Category Archives: Ghee as an ingredient

African Banana Puri – Banana Dumpling

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My Grandmother’s Recipe

If you’re craving something not too sweet and delicious with your coffee or tea (chaa), this is the recipe for you.  I won’t beat around the bush, but I struggled a little thinking of the best way to describe this to you.  The puri is not, by all means, meant to be soft and fluffy like a beignet or doughnut.  It is rather solid, moist and crunchy all at once.  I ate these puris countless of times during my childhood.  If I had to put a finger on it, I would say the banana puri  to me is the equivalent of a doughnut to some, that is if we were talking about childhood nostalgic foods.

If you’re lucky enough, when you’re frying the puri’s they puff up into these balloon like disks, creating a hollow center.  I love peeling away this layer and eating it first before polishing off the rest of the banana puri.

Making the dough is a lot of fun and easy.  Although I do love mushing up the bananas, grabbing handfuls of the earthy dough to make the puris is always a treat, they feel grainy, moist and sticky.  Reminding me of making mud pies in the rain…

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Moongh Daar – Split Green Lentils Curry

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Moongh Dhar Curry is absolutely delicious eaten as a main course, especially on a blustery cold winter day.  Therefore, recently I have been making it pretty often .  This lentil curry can be eaten with rice or with warm rotis accompanied by a green chilli pickle called Raito.  This will probably the fastest curry you will ever make, perfect for a weeknight!  As long as you’ve made your rotis for the week you are set, I promise.  Out of roti’s for the week?   No problem, spread whole wheat toast (or toast of your choice) with ghee or butter, preferably ghee, then pile on the Moongh Daar and devour!  It’s purely addictive.  Try it out and taste it for yourself, you will not be disappointed 🙂

I guess I should explain a little about the bean itself.  First of all theres are countless ways of spelling so I chose to spell it ‘moongh’, although it’s mostly spelt ‘mung’.  It is a little dried green bean if used whole.  In this recipe I have used split mung beans with the skins removed.  If you prefer, by all means use them whole.  You may have to add a little more water during the cooking process.

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Jilebi – a delicate Indian funnel cake

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A couple of days ago in lieu of Bakri Eid, I decided to try my hand at making Jilebis, a very delicate and syrupy Indian dessert best eaten hot.  That is, if you’re lucky to be around someone making it fresh – which is pretty rare these days.  So I did make them, and the jilebis came out perfect – like my grandmother made, if I may add.  They were tender crisp and ‘glassy’ from being drenched in a perfect syrup.  Luckily the syrup did not crystalize or it would have resulted in a dull opaque looking Jilebi.
I was ecstatic when I took the first bite.  Perfect crunch was followed by the oozing of the unctuous sugary liquid.  I felt so proud and immediately snapped a couple of shots of my masterpiece and texted them to my family in Zimbabwe.  I basked in the glory of the numerous ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aaahs’ I received from them.  So with great comfort I share this recipe with you.

Oats Porridge – Cooked Oatmeal

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My Grandmother’s Recipe
 

The leaves are changing from emerald green they once were in summer to the most beautiful hues of fall.  The golden yellows, chili pepper reds and sunset orange leaves blowing in the cool wind make me yearn for the comforting foods of my childhood.  What shall it be – warm chicken soup, or perfectly scrambled eggs smothered in ghee, chicken potpie or just a good old bowl of oats porridge.  Porridge has been my pick more often than once, so I thought I’d share it with you.  It’s so quick to make and it definitely “hits the spot”.  It’s warm, velvety, creamy texture with hints of ghee is just perfect for a day like this.  So don’t blame me when you grab a warm cozy blanket, curl up and maybe take a little snooze to the sound of the rustling fall leaves outside your window.

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Banana Fry

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1 tbsp ghee
3 ripe bananas, sliced thickly
1 tbsp brown cane sugar 

Melt the ghee in a small shallow pan over medium heat.
Throw in the sliced bananas and sprinkle with the sugar.  
Lower the heat and wait patiently for it to do its magic.  
The bananas will slightly bubble and splatter for a couple of minutes. 
When the they look soft and slightly mushy.  Stir gently.  
Simmer for a couple of minutes longer and then pile the yummy gooiness into a plate and serve with hot crispy roti and a good cup of hot chaa. Continue reading →