Kurma

My chili plants are done for the season. After knocking themselves out all summer and autumn, our cold Sydney winter has wound down their production to practically zero. I picked the remaining fruits over the previous week.

Some I dried slowly in the oven, some I preserved in homemade chili oil, and the rest on the plate are here for me to look at one last time before they go the way of all good chilies. (sob)

I have a good stock of seeds, and I may try pruning the chili plants to see if they grow back next spring. Hasta la vista, mi frutas!

Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0] Tearful Farewell...

(Hunger-inducing photo courtesy of herestheveg.blogspot.com)

Goura Hari from Czech Republic writes:

"I am your fan since I was a small boy. As soon as I grew up a little I started using your cookbooks. I was trying to make those paneer cheese "steaks" and you write there to use butter to pan-fry them. But somehow the butter always burns. What am I doing wrong? If I lower the heat it does pretty much nothing. It does not really fry."

My reply:

I am very happy to hear of your growing up with my cookbooks. I started work on my first cookbook 20 years ago, so next year, 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of Great Vegetarian Dishes.

The solution to your problem is simple. I did not recommend butter because butter burns when you try to fry with it. I suggested clarified butter (ghee), which has a very high smoking point, or a top quality olive oil. That will solve the burning butter scenario. Hope this helps.

Discuss (1 response) Comment [1] Trackback [0] Time to Czech the Oil

This is the first in a series of excerpts from my various TV shows over the years.

Let's start with my little segment from The Cook & The Chef on ABC1, broadcast a few months ago here in Australia. If you're reading this on my Facebook page, and the link doesn't work, you may need to return to my blog page and follow the link from there.

Discuss (2 responses) Comment [2] Trackback [0] Cooking with Kurma on TV: 1: The Cook & The Chef