Blogging Marathon #68 Week 3 Day 5
Theme: Entree
Dish: Kerala style Vegetable Stew from here
For the longest time my husband and me used to dislike everything with a coconut base. Whether it was Thai curry made in coconut oil or most Indian curries made in coconut milk. But over time we tried the curries are different places and finally developed a taste for it. So much that now my pantry has a can of coconut milk all the time! Burmese Khow Suey, Vegetable stew and Kormas make their appearance on the dinner table countless times!
Last weekend we enjoyed a South Indian brunch. Or to be precise, a Kerala theme brunch. We had this Vegetable Stew along with string hoppers (idiyappam) and lemon sevai made with fresh string hoppers. To round off the meal we even had sugar, ghee and coconut added to idiyappam. While I shall add the other recipes from the meal soon on the blog, here is the Vegetable Stew recipe.
The mild flavor of the spices, the flavorsome coconut and mixed vegetables gave a really awesome aroma and taste. It was a welcome change from the curries laded with oil, ghee and butter. We had a wonderful meal. The original recipe I used from here had a couple of things that I changed. The oil Jyothi suggested was coconut oil but it would probably be too much coconut for us. So I replaced it with vegetable oil. Plus, the recipe called for thin coconut milk and I did not have that. So I diluted the thick milk and used it to cook the vegetables.
The flavors from the whole spices combined with the spice from the green chilli was perfect. The stew turned out so yummy that we finished about 4-5 bowls of it between two of us! The taste was awesome and I am looking forward to make it again. I would love to try appam with it, will have to buy an appam maker really soon!
Ingredients
Diced Vegetables 1 cup (Carrot 1 , Peas handful, French Beans 3, Potato ½)
Onion 1 medium
Ginger 1 teaspoon minced
Garlic 2-3 pods minced
Green Chilli 1-2
Thick Coconut Milk 1 ½ cup
Spices (Cardamom 1, Cloves 2-3, Cinnamon 1 inch piece)
Curry Leaves 4-5
Oil (coconut or regular) 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cilantro to top
Method
Dilute ½ cup of the coconut milk with water. Set aside. In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and add the spices. Once they are fragrant, add the onion, green chilli and 2-3 curry leaves. Saute till onions are almost cooked. Then add ginger and garlic, saute till the raw flavor disappears.
Add all the vegetables and the diluted coconut milk. Mix well and cook till the vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste (1 teaspoon would ideally be enough). Once they are cooked, add the thick coconut milk and turn off the gas.
In a small pan heat the remaining oil curry leaves. Add the tempering to the vegetable stew and mix well. Top with cilantro and serve hot with idiyappam, rice or appams.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 68
Kalyani says
Lovely stew to go with those lovely idiyappams :))
vaishali sabnani says
The stew and the string hoppers is a fantastic combination..I have had it a couple of times down south..but would definitely like to try this version, which is making me hungry.
Gayathri Kumar says
Beautifully presented idiyappam and stew. Love your colourful stew.
Harini R says
Wow! The vegetable stew looks so vibrant and appetizing.
MySpicyKitchen says
Stew looks simple and flavorful. Will look forward to your other dishes from this menu.
Nalini's Kitchen says
Perfectly made veggie stew,goes very well with Idiyappam..
Priya Suresh says
Even i have tried this stew long back with just potatoes and we loved it very much with some steamed idlies, inviting stew.
Srividhya says
One of my favorite stew. Love this with both appam and idiyappam. Love that serveware yaar. very pretty
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I made stew with idiyappam last week and my boys loved it. It is going to be made regularly now. Love your clicks. So vibrant that they come to life.
Archana says
Delicious stew and awesome pictures. Love the bowl too.
Suma Gandlur says
That stew is an eye catcher with those vegetables peeking from the white base.
www.annapurnaz.in says
Love your bowl with the lovely colorful stew.
Srivalli says
The bowl with the stew is so nicely presented!..wow those carrots are peeping out..nothing beats this with the Idiayappam, such a delicious combo!
cookingwithsapana says
The stew looks so comforting.
The Pumpkin Farm says
u made it perfectly well...there was a time when even i abhored coconut based gravies , espcially the white or yellow ones...
Pavani says
Vegetable stew looks so colorful and delicious.
Priya Srinivasan - I Camp in My Kitchen says
Idiyappam and stew yumm combination!!!