On the use of Hot Peppers for Xmas in India

NO COMMENT!

Tea time on the river Hooghly

Here are a few delights we had on a boat passing under Howrah bridge,
on the Hooghly river Calcutta West Bengal India.
With wonderful darjeeling tea straight from the plantations of Assam.

Samosas
stuffed with potatoes

Jalees
made with chickpea flour ,fried and dipped in sugar syrup

Dhokla
made with chickpeas served with tamarind chutney

Barfi
marzipan covered with edible silver foil

Fruit and Vegetables in Hyderabad

one of the greatest pleasure in India is to stroll in the
food markets...
unfortunately I did not have time to go to the spice markets
the smells of the spice market are to die for...
but I always leave India knowing I have to go back and often to
the same places as I always think I missed something...

Bananas

Oranges,grapes and bananas

Coconuts

A coconut ready to drink

Beautiful cucumbers 

cannot figure out if they are peas...or else ?

grilled corn on the cob

corn

papayas

are they cherries?

peanuts

betel wrappers I think !

Pomegranate

Nimbu soda or nimbu pani
best drink:  lemon with soda or plain water
sweet or sour 

Coriander or Cilantro

Chick peas with lime tomatoes and coconut
a feast for the eyes..

Sometimes I'm in doubt about some products please bear with me and correct me...

Calcutta flowers

Visited Calcutta flower market which is a riot for the eyes..
 the best way to start the day!

getting along with country lunch

a few days before xmas ..lets play it simple!
but still it has to be gooey...
so this is the result of a top  sicilian
sausage which was lurking in the freezer..
an old recipe that I have wanted to try for the past
twenty years and grapes in the market..
I will show you the result but go to my children's
blog: its-my-treat for the recipe..
try it it's a winner and no hassle....

top quality sausages olive oil and fresh grapes!

aglio olio with a twist

I just came back from Argentina jet lagged and cooked this delicious pasta which can revive
anybody , there is a trick to it that I learned from my daughter clo..

1. one or two sliced garlic pods
2. a bunch of parsley
3. a tea spoon of dry chile or a whole fresh one
4. top quality olive oil
5. spaghetti or any long pasta
6. two egg yolks
7. two table spoons of tomato concentrate

fry first the garlic and chile in olive oil , then add the parsley and when it gets crispy wet with
a ladle of the water in witch the pasta is cooking . And then mix with your pasta al dente...
Ah but there is a twist which will change and improve the dish...
mix two egg yolks with two spoons of concentrated tomato paste,add some pasta water mix all together...this is a GREAT pasta..no need for parmesan if you are a purist..my husband is not!!!!

eggs and tomato paste

ready to serve!

For this recipe I did not use spaghetti but linguine actually it's up to you..be always ready to improvise...

Citrus fruits in BA

In Buenos aires it is the time of jacaranda trees in flowers...the city is blue
spring warms the streets and freshly squeezed orange juice from street
sellers is on...

It's also the season of the marvellous small lemons

I had so many I decided to give it a try and keep them with salt as in north Africa.
you just need a good knife,coarse salt and boiling water...

Cut the lemons crosswise , stuff with half a teaspoon of coarse salt. Pile them in a glass sterilized jar
cover with boiled water  add a teaspoon of coarse salt, screw the top , keep in a dark cupboard and dont use before two months.
This can flavor chicken or whatever you fancy...