News You Can Bruise for 2005 October 19

From Sumana's mother, reprinted by popular demand. * marks stuff I didn't actually have in the kitchen.

• 1.5c rice
• 1 T peanut oil
• turmeric
• *curry leaves (I don't remember whether they go here or in the skillet, but if they're like bay leaves they should go in here.)
• salt
• water

Put in rice cooker.

• mustard seed
• *chana (?) Sumana's mother said this was a spice but it seems to be a lentil. Maybe it was "chana [something]" and I just wrote down "chana".
• 2 T peanut oil

Fry in skillet. When it starts popping, add:

• *3 red or green chilis, chopped (we used a bunch of cayenne powder)
• handful of nuts (peanuts or cashews)
• handful of unsweetened shredded coconut

Fry it up. Deglaze with

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 t sugar

If you have timed everything correctly the rice in the cooker is now about 5 minutes from being done. Drain the excess water from it, and dump the rice into the skillet. Stir, cover, let sit until it's done.

Cleaning tip: chop the lemon rind into quarters and put one of the quarters into the rice cooker pot. Fill with water and turn on the rice cooker for 5 minutes. The turmeric mess will wipe away.