Indian Home Cooking

I have many excuses for not posting more frequently (boring flatwear, overuse of the same dishes, general lack of cooking adventure as of late.... you know, that sort of thing. ) So, it was high time to let someone else do the cooking and reignite the passion for trying new things.

My new friend Bhavna is from the south of India and can whip up a mean meal. First, she offerred to cook me dinner which turned into dinner for me and Aubrey... which somehow turned into dinner for seven. The prospect of home cooked Indian food can really draw a crowd.

With the promise of a guided trip to the grocery store to learn how to make all this stuff, Bhavna set out on making us a many coursed meal of Aloo Paratha, Eggplant Curry, Masoor Ke Daal, and basmati rice. Aloo Paratha is a potato stuffed bread similar to naan except stuffed with a potato mixture and served with sweetened yogurt and a type of mint flavored yogurt of which I do not know the name. The Masoor ke Daal was a form of lentil soup which I had never had. I mean, it never actually dawned on me that the only Indian food I'd ever eaten was probably the equivalent of Indian fastfood... imagine if the only American food anyone ever experienced was McDonalds. Bhavna showed us the light.

Even Aubrey got involved rolling out the parathas.

We all sat down to the awesomeness and my friend's son proclaimed the meal to be the best Indian food he'd ever had. He was right. It was amazing. I can't wait to learn the recipes and share them here. Particularly the Aloo Parathas... hello, love. This new friendship is very fortuitous, indeed! Don't worry I have stuff to offer, too. Bhavna has never had a biscuit.