A recipe for passion is always simmering !
If you are looking for a new leafy green to shake up your spinach routine, try Amaranth ( Mulai Keerai / முளைக்கீரை ) greens. It is a terrific source of vitamin A, folate, iron, and calcium, and it tastes pleasantly earthy, available all year long in most Asian markets and Indian grocery stores. There are three common types of Amaranth leaves, one…
Banana Blossoms / Banana flower is not that common here in USA except for some coastal and tropical regions. To my surprise found one fresh in my local market this week. Atlast!
Kale is one tough leafy vegetable with woodsy stalks and chewy leaves similar to Murungai Keerai, leaving us with few recipe options. Cooking this with lentils was considerably easy for intake with minimal effort. Tried this with Bengal gram, following traditional kootu preparation and had no problem with picky eaters. Fresh kale (green or purple) belong to the Wild cabbage / Broccoli family, rich in anti-oxidants with high nutrition content. These type of veggies usually get a red carpet welcome in my kitchen and will be honoured with lentil studded crown.
Chettinad cuisine, enjoys a special place among food lovers, let it be a normal veggie dish or sizzling non-veg , they always include a radically distinctive blend of spices covering up the key ingredient, which wakes up your taste buds. Here is one such recipe… mixed vegetables tossed with freshly ground spice blend
Tamil to English ~~~ Kaikari – Vegetables, Pirattal – Tossed/Stir-fry
KaiKari Perattal / Mixed Vegetable Pirattal / Chettinad Vegetable Curry / Pirrattal / Kaikari Piratal
Asparagus is one veggie which is very versatile, though the appearance may look weird and rugged they always seemed humble, bowing to suit your culinary needs. If you remember, I've always compared the taste of this vegetable to that of raw peanuts… and that induced me to make this chutney, which tasted similar to raw peanut chutney with slight appearance and smell of Ridge gourd thuvayal.
Asparagus Thogayal / Chutney / Thuvayal / Asparagus Masiyal / Asparagus Dip
Chicken Tikka Masala is a westernized Indian dish originating from Punjab. Succulent Tandoori Chicken cooked in creamy tomato onion cashew gravy with grilled veggies.
Restaurant Style Tikka Masala / British Tikka Masala / Tandoor Masala / Chicken Masala / Punjabi Tikka Masala
Long beans, are like any other beans except, its pod grow longer, about half a yard long and hence its also known as Yard long beans. They belong to the legume family (Cowpea / Blackeyedpea) and taste similar regular green beans but with less sweetness. Good when stir fried or steamed. Here's a simple stir fry version seasoned with Indian spices.
Normally a bunch might have about 50 to 60 beans, my recipe is for half of that. They can be refridgerated for 2 days but taste better when fresh and bright green.
Paneer cooked in rich yogurt based tomato onion gravy. This recipe can be cooked in two ways.. First being the royal way, sauteing everything in ghee, adding cream, garnishing with dry fruits and nuts … fully loaded with fat, "Shahi" literally meaning made to suit the royal table. Second being the humble low fat home style version. Here's my style of spicy Shahi Paneer and let you guys and gals to decide the category.
Mixed vegetables flavoured in sour curd tempered in coconut oil. (Aviyal / Avial / Mixed Vegetable Curry)
Ridge gourd (Peerkangai ) cooked in tomato onion gravy. (Peerkankai Curry / Beera Kaaya curry / Beerakaya Curry / Ghiya Tori / Nerua / Turai / Heeray Kayi / Luffa)
