Thai Yellow Vegetable Curry

An other recipe to the list of 5 A Day the Color Way! after my Pav Bhajji recipe :)
The “5 A Day The Color Way” slogan reminds us to include a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables in the daily diet. Try to consume fruits and vegetables from the five color groups every day. The color groups are RED, ORANGE/YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE/PURPLE and WHITE. This item has a nice mild and rich taste which makes it a hit among the little guests at my place. The parents get happy as their kids are consuming a variety of vegetables as well :) This dish goes very well with coconut rice.

Ingredients
YELLOW CURRY SAUCE:

2 cans coconut milk

1/2 tsp. fenugreek

1 tsp. coriander seeds

1 tsp. black mustard seeds

1-2 green or red chillies

1 Tbsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. turmeric, dried, OR 1 thumb-size piece fresh turmeric, peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic

1 thumb-size piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1 stalk lemongrass, sliced thinly

1/2 onion

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. dark soy sauce

1 cup fresh coriander

2 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey

juice of 1/2 lime

2-3 kaffir lime leaves, frozen or dried
VEGETABLES

2 cups baby bok choy, beans, chopped red, green, or yellow bell pepper, eggplant sliced

1 large carrot, sliced

1 cup broccoli

1 cup cauliflower

1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped if the leaves are large (for garnish)

canola or other vegetable oil for stir-frying
Method
- Place 1/2 can of the coconut milk plus all other sauce ingredients in a food processor. Process well.

- Add 2 Tbsp. oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the curry paste and gently stir-fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

- Add the other 1/2 can of coconut milk and stir. Now add those vegetables that require the longest cooking time, such as the carrots and cauliflower. Stir well and bring to a simmering boil. Turn down heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

- Add the second can of coconut milk plus the bell pepper(s), japanese eggplant, and beans. Stir well and cover, allowing to cook for another 5 minutes.

- Lastly, add the broccoli and bok choy/Chinese cabbage. Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes, or until broccoli is bright green and cabbage has softened.

- Remove from heat. If the sauce is too bitter, add 1-2 Tbsp. more brown sugar, and/or 1 Tbsp more soy sauce

- Sprinkle with basil

This tastes very good with coconut rice. It has a good serving of all color vegetable as well!

Pav Bhajji

The “5 A Day The Color Way” slogan reminds us to include a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables in the daily diet. Try to consume fruits and vegetables from the five color groups every day. The color groups are RED, ORANGE/YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE/PURPLE and WHITE. Each of the color has its own implication and benefit. Some people I talk to agree but complain about the choice/availability. Below are a few examples that come on top of our head and what we normally consume. Just ensure that they are all in your food:
RED - Tomatoes, Beetroot, Red Bell Pepper, Raddish, Cranberries, Pomegranates, Rasberry, Red Apple, Straberry, Red Grapes, Water Melon
ORANGE/YELLOW - Carrot, Pumpkin, Corn, Yellow Bell Pepper, Cantaloupe, Apricots, Lemon, Mango, Orange, Peach, Persimmons, Pineapple
GREEN - Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Zuchini, Green Leaves, Cabbage, Cucumber, Beans, Okra, Peas, Watrercress, Avocados, Green Apple, Green Grape, Kiwi
BLUE/PURPLE - Eggplant, Purple Cabbage, Blackberries, Blueberries, PLums, Purple Grapes, Raisins
WHITE - Cauliflower, Onion, Potato, Banana

One of the Indian snack that covers all the colors for the day is PAV BHAJJI. The beauty of this dish is that you could modify it to suite your pallete. The recipe i mention below is just a guideline, Please feel free to make your own additions/deletions/modifications.

Ingredients:
- Cauliflower - cut into florets about a handfull
- Potatoes - cut into large chunks about a handfull
- Green, Red, Yellow Bell Pepper - sliced about a handfull each
- Green Peas (fresh or frozen) - about a handfull
- Corn (fresh or frozen) - about a handfull
- Beetroot - cut to small pieces about a handfull
- Broccoli - cut to florets about a handfull
- Tomato puree - 1/2 cup
- Onions chopped - equal quantity as that of tomato
- ginger-garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
- salt to taste, zeera powder, corriander powder, dhanya powder, garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder, kasoori methi, pudhina powder , aamchoor powder
- optional 1 tbsp Everest pav-bhaji masala (or more to taste)
- 2-3 tbsp butter
- oil - 2 tbsp
Method:
1. Boil all the vegetable in the pressure cooker till tender with a little salt and set aside
2. Heat oil in a deep saucepan; saute onions, ginger-garlic paste and some green pepper
3. Add tomato puree and all the spices. Saute for a few minutes
4. Add cooked veggies, pav-bhaji masala and smash them all to a coarse paste on the pan before saute
5. Add water as required. Check taste and add the butter. Simmer for 10-15 minutes to really get the flavors to blend together.
Serve with:
1. Fry the bread in some butter first. For an even spicier result, make masala pav...melt some butter in a skillet. Sprinkle zeera and pav bhaji masala in it, then fry the bread in this spicy butter until sizzling and golden.
2. Finely sliced/ chopped onions, minced cilantro and wedges of lemon.

Health Drink - Almond Milk/ Badam Kheer

Almonds mistakenly were considered too fatty to be a healthy snack! but research has shown otherwise. 90% of the fats in almonds are unsaturated, it is high in protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, and antioxidants.
Almonds are considered to be the healthiest and most nutritious nuts of all. Owing to this fact it is termed as the source of well-balanced food. Almonds make a great snack, as they reduce the blood sugar levels and free radicals from the body. Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Almonds include but not limited to:

- Help in the prevention of cancer, as they are low in saturated fat

- Contain protective nutrients like calcium and magnesium, which assist strengthening of bones

- Contains phyotchemicals, which protect against cardiovascular diseases and cancer

- Reduces the risk of heart attack

- Help in checking blood cholesterol levels

- Contain lots of fiber, which is good for the system

- Contain folic acid, which is believed to reduce levels of homocystein, the amino acid thought to contribute to the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries

- Assist in controlling diabetes, by lowering blood sugar after meals

- Provide essential anti-oxidants and help in the clean up of the free-radicals in the body

Badam kheer or a health drink made of almond and milk has been my favourite ever since childhood. My mom used to make it frequently considering its health benefits. It enjoyed it most during the summer months when i got back from school.

Ingredients: makes 4 glasses

Almonds 40

Milk 4 glasses

Ghee/clarified butter 2 tsp

Saffron 3-4 strands or 1 pinch

Sugar 12 spoons

Saara pappu (telugu) chironji (hindi) 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Soak almonds in water overnight and peel the skin out

2. Puree almonds along with half glass milk in the blender
3. Bring the remaining milk to boil in the mean time

4. Add almond paste to the milk and keep stirring constantly till the raw smell goes. This might take 8-10 mins

5. Add sugar, stir well, turn stove off and then put in the saffron

6. In a saucepan heat ghee to roast saarapappu (pieces of cachew if desired). Mix this to the badam kheer

This could be consumed either warm or cold. It satys good in the refridgerator for upto 3-4 days.