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November 20, 2007

Mixed Vegetable Curry








I have been busier this past week than I have been in a long time. So, much as I promised to be regular and all that, I have not managed a single post in an entire week. While work did keep me occupied a great deal, I also had my cousin and family visit me from Bombay. They returned to their base last morning. Having a three year old in the house can be a lot of fun and it can also be a very trying experience. Especially if the little one doesn't enjoy mealtimes. I have been thinking an awful lot about how I became a non fussy eater. How did I learn to not just eat what was placed in front of me, but also relish it? I made a pizza on the day the family arrived. My niece did not even look at it. (On another day, we went to Pizza Hut, and she devoured a double cheese pizza.) I baked vegetable buns and chocolate chip buns. She didn't even look at them. I tried telling her that she should try things out before deciding whether she likes them or not. Did I succeed? Not entirely. Which also means that I didn't entirely fail. I got her to look forward to milk time. She tried chocolate milk and strawberry milk and found that milk was not all bad. She enjoyed a fluffy cheese omelette for breakfast one morning. The entire episode got me thinking and I figured that I am this way because of my parents and their attitude towards food. If my parents had nurtured strong likes and dislikes in me, I may very well have fallen into the category of fussy eaters. For this 3 year old, meal times meant dal-rice and curd rice. In many ways, I couldn't help but empathise with her for not enjoying meals. But it got me thinking nonetheless.



I also wonder why meal times have to mean rice or rotis. There was this one time when we'd invited a bunch of people over for dinner. I'd made several items and served biscuit rotis as appetizers. We had a 3 year old who devoured them. He ate three and a half rotis and then had a bowl of tomato soup. Quite a meal for someone who'd just turned 3. In fact, quite a meal for someone who turned 30 as well. Despite this, his mother fretted over his not having eaten rice and made him eat a serving of peas pulao and then some curd rice.



While I have been wondering about all this, you must be wondering if I have been cooking at all. I assure you, I have. I am not in the cracker and milk mode and have a decent meal each night. I am also having very decent breakfasts and lunches. I have not had a chance to buy fruit and that's the only item missing from my daily diet and I will fix this very soon.



I made this mixed vegetable curry to go with rotis some time ago and liked it a lot. I made it again today with mushrooms and soya and had it with some jeera rice. I didn't click a picture, but since the recipe is the same, I decided to write about this one. I just put in whatever I could find in the mixie jar and made this paste. This has no onions and no garlic. So it is ideal fasting/festival food.








1 cup Carrot, cut into long pieces



1 cup French Beans, cut into long pieces



1/2 cup Soya nuggets, prepared as per instructions on the pack



1 tbsp Oil





Grind to a paste:



2 tbsp Cashews



2 tbsp Peanuts



4 Red Chillies



1 tsp Coriander Seeds



1 tsp Cumin Seeds



1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder



1/4 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder



Salt to taste





This dish tastes great when prepared over the stove as well as in the microwave.





Stove Top Version:



Pressure cook the carrots and beans.



Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the paste and fry for a few minutes. Add the vegetables and the soya nuggets. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.





Microwave version:





Place the carrots and beans in a microwave safe bowl. Add a little water. Cover and cook on high for 5 minutes. Keep aside.



In another microwave safe bowl, place the oil and heat on high for a minute. Add the paste and cook on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring after every minute. Add the vegetables and soya nuggets. Cover and cook on medium for 5-7 minutes. Allow for a few minutes of standing time.



Enjoy this dish with rotis or rice or even bread. I am sending this to Suganya for her Vegan Ventures event.



I am also sending this to Srivalli for her Microwave Easy Cooking: Side Dish Series.

We are off to attend the wedding of S's friend in Agra. And after we get back, we have 5 other weddings to attend this week. That definitely means almost no cooking at home. I hope that doesn't mean no blogging. I have not even thought about RCI this month yet and there's the JFI entry that I have to post. There's the big issue of WBB as well. I will get back to this blog as soon as I can. See you soon.

24 comments:

FH said...

