Pan Asian: Vegetable Kurma (South India)

With spring upon us and summer right around the corner, I’m inspired  to get outside more, and start hitting the farmers market for fresh produce. It’s also time to start shedding that winter weight and get healthy again, and vegetables are the perfect tonic. Since the south of India is known for its primarily vegetarian diet, and also some incredibly tasty dishes, I looked in Healthy South Indian Cooking by Alamelu Vairavan and Patricia Marquardt for inspiration, and pulled this amazing recipe for Vegetable Kurma. It uses carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and peas, but feel free to use whatever vegetables you like. I also substituted cashew nuts for almonds (since I didn’t have any handy), and, of course, upped the heat quotient by adding more green chilis. While the dish is simple to prepare, there are a lot of ingredients involved, but mysteriously enough, no garlic! Though it turned out great, I think next time I will add some garlic as it can only enhance an already delicious dish. Also, salt to taste as I believe the recipe called for not enough salt.

The Recipe

from Healthy South Indian Cooking (Hippocrene Books, 2008)

by Alamelu Vairavan and Patricia Marquardt

Ingredients:

½ cup ground fresh coconut or unsweetened coconut powder

1 green chili pepper

12 raw almonds

1 tablespoon white poppy seeds (optional)

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 thick slices ginger root (peeled)

1 tablespoon roasted chickpeas

2 tablespoons canola oil

6 to 8 curry leaves

1 dry bay leaf

3 or 4 slivers cinnamon sticks

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped tomato

2 cups peeled and cubed Idaho potato

½ cup peeled and thinly sliced carrots

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ cup green peas (fresh or frozen)

1 cup cauliflower florets

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1.)   In A blender combine coconut powder, green chili, almonds, white poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, ginger root slices, chickpeas. Add 2 cups hot water and grind the ingredients to a smooth paste.

2.)   Heat oil in a wide-bottom saucepan over medium heat. When oil is hot, but not smoking, add curry leaves, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, remaining cumin and fennel  seeds. Cover and fry to a golden brown.

3.)   Add onion and ½ cup of the chopped tomato to saucepan and stir-fry for a few minutes until onion is lightly translucent.

4.)   Add potato and carrots to saucepan. Add turmeric powder and stir well.

5.)   Add curry powder and stir-fry for a minute or two.

6.)   Add peas and cauliflower to mixture and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

7.)   Add ground spices from the blender to vegetable mixture in saucepan plus 2 cups of warm water. Mix thoroughly.

8.)   When mixture begins to boil, reduce heat. Add remaining ½ cup chopped tomato, salt and cilantro leaves. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve with rice or bread.

Serves 6

 

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NYC’s Anjappar Restaurant — For Authentic Chettinad Cuisine

Anjappar — located at Lexington Ave. & E. 28th St in Manhattan’s “Curry Hill”

I have long been a fan of Chettinad food ever since I ate at the Anjappar Restaurant in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Yes, Anjappar is a chain, that happens to have locations all over the world–including the Middle East, U.S., Canada, Singapore and Malaysia. They finally made it to one of the biggest foodie towns in the world–good old NYC–to which I say, ‘What took you so long?’ But, really, ‘Better late than never,’ is more apropos. For despite its status as a franchise  (like Mickey D’s or Burger King), Anjappar serves up some of the tastiest, most authentic Chettinad food, this side of Chennai.

And just what is Chettinad cuisine, you ask? Unlike much southern Indian food, which is mostly vegetarian, the Chettiars, a merchant caste in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who comprise about 14% of the population, do relish their chicken, mutton, and fish. And the way they prepare those meats is unlike any other Indian food you’ve ever eaten.

