Recipes worth their salt

“I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and say to myself "well, that's not going to happen”
~ Rita Rudner

One of the things I’m just not good at, but is required during the race, is to take your turn to cook for the crew. I can put stuff together and it’s usually edible but the thought of 20 people taking one bite of my cooking only to chuck it into the sea was depressing.

More so, when you read tales of sailors who are great cooks and can rig up a sumptuous meal in less time than it takes to hoist a sail. 

That’s when I thought of Sujit’s Sourdough baking sessions. He has this beautiful bungalow along the Mandovi, in Britona and has a select few come over Sundays to learn the art of baking sour dough with him. The bread turned out alright the day I baked with Sujit, but I still have to attempt it unsupervised. Team Roy, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Regular bread is easier though and I recently learned a delightful recipe. Delightful because it involves smacking the bread around to get the air out of it and ensure that its evenly stretched. Super stress buster and arm exercise too! 

Other cookery pokery has been largely focused on microwave recipes of my current favourite foods including a semolina and dry prawns dish that, I promise you, is divine. The other is a chicken stew that uses bottle gourd as a thickener (recipe in the article above). A cool way to adapt a not so interesting vegetable especially when it’s part of regular naval rations. The easiest though, and defying Murphy, the most delicious, is Goa Sausage curry. It’s an open (the packet) and shut (your mouth) case of Goan cuisine that even after a great meal is making my tummy rumble in response.

In fact, Goa sausage pulao is the Mhadei Signature dish, and was dinner last night, along with a generous serving of Urak. Here’s a peek at how it’s made: