Olan

Olan is a dish from Kerala state in India. As I don't get the 'elavan' and 'mathan' which are the primary vegetables, I substitute with Opo Squash for elavan and either butternut or acorn squash for matthan and the taste is sort of close and pretty good.



I find that opo squash (aka bottle gourd) and foo gwa are readily available in most asian stores pretty much year round; and we have a bunch of butternut and blue hubbard and sweetmeat squashes growing in our backyard this year which is sort of handy for this dish.

Basically, I look for a neutral flavored whitish squash/gourd and a sweetish yellow colored squash for this dish.

Ingredients
2 cups peeled, cored, diced opo squash (can substitute ash gourd)
2 cups peeled, cored, diced butternut squash (or, use acorn/danish squash)
2 cups chopped snake beans - cut into 1" long pieces
5-6 green chilies, slit lengthwise (less if you don't want the heat)
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup whole milk
salt to taste
water as needed, for steaming veggies

Preparation

1. heat 1 Tbsp coconut oil in a pan
2. add the snake beans and a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and let it cook till partially done (snake beans take longer to cook than opo and butternut squashes)
3. add the diced opo and butternut squash, 1 tsp salt, turmeric, coconut milk; cover and cook till squash is tender and cooked but not mushy
4. turn down the heat, add milk and slit green chilies, stir and simmer for a few minutes till well incorporated; adjust salt to taste
5. off heat stir in the rest of the coconut oil and serve warm with rice or chapathi

Cholay Bathura

Also, known as Channa Bathura, this is one of my favorite foods: Cholay is chickpea curry and Bathura is fried indian bread. It can be served as a snack, or as a meal along with rice pilaf or biriyani, and raita.

Poori is also fried indian bread, but, is usually made with whole wheat flour whereas bathura is usually made with all purpose flour; pooris are smaller than bathura: poori is about 4 inches in diameter, whereas bathura can be about 8-10 inches in diameter.

Since i don't have a large enough pot for frying 8 inch diameter bathura, I make what i call "mini bathura" which is about 4 inches in diameter, the size of a poori.

Bathura to me is sort of the savory version of Elephant Ears, and can be served as first course with any north indian meal, and can be paired with any other curry besides cholay.

Here's one of my versions of this popular north indian dish.





Ingredients

For Bathura:
2 cups all purpose flour
salt to taste
buttermilk
oil for frying

Preparation: Bathura

1. add some salt to all purpose flour and knead it into a soft dough by adding a little buttermilk at a time
2. cover with a damp cloth and set aside, and make the cholay recipe below
3. when cholay is simmering, heat some oil in a pan for frying the bathura
   
4. divide the dough into golf-size balls (or smaller if you want smaller bathuras)
5. roll out each ball into a flat round shaped bathura, about quarter inch thick and 5-6 inches in diameter (if you have a larger pot for frying them, make the bathuras even larger in diameter); dust frequently with all purpose flour so the dough doesn't stick to the roller pin
   
6. when oil temperature is about 350 F, fry one bathura at a time till it puffs up, turns golden brown on both sides
7. drain on a paper towel lined dish, serve hot with cholay
   

Ingredients

For Channa/Cholay:
3 cups of cooked chickpeas, drained
1 medium yellow onion,diced finely
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced finely
2-3 medium potatoes, diced
4 cloves of garlic
2" piece of fresh ginger
2-3 Tbsp Cholay Spice Mix*
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
salt to taste
1 cup water, as needed

*Cholay Spice Mix:
3 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
3 dry red chilies (more if you like the heat)
2 indian bay leaves
2 2" Chinese cinnamon bark(Cinnamomum cassia(L.) Presl)
1 star anise
3-4 cloves


Preparation: Cholay

1. Ginger-Garlic Paste: Pound/blend the ginger and garlic to a smooth paste and set aside
   
2. Spice Mix: Dry roast the Spice Mix ingredients and blend them to a fine powder; this spice mix can be stored in an air-tight container for a month or two; also, can tweak the proportions of the ingredients for the Spice Mix to suit your taste
3. Potatoes: Boil or microwave half the diced potatoes till they are cooked but firm and hold the shape, set aside; cook the rest of the potatoes till they are mushy, then mash them and set aside
4. Sauce: heat the oil in a large enough pot, add the onions, pounded ginger+garlic paste, small amount of salt and 1 Tbsp of the Spice Mix and sautée till onions turn translucent; add the tomatoes, brown sugar and sautée some more; add 1 cup of water and the mashed potatoes (add more water if you prefer a thinner gravy) and stir well
5. Chickpea Cholay: add washed cooked chickpeas, cooked diced potatoes and adjust the spices and salt to taste; simmer for about 10-12 mins till the flavors are well-rounded and the consistency of the dish is somewhat thick
6. Garnish: off heat, stir in 2 Tbsp lemon juice and garnish with cilantro
7. serve warm with lime wedges and slit green chilies on the side, along with bathura

Nigiri-zushi: Sushi mini logs

Not liking raw fish or much of sea food, I feel constantly challenged about making Sushi. I guess I love the combination of rice and vinegar, and the whole idea of putting together a quick and filling meal, with fresh ingredients for the toppings.


Ingredients
for the rice balls/logs:
1 cup raw sushi rice
1-2 Tbsp sushi vinegar

for the marinated toppings
1/2 medium cucumber seeded and diced
1 medium firm tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 medium red onion diced finely
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sushi vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil

for garnish:
1-2 cups pan-fried tofu cubes, the more the better:-)

Preparation

1. cook the sushi rice per package directions, remove from heat, stir in the sushi vinegar and spread it out on a flat plate or cookie sheet to cool, preferably in front of a fan
2. marinate the diced vegetables in the mirin+sushi vinegar+sesame oil 'vinaigrette' for about 5 to 10 mins ;dicing and marinating the veggies can be done right after starting to cook the rice; you can add tomatoes, yellow bell peppers or any other veggies you like for the topping
   
3. to pan fry the tofu: dice the required amount of tofu into smallish cubes; heat about 1 Tbsp oil in a non-stick pan, add the tofu cubes and let them sit on medium heat; add some flavoring like black bean and garlic paste, or just soy sauce to the pan and toss the tofu cubes well; keep turning the tofu cubes till all sides seem coated with flavoring condiments and fried
   
4. when sushi rice is cool enough to handle, hand shape them into oblong clumps (nigiri-zushi) or use a mold for the same
5. lay the nigiri-zushi on a serving platter, top with marinated vegetables, and garnish with pan-fried tofu cubes
6. serve warm or cold; i usually like hot miso soup as a starter when serving this dish warm
7. if you have avacado handy, sushi tower should be fun to do as well :-)
   

sukha aloo-mutter: potatoes and peas (dry)

This dish has many variations and can be used in quite a few ways: when made dry enough (no gravy), this dish can be used as filling for samosa; or, as a filling for sandwiches when using a sandwich-maker.

This is my favorite travel food- while on a road trip, or back in the days when I enjoyed overnight train rides.

Can be served with naan, or plain basmati rice with some rasam.

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp oil
a pinch each of mustard seeds and cumin seeds for tempering
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
1 Tbsp finely chopped green chilies (optional)
salt to taste

Preparation

1. cook the potatoes in the microwave with some water till they are almost done; drain the water, pat the potatoes dry and set aside
2. heat the oil in a pan, add the tempering, cover with a screen lid as mustard seeds will spatter
3. when mustard seeds are done popping, add the ginger, garlic and chilies, sautee for about 10-15 seconds
4. add the onions and sautee till it turns translucent
5. add the potatoes and peas, turmeric, salt, brown sugar, stir well, cover and cook till they are done
6. off heat, stir in the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro

Some Staples I Use For SE Asian Cooking

One of the things that excites me about cooking is to find new ingredients and try to use them creatively. I try to find a good recipe from a good source and note down the ingredients and shop for it at the local Specialty Foods store. I try to read the label (if there is an English translation) and bring home a bunch of them and start experimenting.

