A quick and easy recipe for people in a hurry.

15-Minute-Cumin-Potatoes – Jeeraloo, are an office favourite at Dhiraj’s work-place. The recipe from start to finish takes 15 minutes or less and is very easy to make.

Dhiraj Srivastav resides in Mumbai away from his parents and other members of his joint-family. Over a period of time he has developed tasty Vegetarian recipes that take 15 minutes or less to cook. The girls in the office including yours truly, now await Dhiraj’s daily lunch box.

Today we had his specially made 15-Minute-Cumin-Potatoes — Jeeraloo (in Hindi) and 5-grain purees, soft, tasty yum purees to go with the potatoes.

The 15-Minute-Cumin-Potatoes – Jeeraloo is best with purees but taste delicious with any unleavened bread — Roti, Chapatti, Tortilla, Phulka, Dhebras.

INGREDIENTS:

250 gms. Potatoes (skinned, diced and then boiled);

2 tablespoons ghee or oil (Ghee preferred);

1” inch piece of Ginger root, peeled and cut fine;

1 teaspoon cumin seeds;

2 small onions, chopped;

2 small tomatoes, chopped with skin and seeds;

1/8^th teaspoon turmeric (just a little on the tip of a teaspoon);

½ teaspoon chili powder or to your taste;

1 teaspoon Dry Mango Powder (Amchur)

salt to taste.

Three sprigs of fresh coriander, (remove leaves and chop them).

Method:

Heat the ghee on a high flame taking care not to let it smoke;

Add the cumin seeds (Jeera),

When the seeds begin to splutter:

Add the green chilies and Ginger,

Fry for a second or two,

Add the chopped onions,

Fry till golden brown,

Add chop tomatoes, Turmeric and chili powders,

Fry for until the tomato softens, mash the mixture while frying,

Add dry mango powder (Amchur) and salt,

Stir for a second or two,

Lastly add the boiled and diced potatoes,

Stir till potatoes are well coated with the fried mixture,

Add fresh coriander,

Mix,

Cover and cook for about 2 ½ to 3 minutes; taking care that the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan or burn,

Take off the heat.

The potatoes are ready to pack for your office lunch.

Fajeto in Gujarati means a ‘mortification/discomfiture/embarrassment/humiliation/awkwardness’, a ‘faux pas/gauche-ness’ or something that ‘leaves one red in the face’; and thereby hangs a pretty tale.

Legend tells us that a family was resting late on a summer afternoon, after a large and sumptuous meal of ‘puris and Aamras’ (Indian fried bread with mango juice and pulp flavoured with condiments.).

Now, at the time of this tale in India, the lady of the house would soften the whole mangoes, and ease the pulp and juice out with her hands through the hole formed by removal of the stem.

This caused the seed and a fair part of the mango pulp to remain within the skin and stuck around seed. This remainder was discarded and fed to the cows in the evening.

So, back to our lady of the tale. While the family snored through its afternoon nap, who should arrive, but a large party of their daughter’s in-laws. Very important, very important guests, indeed! What were the parents to do? It was just past lunch time, so, no food and in the mango season too! It becomes imperative for the family to serve a lunch, mangoes included.

The clever lady washed clean the seeds and skin of the mango in a vessel of water; added some curds to this flavoured water, condiment, spices and voila! A delicious mango curry was born. This was Fajeto. She cooked some Khichri [a quick and easy dish mix of rice and dal boiled with salt and turmeric powder (http://www.mumbaiblogg.com/food/recipes/khichri/ )] to go with the mango curry and literally, hey presto! One of the most delicious combinations of Parsi-Zoroastrian cuisine was perpetuated –Khichri and Fajeto. To this day, I doubt if there is a better combination of foods.

I could not swear to the authenticity of the tale; but I promise the Fajeto curry is incomparable in taste and texture.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup pulp of ripe mangoes;

1 Cup curds (may be replaced with plain yogurt where curds not available);

1 tbsp gram flour;

3 green chilies;

10 curry leaves;

1 inch piece of peeled ginger minced;

½ teaspoon turmeric (Haldi) powder;

1 tbsp jaggery;

Salt to taste;

1 tbsp ghee;

2 tsp cumin seeds;

½ tsp mustard seeds;

2 dry Red Chilies;

2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves.

