Tag Archives: coconut milk

Chettinad Meal Maker Curry Recipe

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Chettinad is a region in South India where many of my ancestors come from. It is a dry, arid land inhabited by a devout and enterprising people. And the food is simply sensational. There is no greater pleasure than eating at a chettinad wedding! Chettinad cuisine uses an abundance of spices like cumin, fennel, fenugreek, star anise, poppy seeds, chillies, tamarind, shallots, coconut and curry leaf. This chettinad meal maker curry is inspired by my heritage.

Nemam Koil, our clan temple in Chettinad

Chettinad is famous for its palatial ancestral homes. This house in Kothamangalam is now Saratha Vilas hotel.

Chettinad homes are generally famed for their non vegetarian food. But you can easily enjoy the flavors of this region with this vegetarian, vegan recipe. Meal maker or Nutrella are Indian brands of soy protein that are quite meaty in texture. I used Indian meal maker in this recipe. Feel free to use any kind of dried soy chunk or granule product. TVP, TSP, soy chunks, soy granules, or even seitan will work.

This chettinad meal maker curry recipe is easily adaptable to different tastes, use only vegetables (cauliflower is nice) or adjust coconut milk however you like. You can use more or less chillies according to your preference.

Chettinad Meal Maker Curry Recipe

(A Spicy Curry using TVP, TSP, Meal Maker, Nutrella or Soy Chunks)
Serves about 4

Ingredients
1 cup dry soy chunks/Meal Maker/Nutrella/TVP/TSP*
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
6 curry leaves
1-3 green chillies, slit. optional
½ medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 recipe masala powder, see recipe below
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup coconut milk
Salt

*Soy chunks like Meal Maker and Nutrella are easily available at Indian stores. TVP/TSP granules are available at the regular grocery store.

Method
Rehydrate the soy chunks (meal maker) or granules according to package instructions. This usually involves boiling a small pot of water with a little salt, boiling the soy chunks in it, then letting them soak in the boiling water (10 minutes for soy chunks, less for granules – read the box instructions). Drain the soy chunks or TVP granules, and squeeze out as much water as you can. Set the re-hydrated soy chunks or TVP granules aside, and proceed with the recipe.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add black mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Then add cumin and stir for 30 seconds. Add curry leaves and chillies, stir again. Then add onions, and sauté on medium-low heat for 3 minutes, or till the onions have softened. Now add the garlic and tomatoes. Continue to cook on medium-low heat till the tomatoes are very soft, about 6 minutes.

Add the ground masala powder (recipe below), turmeric, and salt, stir for a minute.

Add re-hydrated, squeezed soy chunks/meal maker/nutrella/TVP/TSP and pour in 2 cups water. Bring to boil. Continue boiling for about 5 minutes.

Pour in coconut milk and cook stirring for about 2 minutes. Taste the curry, if it is too spicy for you, add more coconut milk.

Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot with rotis, chappatis, tortillas, or steamed rice.

For the masala powder
Ingredients
1 tablespoons coriander seeds
1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 small dried red chili, optional

Method
In a small, heavy skillet on low heat, toast each of the ingredients one at a time. Roast each spice for about a minute, or till it lightly turns color and gets fragrant. Let the toasted spices cool a little. Then place in a coffee grinder and grind into a fine powder. Make sure there are no unground pieces.

Thai-Burmese Curry Noodles (Khao Soi). Thailand part 3.

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Before I tell you about this amazing noodle dish I learned to make in northern Thailand, here are more pictures from my recent trip. (And in case you missed my previous Thailand posts, they are here and here).

A Thai Market Outside Bangkok

I visited several markets in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The format seems to be pretty much the same everywhere – vegetable section, fruit section, then there are some bug vendors (yes, insects), rice vendors, fresh noodle vendors, dessert section and prepared foods section. Every single market I went to was extremely clean and organized.

This one was outside Bangkok, in the suburbs where I was staying with my uncle. So this market wasnt touristy, which is always a bonus.

Left: Sapodilla vendor. Right: My uncles wife Da, on her phone & buying guavas. Da showed me around here and so patiently explained everything and translated for me so I could communicate with the vendors 

Left: bugs and insects; I was feeling very Andrew Zimmern-ish.  Right: lime, red and green chillies

 

Pink preserved eggs (Chinese thousand year old eggs or century eggs) and pink noodles

Khao Soi Curry Noodles from Chiang Mai (Kow Swear or Khauk Swear in Burma)

Now lets travel up north to the cool mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Chinese Muslim traders have greatly influenced this region’s cuisine. Their delicious, spicy noodle dish, influenced by Burmese cuisine, called Khao Soi was everywhere in this city. My favorite vegetarian Khao Soi is from Aum Vegetarian Restaurant. in Chiang Mai.

Left: Chiang Mai Aum restaurant’s Khao Soi topped with coconut cream. In the background, chilli paste, lemon iced tea, and British kid.    

