Cook Share and Feast

Ingredients:

• 4 medium capsicums
• ¾ – 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Sri Lankan chili powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/3 cup red onion sliced
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• Curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon oil

Curry Powder:

• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• ½ teaspoon cumin seed
• ¼ teaspoon fennel seed
• 3 cloves
• ¼ inch cinnamon stick
• 1 cardamom pod

Method

Curry Powder:

• Dry roast all the curry powder ingredients and grind them to a powder and set aside
• Split capsicum length wise and discard seeds and pith
• Slice each half into very thin strips and then cut them diagonally into 2 – 3 pieces
• Place capsicum, water, chili powder, salt in a covered saucepan and cook in a medium flame until the gravy thickens and capsicum is ¾ cooked
• Add 1 teaspoon of prepared curry powder (add more or less depending on your flavor)  and cook on low flame for another 3 – 4 minutes
• Meanwhile add oil to skillet and add onion and garlic and sauté until they are golden
• Add curry leaves and fry for another minute
• Transfer this into the curry and mix well

Ingredients

• ½ cup dried black-eyed peas
• 2 cups chopped button mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 2 teaspoons crushed ginger
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ cup chopped tomato
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• Salt to taste

Method

• Add enough water to black-eyed peas and cook with a little bit salt until ¾ done
• Set aside
• In a covered saucepan add oil and add mustard seeds.
• When they start splattering, add fennel, fenugreek seed and fry for a few seconds (about 25-30 seconds)
• Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powders and fry in a very low flame for about 30 seconds – 1 minute (if the flame is too high or if you fry too long, it will start smoking)
• Add cooked black-eyed peas, mushrooms and chopped tomato, salt and cover and cook on a medium flame for about 15 minutes
• Add yogurt and cook for another minute or two.

This is a very common side dish consumed with rice in Sri Lanka.  This tastes very good with “Pittu” also

Here in the US, string beans take a while to cook.  I remember in Sri Lanka these beans are very tender and light green.  They cook quite quickly compared to the ones found in US.  Also where I buy these beans, they are normally quite rigid and darker in color.  So depending on where you live/the type of string beans you buy change the amount of water you use to cook.  If the beans are quite tender, less amount of water should be used.

Also in Sri Lanka I have never seen anyone using a knife to chop these beans into pieces.  My mother, my aunt and my husband’s family break the beans into 1 inch pieces with their hands.  I was curious why they were doing this instead of cutting them into pieces.  So I asked a couple of my relatives.  I got different answers.

Someone told me if the beans are broken instead of cut, the curry tastes better.

Another person told me when you break the beans with your hand, due to the force the seeds tend to fly/come out of the beans and when cooked the curry taste very good

Another answer I got was, there was a story that these beans may have some kind of caterpillar growing inside them.  So when it is broken, these caterpillars just fly out due to the force of breaking.

Anyway, these are the stories I got.  So if anyone has any other information regarding why the beans are broken instead of cut, please let me know and I will add to this list.

Also this curry is normally cooked quite spicy.  So here I have used 2 teaspoon chili powder.  But depending on taste, this can be adjusted.

Ingredients

• 12 oz yard long beans
• 3 cups water
• 2  teaspoons Sri Lankan chili powder
• ¼ cup coconut milk (thick milk tastes very good in this curry)
• Salt to taste
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon canola oil
• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 3 dried red chilies broken into 2 – 3 pieces
• 1 strand curry leaves

Method

• Wash and break the beans into 1 inch pieces

• Grind cumin and black pepper coarsely and set aside (do not roast them)
• In a covered saucepan add beans, water, coconut milk, chili powder and salt and cover and cook for about 15 minutes
• Add the ground cumin mixture and cover and cook until gravy thickens.  Make sure there is gravy left (do not cook too long or until the gravy is almost absorbed. The reason is when this curry is left to cool the gravy tends to dry out and get absorbed by the beans – It took me couple of trials to get the right consistency)
• In a skillet add oil and add onion and garlic and sauté until they are lightly browned.
• Add broken chili, curry leaves and fry for another 2 minutes
• Transfer this fried mixture into the curry and mix well

This curry is called “Vendikai paal curry” in Tamil.  Even though okra is a very nutritious vegetable, I am not a fan of this white curry.  So after so many years, I made a very small quantity of this curry and when I made this, I loved it.  It was so delicious it went just like that.  Adding a little extra lemon juice enhances the flavor.

