A Vermont tradition for a snowy day. The vegetables are commonly on hand throughout the winter, and the sharp Vermont cheddar cheese zests the soup up nicely.
Somewhere between a curry and a sweet chutney, this dish may be served with all South Asian, Malay-style, and Middle Eastern meals.
You need half-ripe mangoes here. Since these are what most commonly pass for mangoes in the Western world, they should not be hard to find. Each mango should be hard with yellow or pale orange flesh.
For the curry powder, I like to use Bolst's hot version. Ready-made amchar masala is sold by Caribbean grocers, though you can easily make your own and store it.
I've cooked this recipe for years now. I usually add an extra quart of water for more broth. I've been known to substitute pickled sliced banana peppers for the jalapeño peppers. Found this recipe at the St-Laurent library in Montréal, and later re-discovered this "new" book of Natural Foods at a garage sale in Ottawa.
Rich in chocolate flavor, these cookies have less than half the fat of crisp chocolate cookies. Cocoa powder contributes a deep chocolate flavor without adding fat. Adding coffee heightens the chocolate flavor.
The tarka this time is of cumin and mustard seeds, but they provide only the background taste. It is the tomato-cream sauce, flavored with the aromatic garam masala, that provides for the main flavors in this dish.
