Sindhi Cooking

Last weekend, “A”’s mom, Bina Auntie taught (or directed and translated for her cook to teach) me a few yummy Sindhi dishes. Occasionally, “A”’s grandma would advice as well. I’d like to tell you more about the Sindhi people and how they originated from Sindh province, which is now in Pakistan and the migration of Hindu Sindhs to India but you could read all about it here.


Masala - used in most if not every one of the dishes.

ELICHI CHAWAL (Cardamom Rice)

Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
¼ cup half mung dahl
9 cardamom
2 tbsp oil
1 ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
1 ½ cup of water

Method
* Soak rice and dahl for an hour
* Fry cardamom in oil in a deep pot until fragrant
* Add rice and dahl to pot and fry at high heat and until most moisture is gone
* Add salt
* Add water and bring to a boil
* Lower heat, cover pot with lid and cook for about 20 minutes or till rice is soft. If you’d like rice to be al dente, leave pot slightly uncovered.
* Serve with the other Sindhi dishes. Yummm.

METHI MACCHI (Fenugreek Fish)

Ingredients
5 seer fish fillet (I haven’t tried but I think you could also use Mackeral)
2 handful of methi (fenugreek leaves only), rinsed 4 times and chopped
3 med. onions, chopped
4 med tomato, chopped
1 tbsp blend of ginger, garlic and green chili paste (equal amount of ginger and garlic and one green chili)
Juice of ½ lime
¾ cup of water
6 tsp oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp haldi (tumeric)
¾ tsp dhania powder (cilantro)
½ tsp jeera powder (cumin)


Methi (or fenugreek leaves)

Method
* Fry onion in oil
* Add ginger garlic chili paste and fry until brown
* Add tomatoes and fry until soft
* Add masala into and continue frying
* Add methi, fry
* Squeeze ½ lime into dish and continue cooking
* Add a little water and bring to boil
* Add fish fillets
* Add salt to taste and gently stir. Try not to turn fish. Fish fillets should submerge in gravy.
* Cook for 8-10 minutes and serve with Cardomom Rice.

PEAS ALOO (Peas and Potatoes)

Ingredients
3 clove garlic, chopped
4 small tomatoes, chopped
2 small potatoes, cubed
3 handfuls of peas (can be frozen)
½ green chili, chopped (optional)
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp jeera powder (cumin)
½ tsp dhania powder (cilantro)
¼ tsp haldi (tumeric)
¼ tsp chili powder

Method
* Fry garlic until fragrant
* Add tomatoes (and chopped green chili, if you like) and cook for 15 minutes or until stewy in medium heat.
* Add salt to taste. Remove pan from stove and let cool.
* On a separate pot, boil chopped potatoes in salted water.
* Blend stewed tomato until smooth
* Pour blended tomatoes into pan again, add some water and bring to boil
* Add all the masala (garam masala, jeera, etc..) and cook for 5 minutes. Gravy should not be too thick.
* Add peas and boiled potatoes into tomatoes. Cook for a bit and dish is ready to be served. Oh, oh and add some chopped coriander as garnish.

ALOO TIKKI (Potato cutlet)

Ingredients
6-8 med potatoes boil whole with skin
Handful of dhania (coriander)
2 slices of toasted bread make into breadcrumbs (about 1 cup)
1 tsp dhania powder (coriander)
1 tsp jeera powder (cumin)
½ tsp chili powder
¾ tsp salt

Method
* Mash and mix potatoes with all the masalas (dhania, jeera, chili powders) until smooth
* Add and mix in bread crumbs
* Taste, add salt if needed
* Oil hands; take enough potato mixture to make a golf ball. Flatten slightly and set aside.
* Fry potato cutlet into very hot oil (if you like, you can test oil temperature with a tiny ball of potato mixture. If potato becomes bubbly in oil, you’re all set. Fry away!)
* Serve aloo tikki with green chutney. Recipe of green chutney TBA.

Thank you for sharing and thank you for your very warm and generous hospitality, Bina Auntie, Viyay Uncle and Dadi!

Cooking at Shalini's

Sunday was too much fun. My co-worker Shalini invited me to her home to cook and eat. When I arrived, she made dosa(or dosai) for breakfast.



Then, we strolled around neighborhood with her children and we picked up some more ingredients for lunch.



Shalini decided that we should make Gojju. Gojju, I was told, is a curry dish with a variety of vegetables and shaved coconut. This one we made has a base of tomatoes and potatoes.



GOJJU
Ingredients
4 spices - (mustard seed, urad dahl, channa dahl, jeera)
3 med. chili peppers - chopped
6 med. tomatoes - chopped
2 med. onions - chopped
2 med. potatoes – chopped
3/4 glass of water
a handful of peas
a handful of fresh curry leaves - crushed
a handful of coriander – chopped
1/3 a coconut – ground (about ½ cup of coconut. This is actual coconut, not coconut milk)
2 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp jaggrey (this is a pre-processed form of sugar)
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
a lot of oil

Method
* Heat Oil
* Add 4 spices and fry till mustard seeds stop popping
* Add chili, onions, curry leaves, ghee and cook till soft (about 5 mins)
* Add tomatoes, potatoes, peas, coriander and water
* Add jaggrey, salt, coconut
* Let it cook for 30 mins or until potatoes are soft. Add more water if needed.


Shalini's grinding coconut to be added to the Gojju dish.

Apparently, it is quite usual for families to make fresh chapati everyday. The chapati here is mixed with methi leaves, which supposedly adds flavour and is healthier.

CHAPATI
(serves 4 people)
Ingredients
Methi leaves – chopped
2 cups wheat flour
1 ½ tsp salt
2-5 tsp oil
½ sp sugar
1-5 cups water

Method
* Mix flour and salt
* Drizzle oil and sugar and mix with hand
* Add methi leaves and 1 glass of water and knead dough in sections
* Add oil and water as needed (unless you are a health freak, according to Shalini, then you can leave out the extra oil)
* Knead a lot to make your chapatti fluffy
* Keep aside for 10 mins, covered
* Form small balls (slightly bigger than a golf ball), flour and roll and flour and roll until it resembles a disk
* Put rolled-out dough on a flat pan. Drizzle oil and flatten on both sides.
* Chapati will be ready to eat when the color turns caramel brown. Yumm…


Chopped methi leaves with wheat flour.


Knead chapati dough.


Make golf-size balls from dough and flour it before rolling.


Rolling out dough.


Shalini's husband showing how to roll-out chapati dough.


These are spices that Shalini and her husband would use for the foundation of almost every dish. (L-R: Urad Dahl, Jeera, Mustard Seeds, Channa Dalh)

Shalini's husband showing the gojju dish.

And here's my first self-made chapati. *grin*

More photos taken at Shalini's here. Thank you Shalini and family for your generous hospitality!