A curry and a drink

I know I am two days late for RCI and AFAM (what a shame!), but I am hoping Asha would include my entry in the roundup. I have been extremely busy last week and had no time to blog. My parents arrived in the US this Monday and the last few days we were busy cleaning the house, buying stuff, making trip plans, and cleaning some more.

RCI: Karnataka

Half cauliflower, couple of baby carrots, and few french beans...leftover vegetables in my refrigerator. No matter how many vegetables I use up in the week, some always remain and are carried forward to the next week. I mean, how much can 2 people eat?

I am always on the lookout for mixed vegetable recipes that give me the chance to clean my fridge of such leftover veggies. Pav bhaji, Kadhai vegetable, Vegetable Pulao are normal dishes. But after a while, we get bored of eating the same stuff again and again.

For RCI: Karnataka, I tried out a mixed vegetable curry from the book Curry Cuisine. This book contains veg and non-veg vegetable recipes from India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The Indian curries are categorized into North India (Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Lucknow, and Bengal), and South India. The book contains beautiful pictures of major spices used in these states.

Rasa Kayi are mixed vegetables cooked in tomato gravy and flavored with fennel seeds. This curry is a common preparation in Karnataka.


Rasa Kayi/Mixed vegetable curry
(Adapted from the book Curry Cuisine)
Serves:2-3


Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup carrots - washed and cut into 1inch pieces


2. 1 boiled potato - cut into huge chunks


3. 1/2 cup green beans - washed and cut into 1inch pieces


4. 1 cup cauliflower florets


5. 2 onions - cut into small pieces


6. 3 tbsp vegetable oil


7. 1 green chilli - slit lengthwise


8. 1/2 tsp red chilli powder


9. 1/2 tsp corainder powder


10. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder


11. Salt to taste


12. 1/2 cup coconut milk

For the spice paste

1. 2 garlic cloves - peeled


2. 3/4 inch ginger root


3. 1 green chilli - finely chopped


4. 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)


5. 2 tomatoes - washed and cut into huge chunks

Method:

1. Grind all the ingredients for the spice paste in a blender. Add water if neccessary. Keep aside.


2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and green chilli. Cook untill the onions are soft. Add the carrots, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt to taste. Mix well. Lower the heat and add the potatoes. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.


3. Add the cauliflower florets and green beans. Add the spice paste and mix well. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes.


4. Remove pan from heat and slowly add coconut milk, stirring to blend well.


5. Serve hot with puris/rotis/parathas or hot rice.
   

Verdict: This recipe is a keeper. The fennel seeds left out a beautiful aroma that wafted through my kitchen. The vegetables mixed with the curry were super tasty. As I said, this vegetable recipe is an excellent resource to use up leftover vegetables.


AFAM: Grapes

Grape Banana smoothie

1. Add 2 ripe bananas and 2 handful of red/purple grapes in a blender. Blend to a smooth paste.



2. Add 1 cup ice and crush it. Next add 1/4 cup milk and blend again.



3. Serve cold.

Rasa Kayi is being sent to Asha for RCI: Karnataka, while the Grape banana smoothie is my entry for AFAM-Grapes.