Using tender/young okra makes it tasty and quick to cook.  So how do you figure out whether okra is matured or young?  Simply take okra and break the rear end.  If it snaps off then it’s young okra.  If it’s matured okra, instead of snapping off if will bend and you can feel it’s fibrous.  After cooking, the curry will be a little slimy.  But that’s how this curry should be due to the sliminess of okra.  In any case, if you are going to use matured okra for this dish, you may need more water to cook.

Ingredients

• 4 oz okra
• 2 tablespoons sliced red onion
• 1 – 2 green chilies slit length wise
• ¾ cups water
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Curry leaves
• Lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Method

• Wash okra and cut both ends
• Cut them into about 1 inch pieces
• In a covered saucepan add okra, water, green chilies, onion and salt and cover and cook until okra is soft but not mushy
• Add milk and curry leaves and cook for another 1 minute
• Let cool and add lemon juice

Yields: 1 – 2 servings as a side dish

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped green beans
• 1 large carrot or 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons Sri Lankan chili powder
• ½ cup chopped tomato
• ½ cup 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• ¼ teaspoon sliced onion
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 strand curry leaves
• Curry powder
• Salt to taste

Recipe for Curry Powder:

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Method

• To make the curry powder, dry roast all the ingredients and grind them into a powder.
• Set aside
• Remove top and bottom end of carrot and brush to remove any dirt
• Slit the carrot length wise and slice them into thin slices
• Snip off the top and bottom end of green beans
• Chop them into ½ inch pieces
• In a covered saucepan add carrot, beans, water, chili powder, salt and cover and cook for about 10 minutes
• Add chopped tomatoes, curry powder and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes
• Add milk and cook for another 2 minutes
• In a skillet add oil and add onion and garlic and fry until they are golden brown
• Add curry leaves and fry for another minute or two
• Add the fried onion mixture into carrot-beans curry and mix well

Yields: 2 – 3 servings as a side dish

Elephant yam or elephant foot yam is called Karunai Kilangu in tamil and Suran in hindi. The botanical name of this plant is Amorphophallus paeoniifolius which belongs to the Araceae family.  It is a tropical tuber crop of Southeast Asian origin.  The skin of this tuber is dark brown and thick with orange flesh.  Normally the ones we get in Sri Lanka has a tendency to itch hand when peeling and cutting.  Due to this after peeling and cutting, hands are washed in salt water.

Since I could not find any fresh yam, I am using the frozen one.  The advantage of using frozen one is that you don’t need to peel which is quite tedious and also no itchy hands.

This recipe is quite spicy.  Please adjust the amount of chili powder according to taste.

Ingredients

• 12 oz pack chopped frozen karunai kilangu (yam)
• Canola oil for deep frying
• ½ cup sliced onion
• 3 garlic cloves sliced
• 1 strand curry leaves
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 ¾ cups water
• ¼ cup coconut milk or 2% milk
• 2 teaspoons Sri Lankan chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon tamarind paste/concentrate
• Salt to taste

Method

• Thaw yam.  Heat oil in a frying pan and add chopped yam and fry until crisp and lightly browned
• Drain on paper towel

• In a covered saucepan add canola oil and add onion and garlic and fry until onion is golden brown
• Add fried suran to the saucepan and mix well.
• Add water, chili powder, salt and cover and cook for about 5 – 6 minutes
• Add tamarind paste, **coconut milk, curry leaves and cook for another 6 – 7 minutes or until gravy is quite thick.
• **if you are using normal 2% milk, after cooking for 5 – 6 minute with salt, chili powder add tamarind paste and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes or until gravy starts thickening slightly.  Add milk and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes
• Note: When using tamarind paste with 2% normal milk in a recipe, first the tamarind should be cooked completely before adding milk.  Otherwise milk will start curdling and the curry will not get thick and tasty.

Yields: 3 – 4 servings as a side dish

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped/cubed bottle gourd
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 – 2 green chilies chopped
• ½ inch ginger minced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 strand curry leaves
• ¾ cup masoor dhal
• 2 ½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Salt to taste

Method

• Add oil to a skillet and add mustard seed.  Once the mustard seeds start splattering add garlic, ginger, green chili, curry leaves and sauté for about 2 – 3 minutes
• Add bottle gourd and cover and cook on very low flame for about 7 – 8 minutes
• Set aside
• Wash masoor dhal thoroughly
• Add masoor dhal, water and salt to a covered saucepan and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes.
• Add cooked bottle gourd and mix well
• Add milk and cook for another 3 minutes
• Serve with rice or chapattis

Yields: 2 – 3 side dishes