for the last couple of weeks, i've been obsessing over my bombay kitchen, an awesome new cookbook that has rapidly taken a place next to the A16 cookbook in my heart. every single thing i've made from this book has turned out beautifully, with minimal fuss and much forgiveness for my little substitutions and/or errors.the khichri is 1/2 basmati rice, 1/4 mung dal, and 1/4 red lentils, cooked with ghee, tiny chopped onions, and a ton of spices -- whole cloves (i used a combination of whole allspice and powdered clove), cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, salt, and a little turmeric. usually, rice is fine by me, but nothing special; adding the lentils turned what i used to think of as a side dish into fragrant, creamy deliciousness that i was happy to eat on its own!
but, i was happier to eat it with the ragout. you can make it with fish filets, or shrimp, or whatever is on hand -- i chopped up red snapper into approx. 1-inch chunks, and rubbed it with a mix of salt, cayenne, and turmeric. separately, i sauteed 1 chopped onion in vegetable oil, then added two chopped jalapeno peppers and my lazy-girl version of masala paste (finely chopped garlic, ginger, salt and hot pepper). next, about six chopped tomatoes, about a cup of chopped cilantro (including stems) and some tamarind paste and sugar. cooked down to a loose jammy consistency, then fried the fish separately, mixed in with the ragout, and adjusted spices. total yum.
i'm serious: everything in this book is delicious and totally easy. so far, i've made these two, the eggplant pickle (p. 235), parsi green chutney (p. 227), cabbage salad with lime & mint (p. 214), caramelized fried rice (p. 168), khima (p. 119), and savory khara ras chaval (p.113-14; the name "soupy meat" really doesn't do this light soup a bit of justice). i dread the day i need to return this book to the library.
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