Recipe : Andhra style Peanut Chutney (Vegan / Keto)

Once I'd left the batter for fermenting overnight, I was thinking up what chutneys I wanted to go with it. Since I was making the idlis with ragi, I knew I wanted a slightly more robust chutney too. A strong contender was the Maharashtrian fiery Garlic Chilli Coconut chutney. But since the sambhar would be the same colour and super spicy, I finally decided that I wanted to make an Andhra style peanut chutney as an ode to my 2 working stints in Hyderabad.

If you've read my other posts today, do you sense the theme?

A quick online search and a recipe from Neha at Whisk Affair seemed to be the flavours I was looking to recreate.

 

I absolutely loved this one and will definitely be making it again and again. It's a chutney that can be used as a substitute for peanut butter. Totally delicious!

For the original recipe and for loads of other yummy dishes too : please visit Neha's Blog - Whisk Affair

The recipe that follows has my minor tweaks.

Ingredients :

1 tsp neutral cooking oil

1 cup roasted peanuts

1 medium onion - roughly chopped

1 tsp ginger paste or 1 inch ginger

3 cloves garlic

4-5 dry red chillies

1 tsp tamarind paste

Salt to taste

1 tsp coconut oil (or any neutral oil)

pinch of hing

1 tsp urad dhal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp sesame seeds (optional - I just felt like using them today)

1 dry red chilli

a few curry leaves

 

Method :

Heat the neutral oil and gently fry the peanuts in it. Be careful not to burn it. Keep aside to cool

In the same pan, fry the onions, garlic, ginger, red chilli and fry for 3-4 minutes, then take off from the heat.

When everything has cooled, grind the roasted peanuts, onions, garlic, ginger, red chilli, tamarind to an almost fine paste - I like to leave a slight crunch to it..

Add water as needed when grinding.

Transfer the ground chutney to a serving bowl.

Adjust salt to taste and mix well.

Heat oil in a tempering vessel.

Add tempering ingredients quickly and don't let any of them burn.

Pour the seasoned oil and spices over the chutney. 

I made double the quantity of tempering and used the same one for both chutneys today.

 

Serve at room temperature with hot idlis / dosas or even rice and dhal or sandwiched between bread.

Recipe : Bangalore Thela style Green Coconut Chutney (Vegan)

Having lived and worked in Bangalore in two separate stints as a bachelorette :), on the rare occasions that I needed breakfast before office (normally an after effect of partying too hard on a week night), there used to be these thelawalas or cyclewalas who would serve just idli, vadas and a watery chutney.

I suspect that this chutney is more Tamilian in origin, since growing up in Mangalore, right next to Udupi, I'd not seen this particular chutney. Or maybe it was just the thelawalas ingenuity to let a little chutney go a long way and avoid having to carry a tin of sambhar too which would also need to be kept hot .

 

It is however, quite delicious and this is a chutney I made based on nostalgic memory which may be off the mark, but I loved it and that's what food is about right?

Ingredients :

1/2 cup channa dhal (split pigeon peas)

1/2 cup grated coconut

1/2 cup corriander leaves and stems

5 green chillies (spicy - adjust to your taste)

2 cloves garlic

Salt to taste

1 tsp coconut oil (or any neutral oil)

pinch of hing

1 tsp urad dhal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp sesame seeds (optional - I just felt like using them today)

1 dry red chilli

a few curry leaves

 

Method :

Dry roast the channa dhal on a medium flame and cool. Be careful not to burn it.

Grind the roasted dhal, coconut, corriander, chillies and garlic to a fine paste.

Add water as needed when grinding.

Transfer the ground chutney to a large bowl.

Add 1 - 2 cups water depending on how liquidy you want it. (Feel free to rinse your mixi with plain water and add it to the chutney - its what our grandmas taught us after all)

Adjust salt to taste and mix well.

Heat oil in a tempering vessel.

Add tempering ingredients quickly and don't let any of them burn.

Pour the seasoned oil and spices over the chutney. 

I made double the quantity of tempering and used the same one for both chutneys today.

 

Serve at room temperature with hot idlis / dosas.

Recipe : Ragi Idlis (Vegan)

I don’t remember the last time I made an overnight fermented batch of idlis from scratch (easy availability of ready made idli batter in most cities I've lived in or my instant rava idlis with sour curd recipe were the culprits 😁)

Totally inspired by Deepa (Paticheri)'s session at last weekends Desi Cultures workshop, I decided to make idlis from scratch.

