Ginger

This recipe is from Madhur Jaffrey's book, "From Curries To Kebabs", and is very easy to make. It's simmering away on the stove right now and smells delish! As with any Indian recipe, it's best to have your ingredients measured and prepared ahead of time to keep things moving along.

This recipe started out as an approximation of what my grandmother would toss into a mixing bowl — “a little of this, a pinch of that” interpreted and transcribed by me into “cups” and “teaspoons”. After making many batches over several years, I finally tweaked it to a point where I was content to add it to my “Family Recipes” cookbook, and now I’m going to share it with you. It makes a large batch of wonderfully crisp cookies with a nice gingery bite.

Given my grandmother turns 90 this spring, it’s safe to say that this recipe is over 100 years old. The dough is pretty sticky, but the cookies are best when only a scant amount of flour is used when rolling it out for cutting — refrigerating the dough first helps quite a bit.

I’ve made a few variations of this Indian-style chutney, and have enjoyed each and every one. It is a lovely cool counterpart to hot curries, but has enough of a kick on its own to get your engines revving!

I really love lentil dhal. It’s a good stick-to-the-ribs Indian porridge of soft lentils and spices that always manages to hit the right spot and only gets better the longer it has been “left over”. It can ben eaten on its own, over rice, or as a side dish with a variety of curries.