What would you feed me…Indu?

Welcome to this week’s WWYFM? post, coming this week from the lovely Indu from Indu’s International Kitchen, a blog packed full of fabulous recipes which Indu manages to find the time to not only cook, but blog about too, in her busy world! I’ve lost count of how many of Indu’s recipes I’ve loved and liked and the many conversations we’ve had: just another of my lovely international friends that I’ve made in blogworld 🙂

So, what would you feed me, Indu?

Elaine was one of the very first friends I made when I started
blogging a little over a year ago! And who doesn’t like Elaine? Her
warmth and kindness easily comes through her delicious and healthful
recipes as well as through her blog. Elaine is the Goddess of
everything ‘Healthy’! She not only strives to make healthful dishes
but she also is extremely creative about doing so! She has made an
incredible array of dips thus far, each one outsmarting the other in
terms of creativity of blending ingredients and acquiring perfect
textures! As for salads, Elaine has one for every day of the year!
Just check out her recipe index if you don’t believe me!

So when a few days ago, she asked me to write a ‘guest post’ for her
‘What will you feed me’ series, I was more than ‘honored’ …I was
simply ecstatic! And I also knew instantaneously what I would make for
her! There was this delicious red beans (adzuki beans) and pumpkin
curry that is a traditional kerala dish that I had been meaning to
post for some time now but somehow never managed to until now and so I
thought that was something Elaine would just love! This curry is also
served as one of many side dishes in a Kerala vegetarian feast (sadya)
which is served over a banana leaf. But when served with some cooked
parboiled rice, this can be a perfect comfort meal.! The red beans and
pumpkin in a coconut gravy is a delicious combination of flavors –
mildly sweet, mildly spicy and so creamy!

Red chori(known as payaru in malayalam) also known as adzuki beans,
are small, oval, dark-reddish brown beans. They have a strong,
unsually sweet flavor and creamy texture. In India it is more commonly
used in south indian cuisine. They are also called as red cow beans
and these beans are highly nutritious – rich in protein, fiber and
folic acid.

This curry is fairly easy to make as long as you have a pressure
cooker (to cook the beans) and a food processor to grind the coconut!
🙂 Yum! Hope you enjoy this delicious curry and thanks Elaine for
inviting me to make something special for you! I wish I could invite
you in person to my home and treat you to an entire Kerala sadya! 🙂

Red Chori(Adzuki beans) and Pumpkin curry

• Servings: <br /> Makes about 4 servings when served with rice
• Time: About<br /> 45 minutes if using pressure cooker
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:

1 cup red chore or payaru (adzuki beans)
1 1/2 cup water

1 1/4 cup pumpkin pieces 1 inch by 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilli

For the ground masala

1 cup freshly grated coconut (or fresh frozen grated coconut that has
been thawed to room temp)
1 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 small clove of garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup warm water to grind

For the tempering

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies (optional)
4-5 fresh curry leaves
extra 8-10 pumpkin pieces for topping

Method:

Rinse the beans in water and place in a pressure cooker with the
water. (Do not add salt now as the beans will take longer to cook).
Pressure cook for 3 whistles. Take off the heat and let cool for a few
minutes until all steam has escaped and open the cooker. Add the
pumpkin pieces to the cooked pairu by adding the additional 1 cup
water, salt and red chilli powder and cook again covered (without
whistle though) for 2-3 minutes until the pumpkin pieces are cooked.
Take off heat and keep aside.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients under ‘ground masala’ and
grind everything to a fine paste. Add this paste into the bean and
pumpkin mixture and turn the heat back on. Cook for 1 minute or so
until the mixture begins to boil and then immediately turn heat off.
Set aside.

Finally in a small pan, heat the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds
and heat on medium until they start to splutter. Turn heat to low and
add the dry red chillies and the fresh curry leaves. Then add the
extra pumpkin pieces and fry lightly for 2 minutes until the pumpkin
pieces are cooked and add the entire pumpkin and oil mixture into the
cooked bean and pumpkin curry and stir. Serve the curry hot with some
cooked parboiled rice.

Notes:

You can cook the beans even in a regular pot instead of a pressure
cooker however, you will need extra water and will need to cook for a
longer time 9at least 20 to 30 minutes)
The red beans if very old could be really hard (depending upon where
you buy them) and in which case soaking them in water for a couple
hours would be best.
You need to use good quality coconut and pure extra virgin coconut
oil! to get the best taste.( I prefer Better Body Foods brand of
coconut oil and Daily Delight brand of frozen grated coconut)

Oh Indu, I love it, I love the beans, the pumpkin, the coconut oil, the spices…all perfect for me, thank you so much 🙂 And, believe me, I would so love to visit your home and I know I would thoroughly enjoy all of your Kerala delights xxx