The Veggie Masaman curry

Thai food is something both my husband and I are addicted to. As a matter of fact, I am yet to come across someone who doesn’t like this wonderful cuisine. The only problem we have with the cuisine is the addition of the fish sauce in most dishes. I try to make some of the dishes we enjoy the most at home to avoid a big hole in the pocket as well 🙂 . The Masaman curry turned out pretty good. Duh! Its got coconut milk, peanuts, potatoes and lots more delicious flavors make any dish..hmm…dishy;) ! So here goes the recipe for the ever-so-loved Masaman curry.

Mmm..looking at the picture make me long for some thai food rite now!

Potatoes, cubed-2 nos

capsicum, julienne-1

galangal/ ordinary ginger- 1.5 inch

garlic, big-3 cloves

turmeric powder-1 tsp

onion, medium, chopped-1/2

coriander seeds-2 tbsp

peppercorn-1 tsp

red chillies-1 no(add 2 more for a hot masaman curry!)

cumin seeds-1 tsp

Soy sauce-1 tbsp

coconut milk-1 cup

water-1/2 cup

peanuts, crushed-2 tbsps

Oil-1 tsp

Scallions-to garnish

In a heavy bottomed pan, saute the coriander and cumin seeds. Add the peppercorn and the red chillies and keep sauteing for a couple of minutes. While this cools down, saute the ginger, garlic and onions in few drops of oil. Grind all of the above ingredients with turmeric powder and little water into a fine paste.

In the remaining oil, saute the onion, capsicum. When the vegetables are almost done, add the ground paste and saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat(to prevent burning). Add the soy sauce and water. Allow it to come to a boil. Now add the coconut milk and crushed peanuts. Bring it to a boil. Garnish with scallions.

I had no tofu at home, so skipped this amazing ingredient. If you have some at home, feel free to cube them and add them along with the paste.

Serve with some hot basil fried rice.

Served with some thai basil fried rice(made with jasmine rice)

American Chopsuey-A truly desi dish with a firangi(foreign) name

American chopsuey is probably one of the most ordered Indo-chinese dishes in India, after manchurians, hakka noodles and fried rice. Its crunchy texture mixed with the sweet-tangy sauce must make this dish an absolute favorite among the masses. There was a phase when everytime I stepped out for Chinese with friends/family in India , I would order this dish or convince another member in the group to order it and grab a few spoonfuls!

Surprisingly this dish isn’t available in America….how weird is that! I for one think the name could have been something like Cantonese Chopsuey or Indian chopsuey. There are an almost similar dish served in some restaurants across the U.S with a crisy noodle base with sauce on top but nothing compares to the American chopsuey thats served back home.

My mom once made this dish at home and it turned out great. I have been wanting to try this dish by myself  for a while now. And that’s what I did.

For the noodles:

Chang’s Veg noodles-2 packs

Cooking spray/Oil

Heat oven to 350 degree F. Line a baking tray(cookie sheet) with aluminium foil. Break up the noodles and spread it on the cookie sheet. Drizzle/spray oil on the noodles and toss well to cover all the noodles with oil. Bake the noodles for 5 minutes, remove from oven and toss the noodles again to bring the ones at the bottom to the top and bake for 5 more minutes or till slightly golden/browned. Keep aside.

For the vegetables:

Carrots, julienned-2 nos

Green Beans, an inch long pieces-1/2 cup

capsicum/bell pepper, medium, cut lengthwise-1 no

mushrooms, sliced-6-7 nos

cabbage,medium ,cut lengthwise-1/s no.

Garlic, chopped-2 nos

spring onion/scallions-5-6 nos

oil-1/2 tsp

salt-as per taste

pepper-2 tsps

Heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic and the white ends of the scallions. Add the carrots, beans, mushroom and capsicum. Saute for a few mins till they are cooked but still crunchy. Add the cabbage, salt and pepper. Stir and keep covered for a minute. Turn off the heat and keep aside. Reserve the green ends to garnish the chopsuey after assembly.

For the sauce:

Tomato ketchup-1/4 cup

soy sauce-2 tbsps

garlic chilli sauce-1 tbsp

garam masala powder-2 tsps

cornstarch/cornflour-2 tbsps

water-2 cups

In a pan, combine all the sauces, garam masala and water. Bring it to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in little water and add it to the mixture just as it starts to boil.

To serve, place the noodles in bowl, top with the vegetables and sauce. Garnish with the green end of the scallions.

Gobi Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian, fried rice, hakka noodles are probably some of the most sought after and extremely popular Indo-chinese dishes. In chennai, other than the specialty Chinese restaurants even the specialty restaurants in Southern Cuisine/ Northern Cuisine serve these dishes . As a kid, we rarely went to a Chinese restaurant or ordered chinese foods, thanks to the ajinotomo(MSG)-is-carcinogenic rumor of the 90’s in India. My mom insisted on making these dishes at home than having them at any restaurant so that she can control what goes into the dishes. Once in a while, when a cousin visited from abroad, all of us cousins would sneak out to Rangis or Dynasty(these were some of the very few specialty Chinese restaurants in the city in the early 90s) for a yummy Chinese Meal.

