Party Patties

It's Suze's birthday today!! She's having cocktails and canape party. I'm not bringing bellinis or blinis but using the fact that I'm back in north west London as a great excuse to learn something else. So the guests will get patties. I grew up eating kheema patties, but today I wanted to learn to make green chutney too, so we're having green chut
ney patties.

So PaPa has written me a shopping list:

Dhania - lots

Dhania whole

Jeera whole - both ground and mixed together

Green Chillies

Coconut Cream

Waxy potatoes

Goor (I could have used sugar)

so first the filling and the very important Recipe for Green Chutney

first I washed the 5 bunches fresh dhania by submerging them in a sink of salty water for five minutes and then rinsing them. PaPa tells me this is how they do it in hotels when they have lots of leafy things to wash. All the mud and bugs had separated on the bottom.

We chopped the dhania and began to whizz it in the 30 year old magi-mix.

added to the whizzing dhania was a good heaped teaspoon of ginger and of garlic. liberal shaking of salt and a few gluts of lemon juice. 5 chillies, a tablespoon of dhania/jeera powder freshly ground and some sugar (we used goor which we shouldn't have because it's too rocky)

The whizzing continued for some time, as it began to decrease in size we also added a whole packet of creamed coconut (that had been warmed in the microwave to make it loose)

More whizzing. The magi-mix, keeps jumping and making odd noises. probably because ofa stone because I didn't wash the dhania properly or the maybe goor... there was a bit too much mess and lots of shouting. "eh! I'm fed up!!"

His back hurts now so we're taking a break. MKB is washing up and we'll have some tea before we make the patties.

Finally Making the Patties

The potato's were boiled skin on and left to cool a little then carefully hand peeled, leaving as much as the waxiness on them as possible and then mashed.

Now the complicated bit.

• A small spoon of mash potato was rolled between two hands to a ball.
• The ball is then patted in a circular motion to make a disc with thiner edges.
• In the center of the disc the filling is added.
• In a circular motion the disc is stroked from underneath so it rises round the filling, making another ball.
• Done till the ball closes and then patted flat again

Easier to do once you've seen it so here....

Once we made a few they were ready to fry.

In a bowl, some eggs were whisked a little and a tiny bit of garlic and a titch of chili powder went in. in another bowl we put some breadcrumbs.

The pan got a good cm of sunflower oil (this is not a healthy snack)

The circles of filled potato are then dabbed in breadcrubs, dipped in the egg and carefully placed in the frying pan ...

When you can see the egg is turning brown on the edges, they are ready to turn.

So PaPa turned the first lot, you pick them up, use one finger in the center as a pivot, then slide it as far back as possible lowering the pattie back in. I turned the second pan full.

Unfortunately I didn't quite have the technique, "your jerking too much" On the third Pattie I splashed hot oil on my hand. I screamed. PaPa screamed back, "Well you didn't do it how I showed you!"

"well you didn't correct me!"

"well you won't do it like that again"

He's right. I turned them properly the next time.

I've put another video so you can do it right.

Thats it! the patties wait too cool a little I have a quick shower and get ready to go. I'll be very late.

How fish should be

I didn't go back home today. I cooked dinner in a far more usual way, calling PaPa just before I start, to make sure I'm doing it right. I was about to make the most simple, but also the most elegant fish to go with some dar. I thought I'd add it to the blog because it is so tasty and I should do it more often.

I had been to the dentist today. As I was still in some pain and my mouth was only just coming back to life I decided I wanted to eat the ultimate comfort food. Dhan Dar.

How to make Dhan Dar is going to have to wait for another post because tonight's dar was pulled out of the freezer (made by MKB who I had previously stolen it from) We normally have some kind of side dish when we have Dhan dar, if we're lucky dad makes prawn patio, but I like the fish just as much and this method is a house staple. So I pulled two thalapia fillets out the freezer too and defrosted them in water.

This dish can be made with any fish, but I like it with gentle white fish. Thalapia is perfect, it's a bit milky like bass or mullet and doesn't fall apart (actually I think it's quite like Bumla) AND I think it's on the sustainable fish to eat list too.