Mutton Sukka Varuval
(Fresh tender cuts of goat marinated in crushed pepper corns fried with chopped onions and curry leaves

Take, for instance, the Mutton Sukka Varuval, whose description in the menu does this dish absolutely no justice. Goat, usually a tough customer, comes out moist and tender here, coated in a fragrant paste of spices–including coriander, cumin, fennel, cardamom, cloves–ginger and garlic with fried onions and curry leaves to push it over the top on the flav-o-meter. Such complexity and layering of flavors is the hallmark of this cooking. My only criticism was that there was not enough chilies in the mix, which probably would not have been the case had I been served this dish in Chennai (Madras). Maybe I should have gone for the Chicken 65, boneless cubes of chicken breast marinated in a variety of spices that is supposedly super-hot. The only problem was that my lunch companion was vegetarian, so I did not want to order half the menu only to eat it myself.

The kingfish Thali meal

While he opted for the Chettinadu traditonal vegetarian Thali meal for a main course, I got the Kingfish thali. Both meals came with rice, chappathi, sambar, rasam, kootu, poriyal, lime pickle, curd, and pappad–all standard South Indian veg dishes–while mine came with an extra side of Kingfish masala curry made with a tamarind flavored gravy. Though tasty, the portion of fish was tiny, and I was glad I had ordered the mutton to supplement it.

 

Anjappar also features biriyani, and a selection of south Indian breads such as dosais, parathas, and utthupams. There were also some prawn and crab specials, but way above my budget for lunch. Your best bet is to come here with a bunch of people so you can order several dishes and try a bit of everything because I suspect everything here is good! Even the ambience and tasteful decor of the place proved very relaxing, and the service was up to snuff, making Anjappar a place that demands another visit.

 

a cool and comfortable interior makes for an enjoyable dining experience

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Pan Asian: Fish Kulambu (South India)

South Indian food, like Sri Lankan, has the potential to be explosive on the palate–not just in terms of the heat factor but also as far as the combination of flavors involved. I especially like Chettinad food, which hails from a certain region of Tamil Nadu. In fact, I first had Chettinad food in Colombo, at a restaurant called Anjappar. I could immediately recognize all the spices, but also found that they used them differently than us Sri Lankans. In this great dish, for example, the whole seeds of cumin, fenugreek and fennel are fried whole in oil first before the other ingredients are added. You spend a lot of time building up a very complex gravy, and then add the fish at the end, letting it cook for only 5-7 minutes. While this recipe might look daunting because of the number of ingredients used, the time is all in the preparation. If you assemble everything that you will need first, it will be as quick as a Chinese stir-fry, and give you a very tasty dish for your troubles. The author recommends tilapia, cod, halibut, whitefish or pomfret for this recipe, though I used a Bangladeshi fish called Pabda.

The Recipe

3 tbsp. canola oil

4-6 curry leaves (optional)

1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1/2 tsp. urad dal

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup peeled and quartered garlic cloves

1 green chili, cut lengthwise

1/4 cup chopped tomato

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

2 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. black pepper and cumin powder mixture

1 tsp. salt

2 cups tomato sauce

2 tbsp. minced ginger root

1/2 tsp. tamarind paste

1 pound firm-fleshed fish cut into 1-inch thick steaks

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1.)   Place oil is a large saucepan over medium heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and urad dal. Cover and fry until seeds pop and urad dal is golden brown (about 30 seconds).

2.)   Add onion, garlic, chili pepper, and tomato. Stir fry for about a minute. Blend in turmeric and cook for another minute.

3.)   Add cayenne powder, curry powder, black pepper and cumin powder, and salt and stir and cook for another minute.

4.)   Add tomato sauce, ginger root, and tamarind paste. Blend well into mixture. Add about 1-2 cups of warm water. Stir well and allow to simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes over medium-low heat.

5.)   When mixture begins to boil, add fish pieces and spoon sauce carefully over fish. Add coriander. Continue cooking over low heat, covered, for 5-7 minutes until fish is opaque and flaky. Note: Sauce should be stirred gently during cooking process, and more tomato sauce may be added if necessary.

6.)   When fish is cooked, remove saucepan from heat. Cover and let remain at room temperature until serving. If fish is not served immediately, reheat only briefly before serving.

Serves 6

From Healthy South Indian Cooking by Almelu Vairavan & Patricia Marquardt

Here is the final outcome...delicious!

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