Mustard Okra

There’s only one way in our place to make okra & that’s the Food & Wine okra salad way. Our taste buds are so inured to that recipe that they threatened to strike in protest. We heard their protest & decided it was time for a change. Our pursuit for new & exciting ways to cook okra brought us to this recipe from Food in the Main. Like all of Shyamala’s recipes, it’s so simple yet different, with nary a need for modifications, that we couldn’t help but cook it.

What We Used:

Sliced okra – 1 lb

Mustard seeds – 2 tbsps

Ginger Paste – 2 tsps

Dried Red Chillies – 2

Slit Green Chillies – 4

Bay Leaf – 1

Oil – 2 tsps

Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Water as required

Pan

How We Did It:

1. Soak the mustard seeds in water for 15 minutes.
   
2. Grind the mustard seeds with ginger to a smooth paste.
3. Mix the paste with 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and reserve.
4. Heat oil in the pan; add the bay leaf, dried red chillies, garam masala powder and the remaining turmeric powder.
5. When the chillies start to change colour and/or splutter, add the sliced okra and stir well. Cover & let cook for 10 minutes or till the okra is cooked halfway through.
6. To the okra, add the reserved paste, the slit green chillies, salt and stir.
7. If the gravy is too dry, add water and mix well. Cover and let okra cook.

Our Verdict:

This okra tastes exactly as the name suggests – mustardy. We are not particular fans of mustardy anything, but this recipe really blew our minds because it was that unique and charged with taste! Try it, we are sure you’ll love it!

Kerala Easter Breakfast

Growing up in the Middle East, we didn’t really get into Easter celebrations because it didn’t fall on a holiday. Which seemed like a terrible waste because that meant there was no respite from the exhausting experience that was Good Friday Service (stretching from morning to evening – though our parents did let us sleep in and attend at noon ).

What we did get to enjoy on Easter though, was my mom’s delectable Appam and Chicken Stew curry for a hurried breakfast before we scuttled off to school. Also enjoyed after school, before play, after play, before bed, anytime – because it was just that Yummy!

This Easter, the appam that I made was edible & photo worthy, but not entirely post worthy.

The chicken stew, though, was most excellent. And I owe it to Mallugirl at Malluspice, whose recipe was what I looked at for our Chicken Stew, because I had left it too late to call my mom up for hers .

I added some changes like marinating the chicken for a bit, and skipping the poppy seeds, curry leaves, lemon and yogurt (personal preferences), and got a very close version of my mom’s chicken stew.

What We Used:

Cubed, boneless Chicken – 2 1/2 cups

Chopped Red Onion – 1/2 an onion

Chopped, skinned Tomatoes – 1/4 a tomato

Chopped, skinned Potato – 1

For the Marinade:

Vinegar

Black Pepper

Coriander Powder

To be ground:

Cashew Nuts – 6

Cumin Seeds – a handful

Chopped Green Chilies – 2

Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp

Ginger Paste – 1 tbsp

Dry Spices to add to the stew:

Turmeric – 1/4 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Mint leaves – 2 leaves

Chopped Cilantro/Coriander leaves – 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon Stick – 1

Cloves – 3

Cardamom – 2

Oil

Salt & Pepper – according to taste

Canned (13.5 FL.OZ. or 400 ml) Coconut Milk – 1/2 a can

Large cooking Pot – 1

Small Skillet – 1

Bowls – 2

How We Did It:

1. Wash the chicken pieces throughly. In a bowl, marinate the chicken with vinegar, pepper (enough to cover the chicken pieces) and coriander powder (1 tsp) for about 30 minutes.
2. Soak the cashew nuts and cumin seeds in warm water, for 30 minutes, in a small bowl. I am thinking this is so that it gets nice and soft for grinding. After 30 minutes, grind the cashew nuts, cumin seeds, garlic & ginger paste, and chilies together.
3. In a small skillet, add a bit of oil, and lightly fry the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom on low heat, till their aromas waft out.
4. In a large cooking pot, add some oil and fry the onions (on medium heat) till they are transparent, add the fried spices (cinnamon, cloves & cardamom) to this and stir for a while.
5. To the cooking pot, add the ground paste (cashew, cumin, garlic, ginger and chilies), the dry spices (turmeric, coriander powder, ground pepper), a little water, and stir well.
6. Once the onions are nice and soft; add the chicken and potatoes, salt, pepper, and cook on high heat, for about 5 minutes or so.
7. Lower the heat to medium, add the canned coconut milk and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Taste for salt & pepper.
8. Add the tomatoes, the chopped mint and cilantro leaves and cook covered till the chicken and potatoes are done.

