Malaysian Veg curry

I had been eating out in Malaysian and Thai recipes quite a few times in the past weeks/months and that inspired me to try this one. Especially I love the Pad see ew jay, Pad Thai jay and Thai green curry, besides this Malaysian veg curry. Original recipe can be found here


I should first mention that its not very authentic. I had to twist the original recipe to make it completely vegetarian and suit the available ingredients.


To make this we need:


To Grind:


Onion -  1 whole big onion, roughly chopped
few mint leaves
turmeric powder
red chillies according to taste, 1/4 cup chopped squash
2 green chillies
a tbsp of garam masala, 1 tbsp coriander powder, salt as needed
ginger - little more than what we normally use
Garlic - few cloves
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp black pepper powder


along with oil and usual tempering ingredients


And vegetables: 2 cups of Soy chunks, mushrooms, carrots, butternut squash, all chopped and combined

Grind all the ingredients together to make a fine paste. Heat a pan with some oil and add the paste. Keep stirring till the oil separates, this might take a while. Then add all the chopped vegetables and also the coconut milk and some water. adjust the seasoning and cook till the veggies become soft and cooked.


This goes very well with steamed Jasmine rice!

Bharwa Karela/Stuffed bitter gourd

Some days we have that intriguing curiosity to explore and try recipes from other cuisines and feel happy about the grand success :)

On one such day I tried making this stuffed bitter gourd recipe and I swore that day that whenever i m going to make bitter gourd hereafter its going to be Bharwa karela. 

Its one of those promises thats written on water! :) Hunger rules always, Isnt it? Not to mention this recipe is a little time consuming!

To prepare this we need:

bitter gourd: About 1/2 kg

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Garam masala

1 1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1 1/2 tsp Amchur powder

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

one large onion chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

salt as needed

Bharwa karela another pic: 

Slit the bitter gourds lengthwise, without cutting it into two pieces! And take out the seeds. Cook the bitter gourd in boiling water and drain. Use as little water as possible to preserve all the nutrients. Remove any moisture from the bitter gourds using paper towel.

To prepare the stuffing:

Take a pan and heat abt a tbsp of oil and fry onion. While the onions turn translucent, add ginger and garlic paste and keep stirring till the raw smell goes. Add tomatoes and all the other powder ingredients.  Keep cooking till the oil separates. Put off the stove and stuff the karela's with the stuffing prepared thus, tie the bitter gourds and shallow fry them.

The amchur powder in the stuffing makes this dish extra delicious! Don't miss out adding this particular ingredient, it adds a tangy taste which is the essence of this dish and complements the mild bitterness of the karelas well.

Yes, and I should mention that easily the quantity of consumption increases by cooking bitter gourd this way!

Karamani Vadai/Black eyed peas Fritters

One of my friends made this for a potluck and that was the first time I had it. It tasted soo good and I also make it frequently as this makes a very healthy snack too!

Ingredients:

Black eyed peas - 2 cups

toor dhal - 2 tbsp

onion - 1, chopped

curry leaves - chopped

green chillies - 4

cilantro leaves - few,chopped

salt, and a pinch of asafoetida and a pinch of turmeric

Method of preparation:

Soak the black eyed peas in water for about 3 hrs. Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil and fry all the remaining ingredients (Onion, toor dhal, chopped green chillies, turmeric, salt,curry leaves and cilantro.) just till the raw smell goes off. Add this with the soaked and drained black eyed peas and add the asafoetida, and coarsely grind the mixture. Make small balls and deep fry in oil. Serve hot with cilantro dressing! I also added a tbsp of rava to add to the crispness. Tastes yumm!!! :)