Aubergine Curry or Coq Curry

Couple weeks ago there was a discussion on my high school whats app group about recipes typical to Pondicherry, my home town. There is a book devoted to them, The Pondicherry Kitchen by Lourdes Tirouvanziam-Louis. As schools are closed for 2 weeks in consideration of Corona Virus, I have more time to try out new recipes for my family.
This is a typical Tamil dish that is made with the little purple Indian eggplants. We call it ennai kathirikai kuzhambu because the eggplants are shallow fried in few tablespoons of oil first. I made a few modifications to the recipe from the book. No one knows why it is called Coq Curry,but this is what the Creoles or descendants of Europeans in Pondicherry used to call this.

Ingredients:
6 Table spoons sesame oil
10 small purple Indian eggplants, slit into 4 parts from the top,keeping the calyx intact.
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
5-6 curry leaves
30 pink pearl onions, peeled and kept whole(I chopped them)
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 Tablespoon sambhar powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 Tablespoon tamarind pulp
salt to taste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups coconut milk

Method:
1. Heat oil in a broad pan, shallow fry aubergine on medium heat until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add fenugreek seeds. Add curry leaves and chopped onion. Cook until translucent. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns pulpy.

3. Add red chili powder, sambhar powder and salt.  Stir in tamarind pulp.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes until tamarind smell leaves.

4. Stir in coconut milk and brown sugar. Add the eggplants and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Check for salt.

5. Remove from Stove. Serve hot with rice. It would taste good with Dosa or roti as well.

Note: 
This dish can be made with drumsticks (muringa vegetable) and okra.
The original recipe called for use of vadagam, a special dried balls made from mixture of onion, garlic, lentil and rice flour paste that is dried under the sun and preserved for the year and used in various dishes to bring out flavor. I did not use this as my mom does not like it.

Finger Millet Pancake (Kezhveragu Adai)

Ragi or finger millet is a staple in South Indian diet. It is very popular in the villages. Rich in fiber and calcium, Ragi is used in various forms. I remember drinking ragi malt or porridge everyday before going to school. Very filling and healthy. In villages, farmers and workers eat ragi ball (kepankali).  I like to make pancakes, also known as Ragi adai mixed with greens like cilantro, fenugreek leaves or drumstick leaves (muringa).

Ingredients:

2 Cups ragi flour
1/2 Cup rice flour
salt as required
3-4 green chili, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup muringa leaves, washed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoon peanuts
2-3 red chili
1 tablespoon coconut

Method:

1. Dry roast sesame seeds, peanuts, and red chili. Cool and powder along with coconut.
2. Mix together, ragi flour, rice flour, salt, powdered spice, green chili, and muringa leaves in a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons oil and enough water to make a dough.

2. Take tennis ball size dough on oiled wax paper or banana leaf. Gently flatten with fingers to make a pancake.

3.  Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil. Place pancake on the skillet. Cover with a lid and cook for a couple minutes. Flip and cook until both sides are done.

Serve hot along with yogurt. 

Mushroom dry curry (tawa mushroom)

My mom just came back from India on Monday. She brought us so much snacks that I don't have to go to the Indian store for a long time for the snacks. On the flip side, now I would not be making certain foods because she does not eat them. One such vegetable is mushroom. While I love them, my mom and daughter don't. With a big package of baby Bella mushroom sitting in my fridge, I had to find ways to finish it before mom came back. So we had mushroom biriyani one night and mushroom dry curry with roti one night. We had a big discussion about what curry is at work today. Curry is a dish that includes a sauce or gravy that is typically cooked with meat, cubed paneer(cheese), vegetables or lentils.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2  cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 green chili, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

2 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon carom seeds ( ajwain)
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder ( adjust to taste)
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet or tawa on medium heat.
2. Add ajwain and cumin seeds. Saute for a few seconds.
3. Add chopped onion. Saute on low medium heat till translucent.

4. Add chopped chili and ginger-garlic paste. Stir in green pepper. Cook until crunchy for a few minutes.

5. Add tomato, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until tomatoes are soft.

6. Gently stir in sliced mushroom. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Check for salt and add if required. Add garam masala and cook for couple more minutes.

Remove from heat. Serve with roti

Pina Colada Tres Leches Cake

 Pastel de Tres Leches or 3 Milk Cake is a favorite Latin American dessert. The cake is soaked in 3 milks and is my husband's favorite. Couple weeks back I got a different version of the recipe from the the chef at work.This one is spiked with rum and called Pina colada tres leches cake. It has coconut milk, rum and pineapple. Recipe is from willcookforsmiles.com My husband wanted a store bought cake for his birthday yesterday. I decided to surprise him with my cake. It turned out to be a super hit in my household.

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
4 eggs separated
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup crushed pineapple drained
1 tsp. rum extract (optional) or vanilla extract

Sauce for soaking:
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
12 oz can of evaporated milk
1/2 cup coconut milk canned, not Thai
2-3 Tbsp rum

Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained
1 1/2 cups sweet coconut flakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray and flour a 9 x 9 baking dish that has at least 2-inch high sides.

2. Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

3. Using a whisk attachment on the electric mixer, whip egg whites until frothy, on medium-high speed.

4. With the mixer running, slowly add sugar and beat until stiff peaks appear.

5. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk. Add rum extract if using. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, mix a few more seconds to combine.

7. Pour the batter into prepared pan.

7. Spread pineapple chunks all over the top of the batter.

8. Bake for 38-43 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Cool the cake for about 10 minutes. Run a lightly greased butter knife between the cake and the pan, to separate it. Gently invert onto a large platter and cool at room temperature.

10. Pierce the top of the cake all over with a large fork.

11. Mix sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk, and rum if using.

12. Start pouring the mixture very slowly, all over the cake. Taking breaks for the liquid to soak through a bit.

13. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (You can refrigerate overnight and finish the cake the next day..that's what I did.)

14. Whipped Cream: Add cold heavy whipping cream in the cold mixing bowl. Use a whisk attachment for the electric mixer.

15. Starting at low speed, start whisking, gradually raise speed to high. Slowly pour in the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks appear. Stay close by, this will be quick. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

16. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the cake. Spread coconut flakes all over the top and then, crushed pineapple chunks over that.

Note: I used 1 tsp rum extract and 2 Tbsp rum in the milk mixture.
          I added 2 drops of red food coloring to the whipping cream and piped it over the cake. I used coconut flakes and avoided pineapple chunks.

Thengai Payasam (rice and coconut sweet porridge)

The first thing I learned about my husband is that he has a sweet tooth. Most of the sweet dishes in Tamil Nadu are made with  jaggery (brown sugar from molasses). Coconut Payasam is one of Arun's favorite dishes. I made this before he left for work this morning ( birthday treat). He loves to eat it with idly. It is a simple sweet made with rice, coconut, and jaggery.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons rice, soaked in water
1/2 Cup fresh grated coconut
1/2 Cup jaggery (more if required)
1 1/2 Cups water
cardamom powder
cashews roasted in ghee
1/2 cup milk (optional)

Method:

1. Grind coconut and rice with water in a blender to a coarse paste. Set aside.

2. Dissolve jaggery in just enough water over slow medium heat. remove from pan and strain to remove any impurities. Set aside.

3.  Mix coconut paste with water in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly for 7 minutes until it thickens to porridge consistency.

4. Stir in jaggery to the porridge. Cook for 5 minutes until bubbles pop.

5. Remove from stove. Garnish with cardamom and roasted cashew nuts. when cooled add milk as required or serve without milk.

Note:

Adjust the amount of jaggery according to the sweetness of the jaggery.
Add milk when payasam is cooled to avoid curdling.