Cooking Indian
on The Ghana Experience (Ghana), 27/Aug/2010 16:14, 34 days ago
12 August 2010Today I got two opportunities in one day.First was related to the work. When my colleague asked for a help for photographing various structures which district assembly has constructed for a report, I could have said no because it was something which was not at all related to my job. But I said yes because I was getting the opportunity of getting to see entire district within one day. We started very late as the vehicle that was scheduled to accompany us was also supposed to collect some other people who made the whole thing very late. We started late and finished late. I can confidently say some of the observations about the district because I have seen them with my eyes. I can confidently say that agriculture in the district is poorly developed, there is little green cover on the land, there is severe problem of soil erosion and road network in the district is poorly developed.The second opportunity was that of cooking something for a group of people which I had not done before alone. The group of people was not those of Indians so I was not sure whether they will like what ever I would cook for them or not. Actually it was Damien who had invited us for dinner. I suggested him that I would cook something Indian at that time, to which he had agreed. I prepared Pachadi, a Maharashtrian salad dish at that time to which I had to give some local twists as per the availability of ingredients. I consulted my wife before making it so half the credit of this successful preparation goes to her. Damien had prepared rice and stew with vegetables and goat meat. As his preparation was western there was one distinctness in his cooking which I observed and which is different from Indian. We Indians use spices a lot and they sometimes suppress the original taste of the other ingredients. End result was good as everybody liked the food which was prepared. I am giving the recipe of Pachadi which I made for those who are interested in it.PachadiIngredients:SrItemQuantity1CabbageHalf if big, one if small2OnionOne big (optional)3TomatoOne or two (optional)4CocountA small piece (approx 1/8)5LemonHalf of small sized lemon6SaltOne and half tea spoon7SugarOne teaspoon8Groundnut paste2 teaspoons full9Red chilli powderOne teaspoon10OilOne tablespoon11Mustard seedOne teaspoon12Cumin seedOne teaspoon13Turmeric PowderOne teaspoonSources for Ingredients:First 10 items are available locally. Remaining three are available in Accra and Kumasi at the shops selling Indian goods. Some famous shops in Accra Melcom (a chain of shops), Neha (somewhere in the industrial area near Nkrumah circle and a branch Kumasi), Sagar (Osu near Hotel Byblos) etc.Procedure:Chop cabbage, onions, tomatoes and coconut very finely in small shreds.Heat oil in the pan.Add mustard seeds and wait till they splitter.Add cumin seeds to the pan and wait till they splitter.Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Stir well.Turn off the heat.Add chopped vegetables, coconut, groundnut paste and sugar to the pan and mix it well.Before serving, add a fresh squiz of lemon (only if available, it is optional) on the top the salad.Note: Cabbage can be replaced by appropriate quantities of carrots, beet root, radish or onions. Carrots, beet roots and radish need to be grated.