tastyDeLites

Recipes:  Naan, Raita, Shrimp Curry w/ Basmati Rice, “Semolina” Pudding

I won’t go into the ingredients for each of these recipes, but everything is homemade.

Naan: It was my first attempt at making any kind of bread.  I made it the night before which was a good idea.  It came out too thick and I don’t think the consistency was right.  It was edible, just not Naan.  I realized that although the recipe is simple, making bread is pretty complicated due to the steps involved (kneading, letting it rise, rolling it out, etc).   It might not be worthwhile in the future vs. purchasing Naan from the store.

Raita: The raita was pretty simple (yogurt, cucumber, some spices).  I didn’t have a grater for the cucumber so I just chopped it- in the future I would grate it because cucumber pieces are not my favorite.

Shrimp Curry w/ Basmati Rice: This was also my first attempt at making any kind of shrimp dish, and only my second attempt at an Indian entree which required me to scavenge for different ingredients.  I ended up with a mix of things from the Stop and Shop and an online Indian grocery store.  I was dreading peeling the frozen raw shrimp and even tried to do it wearing rubber gloves, which didn’t work so I manned up and just did it bare-handed.  Even though it took me longer than expected to cook (because of the prep of the different ingredients and veggies), it actually came out good!  Spicy but not too spicy.  It smelled tasty and my boyfriend even got seconds, which is the ultimate compliment.

“Semolina” Pudding: I put semolina in quotes because I didn’t actually use Semolina.  I didn’t know what it was and couldn’t find it in the grocery store.  I looked it up online and saw that it’s sold in flour form, but I wasn’t sure if that’s what my recipe called for.  So after much deliberation I went home and onto the Indian grocery website and ordered a bag of Vermicelli, which my boyfriend’s mom uses in her dessert pudding.  I used  it and followed my recipe, which means that it came out kind of funky.  It was very thin and more like soup, plus you could see the butter and milk separating.  It tasted really good though (and it tasted really unhealthy)!  From now on I will just follow a recipe for Vermicelli pudding, which I think will come out ok.

Overall Rating: 7/10