Welcome To #Indianfoodpalooza! Come Cook With Us!

   About a month or so ago, my fellow food bloggers Barbara of Creative Culinary, Prerna, of Indian Simmer and I, started talking about getting people more interested in cooking Indian food. The first person who was interested was Barbara as she came into this whole project an Indian food virgin. We chatted on Skype (in itself quite the adventure, what with time zones and all) and decided that March would be Indian Food Month. We would throw an #Indianfoodpalooza and try to get as many people as we could, interested in making a foray into the world of Indian cuisine.
To make things super easy, each of us will be featuring a different dish on our websites for inspiration, plus we've got a whole bunch of links to some of our personal favorite Indian cooking sites and books.

   Indian food is as varied as the subcontinent it comes from, and once you look around, you'll find there's something for everyone. With the emphasis on healthy eating Indian food is ideal and when looking for those  Meatless Monday dishes, look no further. Indian food's got your back.

So without further ado, let me offer my contribution a great entree for any meatless meal, the classic South Indian Aviyal, or Vegetable Stew.

   There are no precise measurements or ingredients here which is what makes this dish so much fun, and so easy and economical. All one needs is a small amount of a variety of vegetables. Whatever is fresh and in season.

   The classic Aviyal almost always includes eggplant, plantain, ash gourd (zucchini) carrots, yam, potatoes, green beans, and green mango, but if you can't find these or you don't like them, don't worry. You can make this with whatever is around, parsnips, rutabagas, spinach, chard, cabbage, peas, bell peppers, whatever looks good. Just remember to vary your vegetables for crunch and texture. The goal here is for all of your vegetables to be cut so that they cook together. Below is my recipe.

Aviyal, Indian Vegetable Stew

Here's What You Need:

1 small eggplant
2 carrots peeled and sliced
2 grey zucchini sliced and halved
1 large boiling potato peeled and chopped
1 ripe plantain peeled and sliced
1 green mango peeled and sliced
2 cups of chopped green beans
1 yam peeled and chopped

2/3 cup of water or more if you need it
1 tsp of turmeric
8 fresh curry leaves if you have them
2/3 cup of grated fresh or dried unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
2 seeded green serrano chilies finely chopped
2 tsp of salt
3 Tbs of coconut or vegetable oil

Okay, here's something you might not have heard of: 
One component of this dish are Dal Badi, which are dried seasoned dal  (lentil) balls. 

This recipe calls for two pieces of badi. Bags of these are found at any Indian market, but if you can't find these add in their place:
  1 tsp ground coriander
  1 tsp ground cumin
  1/4 tsp cayenne
  1/4 tsp ground black pepper instead.


Here's What to Do: 

If you are using the dal badi, take two of them and hammer them into small bite size pieces.

In a large pan, deep skillet or kadhai, heat the coconut or vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot, toss in the dal badi pieces and stir them around for a few minutes until they turn a dark rosy color.

If you are using plain dal badi spices as a substitute, put them into the hot oil instead. Stir them around for about a minute.
Notice the change in pot. I cooked this dish in a clay pot and so here, I transferred the hot oil and badi pieces from the cast iron skillet to the clay.
Add in your chopped vegetables...

...the 1 tsp of turmeric and 2/3 cup of water, (you may need more, if so add it. There should be just enough water to put out steam to slowly cook everything not to soak it,)
Stir everything around and wait for the water to come to a boil.
When it does, turn the heat down to low, put a lid on things and let everything simmer together until the vegetables are fork tender.
Check it every now and then and give it a good turn so nothing is sticking or burning, but basically that's it!

   Depending on how good a job was done in cutting the vegetables relatively evenly, it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I cooked the dish on a very low heat, slowly in clay and it took about an hour. The dish can then be set aside, or even made in advance and refrigerated overnight before.....

  
The Final Step:

In a small bowl mix together:
  1/2 cup of plain yogurt
  2/3 cup grated or shredded fresh  or dried unsweetened coconut (I was using fresh which I purchased frozen at a local Hispanic market for $1.50)

Mix this up well until it's smooth and creamy. then add in
  2 finely chopped seeded green serrano chilies.

Mix again and just before serving, add this blend to the heated vegetable stew.
Add the yogurt mix carefully so as to prevent the yogurt from curdling (not good, trust me)
Add in 2 tsp of salt.
Check for seasoning and serve it up.