I rarely follow a recipe exactly - i try to adjust to my taste... so, my SE Asian cooking is not quite authentic as I don't use fish paste, shrimp paste, oyster sauce and a few other ingredients i have not yet found appealing - just a quirk of mine - makes cooking that much more challenging for me :-)

While it does help to try authentic foods at good restaurants first to get a feel for what the dish should turn out like, i find having a good recipe source helps me just as much. I borrow books from my public library which have nice pictures of not just the finished product, but, pictures at various stages of preparation, and a good description of all the ingredients and what they do in that recipe etc.

here are some of the ingredients i find i cannot cook SE Asian foods without:

1. tamarind concentrate
2. sushi vinegar
3. plain white vinegar
4. mirin (not pictured)
   
5. miso (not pictured)
6. kecap manis
7. soy sauce (not pictured)
8. vegetarian mushroom and oyster sauce
9. black bean and garlic sauce
10. sambla oelek(not pictured)
11. worcestershire sauce (not pictured)
12. Hoisin sauce (not pictured)
    

Some of the above ingredients can be made from combining others in the list, but, I find it handy to have these ready to go :-)

More on ingredients for Indian foods later...

Mint Chutney

This is a rather simple version of mint chutney. Serve with pakoras and bhajjias, or on the side with naan or rice- this chutney is quite versatile.


Ingredients
4-5 cups of mint leaves, washed
4-5 serrano chilies (fewer if too hot)
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp urad dal
1 Tbsp chana dal
½ cup dry grated coconut
salt to taste
water as needed
1 Tbsp oil

tempering: 1 tsp canola oil, ½ tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp urad dal

Preparation

1. heat oil in a pan, add urad and chana dal, toast them till they are light golden brown
2. add the chilies, ginger, coconut, mint leaves and sautee for about a minute or so in medium heat till mint leaves wilt a little and turn dark green; turn off heat, allow to cool
   
3. transfer the cooled contents to a blender and blend to a smooth texture, adding water and salt as needed
   
4. tempering: heat oil in a pan, when it starts to shimmer, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown add the msutard seeds and turn off heat, allowing msutard seeds to pop in residual heat

Tempering is optional: I like the nutty taste the fried urad dal and mustard seeds impart :)

Stir well before serving

Pakoda: chickpea onion fritters

Pakodas (aka pakoras) is one of my favorite tea time snacks, along with some home-made mint chutney, sweet-and-sour tomato chutney or tamarind-date chutney. Pakoras can be used in kadhi, a gujarathi dish.

There are quite a few variations of this recipe and am sure all of them turn out fine... this here is just one of the versions I default to. Adjust the proportions of rice flour to chickpea flour to suit your taste. Also, I've tried making these fritters with all-purpose flour and some cornstarch plus maybe some rice flour... it is quite flexible and depending on how crunchy or how soft I want it, I adjust the flour. So, this recipe is not quite set in stone - as with all my recipes ;)

Ingredients
1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
½ cup rice flour
1 medium onion finely diced
1-2 Tbsp red chili powder (more or less, adjust to taste)
salt to taste
water as needed
vegetable or canola oil for frying

Preparation

1. heat oil in a pan for frying
2. meanwhile, add the chickpea flour, rice flour, onions, chili powder and salt to a mixing bowl
3. add water a little at a time and knead to form a slightly loose dough, but not watery or runny
4. when oil is about 350-370° F, fry the dough in batches: without crowding the pan drop about 5-8 tablespoonful of dough in the oil, one tablespoonful at a time, and fry till they are nice and brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside.
5. drain on a paper towel and keep warm till all the pakodas are done
6. experiment with the chickpea-rice flour ratio till you find a satisfactory mix: i like the pakodas a bit crunchy on the outside and a little chewy on the inside - the crunchiness i believe comes from rice flour.