1,000 Indian Recipes (228 page)

Authors: Neelam Batra

Kerala ki Tarkari

Makes 4 to 6 servings

With coconut as the predominant flavor, this simple curry is a perfect example of Kerala cuisine, which is heavily coconut-based because coconut palms grow abundantly along the coastal areas. This dish can be made with any vegetables, such as carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, zucchini, pumpkin, yams, and peas. You can even use frozen vegetables, if you like.

¹⁄
₂cup
Coconut Milk
(or store-bought)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 (1-inch) sticks cinnamon

8 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin

6 whole cloves

1 large onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, minced with seeds

2 tablespoons peeled minced fresh ginger

5 to 6 cups mixed fresh or thawed frozen vegetables, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

¹⁄
₄cup chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh curry leaves

¹⁄
₈teaspoon ground asafoetida

¹⁄
₄teaspoon garam masala

1.
Prepare the coconut milk. Then, heat the coconut oil in a large nonstick wok or saucepan over medium-high heat, add the cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the onion, green chile peppers, and ginger and cook until the onion is golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

2.
Mix in the vegetables, water, and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and cilantro and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer over low heat about 5 minutes.

3.
Heat the peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds; they should splutter upon contact with the hot oil, so cover the pan until the spluttering subsides. Quickly add the curry leaves and asafoetida and mix into the vegetables. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle the garam masala on top, and serve.

Mixed Vegetables in Tomato-Cream Sauce

Tamatar Kari mein Milli Julli Sabziyan

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Don't let the chile peppers in the ingredients list fool you, because peppers or not, this delicately flavored dish tastes quite familiar—reminiscent of Italian cuisine. The tomatoes and the cream balance the heat of the chile peppers and the cream adds a silky smoothness.

I first cook the vegetables in the microwave for convenience, but you can steam or boil them until crisp-tender. Serve it with
paranthas
(griddle-fried breads) and grilled meats, or present it with cooked pasta.

5 to 6 cups mixed vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, green beans, Chinese eggplants, and peas cut into
³⁄
₄-inch pieces

3 to 4 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, stemmed

2 tablespoons melted ghee or unsalted butter

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt, whisked until smooth

¹⁄
₂teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala

¹⁄
₂teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 cup water or vegetable broth

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons heavy cream

¹⁄
₄teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1.
Place the vegetables in a microwave-safe dish, cover, and cook on high power until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

2.
In a blender, blend together the ginger, garlic, green chile peppers, ghee, lime juice, yogurt, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and salt until smooth. Transfer to a large nonstick wok or saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until most of the juices evaporate and traces of the ghee appear on the sides, 5 to 7 minutes.

3.
Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the vegetables, plus any juices, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer 7 to 10 minutes.

4.
Mix in the tomato sauce and cream and simmer another 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the black pepper, and serve.

Hot and Tangy Goan Mixed Vegetables

Sabzi Vindaloo

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Vindaloo
means "with vinegar" and this Portuguese-influenced specialty has today become one of Goa's trademark curries. Had the Portuguese not introduced vinegar to India during their rule of Goa from 1510 to 1961, this dish could very well be just another curry.

This dish also contains red chile peppers that make it very hot, and today the name
vindaloo
signifies a very spicy and tangy dish, from the red chile peppers and vinegar. It works best with sweeter or starchy vegetables and steamed rice to balance some of the flavor. This dish can be made using potatoes in place of the mixed vegetables.

1 recipe
Goan Vindaloo Paste

4 to 5 cups mixed fresh vegetables, such as carrots, kohlrabi, potatoes, and green beans cut into 1-inch pieces

3 to 4 cups water

¹⁄
₄cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1.
Prepare the vindaloo paste. To the paste add the vegetables and cook, stirring, over medium heat, 7 to 10 minutes.

2.
Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce thick, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, mix in the cilantro, and serve.

Sindhi Mixed Vegetables with Split Pigeon Peas

Sindhi Sabzi Kari

Makes 4 to 6 servings

A soupy specialty from the Sindhi community (originally from northwest India, an area now in Pakistan), this dish is traditionally served with steamed or lightly spiced
basmati
rice. The number of ingredients in this dish might seem daunting, but there are just 3 relatively easy cooking steps and the pressure cooker helps shorten the cooking time.

Cluster beans (
guar ki phalli
) are thin, like
haricot vert
green beans, and about 5 inches long. These native Indian beans have an assertive taste and are used just like regular green beans to make all sorts of dishes.
Kokum
is the sour, sun-dried fruit of the mangosteen-oil tree, and is popularly used in the western and southern parts of India as a souring agent in foods. Cluster beans and
kokum
are available in Indian markets.