Chronicles of an Accidental Gourmet: Chapter 1, The Graduate Student

I am a really good home cook. As in mmm-mmm good (yeah, I'm modest about it). I think that I am just as good as Clara with her Depression-era cooking, bless her wise old soul. The reason I am so proud of my cooking ability is because this is the one talent I developed entirely on my own. Cooking is my very own expertise, learned not at my mother's or anyone else's elbow, but in the dark and dismal days of young adulthood when the future seemed full of boiled eggs and slices of execrable White Hen Pantry pizza. Now you know why pizza is not my favorite food (see previous post). The fact that I taught myself to cook, all on my own, gave me enormous self-confidence. I knew that I could take care of myself, once I learned how to peel, chop and saute an onion. So to those of you afraid to turn the stove on - be brave, it is indeed possible to save yourself and your bank balance by wielding a knife.

My abiding memory of my last day before I left for the United States as a twenty-something was that of my mother pacing up and down my room as I packed, muttering darkly over and over in a maddening way, "You are going to starve there. How will you survive? You can't cook!" For the first couple of months in Chicago, I almost conceded that she was right - I was going to starve. I could cook nothing more than boiled eggs. Other sustenance was slices of pizza from the White Hen Pantry half a block from the dorm. I was desperate for fresh food that tasted good and did not cost a fortune. I couldn't duck into a restaurant - I was on a limited student stipend and it would not cover eating out on a daily basis. Something had to be done, and quick!

Then, my brother - my big brother, who still watches out for me - came to my rescue. In those long-forgotten days before the internet, when the only electronic communication was email, he sent me a file called "The Graduate Student's Guide to Indian Recipes", available here and here, in abridged form. From Mahadevan Ramesh via Sanjiv Singh, I learned basic things like how to chop onions. And in this way, an army of invisible teachers, graduate students like me, whom I will probably never meet, came to my culinary rescue. I learned how to chop an onion, peel potatoes, dice carrots, make my favorite aloo-gobi. I made friends with other graduate students and often we ate together, feasting like kings and queens on our spiced and flavorful creations. So thank you, Sanjiv Singh, thank you Mahadevan Ramesh, thank you Somesh Rao. Here is my favorite recipe from "The Graduate Student's Guide...": Aloo Gobi. It was the first dish I made that was successful and well-received by friends. It does require a trip to the Indian grocery store to stock up on spices. Somesh, if you ever stumble across this blog, thank you for your help, thank you for stepping in for my mother, and here are my variations on your wonderful recipe:


Ingredients:------------
1 Large cauliflower
3 Medium sized potatoes
1/2 large Onion sliced thinly in long slices
1 tsp Mustard seeds
2 or 3 pods Cardamom
1 tsp Coriander [My Variation - grind the coriander]
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 Bayleaf
3 Cloves
3 tblsp Vegetable Oil

Method:

-------Start boiling the potatoes in a saucepan. Let them boil for at least 15minutes. After they are done, turn off the heat and let them stand inthe water. [My Variation: Dice Potatoes into small cubes, skip boiling]

Cut the cauliflower into small bite sized pieces (roughly 1" cubes),throwing away most of the stem pieces. Wash and drain in a collander.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a wide skillet until itis very hot. Add the mustard seeds and wait until they start popping. Add bay leaves, cardamom and cloves. Mix around for a while and then add onions. Wait until the onion starts to turn before adding the rest of the spices (except for turmeric).
[My variation: Add diced potatoes after the onions start to turn and saute with onions and spices for 10-15 mins, till half-cooked]

Put the cauliflower in the skillet and fry in the oil and spices for 2minutes. While the cauliflower is frying, cut up the potatoes into bitesized pieces and add to the skillet. [I skipped the boiling potatoes step]

Add turmeric and stir. Continue stirring the vegetables under medium heat for another couple ofminutes. [ My variation: cook cauliflowers and potaotes together for about 5-6 minutes]

Add 1/2 cup of water and reduce heat to low. Cover skilletand let cook for 5 minutes. Check tenderness of vegetables. If they are still too hard, add another1/4 cup of water and cover again for 5 minutes. Salt to taste and serve. [You can push the whole spices to the side of your plate, if you don't like chomping down on cardamom or cloves. Garnish with cilantro leaves - optional]