Mango Memories

Okay, here's the mango ice cream recipe that Karen had asked for. My children love this recipe, and as you'll see, it's amazingly easy.
Karen mentioned that she owns a mango farm, so I'm going to give you two versions of this recipe.
Take a half gallon of your favorite vanilla ice cream and leave it out on the kitchen counter until it softens.
Take six ripe mangoes, peel, seed, chop, and blend. When the mangoes are pureed, fold them into the ice cream. Pour into a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid (such as a Tupperware container) and freeze. It takes about 3 hours to freeze again.
Or, if you are in a city with an Indian grocery, buy a large can of mango pulp. Fold the pulp into the softened ice cream, and freeze as described above. (This is what I do, except in mango season).
You can serve this with a topping of chopped mangoes.
Did you know, there's supposed to be about a thousand varieties of mangoes that grow in India?

Mangoes remind me of my grandfather's home in our ancestral village, where he had a small grove of trees behind the house. In mango season, we were allowed to climb the trees and pick our own mangoes. Unfortunately, as a city-child who only visited on holidays, I was very bad at climbing trees and was forced to depend on my cousins' capricious goodwill for my mangoes. (Incidentally, they almost drowned me in the pond behind our house once, but that's another story.)

My mother claims she saw a ghost in the mango orchard one time, a woman who was picking mangoes after a storm, and who disappeared when my mother approached her. After I heard the story, I wished and wished I would see a ghost, too, but none appeared to me. I had to be satisfied with putting one into my novel, Sister of My Heart.

When I first came to this country, I was very homesick for India, for the tastes and smells of home. I was living in the Midwest then,  in a smallish town. Indian foods were rare. One day I remember walking into a grocery, and there was a pile of mangoes. They cost $3 each, which at that time, for a poor hourly-wage student like I was, was exorbitant. I bought one anyway.  I was so looking forward to eating it. But it turned out to be really sour.

One more mango story.  Early in our marriage, my husband Murthy and I went to Hawaii on vacation. On our last day, we came across a mango tree on a public road. It was full of mangoes, and many ripe ones had fallen to the ground. I picked up six of them to bring home. But at the airport I was told I couldn't carry any fruit back to the mainland. Murthy was ready to throw them away, but I refused. I sat there by the customs checkpoint and ate all six mangoes while the customs officers stared and Murthy pretended he didn't know who I was.

I hope you'll share some of your food memories with me.

Cauliflower-Cumin Curry or, a Little of this and a Lot of that

So Karen asked for a recipe, and here's one.

 I should confess up front that I'm not a gourmet cook, not even close. My long-suffering family will vouch to that. When my two boys were little, I felt ambitious and American one Thanksgiving and made mashed potatoes from scratch. Took me hours.  Afterwards, the boys asked me, very politely, Mom, from next time may we please have the kind from the box? (Okay, so mine were a little lumpy).
Once I got over my smarting ego, that was just fine with me!

Anyway, this cauliflower curry is my mother's recipe--adapted a bit for my spend-least-time-in-the-kitchen lifestyle.
I added the measurements--my mother always said, "add a little of this," or, " put in a lot of that." I hope you'll enjoy.
I find cauliflowers kind of amazing. When I was a child, my grandfather, who used to live in a little village in India, would take me for a walk along some vegetable fields he owned.  I still remember seeing the cauliflowers pushing out of their green sleeves like white fists.

Folks, please feel free to add YOUR favorite recipes to this blog. Of any ethnicity.

It would be especially fun to see recipes for dishes that are mentioned in my books.

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower head, cut into pieces
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1bell pepper, chopped (what we call capsicum in India--I use green or orange or red, whatever's available)
2 large  tomatoes, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 inch garlic, grated
4 Tablesp. vegetable oil--you can use less, but I warn you it won't taste as good. My mother uses 6 T, which is probably a bit much but ends up very yummy (I use canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (this is optional)
1 tsp whole cumin
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, what we call green chilies (more if you're feeling adventurous) If you want it hotter, you can chop it up. If not, leave it whole & remove before eating. My mother puts in 3 chilies. I use 2 big jalapenos, but I leave them whole because the boys don't like it too hot.
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
(1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder) this is optional, if you want a more spicy taste. I sometimes omit it.
salt to taste
my mother adds a 1/2 tsp of sugar, because in Bengal, where I come from, people like that extra touch of sweetness.
chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) for garnish, optional

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil, add the whole cumin, turn the heat to medium. As soon as the cumin spatters, add the chopped garlic, then the onion. Let cook, stirring, until golden. Add the ginger &  the green chilies. My mother adds the sugar now.
After 1 minute, add the bell pepper. Let cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, let cook until a little mashed (about 2 minutes). Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander powders. Let cook on low heat about 5 minutes. You should smell the fragrance.
Add the cauliflower. If the peas are fresh, add them now. Saute for a few minutes--I like the cauliflower to brown just a little--then add salt, turn to low, cover and let cook 6 or 7 minutes, or until cauliflower is a little soft.(Right around now, I get bored, so I use this time to do my bends, stretches & standing yoga postures)
 If using frozen peas, add now. After that, uncover & cook so the liquid dries up. About 10 minutes, I'd guess. (More bend and stretch time).
As soon as the cauliflower is cooked enough, take it off the stove so it won't turn mushy. Put it in a serving dish. If you're going to reheat it in the microwave before serving, add the coriander leaf garnish only after it's been reheated.
Good with basmati rice, jasmine rice, brown rice (which I use--but not for parties because the more traditional eaters don't care for brown rice), basmati brown rice (a nice but pricey best-of-both-worlds option). Or naan or parathas.(My boys love naan & parathas--you can get some very nice frozen varieties in the Indian stores nowadays. NOT low-calorie, though!)
Add a dal or lentil dish on the side. And yogurt.
(I'm vegetarian, but you could add to your dinner a chicken dish).
End with mango ice cream, if you're feeling decadent. I have a really good recipe--it's so easy you won't believe it! Usually my younger son makes it for us. Let me know if you want it.