Creamy Coconut Pumpkin Vegetable Stew

Coconut Mylk Vegetable Stew is a hearty dish that hails from the state of Kerala, in South India. It is usually served as a combination with Appam Dosa, a kind of pancake made in a special, concave pan. The batter is poured into the hot pan, swirled around, drizzled with oil, covered and roasted for half a minute. This results in a soft, fluffy center and crispy sides. A piece of Appam, dipped in stew does all kinds of yummy things inside your mouth before melting away. :)

My mom usually makes Appam batter and gives it to me, so when I make the batter myself I'll share the recipe here on my blog. For now, here's a coconut mylk based veggie stew with an interesting twist and an added boost of health.

The veggies that are usually stewed in the coconut mylk are carrot, beans, peas and potatoes. But this time when I made the stew, I wanted to use up some week-old vegetables - a large slice of sweet pumpkin, a couple of half-dried radishes, one partially wilted chow chow (chayote) and a sweet potato that was in perfectly good condition. I diced the sweet potato with the carrots, beans and potatoes but the chow chow, radish and pumpkin, I decided to put into the sauce. It ended up making the stew extra creamy and absolutely delicious!

I liked it so much that from now on, whenever I make Coconut Mylk Stew for Appams, I'll be blending some cooked pumpkin into the sauce and maybe some radish too. :D

If you don't use a microwave, the vegetables can be steamed or boiled instead. It'll take a little longer and the texture will be slightly different, but other than that, I'm sure it'll taste just as yummy. :)

2 Carrots
10 Beans
1 Potato
1 Sweet Potato
1/2 C Frozen Peas
1 large slice Red Pumpkin (500 gms)
2 Radishes
1 Chow Chow
1/2 C Thick Coconut Cream/Mylk
2 tsp Coconut Oil
2 Green Chillies
1 inch Cinnamon
4 Cloves
Salt

Scrub and wash all the vegetables well (do not peel them).
Cut the pumpkin, radish and chow chow into chunks and place them in a microwave safe dish.
Sprinkle some salt over them, add half a cup of water and nuke for about 10 minutes (until tender).
Transfer to a wide bowl or plate and keep aside to cool.

Meanwhile, slice the carrots, beans, potato and sweet potato into 1 inch pieces and place them in the micro dish, along with the frozen peas.
Sprinkle salt and water over them and nuke for 5-7 minutes (they should be cooked but crunchy).

Now blend the cooled pumpkin, chow chow and radish into a creamy sauce, adding the coconut cream/mylk and about a cup of water (a little at a time).

Heat the coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan or wok.
Add the cinnamon, cloves and sliced green chillies and stir fry.
Add the vegetables and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the prepared pumpkin-coconut sauce and mix well.
Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-10 minutes (to save time, I usually start making the Appams at this point, while the sauce is simmering).

Serve hot with Appams or Stemed Rice or Toasted Bread.

Enjoy! :)

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk for Virtual Vegan Potluck Nov2012

Welcome VVP visitors! I am delighted to have you here. :)

When I signed up under 'Beverages' for the Virtual Vegan Potluck, I had intended to make a decadent, icy, chocolatey vegan shake of sorts. But since I've been over indulging over the past few days and because of the cold, rainy weather we've been having today, I decided to make a hot and comforting beverage instead.

For many years, I've relished the ritual of drinking hot tea every evening. After going vegan (over 9 years ago), I switched to soy for my daily dose of chai. Earlier this year, I discovered the magical taste of chai that's brewed with cashew mylk. It melds with the flavours of the added spices and is super smooth going down the throat. Simply amazing!

Recently, I've started to add a handful of sesame seeds with the cashews while grinding them to make the mylk to boost the healthy, calcium content. It also serves to enhance the taste of the mylk and subsequently, the tea made from it.

The spices in this Masala Chai help digestion and soothe the throat. So sip on some after you've enjoyed all the gastronomical delights that my fellow VVP bloggers have brought to the potluck today to help settle your tummy. ;)

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk

For the raw sesame-cashew mylk:

1/2 C Cashew
1/4 C Sesame Seeds
2 C Filtered Water

Grind the cashews and sesame seeds to a fine powder.
Add 1/4 C water and blend to a smooth cream.
Add remaining 1 3/4 C water and blend well to get mylk.
Pour into a pitcher, cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.

For the tea (serves one person):

1/2 C Water

1 inch Ginger
4 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon
4 Pepper Corns
1 Cardamom Pod

1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Tea Powder

1/2 C Sesame-Cashew Mylk.

