norwegian cooking: Sprouts Curry the Malvani Way

Sprouts Curry the Malvani Way

Hi.

We all know that the sprouts are very healthy and I make it a point that my kid eats them frequently. As we are vegetarians, sprouts provide us a good portion of proteins needed for our body and especially for children they are extremely important in helping them grow, as the proteins help in building up cells and tissues and thus are rightly called ‘the building blocks’ for our body.

I try to incorporate sprouts in soups, salads and curries, in different variations so that the kid can relish it. This time I tried it making the Malvani way. Malvan is a small town in coastal Maharashtra in Sindhudurga district and is famous for the Malvani Cuisine. Malvani cuisine uses coconut liberally in various forms such as grated, dry grated, fried, coconut paste and coconut milk.

The Wiki says that many masalas have dried red chillies and other spices like coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin, cardamom, ginger, garlic, etc. Some dishes also use kokum, dried kokum (amsul/ mangosteen), tamarind, and raw mango (kairi). However not all of the cuisine is hot and spicy. The 'Konkanastha Brahmin' style of food is quite bland yet very tasty and vegetarian too. Fish dishes dominate the Malvani cuisine. The fiery seafood curries may be a bit too spicy for some people, but are quite tasty. The Malvani cuisine is very similar to Goan or coastal South Indian cuisine.

I’ve used coconut liberally in the curry and kept it medium spicy to suit our palate. The coconut provided a nice creamy texture and the curry is best eaten with hot, steamed rice.

Ingredients

Serves (4-5)

2 cups Sprouts (steam cooked)

1/2 coconut grated

2 Chinese garlic pods chopped (the larger kind)

2 medium sized onions (sliced)

3-4 green chillies (spicy)

1/2tsp cumin

1tsp coriander seeds

1inch piece ginger, chopped

1 lemon’s juice (medium sized)

a handful bunch of coriander

a few stems of coriander (I always store them)

salt to taste

2-1/2tbsp oil

Method

Pressure cook the sprouts (one whistle only).

Heat 2tbsp oil and add the onions and garlic and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the coconut and roast again till the onion-coconut mix is golden in colour. Cool.

Lightly roast the coriander seeds.

Grind together the onion-coconut mix, coriander, coriander seeds, cumin, green chillies, ginger and coriander stems, using a little water to form a green paste.