Every week, come rain, sun or shine when I draw up the weekly menu and plan the shopping list, my father will always beg like a small child and have a mini tantrum and work himself into a frenzy nearing tears.

What may you ask is this all in aid of, simple all he ever wants to eat is dhal, potatoes and greenbeans. Seriously every fasting day and most weeks, I give in and make it and then the next day, the food just stands and eventually it starts to grow and then I have to pitch it. As soon as I pitch it, my dad has his little melt down.

If someone had to walk past and hear my father having this conversation with me, they would be under the impression that I am starving him or I am force feeding him baby porridge.

Some Friday’s I do get lazy when it comes to deciding what to make for supper and I more than often tend to make toasted cheese sandwiches. When my father phones around about lunch time, asking what I have planned for supper, I tell him toasted sarmies and he says what he always says, yes little little, don’t cook too much, you waste so much.

Then comes Friday supper and he can’t stop nibbling, because the toasted cheese just tickles his tummy, but when I make pots and pots of food he doesn’t want to eat. I give up, seriously I am going to make toasted cheese sandwiches till it starts coming out of his ears.

I came across this recipe in one of Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook. Before I give the judges final decision. Let me just say. I liked it, it had a nice tang to it and the peanut oil gave it a different taste. Now my mother’s verdict. It’s okay, but soo strong and soo red all I taste is tomatoe, even when I look at it all my eyes are seeing is tomato, don’t you have that frozen pizza base in the freezer still? Now my father’s verdict. Huh, what are we eating again. Eish these potatoes are tooo hard…. Ohhh no salt, this dish needs more salt…a couple of bites later….no man this dish is tooo sour, bring the sugar.

My dish went from hard to salt less to sugarless in under 5 minutes, in my defence, it is exactly like I make my potatoes just that I use normal cooking oil and masala and this recipe wanted peanut oil and cayenne pepper. The way these two went on, you would have sworn that the potatoes were rock hard still.

When the meal was finished my father was like please I beg of you don’t make that again just make me potatoe, dhal and greenbeans please… hello… I just make potatoes. Indian parents, can’t live with them, can’t live without, can’t please their tastebuds.

Ingredients:

• 3 x tbsp. peanut oil.
• ½ x tsp mustard seeds.
• ½ x tsp jeera seeds.
• 2 x dry chillies, chopped.
• 450g x potatoes, peeled and cubed.
• ¼ x tsp cayenne pepper.
• 1 x tsp jeera powder.
• 1 x tsp dhania powder.
• ¼ x tsp turmeric powder.
• 1 x tsp sugar.
• 285g x frozen peas.
• 1 ½ x tsp salt.
• 1 x tin, chopped tomatoes.
• A few curry leaves.

Method:

• Heat oil in pot.
• Add mustard seeds and allow them to start popping.
• Add jeera seeds, dry chillies and curry leaves.
• Add tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
• Add all the spices, salt and sugar and give it a good stir.
• Add the potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes.
• Cover the pot and cook till the potatoes are almost soft.
• Add the peas and cook uncovered till most of the liquid has cooked off.