About Me

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Montreal, Canada
I am a Nanima twice now. Nanima in Indian language means maternal grandmother. Paternal grandmother is Dadima. Although I am of Indian origin, I was born in East Africa, and so I have the African influence in my cuisine. I now live in Canada. Why the blog? Three main reasons: (1) One of my daughters thought that I needed another hobby. (2) Now that I am a Nanima twice, I would like my grandchildren (and children, for that matter) to learn their Nanima’s culinary culture. (3) We will get to eat a delicious Indian meal once a week!

Monday, 1 July 2013

The Basic: Dhana Jiru

Dhana jiru is the basic ingredient of most of the curries.


Dhana =  corriander

Jiru = cumin


When I left home at a very early age to go to England for further studies, I had no cooking skills. One would say that we were spoiled because we had a cook at home who prepared most of our meals. My mother was an excellent cook but by owning her own business had very little time to cook.


It was only when I moved to Canada and got married and had children, I developed an interest in Indian cooking. I received my first Indian cooking book called the Taste of our Cooking put out by the Ismailia Women’s Organization.


One thing I learned over a period of time was that homemade fresh spices made a big difference in the taste of my food. So I learned to make my own Dhana jiru.And now you can too!


Ingredients:

 
3 ½ cups Coriander seeds

¾ cup Cumin seeds

2 Tbsp Ginger powder

1 tsp Cloves

1tsp Pepper

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1tsp Fenugreek

2 sticks Cinnamon

5 to 6 pieces Cardamom


Method:

Grind all the ingredients.


Tips: 

  • I use a separate grinder for the spices
  • Store in an airtight jar
  • Make small quantity if not using often