METHOD:

Mix the curd with 3 cups of water to make a smooth liquid of pouring consistency, Add the gram flour

1 inch piece of peeled ginger minced, ½ teaspoon turmeric (Haldi) powder to this liquid,

Heat on medium fire for about 10 minutes,

Stirring gently but continuously.

Stirring helps to achieve a proper smooth texture ensuring that the curds and water do not separate nor do the curds curdle further because of overheating.

In a separate vessel, heat the ghee,

When hot but not smoking, add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds,

When the seeds begin to splutter, add the Red chilies, the green chilies and the curry leaves. (Please take care when frying the chilies, these are likely to burst and burn the hands and face. The smartest thing to do is to immediately cover the frying vessel after introducing the chilies in it take the vessel off the fire. The chilies will fry in the hot oil off the stove.)

Pour the curd and water mix slowly into the tempering of the seeds, chili and leaves in ghee.

Equally slowly introduce the mango pulp into the tempered curd mix stirring gently but constantly to ensure a smooth curry.

Sprinkle finely cut fresh coriander leaves,

Stir constantly but gently and further cook the curry on medium to low fire for about 10 minutes. (Please watch out for curdling).

If the curry appears to be curdling, immediately take it off the fire.

DO NO LET THE CURRY BOIL AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECIPE.

Serve as a delicious soup of with Khichri (recipe at http://www.mumbaiblogg.com/food/recipes/khichri/) or with Savoury Dhebras or rice flour chapattis.

Dhebras in Gujarati literally mean ‘lumps or rough thick chunks’.

Dhebras are unleavened bread therefore, which are rolled thick; unlike the chapatti or roti and cooked on a griddle.

You have probably tried the Sweet Dhebras, which Dhebras are made purely of wheat, uni-grained bread. The Savoury Dhebras uses more than one grain and is quite different in its preparation, taste and use. The Savoury Dhebras can is eaten at any meal or as a snack. It makes excellent ‘travel food’; tasty, filling and long shelf-life.

Try it with the Ripe Mango Curry (Fajeto), or good old Buttermilk or any Lassi, tea or coffee or other beverage or cooked meat or vegetable. The Savoury Dhebras, Doesn’t do too well with Salads, but goes well with Soups especially soups with a stronger flavour like a Tomato soup or Mulligatawny.

For 6 Savoury Dhebras:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup gram flour (Channa ka Atta/ Chick pea Flour);

1 cup Pearl millet flour (Bajra ka Atta);

1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped fine;

6 green chilies, chopped fine;

2 cloves garlic;

1 inch piece ginger;

1 tbsp Sesame seeds (Til) OPTIONAL;

Salt and ground Black Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon ghee or oil or as needed (Ghee gives it a distinct and traditionally accepted flavour.).

METHOD:

Sieve together the Gram flour, Millet flour, and salt.

Peel and grind the ginger and garlic together into a smooth paste.

Now With water, knead the flour into soft fairly pliable dough.

Do not add Ghee to the dough

Add:  finely chopped fresh green coriander and Chilies, ginger-garlic paste, ground black pepper, Sesame (if using) and knead further.

Roll out into 6” roundels about 1/8^th of an inch / 0.3 cms/3 mm Thick.

Heat a griddle (preferably made of iron),

Brush ghee on both sides of the Savoury Dhebras,

Cook the Savoury Dhebras one at a time on the hot griddle on a medium flame,

Till the one side is brown,

Flip the Savoury Dhebras to cook on the other side equally brown,

Flip once again, and remove within 5 seconds.

Your Savoury Dhebras is ready to eat.

As a VARIATION and a more pungent version, one may replace the green chilies and the ginger-garlic paste with a paste of garlic, dry red chilies

pungent

and salt. In this case adjust the amount of salt added to the dough.

OR

For a more mellow taste, replace the green chillies with coarsely (very roughly) ground Cumin or Coriander Seeds or even whole Cumin or Coriander Seeds.