An inspired meal…..

We all have a signature dish….one that all our friends and neighbors clamor to eat and get the recipe for. In my case, it is my version of the khow-suey.

Calling it khow-suey is a very deceptive description for this dish since it truly is an amalgamation of 1) a tasting I had when I was around 16 yrs old (as you can see, it really stayed with me J), 2) development of an appreciation of Thai cuisine (which happened around my mid twenties) and 3) a lot of helpful insight from my cook (in the last year or so….I am not including my age for obvious reasons).

So, as a 16 yr old kid, I was invited to a Gujarati family’s house for dinner and then served up “Samosa” and “Kadhi”. This combination sounded so odd, that I was very hesitant to try it. However, I did try it and was floored. Life moved on and so did I, and this dish was left somewhere in my memory box. After experimenting with cooking some Thai curries in the US, I decided that I loved the flavor of coconut milk, basil and lemongrass. After moving back to India, as I was planning a dinner party at my house, I decided to incorporate the best of both worlds and create a fusion of sorts by retrieving the samosa and kadhi combination from the memory bank and adding Thai flavors to it. Thus was born the “samosa-khow-suey”.

There are some very key reasons why this dish is so popular amongst everyone I have fed this to….the unique combination, the use of crispy, flaky, home-made samosas, and that very special touch that my cook added to the khow-suey through her own innovation. She effectively created a “kadhi-coconut-curry” and honestly, this recipe has to be tried to be believed…. 

 

Fusion Khow Suey (serves 4)

 

3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh coconut

2 tbsp chana dal (split Bengal gram) soaked in water for 1 hr

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup water

1 green chili (as per taste)

1 inch pc of ginger

 

1 cup plain yogurt (kept outside the refrigerator for at least 2 hrs)

 

3/4 cup each of cut babycorn, green beans, carrots

1 cup broccoli florets

(add any vegetable of your choice - mushrooms, brinjal, celery, brussel sprouts, cauliflower etc.) 

1 cup water
Salt to taste

 

1/3 cup spring onion cut lengthwise

10 or so basil leaves

10 or so kaffir lime leaves/ or lemon grass

Zest of 1 lemon

 

1 tsp oil

pinch of cumin seeds

pinch of fenugreek seeds
garlic (optional)

 

1/2 cup coconut milk

Blend the first 8 ingredients together.

Add the yogurt and blend the mixture into a paste.





Sieve the mixture and add to the vegetables and water.

Take the sieved coconut mixture, add 1 cup of water and blend again. Add the sieved extract into the vegetable mixture. Also, add the salt.

Heat the curry on a very low flame, till it reaches a full boil. You can cover it slightly. Cook for at least 20 minutes so that the vegetables get cooked.

Add the kaffir leaves, basil, spring onion and zest of 1 lemon to the cooked curry.

 

Allow the flavors to blend for another 15 minutes. Add a "chownk" (tempering) to the curry using oil and the seeds. Add the coconut milk and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and get rid of the kaffir lime leaves.

 

Samosa (makes 15 small pcs)

 

For the dough:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp. melted ghee (clarified butter)

warm water for kneading

 



Mix the above ingredients to make a firm dough. Cover and let it rest for 1 hr.

 

For the stuffing:

2 large boiled and mashed potatoes

1/2 onion chopped

2 tbsp. spring onion and cilantro chopped

1 pinch garam masala

2 tsp oil

Green chili, red chili and salt to taste

 

Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onions till they are soft. Add the mashed potato and the seasoning. Cook for 3-4 minutes and your samosa stuffing is ready.

 

 

Make and fry the samosas. Slice them into 2-4 pcs, depending on the size...

Add the curry....

And your choice of toppings. Such as, fried noodles, cilantro, spring onions, green chili, salt, red chili flakes, roasted garlic, bhujia (Indian gram flour snack), lemon juice (a must!).

You can also choose to add fried onions,  roasted peanuts, fried spinach, sri racha sauce, tobasco, or anything else that you fancy :).

 

 

Honestly, one taste and you will be hooked!! So go ahead...get inspired!!