A few weeks ago, I made arooq again after many years. I remember making these when I was a beginning teacher, and had brought some to work. It was a hit. Even back then, before marriage, I was already interested in cooking. Now, if only I can actually make a career out of cooking!
The recipe is very simple. All you need is ground chicken meat. I usually buy the breast part and then grind them myself in a chopper. To that, add a tablespoon of plain flour, chopped green chillies, turmeric, chilli powder, chopped spring onions, one egg, salt and pepper. And then chill in the fridge for an hour before using a spoon to drop them in hot oil. Delicious.
Sometimes when I pass through neighbourhood shopping malls, I’d smell this wonderful rather strong herbal smell of pushcart sellers boiling Chinese tea eggs. They smell wonderful. I’m not particularly fond of eggs but I am game to try anything new – within my religious restrictions, however.
So one day at my friendly neighbourhood ‘senseh’ shop, I chanced upon this…
After verifying with the man in the shop that the ingredients are all plant-based, I bought this packet and for weeks it has been sitting in my cupboard. Until this morning…
There are two sachets in each pack. When I read the instructions at the back, it called for twenty eggs. I did some very elementary math and decided to use ten eggs for one sachet. Ha ha. The smell that wafted as I was steeping the eggs in were divine. The Hubby thought that I was cooking chicken! Well, close enough – chicken eggs.
Steeping the eggs in over extremely low fire. It takes a minimum of 2 hours. Add a tablesppon each of light and dark soy sauce and salt. Just follow the instructions at the back of the packet and you've got tea eggs for the whole family and more!
As a kid, I used to loathe bitter gourd. I only developed the taste of the vegetable, ironically, when I got pregnant. I started developing the taste of it not because I suddenly found out how tasty the bitter vegetable is but rather because of the fact that I kept forcing myself to eat the vegetable because of its purported health benefits. Bitter gourd supposedly lowers down the blood sugar level and when I was pregnant, I ate bitter gourd almost on a daily basis.
The recipe today is of the Indian variety of bitter melon. It’s small and has small bumps. A colleague once told of a famed Indian bitter melon recipe that her relative ate a long time ago in some restaurant. She described briefly but I’ve forgotten now. What I do remember is after that story, whenever we went to Little India for our Indian food fixes, we’d look at the mounds of small, bumpy emerald green gourds and think of ways to cook it. Always. Without fail.
This is one recipe that my ex-RO used. And it’s also the most palatable for most people since it’s fried. Even so, don’t be fooled because the bitterness of the Indian bitter melon will numb your tastebuds and you’ll be soon reaching for that glass of cold water soon after.
Such a beautiful rich vibrant green. Love it.
Serve hot with rice and a chutney. Bottled in my case. If you’re feeling adventurous, try eating bitter melon. I’m sure your complexion will improve in time. :p
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The recipe
1. Wash bitter melon and cut into thin slices. Sprinkle salt over.
2. Leave to stand for 30 min after which drain the water that would come from the bitter melons.
3. Marinade in turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
The Occasional Cook 