Heat water in a small pan.
Crush the whole spices and add to the water.
Boil for a few minutes to infuse the water with flavours of the spices.
Add sugar and boil for half a minute to dissolve the sugar.
Add tea powder and stir well.
Pour in the sesame-cashew mylk and stir.
Boil for another minute or two on medium heat, until the tea gets frothy.
Turn off the heat.
Strain the tea into a cup/mug through a metal tea strainer.
Press down into the strainer with a spoon to squeeze every last drop of tea into the mug.
Enjoy your piping hot cup of Vegan Masala Chai! :)
*slurp*

Virtual Vegan Potluck, the brainchild of Ann of An Unrefined Vegan, is a twice yearly global blogging event. This time, a hundred and four bloggers will be 'bringing' a vegan dish to the virtual potluck by posting a recipe. The blogs are arranged in order of the courses of a meal. We have Appetizers (18), Beverages (5), Breads (5), Salads (5), Side Dishes (9), Soups (10), Main Dishes (23) and Desserts (29).

Each blog post is linked to the blog before it and after it on the list so it's easy for visitors to jump from one recipe to the next in the order of the courses. My Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk is the 22nd recipe on the list. You can start at the beginning of the list by visiting the host site Vegan Bloggers Unite or move to the previous or next blog by clicking on the links below.



Thanks for dropping by. :)

Indulgent Tropical Vegan Holiday Vegan MoFo day 20

I spent the last few days swimming in the ocean, feeling the sand under my feet, riding around in a scooter under sunny skies and stuffing my face with fantastic vegan food!!

The chefs at the place I stayed at were so very nice. They prepared delicious vegan fare, including drool-worthy desserts just for me. And I also got to visit one of the best vegan restaurants in India where I ate to my heart's content, surrounded by lots of greenery.

It was one of the awesomest holidays I've had in my life and I'm still recovering from it. The cold, rainy weather back here at home isn't helping much. All I want to do today is crawl up under a cozy blankie and re-live my tropical vegan holiday.

So for the very last day of Vegan MoFo, I've decided to do a lazy, photo blog post with very less writing involved. Since I was vacationing, I didn't carry my regular camera with me. All pics below were clicked with my phone's camera. The Luminance app on my phone has been a great help in making them presentable adding artistic appeal. :oP

First, the delectable desserts served each night with dinner. The pastry chef at the place I was staying at was so very thoughtful with the presentation and added little touches that made me oooh and ahh each time the desserts were placed in front of me. The other chefs were really nice too and made super delicious food, but my digging-in instinct prevailed and I kept forgetting to click pics of the stuff.

Now snapshots from my lunch at the super awesome Blue Planet Café.

Spaghetti and Neat Balls Vegan MoFo day 19

This will be my last Main Course recipe for Vegan MoFo this year. And I've been saving my best recipe for last. :)

I'm so happy to have touched nineteen posts so far. I haven't decided what I'll do for my twentieth and final day. It might be a round up/flash back type post like I did for day #10. Or perhaps just some yummilicious vegan food piccies, without recipes, since I have no intention of stepping into my kitchen over the next few days! Methinks, I've earned some well-deserved eating out and self pampering. :D

One more thing, I am staying well away from the internet this weekend! We all need a nice break away from blogging and facebooking once in a while and what's a better time than right after all the Vegan MoFo madness? So I shall resurface with my next post on Monday or Tuesday.

On Thursday next week, my blog will be a part of the super innovative, one-day blogging event, Virtual Vegan Potluck! :) This is an idea conceived by my friend Ann of An Unrefined Vegan. They had the first VVP earlier this year, which was when I discovered Ann's blog (among many other awesome ones) and I just knew that when the next VVP happened, I would definitely want to be a part of it. That's why, even though it's right after Vegan MoFo, I singed up for it. Since I've made desserts, salads, soups, starters/snacks and main courses all this month, I decided that I'll be bringing a beverage to the potluck. You can see what it is when you come back here on November 1st. :)

Now on to today's recipe Spaghetti and Neat Balls. I first ate balls made of tofu at my friend Karol's house, way back in 2009. She had put crumbled tofu, almonds and spinach together with some spices to make these yummy balls. I based the basic idea for my Neat Balls from the ones Karol fed us. :)

This is one of the most scrumptious main courses I've made in all my vegan life. It turned out sooo sooo soooo good!! I'm not going to spend time describing it further. It's really very simple to make. So you can try it out for yourself and experience the deep satisfaction. :)

