Places to Go

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

When You Miss Mumbai


There are few places I miss as much as my family's home in Alibag. The pandemic changed so much for everyone. For me, it took away my India. Bougainvillea blossoms and coconut trees. Walking along our yard's parapet and watching the sunset. 

And the food. The tiniest shrimps in thick masala. Fish smeared in green chutney and steamed in banana leaf. Chikoos, my unbeautiful favorite fruit. 

Flavor memories are strong. Thankfully, one can cook to bring them back to life. 

I am also lucky in my friends in this new home. Living in the bay area means being surrounded by gorgeous produce. One of my friends brought home farm fresh tomatoes, and I reaped the bounty. (It fits the original theme of this blog, written as a harried student, that my board prep materials background the photo below). 

Mumbai is home to Parsis, and many Parsi cafes. Sometime in my life there, Parsi tomato jam embedded itself in my sense memories. I cannot recall the last time I ate it, even in recent trips to the big city. Yet, it calls forth monsoon and late nights watching the Queen's necklace twinkle. 


Alive with ginger, garlic, chili, cloves, cinnamon and bright tomato, it is my summers in a jar. This recipe made me enough to gift two medium-sized jars, and keep a big one for myself. I miss it already. But while it was in my fridge, my home in India was just a lid-twist away. 


Parsi Tomato Jam 

Adapted from Niloufer Ichaporia King's Recipe 

 

1.5 lbs ripe tomatoes, rough chop  

¼ cup julienned ginger (about 1.5in long piece)

½ head sliced garlic (about ¼ cup)

¾ cup vinegar (I used a mix of red wine vinegar and apple cider because that’s what I had; the original recipe calls for cider or malt vinegar)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup of raisins (optional; I had dried cranberries about, so in they went)

1 tablespoon chili powder (I had Korean gochugaru which gave a deep smoky spicy taste; the original recipe calls for cayenne pepper or hot ground chili. This amount lends tasteable hotness, if you want a milder version add ~1/2 tbsp)

1 small cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

teaspoon salt

Grated peel of one lemon (optional; also original recipe called for orange)

 

Roughly chop the tomatoes. Put them in a heavy bottomed pan with the ginger, garlic, vinegar, raisins (optional), sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

 

Stir to combine everything, and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered. Stir occasionally. You want the chutney to reach the consistency of a soft jam,

 

Niloufer’s original recipe calls for double the tomatoes (and 4 hours of simmering), but my halved recipe still took about 3 hours over very low heat. Low and slow allows flavor development, so try not to rush. 

 

When you take the chutney off the stove, adjust the salt, sugar, and vinegar to your liking. You can also add more chili if you seek a kick. You want to do this while its still warm. Add the lemon (or orange) peel at this time.

 

Niloufer recommends letting the chutney sit for a day to fine-tune the balance and allow flavor merging. I let it sit out overnight with the lid on in my cool kitchen, and it did beautifully.

 

I end with her words because everyone should read them:

 

“Remember that this is a chutney—it should be forceful, declamatory. You want a chutney to light up your mouth, to have some punch. Sweet! Sour! Salty! Hot! The biggest mistake with chutney is to think of it as a spiced jam. Never leave out the salt or undersalt in the name of some diet deity. I tend to give the chutney away as soon as I make it, so I don’t go to great lengths with the bottling process. I just put the jars and tops through the dishwasher and give them an extra jolt of boiling water before I fill them.”

 

I don’t have a dishwasher, so I just swirled boiling water around my clean jars and left them upside down to dry. The jam was finished within 2 weeks so I cannot vouch for the longevity of this process. I can vouch for the immediate consumption of the jam.

 

Ways it was eaten:

·        With eggs on toast

·        Scooped up on chips

·        On crackers with many different cheeses

·        Sandwich spread (chicken sandwiches, yum)

·        Straight with a spoon


Home Again






Times change. 




I am a doctor. 


I got into medical school. I went to medical school. I matched for residency. I completed residency. I took my Pediatric Boards. I have a job as a primary care pediatrician. 

I live in my own home. 

All of this was unimaginable when I first started my blog. Medical school itself such a far away dream. 

I am surviving a pandemic, as are we all. 


Welcome back. 


I taught myself to cook with this blog. Now I cook often. 

This is not a recipe post because I didn't plan to return, I just sat down at my table and began. 

I hope to write again though. 


                            Welcome home.