Delicacies

Delicious detox

By Pauline D. Loh (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-12 07:39

Are you suffering from a surfeit of the good stuff from all that holiday bingeing? Pauline D. Loh says it's time to eat vegetarian for a change.

Growing up on the tiny island of Singapore, full of different ethnic groups, gives you an international palate without having to leave home.

My grandmother spoke several languages, all picked up from her Malay and Indian neighbors, and although she probably never mastered any, she learned enough to get by and exchanged some pretty good recipes.

That's how we came to eat Indian vegetarian almost as often as we got to eat her native nonya curries. In fact, my grandmother preferred cooking Indian curries, because she said they were easier.

It was always an occasion when she cooked and we all looked forward to her experiments. One thing she did really well was an Indian vegetarian menu, which she would cook during the lunar new year because she said we had been eating too much meat and deep-fried stuff.

My granny knew all about detox, even if she never heard the term in her life.

Thinking back, these recipes were probably from the lady who lived across the road from us in another old colonial bungalow. She was the wife of a college lecturer, and a Brahmin, an upper caste Indian who was vegetarian because Brahmins were traditionally from the priesthood.

I have little recollection of her although I do remember granny saying she kept a separate set of cooking utensils so she could cook for her omnivorous family while keeping to her no-meat diet.

Of course, Indian vegetarian is now all the rage, with the vegan and vegetarian movements gaining so many followers in the West. But in my childhood, meat was still scarce enough to be valued when it was put on the table.

Nevertheless, our family loved it when grandmother cooked vegetarian. For one, we all got to play with the flatbread dough, and took turns at the special iron griddle my grandmother had bought from the markets we called Little India. Sometimes the flatbreads ended up scorched or still had bits of uncooked dough in the center, but they were ours, and we ate the breads we made very happily.

We did not know the names of the dishes, and I only recognized them much later as I ate at Indian restaurants in London and Hong Kong. These are my favorites - the potato and cauliflower curry they call aloo gobi, and the peas and mushrooms curry that is so mild yet so aromatic.

The cucumber raita is the simplest thing to do, and it makes you wonder why you never thought of it. A little yoghurt, grated cucumber and perhaps a few sprigs of fragrant coriander, and it is the perfect palate cleanser that also cools the palate should the curry prove too spicy.

I don't bother making my own curry powder. Garam masala, that ready-made spice mix, is always good, but you can also get bottled curry powder very easily these days. There is no coconut milk used here, as I suspect these are more yoghurt-based curries from the north of South Asia.

If you find making the flatbreads tiddly, go out and buy some pita, or naan. I've gone out to my Beijing supermarket and bought some ready-made pancakes to go with my curries. It did not taste any less delicious.

You can make more of the curries and freeze half for another day. I find they keep well, and only need some heating up on the stove or a quick zap in the microwave.

Recipe | Aloo Gobi (Potato and Cauliflower Dry Curry)

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

1 brown onion, finely grated

1 tbsp grated ginger

4 cloves garlic, finely grated

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

water

1 green chili, sliced

1/2 cup thin yoghurt

Juice of 1 lemon

1 bunch coriander, chopped

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat up some oil in a non-stick pan and saut the grated onion, garlic and ginger until softened, transparent and fragrant.

2. Mix the curry and turmeric powder with enough water to form a paste. Add to the ginger-onion-garlic paste in the pan and fry until aroma rises again.

3. Add the potato cubes and toss well to coat. Add cauliflower florets and then add just enough water to soften the vegetables.

4. When the vegetables are soft and tender, add the green chili and yoghurt. Simmer until sauce is reduced, season to taste then remove from heat and plate.

5. Serve garnished with lots of chopped coriander and refresh with a light squeeze of lemon juice.

Food notes:

Buy waxy potatoes instead of the floury potatoes for this. Waxy potatoes are sweeter, and will also keep their shape better. Do not overcook this dish as the vegetables will disintegrate and become mushy.

Recipe | Peas and Mushroom Curry

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 cup frozen green peas

20 medium brown or button mushrooms, stalks removed

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp grated onion

1 tsp grated garlic

1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped

1 cup yoghurt

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat up a spoonful of oil in a non-stick pan and add the grated garlic, ginger and onion to saut till fragrant. Add a little more oil and the curry, chill and turmeric powders. Stir-fry till fragrant.

2. Add whole mushrooms and toss quickly so the heat sears the mushrooms. Reduce heat, then add peas and the cup of yoghurt.

3. If you like more gravy, add more water to the pan. Simmer and cook for about five minutes.

5. Season with salt, pepper and toss in the chopped coriander before removing from heat.

Food notes:

This recipe is great when you have unexpected company. Frozen peas can keep in the freezer until you need them, and a couple of cans of mushrooms can always be found in the pantry. In fact, I often prefer using canned mushrooms for this dish as the texture of the canned mushrooms are somehow better. Saves on the oil as well.

Recipe | Cucumber Raita

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 220 ml tub of plain yoghurt

1 medium cucumber

Juice of half of a lemon

A little salt

Method:

1. Keep yoghurt in the fridge until needed.

2. Top and tail the cucumber and halve it lengthwise. Scrape out the core using a spoon.

3. Grate the cucumber and squeeze out excess moisture. Mix the cucumber into the chilled yoghurt, season with salt and lemon juice and chill until ready to eat.

Food notes:

You can also make green mango raita by grating green mango into the yoghurt, or try a carrot and cucumber raita. Sometimes, a bunch of chopped mint added to yoghurt also makes a great, refreshing dip that will cool down the gullet instantly during a hot, spicy meal.

Recipe | Indian Flatbread

Ingredients (serves 4)

500 g plain flour

100 g wholewheat flour

1 tsp salt

Lukewarm water

A little oil

Method:

1. Sift flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Make a hole in the center and add 1 cup of lukewarm water.

2. Bring the flour into the center of the bowl with outstretched fingers, slowly add enough water to make a soft dough.

3. Flour a large flat board or a table top and turn the dough out. Knead the dough using the heel of your palm, pushing out. Turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth.

4. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for an hour.

5. Pinch off golf ball-sized pieces and roll them into smooth discs.

6. Heat up a hotplate or flat frying pan and cook the flatbreads, pressing down on them with a wooden spoon. Pressing down actually makes the air pockets within the bread puff up.

7. Keep the cooked flatbreads wrapped up in a warm towel while you finish the batch. Serve hot.

Food notes:

You can make smaller individual flatbreads, or make a large one and cut it up to serve. If you have leftovers, try smearing them with garlic butter and baking them in the oven to make instant chips.

(China Daily 02/12/2011 page12)