Southern Indian Vegetable Curry Food

SOUTH INDIAN VEGETABLE CURRY

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole or pan over low heat and fry the sliced onion sprinkled with some salt until it begins to soften. Add the chile and ginger strips and stir every now and again while cooking for about 1 minute.
• Add the chili flakes, the turmeric, cumin, coriander and ginger. Stir well and let cook for about 1 minute or so. Pour in the coconut milk, stock, sugar and tamarind paste. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and add the cauliflower first, then the broccoli. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the green beans and baby corn. Check the vegetables after about 5 minutes or so to see if they are tender, letting them cook for longer if needed.
• Once they are tender add the sugar snaps and season to taste, to taste. When the sugar snap peas are hot, serve generously sprinkled with the herbs of your choice. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl. Serve with some plain rice or some warmed Indian flatbread on the side for dunking.

SOUTHERN INDIAN STYLE CAULIFLOWER AND POTATO CURRY

Steps:

• In a large nonstick frying pan put the oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and red chili pieces (add more or less depending on how spicy you want the curry). Heat over high heat until the mustard seeds have popped a bit and the urad dal is light brown.
• Reduce heat to medium and quickly stir in the turmeric, hing and curry leaves.
• Add the potatoes, cauliflower, salt and water. Stir to blend. (Make sure that the potatoes and cauliflower pieces aren't too small or they will overcook.).
• Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Remove cover and check to see if the vegetables are almost done. A lot of people like to add tomato to this curry and if so, you can add diced tomato here, but you won't be able to brown the potatoes and cauliflower if you do that, so it is up to your own taste whether or not to add this option.
• Turn heat to high for about 4 minutes. Evaporate any remaining liquid and lightly brown the potatoes and cauliflower, flipping them over occasionally with a spachula. By making sure that a few of the vegetables lightly brown, you will end up with a much more flavorful curry.
• Turn off heat and stir in the peas (optional). Check for salt. Garnish with cilantro.
• Optional: Add 1 teaspoons sambar powder to the curry the last couple of minutes. Variations: A.) Replace the cauliflower with fresh green beans and eliminate the peas; B.) Replace the cauliflower with 1/2 head of a large cabbage that you have finely diced (peas are good with this but optional). I sometimes reduce the dried red chili to one and add 1 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper--more of a style from the state of Kerala; C.) Make it a mixed vegetable curry adding to the potatoes 1 finely minced carrot, 2 cups fresh green beans, and using the peas; D.) Another mixed vegetable curry would reduce the potatoes to two, add the carrot, green beans, about six largish cauliflower florets, and the peas. I don't like to add peas too early to any recipe, as they become over cooked. Turn off the heat and stir in frozen peas at the end, and the heat will defrost the peas in just a few minutes.