Ooo..oo.. Happy Days!!

The other day while on a video chat with my parents in India, we were discussing food - yeah big surprise eh? My mom wanted to know if there was anything that I wanted shipped from there in the next few weeks 'coz there people coming and going etc. But what stayed with both me and P from that conversation was the fact that they mentioned what was on the menu that day - Kerala/Malabar Parathas and chicken curry! Gawd, I still can't stop salivating at the thought of gorging on some hot parathas with any southie curry! And this, after we've just managed to have a good go at it last night for din-din!! So you can imagine our state that day -spent thinking about the yumminess that is south-indian food......

er.. did you miss what I just said? Let me say it again - YES!! I DID manage to make malabar parathas for dinner last night - much to the husband's utter surprise and profound delight! AND THEY WERE AWESOME!! :D

The whole business of getting the parathas to look and feel authentic is a time consuming and utterly tiring process. But so totally worth it! Even the little fellow told me - "It's super mamma!"

Amazingly, I had almost no non-veg at home last evening and I was much agitated about what to serve with the parathas - 'coz honestly, this meal was planned only 'coz we HAD to HAVE the kerala parathas asap! I haven't made a purely veggie dish in a long while and since non-veg was in any case unavailable, I brought out all the veggies I could find. Seeing them all laid out in front of me instantly reminded me of a vegetable kurma. This Kurma is a mixed vegetable curry that uses yoghurt, nuts, milk or sometimes coconut milk as its base. What I made was a thicker version that used both yoghurt and nuts.

Vegetable Kurma

For paste:

8-10 cashew nuts, soaked in warm water

4 tbsp grated coconut (I used powdered/desiccated coconut)

2-3 green chillies

1" piece ginger

2 cloves garlic

1/2 small onion, chopped

5-6 fenugreek (methi) seeds

small piece of cinnamon

2 cloves

3-4 tbsp yoghurt

3-4 tbsp warm water for grinding

For Kurma:

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 to 1 tsp tamarind concentrate, mixed in 2 tbsp warm water

3 potatoes, chopped small

1 cup green beans and peas mixed (I used the frozen kind)

1 red/orange bell pepper, chopped small

1 small onion

salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp oil

1 slit green chilli (optional)

a few curry leaves (optional)

Grind the first set of ingredients into a paste using as much warm water as required to get a smooth consistency. Do not add too much water as a runny mix will not grind well.

Heat the oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and add the slit green chilli and curry leaves.

Add the potatoes and mix well.

Turn the heat down and cover & cook till potatoes are half done.

Add the rest of the veggies and cook covered for another few minutes.

Add the prepared paste to the veggies and combine well. Add a little water if the paste is too thick.

Let it come to a boil. Add salt and turmeric and simmer for a few minutes.

Taste to see if the yoghurt has given the dish enough sour flavour. If not, add the tamarind water as per taste and stir.

Once the veggies are soft, turn off the heat and transfer to serving bowl.

Serve with hot steamed rice or with rotis/parathas/kerala parathas

Note 1: You can add any seasonal vegetable to this dish - cauliflower, carrots, french beans, peas etc.

Note 2: My version was an almost dry dish. However you can turn it into a curry by adding more yoghurt, milk, cream or even water. Adding 1/2 cup coconut milk to the dish will give it an even more interesting touch.

Kerala/Malabar Paratha (makes 6-8 parathas)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp oil

salt

1/2 to 3/4 cups water

oil for cooking

Mix the flour and salt and then rub in the oil till it is crumbly but still dry.

Add the water a little at a time while working the flour to form a smooth non-sticky dough. Add a little more flour if it becomes to sticky.

Apply a little oil on the surface of the dough and keep for an hour covered with a damp tea towel.

Work the dough well and section it into 6-8 even-sized balls. Roughly the size of a tennis ball.

Take one ball and roll it out on an oiled counter so that it is as thin as possible. The shape you roll the dough out into does not matter at this stage. Just make sure its as thin as possible.

Now starting from any on corner of the rolled out dough, form pleats in the dough just like you do for a saree or for a paper fan.

Pull the pleated dough length-wise a little to elongate it (the dough will be quite elastic by this time so you'll be able to do this without breaking it).

Next, roll it into a spiral. Dab a little oil on top and set it aside while you work the remaining balls.

Heat a wide base tava/frying pan on medium heat and add a tsp of oil.

Roll out the spiral shaped pieces using a very light hand to a thickish disk shape. Do not press down too hard while rolling it out.

Cook on medium heat till both sides are golden brown. Repeat for each spiral roll.

Once you have about 3-4 parathas ready, take them between your palms and clap your hands together so that the parathas are slapped against each other. This has ZERO affect on taste but doing this a couple of times will help to separate the layers that you broke your back over while pleating.

Your very authentic kerala/malabar paratha is ready to serve!!

Enjoy!