There is a new place in town called Simply South by Chef Chalapathi Rao. We went there recently and had their heavenly Kerala stew with Appams and fell in love with this dish. The coconut milk was light and aromatic and the taste of the dish still lingers.

Here is my version of the stew. 

Method

1. Slice 1 carrot, 1 potato, 12 beansinto cubes of equal sizes and keep aside
2. In a pan, heat 1 tsp coconut oil.
3. Add the spices - 3-4 cloves, 1 cinnamon, 2 cardamom and 1/2 tsp black pepper and saute till for 2 mins.
4. Add 1 finely chopped onion to it and saute it. Add finely chopped 1 inch ginger and 5-6 garlic flakes and saute till the onions become transparent. Don't let it become brown.
5. Add 1 handful of curry leaves and 2-3 finely chopped green chillies and saute it for a few more minutes.
6. Add the sliced vegetables and saute well.
7. Now add 1 cup of thin coconut milk *, salt and bring it to boil.
8. Lower the flame, cover and cook it till vegetables are soft for around 10 mins.
9. Now add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of thick coconut milk * and cook for another five more minutes.
10. Garnish with curry leaves fried in coconut oil.
11. You can serve this vegetable stew with chapatis, appams or rice.

*Thick and Thin Coconut milk

1. Take 1/2 coconut and grate it. Blend it in the mixer with water and a pinch of salt to a fine paste. Strain the first batch and this gives you thick coconut milk
2. When the same leftover coconut is again blended in the mixer with more water and strained, you get a batch of thin coconut milk.

I developed my taste for Kerala cuisine in Kolkata :) when I used to stay with Padma Aunty as a paying guest. The combination of ginger, coconut milk and curry leaves used to go well with be it fish, chicken or egg. 

Here in Hyd, we visit Kairali and Uttupura pretty often to taste their roasts with appams. Decided to cook Egg roast today and found a good recipe on VahReVah.com I followed this recipe and the dish was extremely tasty - exactly the same as I have tasted in Kerala. The key here is the 2 tbsp of coconut milk that gives you the gravy. Dont miss it

Method 
 1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter, add 5-6 finely chopped cloves of garlic, 1 inch ginger finely chopped and saute. 
2. Add 2 finely chopped onions, 1/2 tsp salt and saute till the onion is slightly brown in color.  

3. Add 1 sprig on curry leaves, 2-3 slit chillies, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and saute all till the raw smell of the masala is gone.  
4. Add 1 finely chopped tomato and saute till the tomato is mushy. 

5. Now add 2 tbsp coconut milk (I prepare coconut milk using coconut milk powder), 1 to 2 tsp tomato puree and mix well. Add 4 boiled eggs (I made some slits on them) to the base, mix well  and cook for 4-5 mins on a slow flame. 
 6. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.  
This dish goes well with appams, but we managed with rotis.

Tried this recipe from vahrevah.com last Saturday when friends Preeti Patil and Jay came over. This starter with its south indian flavors was a hit with them..
Very easy to cook and the key is in cooking the chicken till it is browned well. 

I have tried a lot of recipes from vahrevah and somehow they have always turned out well..so now I am hooked on to the Sanjay Thumma's video stream on youtube



Method
1. Marinate 1/2 kg chicken on the bone with 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and salt to taste. Keep this aside for at least 2 hrs before cooking
2. Take 2 tsp oil in a pan and heat it. When hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and saute till it is brown. I also added 1/2 tsp shahi jeera seeds for additional taste. Add 1 finely chopped onion, a pinch of salt and saute. When the onion is pink, add 1 sprig of curry leaves and saute.
3. Now add the chicken and mix well. Cover and cook the chicken on a low flame till about 80% done. This should take around 20 mins
4. Remove the lid and saute to remove the water that must have accumulated. Add 2 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp freshly crushed pepper powder. Keep sauteing in the process browning the chicken. Finally add 1 tsp garam masala powder and mix well. Remove from heat when you think the chicken is well cooked
5. Garnish with coriander  and serve hot as a starter or a side dish.

I lived in Kolkata for a some time as a paying guest with Padma Aunty. Padma Aunty used to cook amazing Kerala curries. This is one of my favorite curries. I have tried to replicate from what I remember - Probably some not so Kerala elements have creeped into my recipe. So I cant boast as this being authentic Kerala prawns curry but it comes quite close.

I could not get a good view of the prawns in this pic - I need to work on my photography skills :)

Here is my version of Kerala prawn curry in coconut milk

Method
1. Take 2 cups of freshly grated coconut, add 1 cup of warm water and a pinch of salt and grind in a grinder. Strain it using a muslin cloth to extract the thick milk. Again add some water to the coconut and blend in a grinder and strain it to get thin coconut milk. Keep this aside
2. Add 2 tbsp coconut oil in a pab. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and saute till they crackle. Add 1 split green chilli and saute for a minute. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add 1 medium sized onion finely chopped and saute till translucent. 

3. Add 1 inch piece of ginger juliennes and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 min
4. Now add 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tbsp black pepper powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder and saute. 
5. Add 2 cups of cleaned and de-veined prawns and saute  for 4-5 mins till its well coated with all spices

6. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes, mix well. Cover the lid and let this cook on a slow flame for 3-4 mins. The tomato will leave some water and the prawns will cook in the same.
7. Now add 2 cups of coconut milk. Add salt according to taste. Cover and cook for 5 mins. 
8. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice.

I ate this dish for the first time in a shack in Kerala and fell in love with it. It goes very well with Appam and I cook it very frequently as a side dish.

Method 

1.     Marinate 20-25  prawns with 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp garam masala and salt for at least an hour

2.     In a pan, add 2 tbsp coconut oil. Add 2 twigs of Curry leaves, 2 finely diced green chillies, 1 big onion julienne. Add 1 inch of julienned ginger  and 5-6 pods of garlic finely chopped. Add 1tsp ginger garlic paste. Saute all this till the onion is brown.

3.     Add 2 tomatoes finely chopped and sauté

4.     Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp red chilli powder and cook all this till the oil separates

5.     Now add the marinated prawns and cook

6.     Add 1 tsp tamarind paste for the tangy flavour. Add salt according to taste

7.     Add water to adjust the consistency

8.     Cook for 10 mins on a low flame. Add curry leaves and  1 tsp garam masala just before removing from flame.

9. Sprinkle freshly cut coriander leaves and serve with Appam or rice.