India's Julia Child In Zambia!

Remember my blog a few weeks ago about Mala, the East Indian I've met? She and her husband, Joy, live here in Makeni in the flat Tracy and I first lived in while our house was being renovated.

I have learned a lot about her since I saw her eggshell decoration on the sisel bush. Besides missing her children, Mala loves teaching and cooking. Today those two interests met together as she taught me how to make potato curry and chipatis.

To make the curry you begin with a few boiled potatoes, breaking them up into small chunks. Add salt and chili powder to them and set aside. I felt very privileged to be given some REAL chili powder from her family's farm in India. After sauteing onion, garlic, and ginger, she added a masala spice she created from coriander and cumin. Stir in some cream and water. Join this mixture with the potatoes.

Chipatis are served with the potato curry, so we had to make some. Mala makes them every day for her husband so she is very skilled at it. Indian girls learn to make them when they're about 12 years of age. Making excellent chipatis is one of the expected skills of a bride. If you look at the two chipatis (tortilla-like food in the picture), you'll see mine on the left and Mala's on the right. Hers is uniformly round, mine is not. But then, she's the expert!


Lunch was yummy and spicey! It was tempting to eat it all, but I saved some for Tracy's supper. 

At our next cooking class, I promised Mala I'd show her how to make tofu "meatloaf," a concoction of mine. Please pray for this developing relationship with Mala~God loves to surprise us, and this is such a God-thing. I'm really enjoying getting to know her~she is sweet, generous, and kind. May God bless her!