I rubbed on it a crushed half inch of ginger and a pressed clove of garlic.Then added chili powder and haldi, not too much, it was only about quarter of a teaspoon each. I rubbed the mixture all over the fish with the back of the teaspoon and a tiny drop of oil and sprinkle of salt to help it all spread around.

I had already called PaPa to tell him what I was up to. Mostly because not having a grill in Elephant I was undecided as to weather to oven bake or fry the fish. He recommended frying, suggested a dusting of flour to give it a little crust and told me a medium flame would be enough, 'Not too much heat or the flour will burn, nicely fry it. Bus'

I waited till R got home then put some rice on for him and heated the dar. The fish didn't take long to fry, I put a tiny bit more oil in the pan and then gave the fish about 2 minutes on one side, as the colour changed over the sides I turned them and gave another minute on the second side.


I always eat the fish before I start on the dar, as a kind of starter. In fact I had already eaten mine by the time R sat down and took the photo for me.

Goan Fish Curry

So I came home today and could smell something was up before I opened the door... curry was already cooking!

I had phoned yesterday and warned him not to start cooking until I got home but when I moaned he said... "but baba you know how to do this, you've done it before, if you want to bother you'll make it" he's right, but I don't bother incase I get it wrong, so I still insisted on him recapping what he'd done. So I'm writing up anyway and the first post is a bit of a cheat.

It was GOA-CURRY

It's a glossy orange colour really.

So already one medium onion had been finely chopped. PaPa then puts it in the microwave to soften.

He would have added about 4 good tablespoons of freshly ground gira (cumin), a little ground dhania (coriander) and about 6 Kashmiri chillies soaked for about 30 min in malt vinegar (only enough to cover them)

BUT, actually today he just used 4 tablespoons of an old packet of 'goan fish curry powder' made in Goa. It was 100% spices. No preservatives, no flour at least. the ingredients list just said (gira, chillie, spices!)

He then added ginger and garlic. 1 spoon each.
1 whole packet of coconut cream (soften this in the microwave too.)

Half a can of peeled tomatoes.
Whizz the whole lot with a hand blender.

Then gently fry this in 'not too much' cooking oil (that's not olive, groundnut or sunflower instead) a low flame, till the oiliness of the coconut starts to separate a little, 'it comes on top'

Swish out the whizz-jug with some water and add boiling water. Lots.

Now boil. PaPa threw in some curry patta (curry leaves). While I'm writing this the curries boiling. It's been at least an hour, but probably nearly 90 min. If the masala has been finely ground you can get away with less boiling but if you have ground fresh gira keep boiling so it doesn't stay in your mouth when you eat it. The curry had thickened. This all happened quite quickly in the last 10 minutes though.

In the last 30 minutes of boiling it's time to start balancing...
Depending on the fish your using maybe add some salt. He did.
For Khatas (sour) add: balsamic vinegar - we did this time or: tamarind or coccum.
We could have added red peppers or bhindi ( I love bhindi in goa curry) but we didn't have any.

Then the filleted smoked haddock was cut in chunks and dropped in. Any firm white fish will do. We often put coley, or big cleaned prawns.

After getting a little annoyed with my questions and typing papa reminds me "baba, finally, the truth is in the eating" reminding me the important part is to try and balance to taste.

We ate the fish curry with white rice and come chunky chopped cucumber that had been salt and peppered.

Here's PaPa dead grumpy from all the fuss.

I'm finishing this off now and heading back across LDN.

Everyone who's ever eaten my dad's cooking says its amazing. It is. We're Parsi's and our food is very important to us. PaPa doesn't just cook 'parsi bhonu' he can pretty much make anything he puts his mind to. It's years of eating, reading and experimenting, shouting in the kitchen and showing off to guests. My mum, MKB (mother knows best) doesn't really enjoy cooking but she makes the best dal, as all mum's do.

I've always hung around the kitchen, getting in the way, stealing scraps and checking for salt. I can make many meals I'm very happy to eat and serve, but they're mostly western and can be learned in any celebrity chef's book. I can only make a few of the dishes I've grown up on, loved the most and make me who I am. If I don't go home, pay attention and learn some dishes I'm going to get it.

So here it is: A way of me recording what I learn without loosing it and perhaps sharing some of the best Indian and parsi food in the world (as there are only 80,000 of us I think the odds on that statement being correct are quiet high)