We had it with appam for breakfast, and with paratas for a snack

Eggplant Bartha or Baigan Ka Bartha

I had no idea what Eggplant Bartha was till the Mostafa introduced me to what I can only describe as a mashed eggplant curry. It involves roasting eggplants, scooping out the flesh and making a curry out of it. So simple and yet so delicious.

What We Used:

Long, slender Eggplants – 4

Chopped Onions – 1/2

Chopped Tomatoes (small) – 1

Chopped Garlic – 1 clove

Oil

Cumin – for roasting

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp

Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

Broiling Pan – 1

Frying Pan – 1

How We Did It:

1. Brush eggplants throughly with oil. You can either broil the eggplants in the oven (400 °F for about 30 minutes or till the eggplants are squishy & their skins have blackened) or roast them over an open flame over the grill.
2. Once they are roasted, the eggplants can be cooled under running cold water or left to cool of their own accord.
3. Once the eggplants are cool, slice the skin open and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Mash and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in the frying pan, roast the cumin seeds.
5. Add chopped onions and garlic. Season with salt. Saute till the onions are golden brown.
6. Add chili, coriander and turmeric powders and stir.
7. Add tomatoes and cook till tender.
8. Add the mashed eggplant and fry for another 3-4 minutes, over low heat. This is a great accompaniment to rotis or parottas or plain white rice .

Red Radish Curry

Root vegetables are so full of surprises. They’re like God’s little hidden edible treats. Our favorite conversational bit while cooking is to pretend to be the v. first human on earth discovering something edible in totally unlikely places.

“Laala~la~la (that’s how cavemen walk along in my head) tufts of green leaves – bother me, they do! Pull them out, we will (yes, they all spoke like Yoda)”

Whoosh & Hello – gorgeously hued edible stuff!!

I have never really used these in anything but salads & was in the mood for something Indian. A few ferrets through the net later, and I got the simplest recipe for tasty radish curry from Madhoo’s Kitchen. I made a couple of minor changes – the biggest being ditching the curry leaves because I am not entirely convinced (yet) of it’s culinary utility

What We Used:

Red radishes – 12

Chopped Small Onion – 1

Chopped Tomatoes – 1

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal (Skinned) – 1 tsp *

Jeera (Cumin seeds)- 1 tsp

Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 2 tsp

Frying pan – 1

* Urad Dal is a kind of lentil that you can find at your local Indian Store. I found great little descriptions on Wiki and on RecipeZaar about them

How We Did It:

1. Clean & peel the radishes and boil them in two cups of water till soft.
2. Heat oil in pan.
3. Add all ingredients except for the boiled radish and remaining spices (salt, chili pwdr, coriander pwdr).
4. Once the tomatoes and onions turn soft, add the boiled radishes.
5. Add salt, chili powder and coriander powder, cook for another five minutes and you’re all done! These are great with Chappathis and/or rice

Okra Salad

Edited to read: Ok. I am joining in. And sending this dish to Harini for her “Recipes for the rest of us – Starters”. Though it has ingredients which ask for precise measurements, you can cheat and just use pinchfuls instead

I never knew okra salad till I came across Suvir Saran’s crispy Okra Salad from Food & Wine. I made a couple of minor changes & now it is our v. favorite staple to serve for barbecue lunches or for a quick summer salad. It’s light, tasty, full of goodness & just simple to put together. The operative words though are ‘put together’ because the cutting up takes a little time – but no pain, no gain right?

What We Used:

1 1/4 teaspoons garam masala *
1/4 teaspoon amchoor powder *
1 pound young okra—halved lengthwise and cut into long, thin strips
1/4 big red onion, very thinly sliced (3/4 cup)
1 medium tomato—cored, seeded and sliced into thin strips (I didn’t core or seed them & they looked nice anyways)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Oil

Salt

Small bowl – 1

Large bowl – 1

Cookie pan – 1

* These can be bought at the local Indian store. Here is some great info for Garam Masala (hooray for wiki)

& Amchur Powder is just dried unripe mango, that you can also get at the local Indian store

How We Did It:

1. In a small bowl, combine the garam masala with the amchoor powder.
2. The original recipe asks for fried okra strips but I prefer pan frying it with less oil. I took a large skillet, heated a bit of olive oil, worked in the okra strips and pan fried them for a couple of minutes, till they were crisp. Or alternatively, you could heat the oven to 350 °F, spread the okra strips on a cookie pan, and leave it in the oven for 10 minutes. They come out crispy, though they may not look as goldenish but hey, they still taste as good. Sprinkle with some of the spice mixture and salt.
3. In a large bowl, gently toss the fried okra with the red onion, tomato, cilantro and lemon juice. Season the salad with more of the spice mixture and salt and serve immediately. And that’s really about it !