Mridula Baljekar will be joining Chaat! at the JustVShow
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
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
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