Khow Suey: Burmese double delectable delight

What’s better than a cozy bowl of comfort food? This dish is a perfect balance of colors, and flavor—an apt tribute to the spring supper!

They say we eat with our eyes first, then our mouths. If that’s so, then this colorful dish will sure fill you up…twice! Let yourself be tempted by delicious and hearty Burmese meal-in-a-bowl.

Largely undiscovered, Khow Suey is every foodie’s delight with every bite. Exploding with colors, taste and texture, Khow Suey is a one-dish meal, generally made with rice noodles, beef, chicken and vegetables in coconut milk. It is served topped with an array of toppings that comprise of fried noodles, garlic, onion, cabbage, spring onion, slices of boiled egg and then sprinkled with crushed peanuts and a dash of lime.

The preparation is very simple and the result, an explosion on your taste buds. Those familiar with Thai and Vietnamese cuisine may find themselves on familiar terrain. A great comfort food, great as a lunch or dinner.

Here is a vegetarian version of this recipe as experimented by this mother-daughter duo in our kitchen.

Ingredients

2 cups boiled Rice noodles ( boil as per instructions in the packet. Normally takes only a couple of minutes, then drain and rinse with water.)

Gravy

2 cups Coconut milk

½ cup sliced green beans

½ cup broccoli florets

½ cup bell pepper slices

4-baby corn

1 cup Indian cottage cheese cubed/Tofu

½ onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp. ginger, finely grated

½ cup mushrooms, Julienne

2-table spoon oil

2 tsp. red curry paste

1 cube veg stock

1 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. soy sauce

¼ tsp. turmeric powder

¼ tsp. coriander powder

salt to taste

Garnish/topping

4 tbsp. grated cabbage

4 tbsp. crushed peanuts

1 lemon, cut into wedges

6 cloves garlic, fried

½ onion ,sliced, fried

2 chopped spring onions (leaves only)

2 boiled eggs, sliced

Red chili flakes

Green coriander/cilantro

Directions

Fry the onions, garlic and Indian cottage cheese cubes in little oil, and keep aside. Sauté the beans and peppers in the remaining oil.

Take a wok, and heat oil, fry onions on low heat, until transparent. Add ginger-garlic and stir briskly. Add the turmeric, coriander, red chili paste, and add the broccoli florets , baby corn and mushroom. After a while add the green beans, bell pepper, mushrooms, and cheese cubes. Add 1 cup of coconut milk, add salt and let it simmer briefly. Add the remaining coconut milk, and take the pan off the stove.

Take a bowl. Place noodles. Spoon curry on top.

Garnish with boiled egg slices, shredded cabbage, green onions, fried garlic, fried onion, crushed peanuts and coriander/cilantro.

Serve with a lemon wedge.

Enjoy!

Delectable Dhokla

 This is a Gujarati snack that resembles a lemon cake (to the uninitiated), but is made of rice and lentils. My best memories of dhoklas are from the neighboring Nathu’s Sweet Shop, in Bengali Market ( New Delhi).

Delectable Dhokla

Every time I would travel or visit friends or relatives, I made sure that we packed some dhoklas and raogullas from Nathu’s- the ultimate destination for all things sweet and spicy. Do try their tangy chaat (street food) and mithai (sweets) or their signature dhoklas when you are in New Delhi next!

Okay, now coming to dhoklas, these can be made two ways, one traditional that’s a bit time consuming as it requires a lot of soaking/fermentation time, but it is worth the effort. The other is an instant method, where you can substitute semolina/farina/sooji for making dhoklas. The process is easy and yields equally wonderful results. Here I give you recipes for both the versions.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice

¾ cup urad dal

(Soak rice and dal overnight)

1 cup besan/gram flour

2 tb sp yogurt

Salt to taste (approx 2 tsp)

1 inch piece ginger

6-7 green chillies

1 tsp baking powder

(Mix and grind with batter and leave to ferment)

½ tp turmeric

¼ tsp eno fruit salt

Pinch baking soda

(To be added just before steaming)

Dhokla

Method:

Mix in a bowl about 4  ladles of batter, add in turmeric and eno salt, and mix really well, till batter foams up. Pour into a greased pan.

Steam for about 15 minutes.

Invert the pan on a cutting board.

Cut into diamond/square shapes.

Seasoning:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 5- 6 curry leaves, 6-8 slitted green chillies, pinch heeng/asafoetida, ½ cup water, ½ tsp salt, 1tsp sugar and lemon juice.

Stir in gently the dhokla pieces.

Garnishing:

Sprinkle chopped coriander/cilantro and grated coconut.

Serve with green coriander/mint chutney.

Instant Sooji/ Semolina Dhokla

Ingredients:

2 cups sooji / semolina

2 tbs sp oil

1 tsp finely grated ginger

2 green chilies chopped fine

1 tsp salt

1 cup yogurt

1 cup water

½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder

2 tsp eno salt

Method:

Add sooji, oil, yogurt, water, salt, chilies, turmeric powder and ginger. Mix well.

Let batter stand for 20 minutes.

Add eno fruit salt to the batter and whisk well.

Pour batter immediately into a greased pan.

Steam for about 15 minutes.

Cut into diamond shapes.

Seasoning:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 5- 6 curry leaves, 6-8 slitted green chilies, pinch heeng/asafoetida, ½ cup water, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and lemon juice according to your taste.

Stir in gently the dhokla pieces. Or alternately, the seasoning can be poured on the dhoklas placed on a chopping board (inverted like a cake) and then cut it into pieces.

Garnishing:

Sprinkle some chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and grated coconut.

Serve with green coriander/mint chutney.

Khandavi

Khandavi is a traditional Gujarati savory snack made with  gram flour,  sold as ‘besan’ in Indian shops.

Khandavi makes for a great appetizer!

Ingredients:

1 cup yogurt

¾ cup water

½ cup besan or gram flour

¾ tsp turmeric powder

pinch asafoetida ( heeng)

1 tbsp green chilli-ginger paste

Tempering:

6 curry leaves

1 tbsp mustard seeds

2 green chillies cut in rounds

1 tbsp oil

Garnishing:

2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro/coriander

2 tbsp freshly grated coconut

Method:

Mix yogurt, water and the besan flour into a smooth batter.

Add the other ingredients.

Stir, and cook over low flame in a heavy bottomed pan.

When the mixture thickens, spread it evenly with a spatula on a greased tray/ aluminium foil. You got to be very quick at this stage.

Add the tempering. Wait for about 2 minutes.

Cut into long 1 inch wide vertical strips and roll.

Arrange on a dish and garnish with chopped cilantro and grated coconut.

Serve with mint chutney!