Happiness is homemade

It's said that happiness is homemade and that's exactly how my love for food grew. I learnt everything I had to learn about cooking because of my mother.  She has always been an amazing cook and  made some of the best dishes I've had. But my fascination towards food wasn't just for its flavour. It was about the science behind it, the wisdom our ancestors added to each dish and  the story that followed its origin.

It was always a dream of mine to start a  restaurant to restore these lost recipes that have been passed on through generations. I worked as a teacher for a long time before I made that dream come true with my new venture 'Maia'. Even when I had a full-time job, I used to bake loaves of bread and cakes. This practice soon led  me to take orders  as well.  

My motivation to create recipes is truly based on my love and passion for food.  I also believe in empowering women and food is one of the powerful methods to do that.

So with 'Maia', we have invited mothers and grandmothers to share traditional recipes. Most of them are  recipes that many of us have forgotten and have a great story to tell.  

'Farali pattie' is one of the dishes that I am fond of  as it brings back so many memories of my childhood. It's a traditional Gujarati dish that my grandmother made when we visited her during holidays.

My family, including aunts, uncles and cousins, would gather around in the community kitchen and make this dish together. As we are Jains, so the original recipe was made with raw bananas. That has eventually been modified over the years. However, the recipe was then passed on to my mother and now me.  

My family and kids  love relishing it. It's a recipe that's not made at homes anymore  - you might find them only in smaller lanes in Mumbai. It's a fun recipe that one can make at home and maybe even create a tradition of your own."

Ingredients:

Potato, 500 gmSabudana, 40 gmGreen chillies, 10 gmCoconut grated, 60 gmPomegranate, 50 gmGinger, 20 gmGaram masala, 2.5 gmChai masala, 2.5 gmCoriander, 45 gmSalt, 20 gmTamarind chutney, 50 gmBread crumbs / bread, 50 gmRice flour, 50 gmLemon, 35 gmOil, 150 to 180 ml, for frying

Method:

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Peel, cool and keep  it aside.

Mash and combine  with half the chopped chillies, half the ginger, boiled sago, bread crumbs and rice flour. Season  with garam masala.

Chop the coriander and combine with pomegranate, grated coconut, chopped green chillies, chopped ginger, salt, lemon juice and chai masala.

Create roundels of the potato mash and stuff with coriander and pomegranate mixture.

Deep fry it till golden brown.

Combine the remaining potato with the tamarind chutney and thin down with a little water.

(As told to Anila Kurian)