This will serve between 6 to 8 people as an entree with sides. I served it with a South Indian Cashew Rice, (recipe to follow shortly)...

...fresh coconut curd, a buttermilk sambal, and parathas.

   So there it is, a totally meatless meal, and a way of using those orphan vegetables one has hanging around the kitchen like so many Dickensian scullery maids. Glorify them!

Back To #Indianfoodpalooza

Now it's your turn!! Come cook with us in the month of March! Learn the pleasures of the Indian table. Take the plunge!  Whether you've always cooked Indian food or don't know a dosa from a donut, everybody's welcome. The idea is to have some fun and learn a few new dishes.

To participate and be eligible to win all one has to do is this: 

  Post an Indian dish on your blog between March 5, 2012 and April 5, 2012.
   Link your dish up using the linking tool at the bottom of the post; only one entry per person
please. Entering your dish on any of our sites will have it display on all three
   Put a link in your post to this post so that your readers can join us too!
The hashtag for the event: #IndianFoodPalooza

 
We  also decided to offer prizes, since that always makes things more interesting. Prizes to be awarded include:

  Dried Coconut  (which I use nearly everyday) from Tropical Traditions for one of our readers that link up a recipe (We have three separate prizes from this company; each of us will be posting
something unique.)

 A set of Indian Spices (http://www.myspicesage.com/indian-spices-set-p-436.html?cPath=9_329) from
My Spice Sage. Ten (4 oz) resealable bags. See website for full product information.
  J.K. Adams artisan maple cutting board from my Creative Culinary's Vino Luci (www.vinoluci.com) store; a wine accessory and gift store.

   Prize winners will be chosen and winners notified April 5, 2012 using the email included on the link created. Winners will have until April 10, 2012 to respond with shipping information or another winner will be chosen.
   
Please note:  We want to encourage everyone to join us and share their experience but our
sponsors are shipping prizes directly and have requested that we limit the shipping area to the Continental USA.

Inspired? Ready to give this a whirl? The check these out:

Barbara at Creative Culinary is offering a Mumbai Sandwich
Prerna at Indiansimmer is featuring Jalebi

Here are more ideas for great Indian recipes:

1. KO Rasoi by Sanjana
2. Chef In You
3. eCurry by Soma Rathore
4. Journey Kitchen by Kulsum
5. Cook In a Curry by Maunika Gowardhan
6. Tongue Ticklers by Harini Prakash
7. Lite Bite by Sanjeeta
8. Veggie Belly by Sala Kanan
9. Kothiyavunu which is a great source for Kerala recipes
10. Sandhyas Kitchen
11. Cookbooks by Suvir Saran and Madhur Jaffrey

If you need anymore inspiration we happened to see a wonderful movie set in an Indian restaurant, written by and starring Assif Mandvi of The Daily Show and co-starring Madhur Jaffrey
check it out. If this doesn't get you in the mood to cook/eat Indian nothing will.


 So get into the kitchen, rattle those pots, pans, woks, and kadhais and join us!!! Any questions, find me at Twitter @kathygori

How Can Badi...Be So Good?! Simple Vegetable Stew With A Kick

    I want to get one thing straight. I roll old school. I go from scratch every chance I get. If I can possibly make it myself, I do. Part of this stems from being a mad picky eater as a kid, the other part comes from my desire to know as much as I possibly can about how food is put together and how people did it way back in the olden days. I also think that secretly I'm prepping for a time when these skills may be valuable, or maybe I've just seen The Road a few too many times. Yes, someday I'll be able to barter my canning skills and chapatti making for a milllllllllion dollars mmmwahhhhahahahaha. Okay, back to reality.
   Growing up in my house, a large part of doing it oneself had to do with budgeting. When I grew up, I carried that "do it yourself" thing over into my cooking for another reason: To have a bit more control over what went onto my plate. So when I go for something out of a package, I want something I'm really, really going to like, and that will taste really, really great. Which brings me to the subject of badi .
   If you've never heard of badi, let me fill you in. Badi are hard nuggets of seasoned dal dried in the sun (or the oven) that add a great texture and flavor to whatever dishes they're used in. I could make them myself. In fact don't be surprised if you see a post on that here soon. But for convenience, I like to buy them and have them ready-made in my cupboard for whenever the mood strikes me.

