OK, here finally are a couple of my own recipes. 

Ratatouille is a Mediterranean stew of brinjals, tomatoes, sweet peppers, courgettes and onions. Its simple, but totally delicious and more versatile than the man of your dreams. 

Its good eaten hot, even better eaten cold. You can eat it at once (the smells demand it), but it keeps very well too, actually improving in taste as the flavours blend. It tastes rich and savoury, yet somehow the freshness of the courgettes and peppers never quite goes away. 

Ratatouille is a perfect accompaniment to almost any type of dish, but get some good French bread, good cheese, a salad and some potatoes like in the following recipe, and you couldn't ask for a more satisfying dinner. Vegetarians love it, of course, but its tempting enough to convert the most hardened non-vegetarian. It is, in consequence, a perfect party dish (and I rather suspect my guests are going to be eating it until they can't take it any more). 

In keeping with its versatility, ratatouille can be made in many different ways. I've come across all kinds and combinations of recipes (though the basic quintet of veggies usually stays the same), so really one can take the basic recipe and extemporise on it depending on what vegetables and seasonings you have and like. 

The recipe is really simple, with most of the effort going in getting and preparing the veggies. Brinjals, tomatoes, onions are no problem of course, but sweet peppers and courgettes are trickier in India. By sweet peppers I mean the big, gorgeously coloured red and yellow capsicum peppers that with their curves and sheen have to be among the most sensuous looking of foods. 

Sweet peppers are reasonably widely available in cities like Bombay, but unfortunately are expensive. Green capsicums are cheaper and easy to find, but I think lack the sweetness and juiciness of the red and yellow ones. Make sure that whatever you buy is firm, but not rock hard. Courgettes, usually referred to here as zucchini, their American name, are also to be found in places selling exotic veggies like the sweet peppers. 

For those in South Bombay, Crawford Market is a reliable place, the guy opposite the Trikaya Veg stall usually has courgettes. Suryodaya outside Churchgate Station often has both, as do the vegetable sellers at Breach Candy and, a real lifesaver this, the late night Akbarally's shop in the petrol station at the bottom of Warden Road. 

The recipe is for a large, party size quantity, but can be scaled down. Just keep the basic five veggies at roughly equal quantities with onions slightly less and scale everything else accordingly: 

Ingredients:

Onions - 4-5 big ones
Tomatoes - one kilo
Courgettes - one kilo
Brinjals (Aubergines) - one kilo
Sweet Peppers - 4-5 big ones
Olive Oil (you can use other kinds, but I think olive oil really makes a difference and its easily available and not insanely expensive now, three cheers for globalisation!) 
Garlic
Seasonings - salt, pepper, vinegar, coriander seed, etc. 

Peel and slice the onions, courgettes and brinjals into discs. Put lots of salt on the brinjals and courgettes and leave for about an hour to let the dark bitter juices come out. Drain these juices away and wash them to get rid of the extra salt. 

Skin the tomatoes (put them in boiling water of a few seconds, let them cool and the skins will come off) and chop roughly. Cut the stalk and the central portion with seeds out of the sweet peppers and discard. Slice the sweet peppers into strips. 

Put the onions and a good amount of olive oil in a big deep pan. Heat it slowly, the idea being to stew the onions in the oil till they are soft (do NOT let the onions fry). Chop as much garlic as you like (I like lots) and add it to stew along with the onions. 

When the onions are soft, increase the heat slightly (it shouldn't be full flame) add the brinjals and peppers and cover. Leave to cook for 10-15 minutes till the brinjals are soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and courgettes and continue cooking, uncovered for another 20-25 minutes. Give it a good stir now and then. 

Its hard to say when its done. The vegetables should be soft and melting into each other, but the courgettes and peppers should retain some form of their own. It shouldn't be too liquidy either, so boil off extra liquid or even spoon it out. 

A little before you decide to stop it, add the seasonings. Add salt and pepper (keeping in mind some of the salt from the earlier salting of the brinjals and courgettes might remain), add 2-3 spoons of vinegar (I use Goan toddy vinegar, but any not too chemical brand should do). 

What other seasonings you want to add then is up to you. Most dried herbs should be fine. I've seen recipes that call for fresh basil, but I've never done that. My standard recipe calls for whole coriander (dhania) seed, dry roasted till they give off a wonderful burned orange smell and then ground and added, a couple of teaspoons. Except the last time I made it I forgot and used cumin (jeera) instead and it was different, but equally good. 

Responses:

Ah -- scrolling down the recipe I see that you did explain what a "brinjal" is -- though you might further explain that a "courgette" is a zucchini or turai. What's the difference between a "sweet pepper" and a "green capsicum"?
--maladina_99

They're the same really, except I'm using sweet peppers to refer more to the red and yellow varieties, which are definitely sweeter and juicier than the green ones. I thought i did say courgettes were zucchinis. I'm not familiar with the word 'turai', where's it from? And can any intrepid cook suggest Indian replacements for zucchini? I thought of trying dudhi, except I hate it.
--Vikram

To the best of my knowledge Turai or Toorya is called Ridge Gourd and I do not think it is the same as Zucchinis, these look like dark green slightly long cucumbers and are available locally called Ghosali in marathi and in north india its called Galka.
--shawak hansotia
Stoved Potatoes
A very easy and good way with potatoes. Its also versatile in that it can be used with pretty much any kind of potato, big or small, old or new, and is good both hot and cold. I usually make it with those baby potatoes, since no other preparation is needed apart from washing them well. If you've got bigger potatoes, just wash them and chop them into large pieces, all roughly the same size. No need to peel them. 

Take a large flat pan which can, important point, be covered quite tight with a lid. Ideally it should be non-stick, but extra oil should take care if its not. Put a little oil, again olive oil is best, to cover the bottom in a thin film. Add the potatoes. Dot the potatoes with butter, little slivers of it, as much as your calorie intake levels can stand. 

Peel garlic cloves and add them whole to the potatoes. Add as many as you like, keeping in mind that while they add their flavour to the potatoes, the cooking takes away their pungency leaving them sweet and delicious to eat whole. Add salt (less if the butter is salted) and grind lots of black pepper on top. One could add dried herbs too. 

Add some water so that the bottoms of the potato pieces are covered, but not too much. The potatoes should not be immersed in the water. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat. The idea is that the potatoes simultaneously boil, steam and fry in the mix of oil and water. Just shake the pan now and then and occasionally stir the potatoes. 

When they're done, take off the lid, increase the heat to high to boil off most of the remaining water and crisp the outsides of the potatoes. You can throw on some chopped coriander leaves before serving.

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