The title says it all. Any recipe that was your favorite, you could make it very well, but you have stopped making it? Why? What happened? When did it happen? Was it a sudden stop or a slow fading away over time? And maybe, share the recipe too. Who knows ... you might start making it again ... .
If I think about it, there are quite a few I've stopped making. Most common reason being I am the only one who liked it or it took too much effort. There was a tomato chutney I used to make that was really good. Anyone who tasted it had to ask for the recipe while giving a surprised look that *I* could have made it. - Cut few tomatoes in half, boil for just 2-3 minutes - remove the skin, maybe cut out the "green" stalk parts - put back to boil. - drain the orangish water, mash the tomatoes - Saute/cook them in a thick bottomed vessel for an hour or so. keep stirring to avoid charring. - towards the end add tablespoons of cumin powder, dhanya powder, salt, haldi and chilli powder. - after it is fully cooled, put a tadka of cumin seeds, mustard and whole red chillies (no curry leaves). Add the tadka only after oil has fully cooled. Not sure why! - mix well. lasts 10 days in fridge. the cumin, dhanya powder should be freshly roasted and fine ground. The main reason I stopped making was prolly that the kitchen counter in U.S. kitchens is 3-5 inches too high for my height. As the kids were young, I used to do cooking only on the back burner. Stirring the tomatoes used to make my arms and shoulder ache. A less charitable reason was that H used to have it like a curry and not a chutney/pickle. : ) It used to get over in 2 days. : ) In a FB gardening group, I am seeing people asking what to do with too many tomatoes and remembered this recipe after long.
Veg biryani is one dish which I learnt at a cooking class. All my cousins and friends would request that when they visited me. It tastes best only when made in atleast 3/4th ghee. I stopped making it after few years because I wanted to cut down on weight. When 8 tried after a long gap it tasted like veg rice not even pulav. Recently I revived that and able to get the original wow taste.
Long ago I used to make a simple vegetable stew that I found in a Middle Eastern cookbook. For almost one year it was in constant rotation then I think we just got tired of it. This year I planted a vegetable patch after a gap of many years. I should make this again now that summer’s bounty is at its peak. Preheat oven to 350 Take a nice big heavy pot with a lid. I use a Dutch oven Cut into big pieces: potato, red onions, bell pepper,eggplant(optional), zucchini or summer squash and tomatoes. Adjust all quantities of vegetables according to number of people. Add salt and pepper and a very generous amount of olive oil. Close the lid and place the whole pot in the oven. Bake for 30-60 min till vegetables have softened. Remove from oven and garnish with plenty of chopped parsley. I serve this with tzatziki, warm pita sprinkled with za’tar, labneh, feta, harissa and marinated olives.
There is a Kerala dish called “ Ulli theeyal” made with shallots in the ground roasted coconut gravy . This with Kerala red rice was my favorite. I don’t even remember why I stopped making it. Need to make it this weekend ! Roast fresh or frozen shredded coconut ( about 1 cup )with a little bit of oil in a thick bottomed pan. When it is light brown in color, add cumin seeds,red chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder and roast on a low flame till a nice aroma comes. Keep it aside to cool. Then take a kadai and heat oil, sauté the shallots till it is transparent. Meanwhile soak some tamarind in hot water. Then grind the roasted coconut to a fine paste. Take tamarind pulp from the soaked tamarind. Then add the ground paste , tamarind pulp to the shallots and stir so that everything is mixed well. Bring it to a boil. Adjust the water to the consistency of the gravy you prefer. I like it a bit thick. When it is boiled and reach the consistency you prefer, switch off the stove. Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves.
Long ago, I used to do a ton of baking. Stopped as age and health consciousness crept up on us. Removed temptation by giving away all recipe books and carefully-collected baking accessories. .
Dalia/broken wheat payasam with jaggery.Last time I made this,and that evening I heard my dad's demise.Never prepared this again
