Mridula Baljekar will be joining Chaat! at the JustVShow at London Olympia 4 July 11 am, come along and watch the demonstration!

Follow the link to get your free entrance ticket www.justvshow.co.uk/go/chaat!

Here is one of Mridula’s Recipes to give you a taste of her demonstration

Plantain Curry

Plantains are used in this delightful recipe from Tamil Nadu, Vazhakkai Kari, and these are often sold by Asian grocers and larger supermarkets. Unripe bananas with a dark green skin also work well, although the flavour is different. Cook them on the day of purchase so that they do not get a chance to ripen. The food of this region is generally blisteringly hot, but the quantity of chilli can be adjusted to taste

Serves 4

4 plantains

15ml/1 tbsp full-fat (whole) natural

(plain) yogurt

400ml/14fl oz/12⁄3 cups canned coconut milk

7.5ml/11⁄2 tsp chilli powder

2.5ml/1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric

5ml/1 tsp salt, or to taste

45ml/3 tbsp sunflower oil or light olive oil

2.5ml/1⁄2 tsp black or brown mustard seeds

2

.5ml/1⁄2 tsp cumin seeds

6–8 curry leaves

2 red onions, finely sliced

1–2 fresh green chillies, chopped (deseeded if preferred)

Plain Boiled Rice, to serve

 

1 Peel the plantains and halve them lengthways. Cut each into 2.5cm/1in chunks.

 

2 Rub the plantain with the yogurt, then soak in a bowl of cold water for 15–20 minutes. This removes any stickiness.

 

3 Drain the plantain chunks and rinse. Put them in a medium pan and add the coconut milk, chilli powder, turmeric and salt.

 

4 Add 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup water to the pan and place over a low heat. Cover and simmer for 20–25 minutes or until the plantain is tender, but still firm.

 

5 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds.

 

6 As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the cumin and the curry leaves.

 

7 Add the onion and chillies and fry for

8–10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion begins to colour. Reduce the heat slightly halfway through the cooking time.

 

8 Pour the onion and spices over the curry, stir and simmer for 4–5 minutes. Serve with Plain Boiled Rice.

 

cook’s tip

Freshly made coconut-based curries thicken considerably upon cooling, so do not worry if the curry looks a little watery when you have finished cooking. Either leave it to cool slightly before serving, or cook the sauce for a little longer to reduce it to the desired consistency.

Vegetarian Indian Food & Cooking by Mridula Baljekar

 

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