 

I'd bought powdered ragi at the start of the lockdown and I knew I wanted to make idlis with ragi, rather than just rice to make it slightly more nutritious.

Using idli rava and ragi powder, helped shorten the process slightly. 

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dhal (split and skinned black gram)

1 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)

1 cup ragi powder / ragi hittu / ragi flour

1 cup idli rava (this is ground idli rice)

Water to balance

Salt to taste

 

Method :

Soak the urad dhal & the methi seeds for  2 - 4 hours.

Grind smooth with a little water as necessary.

Transfer the ground urad dhal to a large vessel (10-12 cups volume)

Gently fold in the ragi flour and the idli rawa to the ground urad dhal.

Add water as necessary to get a thick idli batter.

 

Leave to ferment and rise for 8 hours / overnight.

 

Add salt to taste and give a gentle stir (I know some people add salt before fermenting, my nana always added salt just before cooking, so thats how I do it now)

Prepare your idli steamer (stove top or microwave)

Pour the batter into greased idli moulds (75% full) and steam until done.

It took me 5 minutes in my microwave steamer of 12 idlis at a time. The time is dependent on your steaming mechanism and how deep each idli mould is.

This quantity of batter gave me 36 medium idlis.

Take the idlis out of the moulds.

Serve hot with sambhar and chutney.

Today I served the idlis with spicy sambhar, Bangalore thela style green coconut chutney, Andhra style peanut chutney, a bit of chutney pudi in sesame oil.

 

Tips :

It’s been super cold here 3C in Joburg, but my friend Ajit Iyer & @paticheri’s tip to leave the maavu/batter in the oven with the pilot light on totally worked like a charm. 

Deepa's other suggestion, was to leave it on top of the fridge, but my fridge does not get warm on the top (rather on the rear)

Kim's Tips:

The batter is going to rise a lot, so when leaving it to ferment, put it in a vessel where it fills around half the volume.

Keep that vessel on a deep plate or bowl to catch any spills (especially if you are leaving to ferment overnight, inside your oven or on top of your fridge - it will save you valuable time if the batter overflows)

Work Backwards on timings. 

- If you want idlis for breakfast, you want to grind & mix everything just before you close the kitchen for the night. So soak the dhal around tea time.

- if you want idlis for dinner, then soak the dhal as soon as you wake up and give the batter at least 8 hours to fernent before you need to cook it for dinner.

 

Leftovers :

Leftover idlis work well later in the day, just give them a mild steam or sprinkle water and warm in a microwave.

Turn idlis into Masala Idlis.

Warm ghee, put some chutney powder in it and fry quartered idlis in it.

If batter remains and turns a bit sour, you can make ragi dosas from that batter or appes.

Recipe : Pork Chidkan / Kodava Pandi Chidkana

I first tasted chidkan in Bangalore last December when @spiceupthekari ordered it in for me from Kodava Samaja.

It was instant love at first bite! I searched high and low for a recipe for the last 8 months to no avail. Requests to Kodava friends were unsuccessful and I was wondering how to entice the chefs at Kodava Samaja to part with the recipe on my next trip to India. 

My general enquiry into this seemed to indicate that this is a recipe mostly made as a bar snack.

Then last week, I listened to @historywali chatting with @pigout_coorgkitchen and when I checked out Anjali Ganapathy's insta, I found a recipe that looked extremely promising.

Below is a pic of Anjali's original recipe on instagram at @pigout_coorgkitchen. I highly recommend following her for accessible insights into Kodava cuisine.

 
We haven’t been getting a wide variety of pork cuts during lockdown, but I found some Kassler chops that had the right fat meat ratio, so that’s what I used.

A bit of smokiness and saltiness in this brined meat, worked quite well even in the finished product.

I fried the cooked pork in a tbsp of oil, rather than deep frying it, but I still got a good crispness.

No access to parangi malu or jirgi mirsang, so I used the spiciest green chillies available here in Joburg.

This recipe may not be as famous as pandi curry, but is definitely a keeper and will be made often. Thanks so much Anjali!

I first thought I'd turn the water the pork was cooked in, into soup, but then I cooked moong dhal with that pork flavoured water for the same dinner, which just added oodles of umami flavour.

I also served Gomen / Hamli / Collard Greens with this dinner

Very very satisfying dinner indeed.

