Indian Style Veggies

Veggies!!

This is the vegetable portion of Weekend Cookout where I made Spinach with Grated Coconut and cabbaged cooked in turmeric and mustard seeds. Well, all the reference I got was from eating Banana Leaf Rice back in Malaysia where you'd get 3 different types of veggies, an option of dhall and/curry and topped with whatever protein you want. The cabbage and spinach ones came into mind mostly so I tried to recreate two of that veggies dish last weekend. It was quite a success as the tastes are almost similar.

Indian cuisine tend to overcook their veggies - and cook veggies are kind of like a peeve of mine. I hate overcooked vegetables in general, but when there's so much spice, the limpness and softness of the veggies kinda goes with the spices used for some reason. :)
Cabbage with Turmeric and Mustard Seeds:
1/4 cabbage, sliced into 1 cm in width
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
salt and pepper to taste
a bit of water
1 tablespoon oil

Method:
1. Heat pan with oil and saute garlic until it is fragrant and a slight opaqueness can be seen on the sides. Add mustard seeds until it starts popping.
2. Now you can dump your cabbage in with roughly 2 tablespoons of water and let the cabbage wilt and cook.
3. Add your turmeric, salt and pepper and saute until all is well combined. Cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes more.

Serve :)

Spinach with grated coconut recipe:
2 bags of spinach, cleaned and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1/4 cup of grated coconut
1/4 cup cream/full cream milk
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon oil

Method:
1. Heat pan with oil and saute garlic together until fragrant, approx. 2 minutes.
2. Add coconut, cream, ginger, cumin and chili powder in. Saute until mixture is well blended and the smell of the spices permeates the air. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
3. Now add your spinach and cover to cook for a few minutes, until spinach is wilted and cooked down (approx. 5-8mins).
4. Continue cooking if you want a softer texture but if you want more crunch, you can serve your cooked spinach now.

With that veggie recipes completed, you see what I have in my plate. I ate with my hands, like a true blue malaysian, that day. It's been a while since I did and man, food never tasted SOOOO good! :D