We went to the zoo and it sucked

On Sunday we got a little cabin fever.  I don't know why we thought it would be a great idea to take a tuk tuk to the zoo but...well it sounded good at the time.  Getting a tuk tuk (also known as an auto rickshaw) is an art form here.  You are lucky if you can find a rickshaw wallah that speaks and/or understands english.  So we've taken to printing maps and names of our desired destination.  This day we were frequently repeating 'ZOO', 'ZOO'.  Wouldn't you know there is no Hindi word for zoo gosh darn it?  And I don't know why I thought if I said it LOUDER and s-l-o-w-e-r that they would magically comprehend where I wanted to go.  Reminder: they're not deaf and dumb Jenn, they just don't know the language.  After 10 minutes we finally got a guy that understood (or so I thought) it when I said National Zoo Park.  He did his little Indian head waggle thingy and off we went......to the National Museum.  Doh!  10 more minutes spent finding somebody that understood where we wanted to go and we were off to the real zoo.  Of course the guy wants more money than we agreed upon because of his mistake.  The trick to rickshaw wallahs here is that they will always charge a westerner double the amount they would a local Indian.  And they will always try to get more.  If you ever come here, be warned!  If you have the time to haggle then wait for a guy that has a meter that works....saves so much time arguing over the price.  Anyways, we finally got to the zoo, it had just finished raining and now it is humid as all get out.  2 long queues turned into several random queues segwaying into one.  Who knows but after much elbowing we finally got in and walked our happy little butts off for what seemed like forever....eyes peeled for animals...walking...looking.....no animals.  Sadface.  Hot, humid, walking for over an hour, no animals does not a happy Jenn make.  I guess this zoo was really cool about 25 years ago.  I wish we did a little more research before we went.  Anyways, towards the end we did finally find a few pens that had animals in it.  Then it was time to go home for a shower with no water pressure and a nap!  

A lot of walking and sweating, no animals

Affectionate one-horned rhinos

Creepy crocodile

Indian elephant (the larger African elephants weren't there)

More animals outside the zoo!

Tuk tuk games

      

Tasty Tuesday

For this weeks line-up I give you Mutton Kofta.  Yep, meatballs!

MUTTON KOFTA

For the sauce:

2 small onions, give it a whirl in the food processor

3 tomatoes, separate from the onions give ‘em a whirl in the food processor

2 sticks cinnamon

3 cardamom seeds

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

½ tsp mustard powder

½ tsp meat masala

pinch of garam masala, more if you like spice!

pinch of salt

For the meatballs:

½ kg ground mutton or other meat (sheep are simply too cute to eat!)

1 small chopped onion

½ tsp ginger paste

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp garam masala

1 ½ TBSP Besan (a binder, maybe you could try flour?)

½ tsp cornflour

chopped coriander, save some for garnish

Sauce:  In a large pot add cardamom seeds, cinnamon bark, and processed onions.  Stir for 2 – 3 minutes or until brown.  Add tomatoes.  Add mustard powder, meat masala, garam masala, coriander powder, ginger and garlic paste, and salt.  Stir for 10 minutes.  Add a little water and let simmer on low heat.

In a medium sized bowl combine your ground meat, coriander, onion, ginger paste, cumin powder, garam masala, Besan, and cornflour.  Shape into meatballs.  Heat oil in a small pan.  Deep fry meatballs then add them to the sauce.  Stir gently.  Keep on very low heat and let simmer for 5 – 7 minutes.  Place in a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.  

Mix it

Besan

Roll it

Fry it

Wah la!

Leftovers

I forgot to add pictures to my last post and I also thought I'd let ya know you can make a little stir-fry with your leftover Karahi Chicken.  Just add rice!  It helps to be serenaded by your significant other while you are preparing your meal.  Otherwise it just doesn't taste the same.  

Original karahi chicken

Stir fried left overs

My sweet man spending time in the kitchen with me

Tasty Tuesdays

Drawing my inspiration from the movie Julie/Julia and from my love of serial blogs I decided to do one of my own.  No, I will not be cooking every day but once a week I will hover over my cook Shivani's shoulders, take notes, and share with you the lovely Indian delights she makes for us.  I can't promise I will stay on top of it and do it every week but I will try.  It would be fun if you tried some of these recipes at home and let me know how they turned out!


For lack of a better name (if you think of one, you can let me know you ideas) I bring you Tasty Tuesdays:

KARAHI CHICKEN  (also called Kadhai chicken)

820 gms or 5 chicken breasts, diced

1 TB cumin seeds

1 TB coriander seeds

1 TB black pepper seeds

2 small onions, sliced

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 green chili, sliced

3 tomatoes, diced

¼ tsp garam masala (or more for heat)

1 capsicum, sliced

fresh coriander for garnish

Roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and pepper seeds on a heated pan.  Grind into a powder (I used a mortar and pestle) and set aside.  Add 2 TB oil to pan and heat on high.   Add onions.  Saute until golden brown.  Add ginger paste, garlic paste, and green chili.  Stir and let simmer for one minute.  Add cut tomatoes.  Stir and cover for 2 minutes.  Add powdered seeds.  Stir and cover for 2 minutes.  Add chicken. Cover for 15-20 minutes, stirring intermittently.  Add a little water.  Add capsicum.  Stir.  Cover for 2 minutes.

Place in serving dish.  Sprinkle garam masala on top and cut coriander.  Eat over rice!


*capsicum = bell pepper
*coriander = chinese parsley = cilantro


Bon apetite!

Fun Friday

My driver's daughter had homework to do over her break and she asked if I could help.  She doesn't have internet access at home or anywhere else so I invited her over to do some research.  We were able to find some really good information on the Taj Mahal and the Lotus Temple.  It's amazing to me that she lives here and doesn't have easy access to the information of major stuff in her own country.  It felt good to help her out and she was so excited to come to my house.  After doing homework we 'surfed the net'....well...youtube.  And believe it or not I have never Googled Justin Bieber so I don't really know what he is famous for.  Well I found out pretty quickly because this girl has the Bieber Fever!  She showed me some dance moves in the kitchen.  We giggled, we made cookies, we had a good day.  Forget having babies, I want a teenager!  They're so much fun!

Isn't she darling?

  

Same Same

Well this isn't helpful!!!  What am I going to complain about if I can't complain that the weather is too hot compared to back home?!!  Seriously, just a week ago it was 105 degrees here!