Indian food doesn't just mean curry: Global Kitchen recipe

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who keeps on stereotyping the Indian cuisine but thanks to Simone Roberts from liverpool-leader.whereilive.com.au for posting this thought provoking story. Again, not all Indian foods are curry!



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THINK of Indian food and the word that comes to most minds is curry.

Meera Jagadeesh is on a mission to debunk this popular belief.

“People think Indian food is all curries and very heavy but there’s so much more to it,” Mrs Jagadeesh said.

She knows that many home cooks find Indian cooking intimidating but says it isn’t at all complicated or difficult to make. Most dishes are “quick and easy” and full of easy-to-get ingredients.

“All that matters is that you put love and passion into your cooking. If you do that then you can play around with the recipe - come up with your own variation.”

Mrs Jagadeesh grew up in Bangalore, India and learnt to cook by watching her mother in the kitchen.

“I would shop for the ingredients for my mother and then watch her work. I was fascinated with her love and dedication for cooking and she encouraged the same in me.”

These days Mrs Jagadeesh cooks for her own family of three, husband Jagadeesh and sons Sumukha and Skanda.

Every morning she rises before 5am to prepare three meals for the day one soup, one dry curry, and one liquid curry.

She shared her favourite recipe with locals at a workshop during the Casula Mela festival.

Semolina upma with veggies is a simple and satisfying meal that makes a perfect lunchbox filler, she said.

She hoped the workshop would help the wider community embrace true Indian cuisine.

Semolina Upma with veggies
1 cup semolina (coarse)
1/2 cup oil (small cup)
2 cups water (boiled separately)
2 onions (diced in small long pieces)
2 carrots medium size (diced in small long pieces)
1 medium size potato (diced in small long pieces)
1 medium size capsicum (diced in small pieces)
1 cup green beans (cut into 1’’ pieces)
1 cup green peas (frozen)
1 piece ginger - grated
Black mustard seeds tsp (for seasoning)
Urad dal - tsp (for seasoning)
Bengal gram dal - tsp (for seasoning)
Curry leaves - 15/20 leaves
Green chillies - 4 to 5 (cut vertically into pieces)
Small cup of finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Method
1. Roast the semolina in a pan until it turns a light brown (about 7-8 mins). Transfer semolina to plate when done and set aside to cool.
2. Heat oil in the same pan and add the mustard seeds. When spluttering add bengal gram dal, urad dal and curry leaves. When the dal turns golden brown add the onions, green chillies and ginger. Fry for 4-5 mins until the onions turns golden brown.
3. Now add the vegetables including peas. Mix well. Sprinkle cup of water and cook with lid on until the vegetables turn soft. Stir occasionally, to check vegetables have sufficient moisture to cook. 4. Add the boiled water to the vegetables, add salt and mix well. Simmer and add the roasted rava (semolina) a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Continue to cook and stir for another 5 minutes. Cook with lid on for another 5 minutes.
When semolina is cooked, garnish with coriander. Remove and serve hot with ghee and chutney.


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