    Well, the  mood hit me the other day. I'd just purchased a whole butt load of fresh bottle gourd and I wound up rummaging through my pantry to make vegetable stew with badi. I've been making this stew for years. The original recipe came from Yamuna Devis book Lord Krishnas' Cuisine. The recipe is extremely simple and I've vamped on it countless times, adding my own twists as I go. That's the other great thing about this dish; it's friendly to whatever vegetables might be hanging around the fridge. So take this recipe and have your own fun with it.

Indian Vegetable Stew

Here's what to do:
 Sidenote:
   The way badi is prepared is simple. It's whacked with a mallet until it shatters into a lot of little pieces. Great way of getting the frustrations out.

  Heat 2 Tbs of unsalted butter, ghee or coconut oil in a heavy skillet or kadhai.
 When the butter is warm and foamy, toss in 1/2 cup of  badi pieces and stir fry them until they turn a nice reddish brown.

 Toss in:
3/4 of a lb of peeled chopped bottle gourd, or zucchini, summer or yellow squash.  I added some extra peeled and chopped eggplant.

 If using fresh peas, add 1/2 cup now, if using frozen wait until later.
Then add:
  1 or 2 fresh whole serrano chilies
  4 whole cloves
  1 cinnamon stick
  2 Tbs of dried or fresh mint

 4 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro
 2/3  of a cup of half and half, or to make it completely vegan, soy, rice or almond milk.

 Turn the heat down, put a lid on things and simmer for about 30 minutes. Keep stirring until all the liquid is absorbed and the vegetables are tender. Give the vegetables a turn every now and then so that they don't stick.
 Special note:
   During the last 10 minutes the vegetables are cooking, take out those whole chilies and add in:
 1 tsp of salt and the frozen peas.

  So there it is, a simple vegetable stew for a Meatless Monday. I paired it with chapattis and  Black Eyed Peas With Mushrooms.

   Badis are a great help dressing up any vegetable stew, and they can be added to almost anything.They're easily available at any Indian or Asian market or online, and they keep. Always a plus around my house.
   Coming up next, a trick with inexpensive cucumbers that comes just in time for all of those end of Summer pot luck parties and barbecues. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Meatless Monday, Straight Outta The Ground, A Fast And Easy Entree

    When I was putting together my Pongal menu for the Foodbuzz 24x24, I knew that among the rice and rassam and sambar and vadai, I needed a centerpiece vegetable dish. there was no question I was making an aviyal, also known as a vegetable stew.
   I love aviyals and I've been making them for years. What do I love about them? Hey, what's not to love about a wonderful vegetable dish utilizing the season's best, letting them simmer and then finishing it all off with a tasty sauce of yogurt, coconut and spices. If you have them, toss in a few dal badi (pieces of dried crunchy dal cakes). Oh, did I mention it takes under an hour? Well it does, making it perfect for a snappy. Meatless Monday meal. Pair it up with rice or maybe a salad and it's done.

South Indian Vegetable Stew

Here's what to do:
    If using dal badi pieces, heat 4 Tbs of coconut or vegetable oil  in a deep kadhai, pot or skillet. When it's hot, toss them in and stir them around until they turn a nice reddish gold color.
   Add in all the vegetables that are going to be used. Here's where it gets interesting. This dish works  with whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. Can't find long beans, bottle gourd or bitter melon? Use green beans, carrots, squash, zucchini, eggplant or potato. Toss in some peas at the end. Get seasonal. Get local.
  I visited my local farmers market...

And this is what I found.

 

Potatoes, carrots, crooked neck squash, zucchini, green beans, long beans, butternut squash and a couple of tiny purple eggplant. Use your judgement and your imagination. There are no hard and fast rules here. After all the chopping, this is what I had.

  So back to the recipe. Add all of the vegetables to the hot oil and badi in the pot or kadhai (If you include frozen peas, defrost them and add them at the very end of the cooking process).  Add in:
 2/3 cup of water
 1 tsp of turmeric
 About 8 fresh curry leaves

Bring the water to a boil and  turn down the heat. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then to make sure it's not sticking. If it looks like it needs a little water, add a bit, but this dish should be cooked with as little water as possible. You'll get plenty of moisture from the vegetables.

