Bittergourd in Spicy Tamarind Sauce: Pavakkai Vatthal Kuzhambu

Vatthal Kuzambu (Vatha-kozhambu as we say it at home) is a spicy Tamilian dish made with tamarind-based spicy sauce, using dehydrated (dry) vegetables. Anything sun-dried (the easiest way in India) is a vatthal.

When vegetables are in season I remember my mom sun-drying batches and batches of eggplant slices, tomatoes, citron, and of course the usual vadaams - tapioca+lime+chilies, or rice or urad dal concoctions enjoyed deep-fried once it is dried. Sounds weird, but, it was a way of life. These were 40 °C summer days when wasting all that solar energy felt criminal and families stocked up for those soggy monsoon days when not many vegetable are in season.

The popular ingredient for vatthal kozhambu used to be Chundakkai (Sundakkai - 's' becomes a 'ch' as in chair in my family lingo) - the bitterest thing I have ever tasted and to this day have not developed a taste for, despite loving bitter gourd. A favorite of mine (although my tummy would disagree) is appalam/pappadam vattha- kozhambu - made with dry, un-fried pappadam/appalam.

Anyway, after having my mom's special vattha-kozhambu during my recent visit with my family, I was craving for a bit more of that home-made goodness, so made a slightly non-traditional version of bittergourd vattha-kozhambu.

Now, the name would be misleading, in that it is not dried bitter gourd that I used, but, let's just say it is vattha-kozhambu in spirit, a sort of wanna-be, made with bitter gourd and some other things that I like.

I use Tamicon™ tamarind concentrate usually, which is a thick blackish paste that is intensely sour and can be diluted as needed. But there are liquid tamarind concentrates that are mellow and brownish. Or, if available, use fresh tamarind - just shell it, soak in hot water to extract as much tamarind juice as preferred.

I like the hot-sour-sweet combination, so, I usually add a liberal amount of brown sugar, which, according to my mom is an abomination.

Ingredients
1 large Chinese Fu Gwa bittermelon or 2 small Indian bittergourds
1 small yellow onion
1 large tomato
salt to taste
1 tsp canola oil

for the sauce:
1 Tbsp Tamicon™ tamarind paste
1 Tbsp red hot chili powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar (more or less)
6 cups water

Preparation

1. Clean the bittergourd by removing the spongy insides, chop into bite-sized pieces; dice the onions and tomatoes as well
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the vegetables plus a pinch of salt and sauté them for a bit
3. Add the sauce ingredients, stir well, cover and allow to simmer till the sauce reduces in volume by half
4. Taste and adjust flavors; if too spicy or sour, can always add more water, simmer some more; then thicken with rice flour, or corn starch
5. Serve with hot basmati rice, home-made naan or simple rotis

Home Garden Chards, Zucchini, Pearl Onions Soup

After a month of practically zero cooking thanks to visiting my family, it feels nice to just throw something together (as is my wont) for a quick meal back at my nest.

There is something romantic about cooking (and eating) at an odd hour late-night, especially after returning home from a long trip, and having only a few things in the cupboards/pantry - even if it is just heating up a can of beans or having fresh rice with Indian pickles.

Of course, the kitchen cupboards are usually well-stocked with spices, and the pantry has some canned essentials like beans, coconut milk etc., so, it isn't really a big deal to scrounge something up for a quick bite.

Anyway, the onion seeds we had saved from last year were thrown in a small patch in the garden and they sprouted up nicely, which I had been using before I went on the summer vacation.

Now that I am back, I see that there are a bunch of little onions all crowding together, looking like gorgeous little pearls. A bit of cleaning, no tedious skin-removing, and I have a ton of pearl onions to incorporate in my cooking. Of course, red pearl onion arachu vitta sambar is my all-time favorite South Indian dish, but these white/yellow pearl onions are great even in salads as they are not too pungent.

A large zucchini, some chards, some green chilies, mint, and pearl onions - all from our garden - came together quickly for this coconut-milk-based soup for our first brunch after we got back.

