VCC 346 - Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stew

We have received quite a few very traditonal Parsee recipes today perfected and kindly contributed by Meher Shroff to the group cookbook project 'You Can Cook' for 'Feed a Hungry Child' campaign.

In Meher's own words, "Those unfamiliar with the term Parsees, we are a miniscule community mostly residing in Western India and all over the globe here there and everywhere. Most Mumbaites know us a fun loving community "khao piyo mauj manao" with special accent on the "khao and piyo". In fact as I just read somewhere "The fun of being a Parsee lies also in the celebratory nature of our festivals, and the richness of our cuisine". Most non Parsees angle for invitations to Parsee weddings only for the "Lagan nu Bhonu" the special spread of dinner traditionally eaten off banana leaves. I have tried to include a few of the recipes served at our weddings. I love traditional cooking, but I tried to find recipes which had definitive amounts in ingredients, becos I just "eye ball" ingredients when I cook!! Hope you like these recipes as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you and hope you are able to incroporate some of them in your book. In the language of my scriptures "Ushta Te" - may much happiness be unto you."

So here is Meher's first Parsee recipe,

Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stew Recipe

Ingredients:
100 gms carrots
4 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
100 gm green peas
2 tomatoes
2 large onions
Kothmir
5 green chillies
1 tsp each Haldi & Chillie pwd
Some currants and kajoo & dried apricots
Vinegar and sugar to taste

Method:
1. Cube the carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes and fry.
2. Brown chopped onions.
3. To the onions, add chpd tomatoes, kothmir, green chillies, haldi and chilly pwd.. Fry well till flavours come out.
4. Add fried veggies. Mix and fry well.
5. Add v little water and cook till veggies are done.
6. Add vinegar and sugar. Add currants kajoo and apricots. The stew is ready.

[vkn]Folks - would you like to volunteer and taste-test any of these recipes and send us a report along with its picture. Here is a questionnaire kindly prepared by Rushina for the volunteering taste-testers of the group book project 'You Can Cook' for 'Feed a Hungry Child' campaign.

- Which recipe(s) did you make?
- Were the instructions clear?
- Did you have to make any changes or adjustments to either the instructions or the ingredients (examples: more or less water? Seasoning, Spicing, cooking times, Were the amounts of ingredients correct? etc.) Please list all changes you would suggest.
- Did the recipe perform as described? What suggestions do you have to improve it? (Ex: were the flavors balanced? Did you or would you change anything to improve it? Etc.) Please list the same.
- How did your tasters respond to it? Please list comments.
- How would you rate the ease or difficulty of this recipe and would you be inclined to make it again? IF no – why?
- How would you like to be listed in the acknowledgments?

Over to you.

VCC: VCC Q4-2006: FAHC: FAHC-campaign