Coaxing local ingredients to put on an accent (and maybe a disguise) so that you can approximate exotic, international cuisine is a gift some chefs are born with and a skill some of us garden-variety-gourmets labour and aspire towards. Having said that, once you approach mastery of this art not only do you save money at the fancy deli,

you are able to refresh your culinary repertoire effortlessly. The bane of going to the market and looking at the same old (especially as summer sets in, rendering all but the hardiest of veggies limp and lustreless) no longer seems daunting. With a little imagination and some gentle coercion, a peek at the internet and a friendly exchange of ideas with the other lady at the bhaji-wala with her interesting mix of vegetables, you can travel even further afield at the family dinner table using the same ingredients that only yesterday created boring old ghar ka khana.
A recent batch of sausages arrived from sunny Goa at my mother’s house and despite the sweltering heat, they are irresistible. Goan choris is so very versatile, it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I’ve already done a sausage special where this feisty ingredient brings its firepower to already quite fiery recipes — Moroccan Harissa Stew, Middle Eastern inspired pulaos... stuff like that. This bunch of recipes though tries a new trick — to soften the blow of the pork, red chilli and vinegared sausage. Taking cues from around the world, I’ve adapted some common recipes and perhaps even invented a couple to bring a toned down, subtler but no less fun Goa sausage presentation. I hope you try some of these.

You can start a conversation with the author about food at http://loveinthekitchenlaughteratthetable.blogspot.com

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Chillies stuffed with Cream Cheese and Sausage
These are just too good if I do say so myself. If you’re balking at the cream cheese, sausage combination, I want to reassure you that it works beautifully. If you don’t eat pork, then you can substitute tuna and add olives for a kick. Take a little care while stuffing the chillies to make sure you don’t split them. If they do split, they will burst when you fry them and that will be a mess. Otherwise, this is a lovely starter or snack.

Ingredients
20 large green ‘stuffing’ chillies
½ cup cooked Goa sausage
1 cup cream cheese
½ cup chopped parsley
2 tbs capers or jalapenos chopped
3 tbs red pepper chopped finely
1 tbs red onion chopped finely
2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs beaten
1 cup flour
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Roughly chop the cooked sausage until the pieces are even and not too big. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, herbs, red onion, red pepper, capers and finally the sausage. Mash it all together nicely with a fork. Carefully edge out the top of each of the chillies. With a thin knife, carefully deseed the chillies as best as you can manage without splitting the chilli open. Using your fingers or the back of a tablespoon, start stuffing each chilli. Gently pat the mix in to make sure the chilli is stuffed properly. Stop filling the chilli about ½ cm from the open end. Make sure the chillies are dry. Gently roll the chillies in plain flour first. Then dip them in egg. Then roll them in bread crumbs and put a pinch of breadcrumbs into the open end of the chilli to “seal” the stuffing in. Put a couple of bread crumbs in the hot oil. When they start to sizzle briskly, gently lower a trial chilli into the hot oil and cook until the coating is golden — not more than 2 minutes though, you don’t want the cream cheese filling to run out of the chilli. Lift out gently and leave to stand for 2 minutes. If you like what you see/taste, do the rest, in batches, watching that the oil does not get too hot or too cold. Serve immediately!

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Sausage and Apple Chilli Fry

Pork and apple just goes right? And the bhajiwala begged me to take a couple of parsnips. Parsnips taste like a cross between potatoes, celery and radish. They can be spicy and are a lovely starch component but are weird to cook so you’re best off steaming them before you do anything else with them. If you can’t get parsnips then try sweet potato, but don’t steam it first. The recipe will work as nicely but it will be quite different. Or use regular potato which will work fine and the balance will not be affected. I can imagine stuffing a chicken with this for Easter. I can only imagine though because I suspect the chief chef in charge of Easter eating, aka my mum, would balk at the prospect of stuffing a chicken with a pig.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked sausage
1 apple cubed
3 inch stick of cinnamon
1 cup steamed parsnips (cut in discs)
or 2 cups cubed potatoes
½ cup leeks sliced into rings
1 pinch salt
1 pinch brown sugar
Freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic sliced
Handful of chopped parsley
Olive oil to cook

Method
In a heavy bottomed pan, sauté the cinnamon and garlic until the garlic is gold. Throw in the potatoes/parsnips and raise the heat so that they colour. (If using potatoes, then stir around until they cook.) Throw in the leeks, apple, pinch of sugar and the meat and keep stirring for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

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Sausage and Soft Boiled Egg
My husband always half-jokes about how he can’t wait for the day he retires and eats sausage for breakfast, sorpotel for lunch and vindaloo for dinner. Apart from the fact that his alimentary canal will have to work harder than he ever did post-retirement, the statement always makes me queasy. Despite my best efforts, I have still not been able to muster up the wherewithal to eat Goa sausage with fried eggs for breakfast. Recently, however, on food writer Vikram Doctor’s recommendation, I tried the egg sandwich at Kala Ghoda Cafe, in Mumbai. Simple, it was made sublime by spectacular bread and the addition of alfalfa sprouts giving the sandwich subtle, crisp texture. I’ve stolen their idea for this combination that works beautifully as a hangover breakfast at best, early brunch maybe. Breakfast? Only if you have a whole, leisurely day ahead of you to lie about digesting.

Ingredients
2 great quality eggs
½ cup alfalfa sprouts
Handful of rocket and basil leaves
Wholewheat bread
Pepper/Salt
3 tbs cooked Goa sausage

Method
Soft-boil the eggs. You do this by putting water to boil. When it’s bubbling briskly, gently drop the eggs in. Let boil for two minutes (time it) and then turn off the heat and let the eggs stand in the heat for another 2 minutes. Drain immediately and put in cold water so that they stop cooking. Arrange the basil and rocket on the bread. Pile the sausage on top. Gently peel the eggs and then place them on the bread as well. Break open and top with alfalfa sprouts. Season and eat immediately.

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Wine soaked sausage salad
This is by far my favourite discovery/invention of this week, perhaps even this month. The sausage is beautifully tamed by the wine. The wine, infused with the smoky, spicy oils turns into a really sexy sauce and the crisp baby spinach and juicy tomatoes offset the deep, intense flavours very well. The juices that collect at the bottom of the plate will be greedily mopped up, so serve this salad with some airy, crusty bread — even if it’s white bread, it should just be the best you can get.

Ingredients
1 cup of sausage uncooked
2 cups of red wine
3 tbs brown sugar
2 large tomatoes
1 tbs wholegrain mustard
3 tbs chopped parsley
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 bunches baby spinach
Juice of 1 lemon

Method
Put the wine in a heavy bottomed pan and add the sugar and heat it gently, stirring to let the sugar dissolve. (I’m assuming you’re using dry red wine. If the wine is sweet, don’t add sugar.) Add the sausage and let it cook, covered, on low heat for about 25 minutes. Lift the sausage out and reserve. Take about 4 tbs of the wine in the pan and heat it gently. Stir in lemon juice, mustard and a pinch of salt. Turn off the heat and stir in the extra virgin olive oil and parsley. Cut the tomatoes into bite sized wedges, making sure you catch all the juices. Assemble the salad. Pile the leaves, then the tomatoes, then the sausage. Dress and garnish with more chopped parsley. Serve immediately with chunks of bread.