - Jackfruits are the largest tree borne fruits! They can be cooked both dry and in a gravy.
Anyway, this is quite a tasty dish made with jackfruits. We first chop the jackfruits, omitting the middle section and [...]

I’ve been hearing about the ‘Indian Curry’ for quite a while, from multiple sources. I’ve seen it in restaurant menus in the UK ‘Vegetables with Indian Curry’, seen it published on websites - someone asks ‘how do you make Indian Curry?’, and a kindly (uninformed) soul pops out of nowhere and shares a recipe [...]

Egg Curry is quite easy to make and taste delicious too! It goes just as well with rice or rotis and is a nutritious all-in-one meal.
All you need to do is (1) boil eggs, (2) saute some onions with cumin seed, mustard seeds, salt, green chillies and red chilli powder (3) add tomatoes and continue [...]