Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

| Indian Cuisine | Vegan

This coconut-flavoured vegetable stew is a famous dish of the South Indian coastal state of Kerala. It is often served with appam (rice pancakes). Though frequently made with chicken, this recipe is for the purely vegetable version of the stew.

Ingredients

• ½ coconut, freshly grated
• 1½ cups boiled vegetables (carrots, green beans, potatoes, peas etc.)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, diced
• a very small piece of ginger, chopped
• 2-5 green chillies (as desired), split lengthwise
• 10 curry leaves
• 4 cloves
• 2 small pieces cinnamon bark
• 2 pods green cardamom
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. flour or rice flour or cornstarch

• Seasoning:
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. mustard seed
  • 1 shallot

Procedure

1. Pour ¾ cup of water into the grated coconut. Squeeze out the milk through a tea strainer. Set aside; this is first milk.
2. Pour ½ cup of water into the same coconut and squeeze out the second milk. Keep this aside as well.
3. In a large pan, heat oil and add the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.
4. Add the chopped onion, ginger, chillies and curry leaves. Fry till the onion is partly brown.
5. Add the boiled vegetables and stir for one minute.
6. Pour in the second milk and boil for about 5-7 minutes.
7. Add salt.
8. Dissolve the maida/rice flour in a little water and add it to the gravy.
9. When it boils again, add the first milk.
10. Remove from the flame when it starts to boil once more.
11. Season with the pepper, mustard and shallot.

Best served with appam.

Notes, tips, and variations

1. Can use cornflour instead of rice/maida flour to get consistency .