When Tirunelveli food blogger Hazeena Seyad ran out of jaggery while making Vatha Kuzhambu two years ago, she decided to improvise and throw in some cooking chocolate instead. “I was amazed that it turned out better than my dish with jaggery!” she recalls. Later, inspired by an episode of MasterChef, she decided to try adding white chocolate to her vegetable stew. Suffice to say, her readers are curious to see what is coming up next. For now though, here is her stew concoction with white chocolate that is simple enough to be replicated by any cooking enthusiast at home.
White chocolate in vegetable stew
Ingredients
Coconut oil - 4 tablespoons
Cinnamon -1
Clove - 2
Onion - 1 sliced
Garlic flakes - 2 (crushed)
Green chillies - 8 to 10 (slit)
Carrot - 1 cup cubes
Potato - 1/2 cup cubes
Beans - 1/4 cup cut into 1 inch-long pieces White cooking chocolate - 1/4 cup grated
Very thin coconut milk - 1 cup (make
sure the coconut milk is very thin as the stew might curdle if the coconut milk is thick)
Coconut cream - one-and-a-half cups
Salt - to taste
Lime - 1/2 (a squeeze)
Method
• Heat coconut oil, then add cinnamon and cloves. Once they crackle, add sliced onions and crushed garlic. Fry till translucent.
• Top with green chillies, carrots, potatoes and beans. Toss well, adding salt to taste. Fry for 5 minutes on medium heat. Pour the thin coconut milk and leave till vegetables are cooked through.
• Boil the coconut cream until the sides bubble and add the grated white cooking chocolate. Stir until the chocolate melts and gets to a gooey consistency.
• Pour the coconut white chocolate ganache over the cooked vegetables and lower the flame. Keep stirring till it gets to a smooth saucy consistency gravy. Pour water if necessary, according to the required consistency. Squeeze lime. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and grated white cooking chocolate. Serve hot with appams or bread.