Hi everyone. I have tried some of the recipes on this site and would like to comment on them. I chose recipes that reminded me of dishes my mom used to cook.

1. Potato curry for train journey - this was great!! it tasted just like what my mom used to pack with pooris and achaar when we went on a day trip. I think the key ingredient is the anchoor!

2. Potato curry with gravy - I just made this few minutes back and it is delicious. Feels traditional without garlic/onion. The only difference in our one is that we put little yogurt in the gravy - it adds to the taste a bit and creates this slightly yellow gravy. I added 2 spoons yogurt to it and heated through.

3. Poori - I just made these too and they came out very well. I make roti/paratha a lot but rolling these is a bit trickier. We traditonally use oil to prevent sticking otherwise, i think the flour will make a mess in the oil when fried. Also, found it better not to roll so thin otherwise they get too crisp and then cannot be stacked properly in paper lined foil. The top layer just crumbles up if too crisp.

I will comment as I make other recipes but I love the ones I have tried so far. Reminds me of my mom's cooking. I will make these for my dad and brother when they come visit me here in the UK in october. I am sure they will enjoy it too.

Payal

Payal

Thanks SO much for coming back and commenting on the recipes - it's really nice for us to hear about how people get on with them!

Also, it's good to see that you are taking the recipes as a starting point but showing willingness to adjust them according to your tastes - this is something that is very natural and is exactly why each family has slight variations in their recipes for the same dishes!

Mum (Mamta) is not online at the moment, she is travelling, but I'm sure she will be pleased to read your post when she gets back onto the site.

Kavita

Thanks for the reply Kavita. I also did send an email to the main email listed that i didnt want to post - since your mom's away, thats why she may not have gotten it yet.

I am looking forwad to trying more recipes....my cultural background is similar to yours I believe..my last name is Aggarwal and thats probably why I find the recipes so authentic!!

Hello Payal

What a beautiful name! I can almost hear the musical sound of payals!

I guess Agarwals and Guptas will have very similar cuisine. I am glad you like mine and are willing to adjust to suit your taste. That is what cooking is all about, isn't it?

I also put yoghurt in potato curry/rasedar aloo sometimes. It isi indeed tasty!

Yes, poories are easier to roll out with a thin layer of oil, rather than dry flour for dusting, but many people find it easier to roll this way, specially beginners. If you have a poori/taco press, making poories becomes much easier. Perhaps you can ask your dad to bring you a nice one from India :)!

If you like thin poories, the trick is not to fry them too long. Then they will not become hard/crumble. You should make poories very crisp only when you are serving them straight from your kadhai, as people eat. For stacking, do not cook them too crisp.

Hope your dad and brother love your cooking. I look forward to hearing from you.

Love

Mamta

Thank you for the lovely reply Mamta. I was looking forward to hearing from you. Yes, I loved the raseke aloo - only thing missing was mathri!! My dad found my mom's recipe and has been making it by that method with the same results so I am going to try that soon. Thats probably my favorite breakfast - mathri crumbled inside a bowl of hot rasedar aloo!!

I told my dad I made some of your recipes and he is now looking forward to eating them in october - I think my brother is more so - he doesnt do any cooking and is in college. I know he misses my mom's cooking very very much.

I cant wait to try some more dishes! I really love the site. These are the dishes I grew up eating. I am making a cookbook for my brother with all the recipes I have of my mom and some of my dad's recipes too - I will have to add some of your recipes too (with the credit given - I love the print option on these recipes) as they are our "family" style recipes.

Forgot to add, even the husband loved the rasedar aloo and poori even though he loves food with garlic/onion. Yes, you are right that since i made the poori before dinnertime and wanted to stack them, I couldnt make them crisp.

All this comes with practice!!

Thank you once again - your site is very much appreciated!

Payal

Forgot to mention the poori press...my mom used to have one but since we didnt use it much, i think we got rid of it:-( I do remember using it for pooris but my mom found it easier to just roll them out of habit! But i think it is a great item to have. Makes it easier if 1 person is rolling and frying themselves.

It is on my list of items to get from India in Feb (among other items!)....my dad went there last month and got me a kadai and proper tawa and non-stick pressure cooker:-) I am waiting for those goodies in October when they visit us. My dad and brother live in the US - I just moved to the UK 2 months ago from the US with my husband.

Payal

Hi Payal

Just to let you know that Poori press, kadhai, tawa and any other Indian gadgets that you can think of, are available in UK, if you are desperate. A bit expensive, but available! How about getting your husband to fry the poories, samosas etc., while you roll/press them out? My husband does it when asked. Most Indian men (not all) who have grown up in India, aren't trained to help out with house work. If you are planning to work/have a job here, it is a good idea to get him used to learning simple skills and sharing in house work, if he doesn't do them already. Most Indian men living in UK/USA etc. are generally quite good in the kitchen!

Enjoy your cooking and start your website. It is a good place to store your family recipes :-)!

Mamta

Hi Payal

There is no e-mail from you in my 'contact' mail box. Just emptied it!

Mamta

Yes, I do know these things are available here in the UK - at least more readily than in the US. The selection is better in India - too much selection at times though. I sent an email to this address: mamta@mamtaskitchen.com and it didnt come back so maybe it got lost somewhere in cyberspace!

Yes, it is much easier to have the husband help with frying - my dad did until i started helping out my mom. The worst part is that the oil becomes too hot if left standing for even an extra minute!

Thank you so much for your advice. I was just planning to make a cookbook for my brother but not on the internet....i have many original recipes written out by my mom which would lose the effect if scanned. I will just organize them in a binder sort of thing that he can add to if he pleases - planning it to be a wedding gift for him when he gets married someday. I appreciated the reply Mamta. Is there any particular recipe you are looking for that i can contribute if I have it?

Payal

Hello Payal

I am always looking for new recipes. If you have any special favourites and you see that they are not here on this site, I can always use them here, with your mum's name as the contributor of course.

Mamta

After going through your extensive list of recipes, I am not sure there is anything I can contribute! Maybe I can give an alternative way to making some recipe. I am looking into it. Thanks!

Payal