A couple of weeks ago, we were inviting some friends over for dinner and I decided I was going with a Asian-cuisine(Ind0-chinese and Thai) fare. The menu included Tofu-lettuce wraps,vegetable fried rice, gobi manchurian,thai spicy peanut noodles,green curry with veggies and tofu,sticky rice with mangoes and a non-alcoholic mangotini(mango martini). Food apart, the meal turned out be so much fun. I should admit that the mess in my kitchen seemed staggering but thanks to my hubby everything was set straight in the matter of minutes(or what seemed like minutes to me 😀 ). Although I came up with the menu, a dear friend helped me so much with the cooking(she made the fried rice and lent a hand in almost everything I made that evening). Thanks M…you are just amazing, girl!

Today I thought I shall post the recipe for gobi manchurian, although thousands of recipes for this dish have been posted, shown on TV, written in books-I felt I should share my version.

The time-tested tasty gobi manchurian

Cauliflower, medium sized, broken into individual florets -1

corn flour-1 cup

maida-3 tbsp

salt to taste

ginger garlic paste-1.5 tsps

kashmiri red chilli powder-2 tsps

Oil-3 tbsp

water-1/4 cup

Cook cauliflower florets in a pan filled with water. Sprinkle a tsp of salt in the boiling water. Drain and keep aside.

In a small, slightly deep pan heat oil(small,deep pans require less oil but of course take a longer time!). Mix all the above ingredients, except the cooked cauliflower, with 1/4 cup water to make a slightly thick batter(the consistency should be watery than that for bajji). Dip the florets in the batter and fry. Keep these aside.

For the gravy:

Garlic, chopped-3 nos

Green chillies, chopped-2 nos.

ginger-garlic paste-1/2 tsp

soy sauce-2 tbsps

tomato ketchup-3 tbsps

chiili sauce(Sriracha does a great job)-2 tbsps

water-1 cup

cornstarch-2 tsps

spring onion(scallions), chopped-3 nos

oil-1 tbsp

Heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic, green chillies, white end of the scallions. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute  for a minute. Now add all the sauces and water. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tbsp water. Add this mixture to the sauces. Just as it starts thickening, add the fried florets. Garnish with the chopped, green end of the scallions. Serve with plain or fried rice.

P.S: Thanks SJ for the pictures, I didn’t even have to use Picassa to edit them. I think you are soooo ready for a SLR!

The green spring onions against the orange manchurian and the placemat make a beautiful pic, doesn't it?

On an aside, I found some interesting titbit about the origin of the Mighty Manchurian. It was the ingenious brainchild of the father of Indo-Chinese food, Mr. Nelson Wang(who runs an restaurant called China Garden in Mumbai). This dish supposedly came into existence in the mid 70’s in Kolkota. Read more about it here.

Spicy Thai peanut Noodles with vegetables and tofu

I, like some of my girl friends, have food cravings (Our spouses shudder to think what they would be put through when the ‘actual time’ comes for food cravings). One of my recurring cravings is for thai food. I just love, love, love thai cuisine. I assume its because of its similarity to Kerala cuisine with the amount of coconut milk used! So, when these cravings kick in and I want to make something quick, I make this.

Its my take on the thai peanut noodle salad, just that this ain’t a salad. I also try to give it a little bit of ‘Indianness’ to the recipe with some ingredients. Its a hearty standalone dish that is appetizing to the mouth as well as the eyes. Tofu (bean curd) is a family favorite and one is sure to find a pack of tofu in my refrigerator all the time.  I add it to this dish to give it the extra dimension. After all, isn’t cooking all about infusing flavors and textures?

To make 2 servings:

Spaghetti-1/4 pack(100 gms)

Firm Tofu(cubed)-1/2 pack(80 gms)

carrot(julianne)-1 no.

broccoli-7-8 florets

green pepper(julianne)-1 no.

mushrooms(thinly sliced)-4-5 nos.

cilantro-4-5 sprigs

spring onion/scallion (chopped)-2 stalks

ginger-garlic paste-1 tsp

soy sauce-2 tbsps

chilli-garlic sauce-1 tbsp

tomato ketchup-1.5 tbsps

honey-1 tsp

chilli powder-1 tsp

garam masala-1 tsp

coconut milk-1/4 cup

crunchy peanut butter-2 tbsps(you can use crushed peanuts instead)

Oil-2 tsps

Cook pasta as per directions. Drain, rinse in cold water and keep aside. Marinate tofu in 1 tsp soy sauce for 20 mins. In 1 tsp sizzling oil, saute the tofu till they tun golden on each side. Keep the tofu aside and heat the remaining oil. Saute the white base of the scallions with the ginger-garlic paste for a couple of minutes. Add the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sauces, honey, chilli powder and garam masala. Follow this with the coconut milk and peanut butter. Allow the vegetables to get coated with the sauces. Toss in the tofu and the spaghetti. Garnish with cilantro and the rest of the scallions. Stir well and serve hot.

A spicy and splendid supper for a special someone- YOU!