Right: My home made version

When I took a Thai Vegetarian cooking class at May Kaidee’s, Duan the owner and instructor was kind enough to show me how to make Khao Soi, even though it wasnt on the class schedule. See this post  for more on Duan and the cooking class.

Khao Soi, also spelled Khao Suey or Khao Soy, is also eaten in Myanmar or Burma and Laos. The Burmese version of Khao Soi is called Kow Swear or Khauk Swear. From what I understand, the Burmese curry noodles, are also in a coconut milk broth, but use more Indian influenced spices like coriander and do not have the crispy noodle topping. Since both the the Thai and Burmese versions are quite similar, I’m sending this post off to AWED Burma, hosted by Kitchen Swathi 

Other Khao Soi recipes:

Khao Soi by the amazing Chez Pim
A Khao Soi battle between an American guy in Bangkok and a Thai girl in Iowa
A Khao Soi recipe from Rosas Yummy Yums
And then there is this whole blog dedicated to the quest for the perfect Khao Soi in New York city!
A recipe for the Burmese version – Kow Swear on We Are Never Full blog

The version I learned to make at the cooking class had shredded chinese cabbage, cauliflower, and tofu. Ive used shiitake mushrooms, baby corn, carrot, zucchini and beansprouts. But I highly recommend adding some pan fried or deep fried firm tofu to this.

If there is an Asian store where you live, that is best place to buy the specialty ingredients for this recipe. But you may be able to find fresh chinese noodles (not the dry stuff) at the regular grocery store. For the pickled mustard greens, you may have to make a trip to the Asian store (if you want to make your own, here is a good recipe).

All the amazing Khao Sois I had in Chiangmai were topped with crispy fried noodles – the best part! I didnt feel like deep frying, so I used store bought La Choy brand crispy Asian noodles.

Curry Noodles in Coconut Milk Broth or Khao Soi or Khao Soy Recipe

serves 2-3

1 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped shiitake mushroom
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped baby corn
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 teaspoon curry powder or according to taste
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
2 cups fresh Chinese wheat based noodles or about 3 oz dried thin wheat based noodles
1 cup bean sprouts

Toppings and garnishes
1 cup store bought crispy noodles (I used La Choy brand)
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pickled mustard greens (available at Asian stores)
3-4 lime wedges
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green onion

Heat a large wok with oil. Add shitake mushroom, zucchini, baby corn and carrot and cook on high for about 2 minutes. Then add curry paste and curry powder. Toss to coat the vegetables. Add light soy sauce and cook about 30 seconds so the vegetables absorb the liquid. Then add dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Let the curry simmer for about 2 minutes.

Then pour in water and bring back to a simmer. Taste curry and adjust soy sauce, and sugar to taste. 

Bring a large pot full of water to boil noodles. If using dried noodles, cook in boiling water till noodles are very al dente. If using fresh noodles, boil for about 1 minute. No matter what noodles you use, make sure not to over cook them. Drain well.

Add cooked noodles and bean sprouts to the curry broth. 

Serve Khao Soi in individual bowls, topped with crispy noodles. If you dont have store bought crispy noodles, increase the fresh or dry wheat noodles quantity in this recipe by 1/2 cup. If using dried noodles — deep fry this extra half cup of boiled, drained noodles in oil, till golden. If using fresh noodles, deep fry them as is. Then top Khao Soi with the fried noodles.

Serve with chopped shallots, pickled mustard greens, lime wedges and cilantro on the side.

Easy Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan)

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I don’t know what I’d do without an Asian store near me. The one I go to is huge, cheap and stocked with every ingredient you’d need to make any Asian meal imaginable. One of my favorite things at the Asian store is tofu or soy puffs – little cubes of golden fried tofu. When you add tofu/soy puffs to curries, they absorb all the flavor and become incredibly flavorful. If you cant find tofu puffs, oven bake or deep fry some firm tofu and use in this recipe.

I learned how to make fresh green curry paste when I was in Thailand (more about that in future posts!), but I think store bought green curry paste is good enough when you are in a hurry. No pounding lemon grass in a mortar and pestle here! Freshly made curry paste ofcourse is much tastier, but if you are in a rush, canned paste is just fine.

 The Maesri brand green curry paste I use contains:

green chili
shallots
ginger, garlic
lemon grass
kaffir lime
sugar
galangal
turmeric
coriander
cardamom
cumin

You simply add coconut milk to the paste, boil, then add vegetables, boil again and you are done!

I like to garnish my thai curries with lots of fresh thai basil. Cilantro or green onions will also make great garnishes.

Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan) Recipe

serves about 4

1 can (4 tablespoons) green curry paste (you may need to use more or less depending on the brand)
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1/2 cup water
2 cups napa cabbage or chinese cabbage, shredded
1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup fresh or canned straw mushrooms
1/2 cup canned baby corn
1 cup tofu puffs (or firm tofu cubes that have been deep fried)
1/4 – 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves, loosely packed.