Do not be tempted to cook more than 250gms of pork per person as this dish needs to be consumed immediately after cooking, otherwise it just won't work - it will turn too hard.  

This is how I cooked it with my substitutes. 

Ingredients:

500gms boneless pork with fat  - chopped in 1 inch pieces - don't stint on the fat, it gives lovely crispy fatty flavour and texture. I used kassler chops, sorpotel cut works too

1.5 cups water 

7-8 green chillies, the spiciest you can find if you have no access to parangi malu / jirgi mirsang / birds eye chilli

2 cloves garlic

a pinch or 2 of rock salt ( I used less since kassler chops are smoked and brined) 

lemon / lime juice

 

Method :

Boil pork with 1.5 cups water in a pressure cooker until 3/4 cooked (Anjali recommends approx 2 whistles on high).

You can either chop the pork and then cook or cook the pork and then chop, whatever works better for you. 

Drain all water from the pork. 

The water can be used as stock, for a soup or I just cooked the dhal for dinner in it. 

As the pork is drying, make a fresh coarsely ground paste of  green chillies, garlic and salt (feel free to adjust quantities to your liking, this ratio worked well for us) - think thecha.

 

In 1 tbsp oil fry the pork, it will also release a fair amount of oil. This is going to spatter. 

Remove the pork from the oil (I ended up with about 2.5 tbsp oil + fat which went into tadka for the dhal)

Mix the ground chilli paste into it and squeeze lemon / lime juice generously. I used half a large lemon.

 

 

Serve immediately and be transported into heaven.

This dish is served as a snack / "tastings" with drinks, but it worked well for our dinner too.

This is exactly the version I had from Kodava Samaja. I have another half kg of the pork chops left, which I'm thinking of cooking into another version of chidkana that Anjali has shared, but that one uses kachampulli vinegar.

Recipe : Hamli / Gomen - Eritrean / Ethiopian Greens - Vegetarian - (Vegan Option)

I first tasted Hamli at Mosob in London - we have eaten so many meals here and taken so many friends to this place to introduce them to Eritrean food.

Hamli and Gomen (the Ethiopian version) are on the menu of most Eritrean and Ethiopian restaurants in London.

When I visited Ethiopia last year, I also got to taste a few versions made with niter kibbeh or tesmi - a spiced clarified butter, which obviously adds layers to the taste. I make it with regular ghee (Indian clarified butter) which is a mild cop-out but still very very flavourful.

Given the fantastic 3 day workshop on Desi Cultures that I attended last weekend, I may just venture to make ghee at home myself and if I can find the spices, I'll try making a bit of niter kibbeh too.

Mosob makes their hamli with spinach as it is easily available in the UK, however the traditional recipe calls for something closer to collard greens.

The last packet of spinach I bought at the grocery seemed more collard greens in texture and smell than what we commonly know as spinach, which is when I remembered this recipe that I hadn't cooked in a while. 

Collard greens give you a much more substantial texture without any slipperiness, kale works well too. But I've cooked it with regular spinach in London and that is also good. 

Ghee is low in lactose and milk solids, hence keto friendly, so this recipe works for a keto diet too. 

Vegan Version:

A lot of the flavour of this dish comes from the niter kibbeh or ghee, but if you want to keep it vegan, use any suitable cooking oil

 

Ingredients: 

2 tbsps niter kibbeh or ghee 

1 onion - chopped

2-4 cloves garlic - chopped

1.5 tsp minced ginger 

1 tsp jeera powder (cumin) 

1 tsp dhaniya powder (corriander) 

1 bunch collard greens / kale (about 350-400 gms) (If using regular spinach - 500 gms because this wilts much more) - roughly chopped. 

 - if you have very thick hard stems, remove them and use them in stock or tehri or any dish that gets cooked for a longer period of time. 

Salt to taste 

a little squeeze of lemon - optional 

 

Method: 

Heat 1 tbsp niter kibbeh / ghee in a pan. 

Add chopped onions, cook for 2-3 minutes until transluscent. 

Add, garlic, ginger, cumin and corriander, saute for 2-3 minutes. 

Now add your greens (collard / kale / spinach) with another tbsp of niter kibbeh / ghee. 

As it cooks down, add salt to taste. (remember greens wilt and hence the volume once cooked, will be much lower than what you start with - salt accordingly) 

Cook to your level of doneness - with kale and collard greens, I let it get a bit crispy, with regular spinach crispiness doesn't work as well. 

