The Roti Rollers

This is one of our occasional evening activities -- rolling out Roti (something similar to tortillas). Kumari, our housekeeper/cook makes the dough during the day (which consists of very fine wheat flour and water . . . no joke, that is all!). It softens up in the fridge all day, then we separate it out into little balls, roll it with our roller and cook it on our "tawa" (small round skillet with no edges). Anusha likes to play with the dough and flour and I have to make sure she doesn't steal too much! We've gotten pretty good at it, except that mine sometimes turn into the shape of states or countries rather than the typical circle. Oh well . . .

My repetoire of Nepali foods (I list this somewhat tongue and cheek since it's not very big!) now consists of Roti, Puri (smaller, deep fried roti-like bread), home-made yogurt, kitcheri (a pressure-cooked dish of lentils and moong dhal for Anusha) and variations to kitcheri. I am no longer afraid of the pressure cooker and think someone should come up with a "Pressure Cook and Forget It" type of cookbook. My landlady promises to teach me some other things, and I have yet to observe how Kumari makes her delicious saag (any type of greens cooked in oil with spices). Between Anuraj and I, by the time we come to the States this summer, should be able to concoct a pretty mean Nepali/Indian meal. Reservations Only Please : )

PS...You'll notice that the picture is well lit which means this was one of the evenings we were lucky enough to have electricity that evening and didn't have to roll our roti over candle light!