Heat a large wok and place the green curry paste, coconut milk and water in it. Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients, except Thai basil, and boil gently for about 4 minutes or till the cabbage has wilted and the vegetables are cooked but not mushy. Turn off heat. (If the green curry is too spicy for you, add more coconut milk). Sprinkle chopped Thai basil on top. Serve with jasmine rice.

Sweet Sticky Rice Sushi

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When we go out to eat sushi we always sit at the sushi bar. Mainly because S likes being perched on high bar stools. Sitting at the sushi bar gives me an advantage too. I can watch the sushi chef to make sure he washes his fishy hands before making my veggie sushi (usually oshinko). Making sushi at home however is problem free. For one, its cheaper, and I dont have to police fishy hands. No worrying about a lone fish roe clinging to my sushi roll! The best part is, I can play around and experiment with sushi ideas. Like sweet sticky rice sushi. I like rice paper wraps, I like sticky rice and I like adzuki beans. So I put them all together to make a dessert sushi. The rice paper does the job of the seaweed in a traditional sushi roll. The rice is cooked in coconut milk and rolled with a sweet adzuki bean filling. Its fun to experiment with the food coloring in this recipe. I love sakura mochi, so I tried to recreate the cherry blossom color by adding two drops of red coloring to the rice. The rice paper is colored to look like seaweed, exact food coloring proportions are below. I feel a little like Sandra Lee with all the food coloring!

Ingredients

Adzuki beans – 1/2 cup
Sugar – 7 tbsp (3+4). This will yield a mildly sweet sushi. Add more sugar if you like.
Sushi Rice – 1 1/4 cup
Coconut milk – 1 1/4 cup
Sesame seeds – 1/2 tbsp, toasted
Rice paper wraps – 6
Food coloring – red, blue, green
Salt – 1/4 tsp

To make the Adzuki beans: place the beans in a large pot with a lid. Add plenty of water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, put the lid on and let it cook. The beans should be done in about 1 1/2 hours. If you have excess water, drain it. Return the beans to the stove and let the moisture evaporate. Then add 3 tbsp sugar. Mix well and keep aside.

To make rice: While the beans are cooking, place the sushi rice, 1 cup water and 1 1/4 cup coconut milk in a pan. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, put a lid on and let the rice cook, about 25 minutes. The rice should have absorbed all the liquid. Turn off heat, add 4 tbsp sugar, the toasted sesame seeds, and 2-4 drops red food coloring and mix well. This will give you pink colored rice. Change up the colors as you like.

To make sushi rolls: Place a rice paper wrap on your work surface. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp water and 1 tsp sugar. To make a seaweed color, add food coloring to the sugar water in the following proportions: 10 drops green+4 drops blue+3 drops red. Using a basting brush, brush this colored water all over the rice paper wrap. Turn it over and brush the other side as well. In about 30 seconds the rice paper wrap will be soft and pliable. If your rice paper is still stiff, use warmer water or just use more water to brush on and let it soak another 30 seconds.

Now spread the rice evenly all over the rice paper; using your fingers is the easiest way to do it. Arrange the beans on top of the rice, but only on the end closest to you. Now, roll the rice paper away from you forming a sushi roll. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife.

Some Tasty Variations

Instead of adzuki beans, use fruits in the center of the roll. Mangoes or pineapple will work well.

To recreate fish roe, color some sesame seeds with orange food coloring and sprinkle on top of the cut sushi.

Thai Green Curry Pasta

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Pasta is so versatile; really, it shouldn’t be restricted to Italian cooking. I love pasta with mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, chili and cilantro – Indian style. I even had a pasta desert in someones house a long time ago – it was pasta cooked with sugar and coconut!

Ok, so the sweet pasta wasn’t exactly good. But I dont think i’ll ever stop experimenting with pasta.

And what better way to enjoy a rainy, cold weekend than to watch movies with a steaming bowl of pasta shells with creamy, flavor packed green curry.

Pasta Shells – 1/2 box
Coconut Milk – 1 can
Thai Green Curry Paste – 3-4 tbsp, I use Thai Kitchen Green Curry paste.
Peanut Butter – 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce – 2 tbsp
Sriracha or chili paste – 1 tbsp, optional
Onion – 1 small, diced
Garlic – 3 cloves, chopped
Ginger – 1 tsp minced
Mushroom – 1 box, sliced
Carrot – 1/2 large carrot chopped
Cilantro – chopped, for garnish
Oil
Salt

Boil the pasta till al dente. In the last 1 minute of cooking, add the carrots to the pasta water and boil. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Drain the shells and carrots.

To the coconut milk, add the green curry paste, peanut butter, soy sauce and sriracha. Mix well.

Heat a pan and add some oil. To the oil, add the onion, garlic and ginger, saute till onions are translucent. Then add the mushrooms and saute on high for 3 minutes. Pour the coconut milk-green curry mixture over the mushrooms. Then add the reserved pasta water. Let it come to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.

To serve, pour the green curry over pasta and carrots. Garnish with chopped cilantro or scallions.

Peas, baby corn, broccoli or bamboo shoots will also work very well in this recipe.

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