Week 3: Chow Chow

Just into week 3 and I am breaking the basic premise of the challenge I have set myself- by making a recipe which is not in the iconic Rasachandrika. But, how could I leave the finger licking Chow chow (or perhaps, 'Chau-chau' so as not to be confused with any other cuisine) out of my repertoire?

After flipping pages back and forth a few times, I asked my mother-in law why I couldn't find it in the Rasachandrika. She said that it was never a traditional Aamchi dish, but perhaps came about as an ingenious way of using leftover vegetables. I also found an interesting story on the Singing Chef blog about a cook at a wedding who was the mastermind behind this dish, and a few interesting nuggets about its name! Anyway, a huge thank you to whosoever made it first, bringing the spicy and pickle-like (in aroma and taste) Chow Chow into our lives.

This dish uses vegetables like carrots, beans, potatoes, and aubergines - but I suppose you could try it with other local veggies which more or less retain their shape on cooking and remain slightly crunchy! You definitely don't want a soggy Chow chow with veggies that lose all shape to become a mishmash. In this regard, the trick is to ensure you cut all your veggies in similar shape and thickness, otherwise different cooking times for each veggie will mean some will remain raw while some will over-cook!

Onward to the recipe...

Ingredients :

For cooking

1 cup each of carrots, French beans, potatoes and aubergine/brinjals- cut into strips

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp asofoetida

6-8 peppercorns (optional)

8-10 whole Beydgi red chillies

Tamarind the size of a small lime (or 2 heaped tsp tamarind paste/extract)

Juice of one small lime

6 tbsp grated coconut (optional) Note: I used desiccated coconut

Oil 8 tbsp (1 for frying the spices, 7 for frying the veggies)

Salt to taste

For the seasoning

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

A big pinch of asofoetida

8-10 curry leaves

2-3 whole Byedgi red chillies ( optional)

Method:

1. In a small pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and peppercorns (if you use them - this gives more of a fiery touch!). Fry these lightly on a low to medium flame. The fenugreek seeds should turn light brown, but not dark brown, or black - I made the mistake of letting them fry slightly longer and so they became a little too brown. This thankfully did not alter the taste, but any longer and they would have burnt. Now add the red chillies and asofoetida and fry again slightly.

2. Add the tamarind (remove any seeds if using the readily available dry variety) and coconut.

3. Grind the above mixture in a mixer grinder (or a mortar and pestle) without adding water. Yes, the trick to a crisp and crunchy Chow-chow is the lack of any water in cooking (and just a little bit more of oil, but then with the kind of end result you get, you would be happy to indulge just that little bit!)

4. In a wok heat the remaining 7 tbsp of oil. Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. After they splutter, add the asofoetida, curry leaves and whole red chillies.

5. Add the sliced vegetables, except for the aubergines because they cook faster and so need lesser time to cook. If you add them right at the outset they will lose all form and become a mash. When the other veggies are almost cooked add the sliced aubergines and salt. Now let all vegetables cook fully.

6. Add the ground 'massol' or masala to the cooked vegetables and stir well. Cook for a while and then add the juice of one small lime.

And that is it! Given its spicy nature, Chow chow goes well with a mild dal such as 'Daali Thoy', a typical Aamchi dal.

Note: If you were able to catch me and the @riotofflavours on #ThoyStories on Instagram today, you will see how the humble Daali Thoy is made. I also hope to have that on this blog shortly!

Week 2: Bendi

A spicy butter beans ('Avro' in Aamchi) curry, with a base made using dried red chillies, tamarind, and Szechuan pepper ('Teppal'). Topped with garlic tempering. Mmmmm, a delight for all the spice lovers.....

A few things about the ingredients used in this dish-

'Teppal' is one of the lesser known varieties of Szechuan pepper. It doesn't really belong to the pepper family, but is a type of berry, whose peel is what gives the flavour and not the seeds (which resemble peppercorns). It is used a lot in fish curry Konkani style ('fish ghasshi'), but ever since my wife and I turned vegetarian we haven't used it much - except for in Bendi!

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of teppal, particularly when you get it in your mouth while relishing the rest of the dish, but as it is a key ingredient in Bendi, I was given a handy tip to extract its flavour without the actual peppercorns coming in the mouth.

