On 16/9/2006 05:21am, Mamta posted:

Hello Hanif

I am glad that your feast came out well. Next time, do le your wife help you, she will probably enjoy working in the kitchen with you. Quality and freshness of spices varies a great deal, so it is very difficult to specify exact amounts. It is possible that your cinnamon was quite fresh and of a good quality than the average one sold in shops. Chillies are perhaps the best example of this. In Indian shops, varieties are not given by name and can vary a great deal. It is always better to add a little less and then adjust later. The small ones you mention, were probably ‘Bird eye’ chillies. Kashmiri chillies can also be hot.

Aloo bhaji ( and all other bhajies) can be made with many variations. Your version, used mostly by people in South and East India, is also vary nice. Next time try using Panch Pooran or even nigella seeds on their own, for tarka. This gives yet another flavour.

Food cooked in stainless steel pans does tend to stick a bit more, unless they are of very good quality and heavy bottomed. Cast iron pans can also be good, as used by our mothers and grandmothers, before the days of non-stick pans. Some heavy duty aluminium pans/woks are very good too. I am afraid, I use good quality non-stick pans for a lot of my cooking!

Shapes and sizes of roti do not matter. They will get round as you become practised at rolling them out. Keep trying. As for hard roties, see the bottom of the page at Chapatti/Roti, I have given advise on keeping roties soft. Your ingredients seem fine, except I don’t generally add oil or turmeric to roti dough.

Good luck with other recipes. I can remember the excitement I used to feel when I first started cooking, specially if things turned out well !

Mamta