Thursday Delight - Boaz & Indian Food

I love my Thursdays with Boaz - yesterday we watched Shrek 3D. Of course Bo loved his "glasses" so much, he tried walking around in them...not a great idea.

I also had Indian food on the brain, wanting to make some very tasty looking treats from my newest cookbook...more later. Supper-making was definitely going to be a challenge though.

My daughter was going to come by with the baby, but needed to eat an early dinner because she was off to write an exam (she did fine, by the way), her husband was not quite sure about his ETA (shopping with his sister for an anniversary present for his parents), and my Honey, who was supposed to be home around 5:30 to get in his "kids fix", ended up having to work late.

All in all a very staggered meal. And let me preface by saying that although I love Indian food, I rarely make it. That's because I think it takes all day...and that's because when I do make it, I make a gazillion dishes. The truth is...most dishes are either very quick, last minute or long slow cooking that takes but a few minutes to prepare and then left alone, filling the house with exotic aromas.

These Palak Pakoras (hard to tell they're golf-sized balls from the photo) are the exception to the rule. The "batter" doesn't take long to throw together, but you have to deep fry them...no gasping, please. If you do that at medium high heat (360F/180C) they take about 5 minutes per batch (I can only do 4 at a time) and come out crispy, not greasy. So it took me about 45 minutes. My challenge was to do them before Bo arrived. Somehow exceedingly hot oil and a curious two year old don't mix well. That meant a very early start to the day.

This awesome Masala Shrimp & Avocado (my Honey's not a fan of avocados and he didn't even notice...just thought the dish, heavenly) took less than 5 minutes to saute after letting the peeled shrimp sit in their rub for about 15 minutes.

An old family favorite Turmeric Rice (very aromatic) is from one of my favorite Indian Cookbooks -Madhur Jaffrey's Illustrated Indian Cookery. It was easy to do between reading a bunch of new Thomas the Tank Engine books a friend gave us and him reading them to me.

And, because I never think I have enough food...I roasted some salmon fillets just dusted with a gorgeous red Tandoor masala powder. No recipe required...unfortunately...no photo either. But trust me, it was beautiful on the table beside that vivid yellow rice, light green shrimp and the dark green pakoras.

Oh...and did I mention that Boaz made the papadum. He was very good at pressing the right microwave buttons and letting me know when it stopped turning around on the plate.