For the Neat Balls:
1 block tofu (I like the Ka Kim's brand in Bangalore or the one from Towness) - drained, patted dry and crumbled
2 carrots - grated
1 very small turnip - peeled and grated
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 T flax seed powder
2 T corn starch
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
1/8 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp liquid jaggery (or any other liquid sweetener)
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Salt
2 T nutritional yeast (optional)

For the Tomato Sauce:
5 medium ripe, juicy tomatoes
1 T garlic powder
2 spicy green chillies
1/4 tsp jaggery or liquid jaggery (or any other sweetener)
1/2 tsp Salt

Additional Ingredients:
250 gms spaghetti - cooked in lightly salted water, drained and rinsed
1/2 C Italian basil - chopped fine
1 large green bell pepper/capsicum - sliced and nuked
1 T Daiya pepperjack cheeze (optional)

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Knead together all the ingredients for the balls and shape them into... well, balls! haha

Blend the tomato sauce ingredients into a smooth paste, using a few splashes of water if required.

Toss the spaghetti, basil, capsicum and Daiya (if using) together.

Pour the tomato sauce over them, mix and place in a baking dish.

Place the balls over the spaghetti.

Bake for around 30 minutes.

Mix lightly with a fork to coat the balls with the sauce.

Serve hot with crushed pepper and drizzled with Tabasco Chipotle or other hot sauce.

Enjoy! :)

Note: This dish tastes best when baked, but in case you don't have an oven, then you could try frying the balls. I wouldn't recommend boiling or steaming though. Also, if you're not baking, then simmer the tomato sauce for a few minutes before tossing everything in it.

Asian Fusion Vermicelli Vegan MoFo day 18

I'm a big fan of fusion food. It's a lot of fun to take the best of various cuisines and meld them together into a unique, experimental dish with its own personality. One of these fusion concoctions that I make often is an Asian vegetable and tofu stir fry tossed with Vermicelli/Semiya (South Indian, semolina based thin noodles).

My favorite local Semiya brand is Anil Roasted Vermicelli. These are really thin and extra long and none of the other brands match Anil's taste and texture.

Since any semolina based noodles or pastas aren't very nutritious, I usually mix a *lot* of veggies with a small amount of Semiya. This ensures that there's a lot of healthy goodness in the meal with just enough grain content to satisfy the carb craving.

I would recommend Tamari for this recipe because it's just amaaaaaazingly delicious (almost drinkable straight out of the bottle *slurp*). I pour it into any of my Asian dishes as well as all salads. But, as I mentioned in last week's Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce recipe, unfortunately I ran out of my stock from the US long ago and it isn't available here. :( So I've just settled for plain old dark soy sauce that can be picked up at any grocery store.

Asian Fusion Vermicelli

3 C Cabbage - shredded or sliced
1/2 C Beans - chopped to 1 inch pieces
1 Carrot - sliced
1/2 Capsicum - sliced
1 block of Firm or Extra Firm Tofu (200 gms) - drained, blotted and cubed
1 Onion - thinly sliced
1 T Garlic - roughly chopped
1 inch Ginger - grated
1 Green Chilli - chopped into rounds
1 tsp Thai Basil - chopped
1-2 T Dark Soy Sauce
3 T Gingelly (Sesame) Oil

2 C Anil Roasted Vermicelli
1/2 tsp Crunchy Peanut Butter
2 C Water
pinch of Turmeric

Peanuts - roasted and crushed
Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce

Pre-cook cabbage, carrots and beans in the microwave for about 5 minutes to make the stir frying go quicker.

Heat gingelly oil in a heavy bottomed wok (baandli).
Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and stir fry for half a minute.
Add onion and Thai basil and stir fry until onions become partially tender.
Add tofu and gently stir fry for a few seconds.
Add capsicum and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Add remaining vegetables and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Add soy sauce and heat for half a minute while mixing well.
Turn off the heat and keep aside.

In a pot, bring 2 C of water to a rolling boil with the pinch of turmeric and peanut butter.
Add the vermicelli and keep stirring on medium heat for a few minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed and the vermicelli has been cooked.

Add the stir fried veggie-tofu mixture to the cooked vermicelli and mix very well.
Garnish with roasted, crushed peanuts.

Serve hot drizzled with Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. If you've been reading my recent blog posts, you might already have realized that Tabasco Chipotle is my new best friend. Hubby and I have been pouring it over everything! It's nuts. hehe

Enjoy! :)