South Indian Vegetable Curry & Lemon Rice

This recipe was submitted by Judi Silva a lover of all things Indian
(Her blog, Everything Indian, was reviewed in Cobwebs Of The Mind:
Cobwebs Of The Mind Blog Review: Judi Silva's "Writing From Within" & "Everything Indian")

South Indian Vegetable Curry served with Lemon Rice and Warm Nan
Serves 4

South Indian Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:
  1. 1 1/2 cups peeled and cubed (2 inch) potatoes
  2. 1 cup cut green beans
  3. 1 cup scraped and cubed (2 inch) carrots
  4. 2 cups hot water
  5. 1/2 pound eggplant
  6. 1/2 cup coconut milk powder
  7. 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  8. 1 tablespoon sunflower or soya oil
  9. 10-12 dried curry leaves
  10. 1 teaspoon crushed dried chilies
  11. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  12. 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  13. 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions for South Indian Vegetable Curry:

1. Put all the vegetables except the eggplant in a large pan and add 1 1/4 cups of the hot water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat a little, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel and quarter the eggplant lengthwise and cut the quarters into 2 inch pieces. Rinse them and add them to the vegetables in the pan.

3. Blend the coconut milk powder with the remainder of the hot water and add to the vegetables along with the salt. Heat until it is gently simmering, then cover the pan and cook for 6-7 minutes.

4. Heat the sunflower or soya oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the curry leaves and crushed chilies. Follow these quickly with the cumin, coriander and turmeric. Stir fry the spices for 15-20 seconds, then pour the entire contents of the pan over the vegetables (in the hot water). Stir to distribute the spices evenly, then remove the pan from the heat and serve.


Lemon Rice
Serves 4

Ingredients for Lemon Rice:
  1. 1 1/2 cups Basmati rice
  2. 2 tablespoons sunflower or soya oil
  3. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  4. 10-12 dried curry leaves
  5. 1 ounce broken cashew nuts
  6. 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  7. 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  8. 2 1/2 cups hot water
  9. 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions for Lemon Rice:

1. Rince rice, soak 15 minutes, drain

2. Heat oil on medium heat, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, cashews and cook for 15-20 seconds

3. Add rice, turmeric, salt. Stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add hot water and lemon juice. Stir once. Boil for 2 minutes.

4. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes, then let sit for 6-7 minutes

Serve





The above is a wonderful dish. The rice is delicious. But to those who did not pay attention, here is a tidbit for you. Not all rice is the same. Judi's recipe calls for Basmati Rice so you should be careful to get it. (Besides Uncle Ben's - :) there is Persian, Regular and quite a few other types of rice!)

It is easy to make but I am giving it 3 stars simply because of the need to have certain spices and elements in the house. Single parents do not have these around usually. By the way, Turmeric and Cumin are going to be real important spices in some of the recipes I post. They are great spices, so it is worth your while to get them.

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Comments

Unknown said…
Good point on the rice Teddy. Nope, Uncle Bens' just wouldn't do it justice this time.

Thanks for adding it to your collection.
Ted Gross said…
It is important for new cooks to understand a lot of differences you ladies take for granted :)

Four years ago you would say Basmati Rice to me I would ask you what country is she from?
Marilyn Braun said…
This recipe sounds delicious.

My husband turned me on to Basmati rice. I used to be a big Uncle Ben's 5 minute rice, but now that I've tried Basmati, I just can't go back.

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