Savory and Exotic Cuisine of Southern India

my niece Rika

A friend of mine remarked the other day that I must be too busy to cook lately since I've not been posting any recipes.  Ah not true I said, we've just been delving into my other favorite cuisine in the last few weeks, Indian.  I fell in love with Indian cooking when my niece Rika joined our family about 10 years ago. As much as I love Mediterranean style food, the exotic spices of India offer something refreshingly different. But, I'm not talking about your generic curries and tandoori dishes, because as things usually go for me, my love is with the cuisine of south.  The southern tip of India, in the province of Kerala as well as neighboring Goa and Tamil Nadu, is an interesting and unique culinary pocket shaped by climate, geography and religion.

The tropical coast of Kerala stretches along the Arabian Sea bringing an abundance of fish, shellfish, and coconuts while the fragrant curry leaves, mustard seeds and black pepper of the region distinctly flavor the cuisine.  Native cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric are also widely used and the combinations of spices, legumes and vegetables can be utterly intoxicating.  Vastly different from the more commonly known dishes from the north, the south offers a lighter, fresher alternative that is less oily and has no cream at all and unfortunately, a style of cuisine that most people know nothing about.

And Just as Lidia Bastianich's books are my go to reference for many of my Italian meals, Madhur Jaffery cookbooks are a must for anyone wanting to jump into Indian food.  In particular my favorite and most well worn is "Flavors of India" where she takes you on a journey through many regions of India, exploring the different cuisines and the influences that shape them.  The other book that I use is called "Curried Favors, Family Recipes from Southern India" by Maya Kaimal MacMillan.

The key to cooking these recipes is the spices.  We are fortunate to have access to a few markets that basically have everything needed to create an authentic south India meal.  The best for hard to find ingredients is the International Market in Metairie.  While a little funky and sometimes intimidating, it is THE source in area for spices, dhals (legumes), rice, curry leaves, tamarind, housewares and everything you would need to prepare any of the recipes in either book.

Aamti - Maharashtrian Lentils, one of our staples

To answer Mary's question, yes, both Kerry and I have been cooking a lot of Indian food lately, but it sometimes harder for me to write about because of the mysterious ingredients and cooking techniques that can be difficult to describe.  But I'm going to do my best, starting with a simple and delicious sambar, a spicy stew of legumes and vegetables that will knock your socks off if you take the time to get the right ingredients to make the spice mix.

Coconut and Green Chilli Prawns

Mulligatawny Soup

So if you are feeling adventurous, check out my recipe, Vegetable Sambar...another staple our house!

Vegetable Sambar

Vegetable Sambar

 

We absolutely love this dish and eat it at least twice a week right now.  Delicously healthy and exotically spiced, I could probably eat it every day and not get tired of it...Sambar is type of Indian stew made with vegetables, dahl (legumes) and sambar spice powder.  Making this recipe will require a trip to the International Market in Metairie or any store that specializes in Indian spices and products.  One of the must have ingredients for southern Indian food is fresh curry leaves.  Having no relation to the mixture of curry spice powder, these are small, fragrant, green leaves from the kari tree that are available in Indian food markets.  They usually come in a bag and can be stored in your refrigerator for about 2 weeks.  Some recipes say that you can substitute bay leaves but that totally changes the flavor of the dish so I would say if you can't find curry leaves, omit them entirely.  But as I said, most Indian markets have them.

Curry leaves

The first step in this recipe is the most time consuming because you have to make your own sambar powder.  But once you do this it can be store for a few weeks in a jar and used to make the sambar stew recipe at least 4 times.  But I should warn you that this is a spicy dish!  On a scale of 1-10 I would probably put it at a 7 in terms of spicy heat.  We love hot spicy foods, so I don't even think about the heat when I'm eating this, but I know we are propably not the norm...

Sambar Powder

This recipe is from Madhur Jaffrey, with my only addition being a piece of cinnamon stick.

Sambar Powder

    * 1 tsp. vegetable oil (I use coconut oil, available at whole foods)
    * 5 Tbs. coriander seeds
    * 1 tsp. whole mustard seeds
    * 1 tsp. moong dal
    * 1/2 tsp. chana dal
    * 1/2 Tbs. urad dal
    * 1-2" piece of cinnamon stick
    * 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
    * 1 tsp. black peppercorns
    * 1/4 tsp. ground asafetida
    * 1 tsp. cumin seeds
    * 20 fresh curry leaves, if available
    * 12 hot dried red chilies

Heat the oil (yes, only 1 tsp.) in a large, heavy frying pan or wok over medium heat. Put in the coriander seeds, mustard seeds, split mung dal, split chana dal, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, peppercorns, asafetida, and cumin. Stir and roast for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the curry leaves. Stir and roast for a further 5 minutes. Add the dried chilies and continue stirring and roasting for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the chilies darken. Empty the spices into a bowl to cool, then, in small batches, grind as finely as possible in a coffee grinder. Store in a tightly closed jar, away from heat and sunlight. You can also buy sambar powder at an Indian grocery store, but it is not nearly as flavorful as this.

Vegetable Sambar

One of the things I love about this recipe is that you can change the fresh veggies to incorporate what you have in your refrigerator.  You can use any combination of carrots, green bean, zucchini, onion, fresh greens like spinach or kale, tomatoes, etc. 

An important steps in southern Indian cuisine is the "tarka" added at the end of the dish.  A tarka is a popping of seeds or spices in hot oil and then poured over the dish to add the final flavorful touch.

Serves 4

*3⁄4 cup toor dahl or channa dahl (yellow split lentils)
*3 tbsp. coconut oil
*1 fresh hot green chile, halved
*3 cups of fresh vegetables (I used the following: 2 sliced carrots, 1/2 vidalia onion sliced, handful of fresh green beans chopped into 1" pieces and a big handful of chard sliced into 1/2" wide ribbons, nos stem)
*1-1/2 tsp. tamarind concentrate mixed with 3 T. water
*2-1/2 tbsp. sambar powder
*1 tsp. salt
*1⁄2 tsp. ground turmeric
*1 large tomato diced
*1⁄2 tsp. brown mustard seeds
*15 fresh curry leaves (optional)
*3 tbsp. Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Combine dal and 2 1⁄2 cups water in a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat until soft, about 1 hour. Remove from heat, mash with a fork, and set aside.

2. Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chile and fry, stirring, until it begins to whiten around the edges. Stir in veggies, reduce heat and cook until they are soft.

3. To the mashed dal, add tamarind paste, sambar powder, salt, turmeric, veggie mixture, tomatoes and 2 cups water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

4. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds and sauté until they pop. Stir in curry leaves, if using. Pour over sambar. Garnish with cilantro leaves.