The torment of waiting for the Rogan josh

My son has been pacing the floors, literally like a lion waiting for his meal!

From the minute I threw the onions into the pot, together with the ginger, garlic, spices and wait for it.... the meat, his nostrils have flared and his tongue has been hanging. He is hungry! He has been in and out of the fridge and staring salivating at the same time, at the stovetop. He has been tearful at the slightest of things such as his dad cutting his nails and basically I think the smell of the food has been tormenting him. Unlike his Granddad who is a pure vegetarian, this is a little carnivore in the making, a true Pakistani probably with genetic origins from the North West frontier. He loves and has always been passionate about his meat and chicken. If there is a meal on the table, his first question will almost always be, where's the meat!

Well tonight I have made a family favourite - rogan josh with delicious sweet spices such as cardamom, cassia and star anise and the freshest of ground garam masala. The aroma I have to admit is to die for. And so it is no wonder that this poor little 7 year old with his teary eyes is a little emotional because the wait for this meal truly is tormenting. Whenever I cook this, I like the pot to be simmered for at least 2 hours so the wait has been since 4 oclock.

I thought it best to send him outdoors to play for a bit to at least distract that hungry mind and body. It's closer to 6.30pm now so I'll send him a telepathic message to come indoors and devour to his hearts content and until his hungry heart is content!

Saravaana Bhojan Shala with the folks and friends

Saravaana Bhojan Shala was a hit with both our friends from NZ and my parents. Once again the food was immaculately presented, and unbelievably delicious. I couldn't resist the ghee roast for a second time. It sounds terribly unhealthy (and maybe it is) but it is so incredibly tasty. It is a masala dosa (massive pancake type crepe filled with potato curry) which has obviously been fried in ghee beforehand (ok that does sound unhealthy!). However, the taste is amazing, so can be forgiven.

Our friends and their kids were fearless and were up to trying some new dishes so we ordered idli, (steamed semolina cakes, which incidentally my kids adore), puri masala, South Indian parathas, and vada. And then we settled for some less fearless stuff such as butter paneer, vegetable biryani and aloo paratha. And a little off the Indian beaten track was some Chinese cuisine which we were able to order such as vegetable fried noodles and rice and Manchurian cauliflower which was out of this world.

We finished our meals off with masala milk which is hot milk with a little turmeric, cardamom, pistachio nuts and almonds. Absolutely divine and I imagine with that combination of spices and nuts, to be rather good for you. We also had gulab jamun (milk balls in a sweet syrup), and basundi, which like the milk masala was superb. Basundi is a milky dessert, very similar to the North Indian rabdi, with again cardamom and pistachio. The milk is boiled and then left to simmer until it is thickened. I believe this is a typical Maharashtrian dish and one that I have not attempted to make but one that I intend to do and will get back to you!

The fish and dairy dilemma!

Ok here's the deal with fish and yoghurt! Apparently and according to the few that have written about this topic on the internet, the combination could possibly be lethal. However, and this is a big however, the consensus seems to be that this is a myth and that unless the fish is off (in which case why are you cooking with it?) or the yoghurt is sour (same scenario applies) then you could suffer from some digestive complaints. A rather obvious conclusion, wouldn't you think. A few have suggested that a glass of milk consumed after ones consumption of fish, could result in white spots on one's face. I have to admit that there does not seem to be much evidence to support this although I am no nutritionist or doctor so perhaps there is something I am missing.

On the other hand lots of cultures throughout the world combine fish and dairy in some form or another. In South India it is the norm to cook fish with coconut milk and so it is in Thailand and Malaysia. The French use cream and milk with their seafood and the same can be said for the Finns. One can find salmon and cream cheese sandwiches at your local supermarket or bakery and to be honest, personally I have fried spicy fish and dipped it in raita. Not only is the combination fabulous but I have not suffered from any of the ailments mentioned above. Again if anyone can shed any new light on this topic then please please do let me know. I would hate to think I was leading you astray.

We are off to our favourite local Saravana Bhojan Shala where fish will not be on the menu as this eatery which I can not rate enough is purely vegetarian. The perfect treat for my father who has revelled in this herbivorous lifestyle for the last 20 or so years.