The flavoring is simple as I went with Italian spices I had handy - just dry/ground spices like garlic powder, celery seeds, basil, oregano, marjoram. I crushed some mint leaves and green chilies to keep things green for the flavoring. It is best enjoyed chilled or at room-temperature on a warm summer day.

Cauliflower 65

Chicken 65 is a popular spicy deep-fried chicken dish that originated in Andhra region of South India some decades ago. This Cauliflower 65 is a vegetarian take on the Chicken 65 recipe, usually served dry with lemon, and some sauce on the side.

The bright red color characteristic of this dish usually comes from red hot chilli powder. Here, keeping the kids (and me) in mind, a few drops of red food color give the dramatic effect without the heat. The sauce is a quick sweet-and-sour sauce with tamarind and brown sugar, flavored with finely diced onions and garlic, and garnished with cilantro.

I like to blanche the cauliflower so it is still crunchy but par-cooked. The batter is a simple mix of corn starch, rice flour and all-purpose flour much like my Vegetable Tempura batter.

Serve with rice or home-made naan.

Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup fine rice flour
¼ cup cornstarch (separately to dredge the cauliflower)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
4 drops of red food color (adjust to desired redness)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp soy sauce
½ cup water (more or less)

oil for deep frying
lime, green chillies, curry leaves and cilantro for garnish

Preparation

1. Blanch the cauliflower florets, drain and set aside
2. Combine the rest of the batter ingredients, adding a little water at a time as needed, and beat to a fine consistency that is not too runny, not too thick
Meanwhile, heat oil in for deep frying
3. Dip the blanched cauliflower florets in the batter and deep fry in batches, drain, keep warm

1. Sauce: For optional sauce to serve on the side, sauté some finely diced shallots or onions, and add ½ tsp tamarind paste, 2 cups water, 1 Tbsp brown sugar and simmer till the sauce reduces and thickens to desired consistency; then add salt to taste. I prefer the sauce not to watery, but not so thick like a pudding either :)

Keerai Mor-Kozhambu, Cheppan Kezhangu fry, Vendakkai Kaara Curry

Being of old school, and coming from hospitality culture, my mom likes to feed everyone. She takes it very seriously. She always has. Sometimes I think she has a masochistic streak trying to present half a dozen or so dishes for a meal. Of course, for the Shraddham (death anniversary ceremonies) of our ancestors, she used to make these strictly outlined menu that involved a 20-odd dish spread.

Despite letting her know I am not starving and don't need as much food, it has been quite a struggle to refuse the loaded plate she serves. Here's one such:

Spinach Mor-Kozhambu: Much like my other Mor-Kozhambus - a buttermilk savory dish usually served with rice.

Taro Root (Cheppan Kezhangu) pan-fried: Much like my other taro root recipe.

Okra spicy curry: Okra with onion, sautéed with salt and chili powder.

Tempering is mandatory for my mom. I leave it as optional when I am cooking.

Anyway, I know she feels the urge to make up for all the time she is not able to cook and serve us as we are living in two different continents with not as much visits as we'd like, thanks to hamster-wheel life...

So, if I break all my self-imposed eating-right rules and gorge a bit but make my mom's heart smile in the process, it will be well worth it. I can always try to lose extra lbs I've been meaning to for the last n years...

Just a quick How Do You Do for now...

While not much is going on this summer - nothing fantastic, nothing too hectic - it seems like I am getting too emotional thanks to visiting my family. After my last trip to India in 2009, I am seeing my parents only now... while intellectually I can understand aging, I refuse to accept it when it comes to my parents.

Seems like I've been on a certain hiatus from this beloved blog of mine thanks to travel thereby away from my kitchen. I am getting to enjoy my mom's cooking again. I should post her recipes here. Or at least the pictures. Or maybe I should just post the hand-made things she has been churning out over the last few weeks...

I hope our home-garden is doing well despite my absence, perhaps there'll be enough to harvest when we get back...