 

Traditional preparation does not include a squeeze of lemon, but:  

Kim's Nana's Tip: Lemon helps the body absorb iron from the greens more easily, something about Vitamin C making the soluble iron absorption into the body easier, so I always add a squeeze of lemon whenever I'm cooking green leaves. 

 

In the picture above, I've served it with rice, moong dhal and pork chidkan. This recipe pairs well with rotis and dhal too.

Fridge Cleanout : Chicken and Mushroom Pasta with Arctic Thyme (Vegan option)

In winter, it feels like our tastebuds are a bit frozen and sluggish, so the 2 of us need more intense flavours than we need in summer. Not necessarily spicier, but just more robust.

The food we ordered in last week from Norma & Vilma Caterers was fantastic, but the flavours in the Aji De Galina - chicken casserole - were a bit too mild for us in this weather.

I had ordered 2 plates of this, so I had quite a large quantity. I knew the flavours and texture would go very well with pasta.

Since I did not want to “mask” / “override” the original flavours, I just sautéed 3 cloves of garlic, and a mix of fresh Shiitake and oyster mushrooms with a smidgen of coarsely ground pepper, a large pinch of Arctic Thyme and 2 tsps sunflower seeds for crunch.

Put in about 20-30gms of cheese bits and ends lying in the fridge that were drying out and a soup cube dissolved in 1 cup of hot water.

Now added the chicken casserole to the pan and warmed it up gently.

When hot, I added 250 gms of cooked whole wheat pasta and gave it a quick stir. Sprinkled some arctic thyme that I think Aunty Sujata gifted me from her Iceland trip and served hot. So delicious.

For a veggie/vegan version, consider using a creamy mushroom soup or a sweet corn soup instead of a chicken casserole.

Using a tinned soup and adding some herbs and fresh veggies is a quick fix to making a pasta sauce.

Kim's Tips on Leftovers :

Sometimes when we order in from a new restaurant or a new cuisine, we may find that their balance of flavours doesn’t suit us.

My nana taught me her hard learned lessons in frugality. Never throw away anything that is usable / consumable, instead adjust, tinker, add flavour etc to suit yourself.

*Too salty, add boiled potatoes.

*Too spicy, add yoghurt / coconut milk depending on the base.

*Too plain, add herbs.

*Meat is too tender, turn into kebabs/ cutlets/samosa stuffing.

It’s not too difficult to tweak a cooked dish to give a completely new flavour profile at the next meal and #LoveYourLeftovers

We often have  leftover bits of cheese in the fridge that get dried out, before they are consumed or bits and ends that don't look pretty or don't fit in a sandwich. Pop all those bits and bobs into a pasta sauce for a bit more creaminess.

Recipe : Dahi Ke Kebab - Vegetarian

Rakhi special - Dahi ke kebab / Yoghurt kebabs.

Rakhi / rakshabandhan is an Indian festival that celebrates the sibling bond. This also includes cousins and friends who feel like family.

I'm trying to test our willpower on how much sweet & deep fried stuff we can avoid, now that the Indian festive season has kicked off. Given that we will not be able to visit anyone or have anyone over, I’m hoping it won’t be too hard this year.

So instead of making something sweet I tried something new for rakhi - these dahi & paneer kebabs.

I first tried them in a restaurant in Rajasthan and the meltingly soft, mildly flavoured kebabs were a revelation. The subsequent ones that I've had across Rajasthan & Punjab could never measure up to my initial experience, but this recipe came quite close

Excellent as a tea time snack or to turn into sandwiches or rolls.

Ingredients :

2 cups hung curd + paneer

For a true dahi kebab, you need to use 75% dahi and 25% paneer.

I’d made fresh paneer at home and when hanging it, I added some soured up yoghurt too, So it ended up a 50:50 paneer and dahi mix. Which meant the kebabs were marginally grainier than they should have been..

1.5 - 2 tbsp of besan / chickpea flour - roast till fragrant

1/2 medium onion finely chopped

2-5 green chillies finely chopped

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp jeera / cumin powder

salt to taste

1/2 - 1 cup breadcrumbs

Oil to fry

Method :

In a large bowl, mix the hung curd and paneer, this should be very dry.

If your paneer isn't the crumbly variety, then grate it before mixing with the dahi, so you get a smooth paste.

Mix all the other ingredients into the paste except the oil & breadcrumbs.

It should be dry enough to hold its shape and fry, if it isn't dry enough, add more roasted besan.