The red chillies I used were the Byedgi variety (or 'Byedgi Mirsaang' in Aamchi), which is the commonly used variety in Aamchi cooking. Byedgi chillies provide lesser heat but more colour - which Bendi calls for. If you are unable to get this specific variety, I suggest you use other dried red chillies that aren't too hot, such as but Kashmiri red chillies which are also known for their intense colour. The latter is more readily available in packs.

Lastly, I used canned butter beans (soaked in water) but as they lacks salt, I pressure cooked them briefly with some salt. If you get the dried beans, you would have to soak them until soft, and then cook them for longer (once again, with salt!).

So, here goes.

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Ingredients

1 Can (400 gms) butter beans

6 Red chillies (Byedgi variety)

Tamarind (the size of half a lemon)

2 tbsp Coconut oil

2 tbsp Teppal/Szechuan pepper

5-6 Garlic cloves

Salt to taste

Method

1. Soak the teppal in hot water.

2. Cook the butter beans in a pressure cooker with water enough to cover the same and one tsp salt (or more, as per your liking) for three whistles, or in a saucepan for 10-15 minutes.

3. In a small pan, heat the coconut oil and roast the byedgi chillies. Tip: Once roasted, I soaked the chillies in hot water as this extracts a better colour. If you like your food hot and spicy, you can use more chillies. I used six (as opposed to the 10-15 suggested in the Rasachandrika) to keep it balanced.

4. In a mixer grinder (or a mortar and pestle for some exercise), grind the teppal with the water and then strain the water using a strainer. Keep the water for use, and discard the teppal grinds.

5. To make the curry base or "massol", grind the red chillies and tamarind (remember to remove any seeds beforehand) and some of the butter beans from the pressure cooker. Tip: To avoid a kitchen disaster and for health and safety reasons, always ensure that you double check that the mains switch of the grinder is off before adjusting the ingredients, otherwise there is a risk of a mini-explosion!

6. Add the massol and the strained teppal water into the cooked beans. Keep stirring and bring to a boil.

7. While the beans cook with the massol, semi crush whole garlic gloves and sauté them for a few minutes in the same coconut oil and pan that the chillies were roasted, until golden brown.

8. Add the garlic to the curry and stir well.

9. Garnish the Bendi with some red chillies and serve with rice or chapattis.

Week 1: Ambat

The first dish I have tried is, of course starting with the letter 'A' - the Ambat. A mild but flavourful coconut based dal which uses fenugreek/methi seeds in its preparation, but without the bitterness these seeds typically impart.

Typically we use 'Vaali' or Malabar spinach (a green leafy vegetable found in South India) in Ambat. While I have used regular spinach, you could also make ambat with cauliflower or cabbage, which taste equally good.

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Ingredients

For the Dal

3/4 cup toor dal

1/2 cup desiccated coconut (could substitute with fresh or frozen)

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

For the Curry Base or "Massol"

2 dried red chilies (I used the kind that are not too hot)

1/2 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tbsp dried tamarind

Salt to taste

For the Tempering or "Phanna"

1 small onion

2 tbsp coconut oil

Method

1. Finely chop the onion and keep aside for the tempering.

2. Wash and cook the dal in twice the amount of water in a pressure cooker, or in a saucepan until cooked and soft. It took me four whistles, but you may want to give it three, check if it's done and then give it one more if not. I added spinach to the dal before pressure cooking to save time, but was told cooking it separately helps retain its shape better. No surprise, as my spinach got cooked too fine. Nevertheless, we could still see and taste it.

3. The coconut curry base or 'massol' is what gives the ambat its flavour! Heat the coconut oil in a small pan, and roast the fenugreek or methi seeds until golden brown and keep them aside. Take care not to burn them. Now, in the same oil, roast the red chillies, coconut, turmeric and salt. You can add more chillies if you like it spicy!

4. Put the above mixture into a mixer grinder. Add the tamarind, a little warm water, and then grind. Add the fenugreek seeds towards the end and grind further into a smooth paste like texture (don't add them at the start or your 'massol' will end up being bitter!). If you don't have a mixer grinder, you could use a mortar and pestle, though I anticipate this will be a little more work!

5. Add the massol to the cooked dal and mix well. Add two cups of hot water (or more if you prefer a thinner consistency), stir, and bring your dal to a boil.

6. Now for the tempering - fry the chopped onion until dark brown (but not burnt) and add this to your dal. The crisper the onion, the better the flavour.

7. Garnish your Ambat with spinach, and enjoy it with either rice or chapatis.