Out of the Doldrums

The Doldrums—light, shifting, and sometimes completely absent winds—notorious for trapping sailing ships for days (or even weeks) without enough wind to power their sails.

No, I haven’t been sailing anywhere near the “equatorial calms” and my life has seemed anything but calm. With the little one now in school, I thought that this would be MY year to do what I like as I liked but it hasn’t quite gone that way. I started driving the kids to and from school, attending a weekly class learning Arabic, joined a book club, lost my play group and the sanity that our excuse for group therapy created, didn’t get an exercise routine down, and still can’t figure out what makes time fly. 2 o’clock always comes too soon.

In addition to that, I was having some pain issues that thank God I believe are behind me. I am in awe of science and technology after receiving what I like to call “shock therapy”. Anyone living with chronic pain should check this out.

So what could bring me out of the doldrums and back to blogging? The answer is mint biryani, an Indian dish that simply must be shared. I will keep this first post brief, but if you find yourself in the Doldrums, with no wind to power your sails, try this tasty dish:

Mmmmmmint Biryani!

2 cups Basmati rice

6 T. oil

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large onions, diced4 large cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. whole cumin

Mint Sauce

2-3 garlic cloves

2-3 sliced hot green pepper

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. curry spice

1/4 cup powder coconut milk

4 T. yogurt1/2 cup frozen peas

1 medium sized cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

 

Rinse and soak rice in warm water for 15-20 minutes.

Add 7 cups of water in a large pot, 1 T. salt and 2 T. oil. Bring to a boil on high heat. Drain rice and place in pot. Simmer for 6-8 minutes, drain and set aside.

During the preparation  of the rice, add oil to a medium sized pot and cook on high heat. Add the potatoes and stir until golden brown. Complete cooking potatoes is not necessary as it will be achieved in the next steps.

Stir-fry onions in the remaining oil in the pot until tender. Add garlic, ginger, and cumin. Stir until onions are golden brown and the cumin scent is clear. Place the potatoes in the pot again.

During that procedure, proceed to prepare the mint sauce. Combine garlic, peppers, mint, salt and curry in a blender. Mix until a thick sauce is formed. Add coconut milk and yogurt, lightly mix. If yogurt is mixed for a longer period of time, it will result in a liquid substance that is undesirable.Pour the sauce into the onion mixture in the pot. Add peas, cinnamon and bay leaves. Stir well.

Remove half the contents of the pot into another medium sized pot. Add the sauce to the remaining rice.Drizzle 1/4 cup of water over the rice. Apply a thin paper towel over the rice to maintain the vapor  during the cooking procedure. Cover the pot, and simmer 15-20 minutes.Stir biryani with fork to blend with sauce and serve hot.

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