Indian Food on a Weeknight

Written by Mona Awad | 17 February 2009

When I enter my sad kitchen after a dark, interminable Tuesday, Indian food is what I crave. Surely I am not alone. The velvety textures and the rich, varied use of colour, heat and spice deliver a much-needed punch of exoticism and adventure to an otherwise bleak, humdrum night. Such culinary escapism is, to me, the very essence of comfort food. But while eating Indian food is comforting, cooking it is something else entirely.

Indian recipes are harsh mistresses, demanding expletives, tears and an inordinate amount of seed toasting … hardly synonymous with “quick ’n’ easy” cuisine. Consider the following three one-pot recipes as best attempts at a compromise. Obviously making an Indian feast complete with bread, chutneys, etc., requires the sort of commitment of which I am not physically or spiritually capable on a weeknight. But if all one wants is something hot, spice-laden and wonderfully unpronounce-able by which to puncture “the dank, drizzly November in the soul,” all one needs, I assure you, is a desire to eat. 

Recipes to Enjoy:

Mulligatawny Soup 

Vindaloo

Kheer