Chef- Joseph Stalin, Banana Leaf Restaurant shares his Expert Recipes

With a rich work experience of 15 years Chef Joseph Stalin has a lot to smile about. From his early childhood, Chef Joseph was a foodie and wanted to make his career dishing out innovative recipes. With just practical knowledge as his strength he started working in his home town Hyderabad and later moved to Bhopal. In his spare time he loves reading, watching cricket and listening to music. Working now with Banana Leaf, a popular vegetarian South Indian restaurant in Mumbai he shares the recipes of two bestselling items with us. Enjoy!

Appam A thin pancake made with rice batter.

Ingredients

2 cups cleaned raw rice soaked for 4-5 hours
2 cups fresh tender coconut shavings
1½ cup boiled rice
1 cup fresh coconut milk
2 nos ready to eat banana
Salt and sugar to taste
A pinch of yeast granules dissolved in little hot water

Method:

Drain the soaked rice and grind it along with tender coconut, pealed bananas and cooked rice to make a fine thick batter. Do not add too much water. Add yeast, mix lightly. Also add salt and sugar to taste. Allow to ferment at room temperature for at least 6 hours. Heat a small non-stick wok. Pour approximately half a cup of the batter and gently swirl the pan around such that only a thin layer of the batter covers the sides and a thick layer collects at the bottom. Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes or till the edges have become golden crisp and the centre is soft and spongy. Serve hot with any south Indian curry.

Chef Joseph's delicious Appam

Vegetable Malabar Curry

A hot and spicy dish prepared with curry leaves, spices and coconut cream which combines well with rice or bread.

Ingredients:
Boiled Vegetables like-
Carrots-100gms
Beans-100gms
Cauliflower-100gm &
Potatoes-100gms
Cottage cheese-100gms, optional
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp Ghee
5 whole green cardamom pods
5-6 Cloves
2 large cinnamon sticks
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 green chilies shredded
2 ripe tomatoes, pureed
Bunch of curry leaves
2 tbsp coriander powder
1/4 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp red chili powder
1 tbsp Mustard
4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp coconut cream
Salt as per taste

Method of preparation:

Heat coconut oil and ghee in a wok and add cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Once they start spluttering, add chopped onions and fry till golden brown in color. Add the ginger garlic paste, green chilies and curry leaves and fry for some more time. Add tomato puree and mix well. After 2 minutes, add coriander, turmeric and red chili powder and salt and sauté till you can see oil separating over the mixture. Add the boiled vegetables to the mixture and stir for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and boil on low heat for five minutes. Stir in the coconut cream and serve hot.

Vegetable Malabar Curry

Tastes Simply About Trying Everything!