    While the vegetables are simmering, make the sauce.
 In a bowl mix together:
 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
 2/3 cups of shredded, fresh or moistened, dried, unsweetened coconut
2 hot green serrano chilies seeded and finely chopped.

When the vegetables are tender and cooked, add the yogurt mixture to the pot along with:
2 tsps of salt
1 cup of defrosted peas.
Stir it all together

 This is enough for 6 to 8 hungry people. It's an easy, inexpensive and fast vegetarian entree that takes advantage of whatever you might find in the market fresh and in season. An aviyal is often served as part of a Pongal feast, but because of it's use of so many fresh and seasonal vegetables, it's great anytime of year whether feasting or barbecuing. What better way to get carnivores in the family to warm up to a meatless main dish, than spiking it with a bit of coconut?

Hot, Hot, Hot ,Stuff on A Cold Fall Day

On a cold, cold rainy day what's better than something spicy hot? Chilies! I also feel the same way on hot, hot days. I like my food spicy which is why I particularly enjoy cooking dishes from South India. When I first started cooking Indian food some 20 years ago i started with a lot of northern dishes and over the years have worked my way down to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa and beyond.
I'm always looking for tasty vegetable dishes for lunch (which is our main meal of the day) and since I've been keeping this blog I hate to repeat myself so I'm not falling into the usual thing of, "oh it's Wednesday, time for Gujarati pureed vegetables" again.
We've had two days of iron grey skies here in Wine Country, and off and on rain. I keep running out to the woodpile and picking up kindling. What better thing to come in to the house to than a warming bowl of Sagu. A Sagu is a type of slow simmered curry cooked with coconut. Either coconut milk, or grated coconut such as the one I made yesterday.
One of my favorite cookbooks is Dakshin, Vegetarian Cuisine From South India by Chandra Padmanabhan. This book is filled with tasty, spicy treats and I love cooking form it. As I've said before vegetables are very forgiving and are perfectly willing to stand aside in a recipe and let another player take the starring role if that's what one happens to have on hand. Which is the case with this dish. It's a Mixed Vegetable Sagu and mixed is the operative word here. Use what you have. It will still work wonderfully. I did, and this is what I came up with in my adaptation.
1.) slice lengthwise and then chop across into 1 inch bits. 1 cup of zucchini.
2.) peel and thinly slice on the round 2 carrots
3.) chop 1 yukon gold or boiling potato into 1 inch pieces
4.) 1 cup of green peas fresh or frozen.
When all these veggies are peeled and chopped, set them aside
In a spice grinder or blender, mix
5.) 4 green chilies
6.) 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
7.) 3 tsp of ground coriander
8.) 1 tsp of cumin seeds
9.) 1 stick of cinnamon
10.) 2 cloves
11.) 6 Tbs of dried unsweetened grated coconut and
12.) about 1 Tbs of water
Grind this mixture until you have a paste.


Set the paste aside for later.
In a deep skillet or Karhai heat
13.) 2 Tbs of ghee
When that is nice and hot pop in
14.) 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
15.) 1 dried red chili pepper broken in half
16.) a few fresh or frozen curry leaves (I used about 6)


When the mustard seeds start to pop toss in
17.) 1 finely chopped onion
Stir the onion around for about 3 minutes then add in your chopped vegetables and
18.) 1/2 tsp of turmeric, salt to taste and finally enough water to cover your vegetables. Bring them to a nice simmer and leave them, to cook about 20 minutes or until everything is tender.


While your vegetables are simmering away in their bath take a small pan. Add a dab of coconut oil and stir fry
19.) 2 Tbs of cashews until they're golden. Set them aside.
When your vegetables are nice and tender,add the spice paste you made earlier to the broth they're in. Cook that a bit more, about 5 minutes or so and you're done.
Sprinkle the dish with chopped fresh cilantro and the cashews you've just fried.
This spicy dish is a meal in itself served with some Indian bread or as a hot little side dish to jazz up the same old same old. Make sure to serve something cooling with it, especially if you or the ones you are cooking for aren't used to heat.
This Sagu brings a nice kick to a cold fall day and really warms the core. feel free to try it with chayote, and green beans (the original recipe) instead of zucchini, add in whatever you have on hand. The secrets in the spice paste, so it's all good!