Now you know why mothers are recognized as the most stressed human beings in the World!:D
Wait until they are teenagers, food is the least of all problems!!
Vegetable curry looks great, I will skip the Soya stuff!:))
See you when you come back, enjoy all the weddings.

TBC said...

Nice! I too like to sneak in some soya whenever possible.
Enjoy the wedding season.:-)

Rajitha said...

have fun raaga..miss going and eating saddi chapadu at weddings....the curry looks good...

Saju said...

Aahhh! lovely curry looks delish, I love the blue dish. Enyoy the weddings

Padmaja said...

Oh yes!! I can imagine what u have been through last week.
That simple curry is definitely a booster to all the trouble you had gone through.
hey 6 weddings in a week, enjoy!! hopw u sorted what to wear? one would have drove me crazy!!

sunita said...

OOOH! This must have tasted soooo good...Enjoy the weddings.

Siri said...

Reading ur post about reminded me about I was as a child Raaga, very fussy and choosy ..hehe.. The curry looks colorful.. 6 weddings to go!.. Enjoi and have a safe trip...:D

-Siri

Richa said...

take ur time raaga! u can always blog when u get time, no stress!!
veg looks good, easy to make :)
enjoy...

Seema said...

Halding kids is no joke.. ask me got 2 who hate the word Vegetables but Love the word JUNK FOOD!!! Its hard, no matter how much we try...hopefully someday they'll get better.. no harm in hoping:-)

Your curry looks good....Minus onions - nice to note that!

vimmi said...

Hi Raaga,

Love ur name. Its very soothing. I have a 2 yr ol who will eat everything. He eats veg and fruits dal but will not eat outside stuff like pizza etc. Which is a blessing. Loved the recipe.

bee said...

i was a non fussy eater and i wonder the same thigns too. i guess the child imitates the parents. someparents tkae pride in how ussy tier child is. it harms teh kid in the long run.

EC said...

Have a nice time attending marriage and having YUMMY food of course

Nikita said...

I was planning to make mixed vegetable for dinner today. I came to ur blog at the right time :) Will try this out

Timepass said...

Nice recipe. Winter is the peak time for weddings in the north..Have fun eating kulfis and ice cream at weddings.

Suganya said...

Totally... Rice and roti should be banned in potlucks for atleast 2 years. Am tired of those now. it makes Indian cooking look like it has nothing else to do at all. Thank you for the superb entry. Have you sent me a mail?

Finla said...

Nice veggie curry.
Well when i was small i don't think i had any choice other than eating what was put infront of me. It was like eat it or you can starve, no special treatment for use kids eat what you are given.
Maybe it was like that , but i have to admit i have more trouble making my daughter eat her vegetables.

Lissie said...

hi raga, such a simple and easy curry... and tasty too!
you have a great time ahead... enjoy!

Sia said...

i was a fussy eater in my teens not when i was a kid, well i should say picky one;)
5 weddings in one week? OMG!!! u need to carry some eno i guess;) have fun raaga

amna said...

looks healthy! and very similar to the aviyal that we make in kerala.

recipe here: http://cookingandme.blogspot.com/2007/04/aviyal.html

looking forward to your entry for WBB :)

Srivalli said...

the dish looks lovely..thanks for the entry..have you sent me a mail?

Sig said...

Hey Raaga darling... hope you are having fun in Agra... 6 weddings in a month... that means some really yummy food :) Have fun girl...

Cynthia said...

Ah yes, kids.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Chef Jeena said...

Lovely curry it looks delicious yum. :)

Raaga said...

@Ashakka: I think I can understand... but I still feel I was an angel in comparison :)

@TBC: Thanks. Yeah... soya nuggets are so handy :)

@Rajitha: Thanks... I am going to be sick of paneer tikka, hara bhara kebab and makkai ki roti very soon I reckon :)

@Saju: You like my bowl better than the dish?? I'll let the microwave people know... I got it free :-)


@Paddu: Yup, totally... sarees, jewellery, the works... all sorted out.

@Sunita: Try it sometime... it does taste great.