I came back from work this evening to find my older son enjoying an early dinner of mushroom tortellini, Arabic sausages and bhindi subzi, all mixed together in a big bowl ! And here, I spend so much of my time planning out menus:)

However, I am not surprised at his enjoyment of these fusion flavors because I am very similar. Well, I wouldn’t like to eat such a radical, fusion platter as he was having, but I can happily do a toned down version- y’know, the usual pasta masala or the Bombay burrito. My husband, on the other hand, dislikes fusion. His dinner today was bhindi subzi, rajma and rice- well matched and tasty. (Well, the rice was brown, jasmine rice which didn’t quite delight him….)

My Pasta Masala recipe:

Heat some oil and add in half tsp of cumin seeds. When they begin to sizzle, throw in  lots of chopped garlic and green chillies. A minute or so later, mix in a tbsp or two of tomato paste thinned with a little water. After another minute of cooking the garlic, chillies and the tomato paste together, add any combination of vegetables you like- beans, carrots, peas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bell peppers of all colors etc.  Stirfry for a few minutes and throw in a half can of garbanzo beans (chanas)- optional. Season with salt, a pinch of turmeric, half tsp of cumin powder, red chilli powder and toss it all up with boiled pasta. Squeeze some lemon and top up with chopped, fresh green coriander. Hot, hot and very good!

Simple bhindi (okra) subzi (curry) recipe:

Heat some oil and sizzle a half tsp of cumin seeds. Add lots of chopped onions (almost equal quantity as the diced bhindi), and a few diced green chillies. Fry till the onions are very lightly browned and add in the diced bhindi. Fry on a medium high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes till the bhindi begins to soften. Season with salt, red chilli powder and a tsp or more of amchoor or mango powder. Cook till the bhindi is well done and all the flavors are mixed. My family loves bhindi cooked this way, especially with ‘yellow’ dal!