Adhi Potoba

Following my wedding on my last trip, I decided to take my firang wife to a city that offers a little more of the India that is promised in travel books than what Pune can offer. And after an impromptu flight to Jaipur, we settled in a generic hotel, the name of which escapes me at the moment. It was a quaint little place and by quaint I mean management had absolutely no interest in managing the it. It was the kind that makes your local lodge look like a 5 star hotel. The restaurant part of the hotel consisted of 7 tables haphazardly huddled into a room attached to a kitchen. The food however was spectacular. They had some pretty good pakoras, the likes of which I have never had before. Their cauliflower pakoras were especially memorable. My most memorable moment in said restaurant, however, was when I asked for some sugar to go with my coffee. I discovered some ants in my sugar and summoned the waiter immediately. As I referred him the ants in my sugar he gave me a look that suggest...

There's no story to this dish. This is just a delicious dish my mom used to make. I just happened to make it the other day and thought I'd share. Ingredients 2 medium Potatoes cubed 2 large Brinjals (Eggplants) cubed 1 large Onion finely chopped 1 large Tomato finely chopped 1/2 cup Peanuts crushed 1 tsp Chili Powder 1 tsp Garam Masala 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp crushed Garlic 1/2 tsp Ginger paste 1/4 cup Olive Oil Salt to taste Method Heat oil in a pot and add garlic, ginger and onion. Sauté till onions are translucent and brown on the edges Add tomato and stir till it becomes a homogenous paste Add garam masala, turmeric, chili and stir Add potatoes and 1cup water Allow to boil till potatoes are cooked Add eggplant and boil till most of the water evapourates leaving a pasty sauce Add ground peanuts and keep stirring for 5 min Garnish with chopped cilantro Serve with Rice Bhakari or Naan This recipe is for Nupur's RCI June: Maharashtrian Cuisine!