Flavors of India & Africa: More than 100 Tasty family recipes

328 Pages·2014·9.19 MB·English

by  Gulamani

Copyright © 2014 Khatoon Gulamani [email protected]
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal
Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this
book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written
permission from the author.
All possible care has been taken in the preparation of this cookbook. However, the recipes in this book are
provided for general illustration purpose only. Individual needs vary and these recipes may not be suitable
for everyone. This book is not intended to provide specific dietary recommendations or be a substitute for
medical advice from qualified health care professionals. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be held
liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental or consequential damages
caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained herein.
ISBN 978-1499 1327 00
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2014907487
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Fatmakhanu Merali Rawji & Khatijabai Abdulsultan Gulamani
My culinary mentors who inspired me
both in the kitchen and in life.
Acknowledgement My deep appreciation to the
following who have helped in the creation of this
book.
My husband Gulamhussein for his unflinching support and encouragement over
the years.
Family and friends in USA, Canada, England and East Africa who have been
very supportive and have been enthusiastically awaiting the completion of this
cookbook.
New York Senior Center where I took classes in creative writing in 2001 that
firmly planted the idea in my mind about writing this cookbook.
In addition, the following professionals have been of tremendous help in the
actual preparation of the book: Chantelle Leighton (USA) - Graphic Design
Sultana Parvin (Bangladesh)- Editing
Balaji Selvam (India) - Layout
Introduction
I grew up in Tanzania, East Africa where my father had immigrated to from his
birthplace in Raval, a small village in the State of Gujarat, India. He met my
mother and settled in Dar es salaam and I was one of the nine surviving siblings.
I was born in 1932 at a time when Tanzania was under the British rule and I
witnessed its many struggles as it gained independence in 1961. Tanzania is well
known for its world-class game parks, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Tanzanite stone
as well as the Spice Island of Zanzibar. The country has some of the friendliest
and hospitable people on the planet. It is a great place to visit for its sheer
breathtaking natural beauty. And if you visit Tanzania, try out the indigenously
prepared ugali & maharage, mandazi, mkate mimina, mbaazi, vipopo - all
included in this book.
As part of a large family in the 1940s, cooking was not an optional activity in the
family. I was one of the older daughters and had the responsibility of helping my
father in the store after school and my mother in the kitchen where I acquired my
initial cooking skills.
Both my parents worked very hard to raise their kids and to educate them. They
also instilled in me the passion for cooking and serving since my childhood. I
helped my mother in the kitchen benefiting from her extensive repertoire of
recipes and observing her make those exceptional Goor Paak. We did not have
an electric cooker, so all the family cooking was done on log fires and charcoal
stoves. We had a spacious backyard where most of the cooking activities took
place. I remember burning myself while frying some sweet snacks on log fire.
The snacks fell from the slotted spoon back into the large wok, splashing hot oil
everywhere. I had some serious burns from this incident which took a long time
to heal. This did not deter me from continuing to help my mom in the kitchen
and also made me aware of my own passion for cooking.
Most of the cooking in the family was of Indian style with some indigenous
dishes as well. And there was an inevitable fusion in the process that happened
over the years. After my marriage in 1954, I was fortunate that my mother-in-
law was also a great cook (her Goor Thepla were unbeatable) and I picked some
great recipes from her.
great recipes from her.
We immigrated to the USA in 1999 and I have continued to enjoy cooking here
and of course benefited from the vast talent and resources available through
cookbooks and TV cooking shows. I have adapted some recipes like Murbo to
the North American taste.
The motivation for writing this family style cookbook which has been my life-
long ambition has been two-fold. First, I often get requests for recipes of the
dishes I cook from friends and family. Something in a book form, I thought,
would be generally helpful to those looking for family style East African &
Indian fusion recipes. Secondly, I hope the book will be especially helpful to our
younger generation by providing easy to follow recipes so they can also enjoy
traditional cooking in today's fast paced world.
So let's begin this culinary journey. I hope you enjoy and love the food. Don't be
afraid to experiment with the recipes and add your own twist to them.
Remember, careful with that hot oil please!
"One of the very
best things about
life is the way we
must regularly stop
whatever it is we are
doing and devote our
attention to eating."
- Luciano Pavarotti (Italian
Operatic Tenor 1935-2007)
CONTENTS
APPETIZERS & SAVORY SNACKS
Vegetable Samosas
Meat Cutlets
Kebabs
Fish Potato Cutlets
Chicken Wings
Meat & Potato Kebabs
Potato Meat Patties
Dhebra (Millet Snack)
Dhokra (Steamed Besan Snack)
Pakora (Besan Fritters)
Daal Bhajia
(Black-Eye Lentil Fritters)
Moong Wada
(Moong Bean Fritters)
Meat Samosas
Aaloo Wada
(Spicy Potato Balls)
Chicken Cabbage Rolls
Spicy Pooris
Spicy Crepes
Vegetable Patties
Kheema Paratha
Puff Pooris
Roti Wraps
Fried Yuca
Savory Crepes
Khaman Dhokra
ENTRÉES
Chicken Pulav
Chicken Biriyani