Form shapes of your choice - flat tikkis / cylindrical or soccer ball shaped croquettes.

Since I shallow fry, I prefer the flat tikki shape for even cooking.

You can either shallow or deep fry these kebabs.

Heat a pan and then heat some vegetable oil in it.

In a flat plate, take the breadcrumbs. Roll the kebabs in the breadcrumbs and then fry on medium heat for about a minute each side till done.

You only need to crisp up the outside, not cook the inside.

Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.

So yum!

Kim's Tips :

I didn’t have a stock of breadcrumbs and I didn’t feel like making some after my last disaster (over dried the bread, the mixi cover flew off and I spent half the day cleaning the breadcrumbs that had flown all over the kitchen), so I rolled them in rava/ soji / semolina before pan frying them.

Dahi kebabs are normally mildly flavoured, so the flavour of the yoghurt can shine through.

You also want to use minimal spices to preserve the white colour of the mix.

But if you want a stronger flavoured kebab, go ahead and add spices as per your taste - garam masala / amchoor / kasoori methi / cardamom powder / fresh chopped coriander / nutmeg powder are all good variations.

Recipe : Sheviyo Upma / Multigrain Vermicelli Upma - Vegan

I found a packet of dried multigrain vermicelli at the Indian store on our last trip. I had thought that I’d just steam it and serve it like sheviyos/idiyappam with coconut curry. But after the khao swey last week, this idea wasn’t as exciting and felt repetitive.

I remembered a dish that nana would make with leftover sheviyos and tried to recreate it. Not bad at all.

Ingredients:

200gms pack of multigrain or ragi vermicelli

1 tsp oil (coconut oil preferred, but any neutral oil works)

1 tbsp split channa dhal

2 tbsp split urad dhal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

2 dried red chillies - broken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut

1-3 chopped green chillies for taste

Salt to taste

A squeeze of lime

Sugar - optional

Method :

Multigrain or ragi vermicelli is different from regular maida vermicelli and needs slightly different treatment.

If you packet comes with instructions, follow those.

If it doesn't have instructions, soak the multigrain or ragi vermicelli in warm to hot (not boiling water for precisely 3 minutes.

Don't leave it too long, it will start to dissolve.

Now drain the multigrain / ragi vermicelli and steam for 5-6 minutes either in a steamer or in a covered bowl in the microwave

If using, leftover sheviyos/idiyappam, they can be given a light steam only if they have begun to dry out too much, they don't need soaking

Take a wide bottom vessel, heat it and add the oil.

To this add channa and urad dhal and let them crisp up (not burn)

Now add mustard seeds, curry leaves and the dried red chilli.

When they splutter, add the coconut and stir fry for a bit, to your level of doneness 30sec - 4 minutes.

To this add the steamed vermicelli and stir fry. If it is too dry, add little splashes of water at a time.

Add chopped green chillies and salt to taste.

Mix well and take it off the heat. The vermicelli does not cook for more than 2 minutes.

Squeeze a bit of lemon on top.

Serving Options :

* a sprinkling of sugar

* a coconut chutney

* a salty mango pickle with a bit of coconut oil

Recipe : Peach Sheera / Sooji Halwa / Rava Halwa / Sweet Upma / Semolina Pudding - (Vegan option)

Sooji halwa in Mangalore and around is called sheera.

Pineapple sheera / pineapple kesari / kesari bath  is the most common variant of this dish and Hotel Woodlands in Mangalore used to make an excellent version.  However in the recent season, mango sheera has been all over my social media feeds.

Friends and family know my aversion to fruits. The smell of most fruits makes me nauseous.

However, I do enjoy a few types of fruits and I do love a very select few. Preserved peaches are not really fresh fruit, but I Love them.

I found this brand called Brenda’s here in Johannesburg that are organic and low on added sugar that I really love, so I pick up a couple of jars each time.

This time instead of adding sugar to the sheera, I used the sweetness of the raisins and peaches with a little canning liquid.

I'm first going to give you the recipe of regular sheera, that is often served as breakfast or tiffin in Mangalore / Udupi. One of my uncles, loves pairing it with pooris for a more filling start to the day. Our Manglorean version of Poori + Shrikhand I guess.

Mum often gave us this for breakfast before heading off to school

Ingredients :

2 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp raisins - (optional)

1 tbsp broken cashewnuts - (optional)

1 cup fine sooji / Bombay rava / semolina

2 cups milk (or water or a mix of the 2 - the more milk, the richer the taste)

1/2 cup sugar

Method :

Soak raisins in a little water to rehydrate.

Heat your liquid component - milk / water / milk + water to boiling hot.

In a large pan or kadhai, heat the ghee.

Toast the nuts to golden brown if using and remove from the pan.

Roast the soji / rava / semolina on a medium flame until lightly browned.

Now add the raisins if using.

Add the boiling liquid and stir continuously to prevent lumps.

When it smells cooked and starts to come together, add the sugar and mix well.

When it starts to dry, turn off the heat, add cashewnuts and serve hot.

You can also set it on a greased plate and cut shapes when cooled and serve it at room temperature.

Variations & Tips :

You can add 2 pinches of cardamom powder / cinnamon powder / nutmeg powder at the end, for a more fragrant version.

Since the liquid in preserved fruit always seems to get leftover, instead of 2 cups milk + 1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/2 cup canning liquid and 1.5 cup milk.

I think the original recipe would call for about 1 cup sugar, that's way too much for us and I have found that 1/2 cup works well. You may want to adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.

If you are making a fruit version, then remember to account for the sweetness of the fruit.

Fruit Versions - Pineapple kesari / Mango sheera/ Peach sheera ...

For the above quantities, use 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fruit chopped fine (or even pulped if you want a super smooth version)

If you are using an acidic /sour fruit like pineapple, then the liquid is only water, no milk.

Fruits that are traditionally added are bananas or pineapple, but you can use mangoes, peaches or any other fruit that you have on hand.

The fruit is added AFTER you turn off the gas, as it really doesn't need to cook. It will just be gently warmed in the residual heat of the halwa / sheera.

A Note on Udupi Tiffin Rooms Menus:

Pineapple sheera is called kesari bath - the kesar (saffron) colour often coming from turmeric rather than the more expensive herb.

Kesari bath could also be just a yellow coloured sheera without pineapple - but definitely sweet.

Upma is referred to as khara bath (salty)

So if you see a dish called chow chow bath on the menu, it means one serving of sweet sheera and one serving of salty upma.

Recipe : Manglorean Burmese Khow Suey / Ohn No Khao Swe (Vegan Option)

Many many years ago, I posted an alternative recipe for Khow Suey and I promised to share my regular recipe too. It's only taken me 10 years to post this! 🤦

Khow Suey is a Burmese noodle soup with coconut milk which I have accompanied with Burmese split pea crackers (channa dhal) among other toppings.

I’m not sure how “authentic” my recipe is, given that I broadly follow one from the Manglorean Ladies Club Cookery Book that is over 25 years old. (My copy is the 5th edition in 1988, but the first edition was in 1978) So I suspect that this may be heavily modified - Russian Salad anyone?

But we love the flavours, so I continue to make it this way. The curry is very yum and can also be eaten with Rice or rotis, especially if you have leftovers.

While I make this curry with chicken, you can use boiled eggs, potatoes, veggies of your choice, tofu, or rehydrated beans, thus making this dish vegetarian or vegan as per your choice.

Ingredients :

750 gms boneless chicken - clean & cut into tikka size cubes

1/2 kg onions

2" ginger cleaned

1 pod garlic cleaned

20 long dry red chillies destemmed

1 tbsp fresh ground turmeric or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 can coconut milk (or milk of 1 coconut)

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

4 - 6 nests Egg noodles - cooked as per instructions on packet

Method:

Grind together half the onions (250 gms), ginger, garlic, red chillies.

In a pan, heat some oil.

Add the other half of the onions and fry till opaque.

Add turmeric and fry for a minute or so, until the raw smell goes away.

Now, add the ground masala and fry on a medium flame till cooked and the oil seperates. You can add masala water (water got from rinsing your grinder jar) or thin coconut milk to maintain moisture as you are cooking.

When the masala is cooked, add chicken (or veggies / tofu) and cook till tender.

Now add the coconut milk (medium flame) and cook till it boils. If you want to add any veggies that just need a bit of a steam, add them now.

I added 200 gms sugar snap peas and 200 gms mangetout.

Turn off the flame.

Serve noodles and curry separately with an array of toppings, so everyone can assemble their own.

Toppings Ideas:

Fried noodles

Lime wedges,

Fried onion

Chilli flakes

Fresh coriander

Fried garlic

Boiled eggs

Green chillies

Fresh onion

Pe kyaw

Roasted peanuts