We continue our journey with chef Soundararajan past Appams to find a perfect accompaniment to go with these soft, fluffy rice cakes. The perfect match is Iraichi Ishtew (meat stew) or Kaikari Ishtew (vegetable stew). World over, stew is a common culinary term for food where the main ingredients have been simmered in liquor and served together. It is an advanced version of a soup. The cooking technology for stew is well, stewing, which is a combination of two cooking methods sauteeing (shallow frying in a little fat) and simmering (cooking in a liquid gently for a long time). Stews normally originated from red meat where long cooking is necessary to make it palatable and easily digestible. The main ingredient is sauteed, cooking liquid is added and together they are cooked, thus retaining all the flavours and juices. In due course even some vegetables and fruit were stewed as a substitute for the non-vegetarian dishes.Iraichi stew originated from the region of Malabar. South Indian meat stew is an excellent variation with their culinary connoisseurs gifting to the gourmet world a succulent, tender lamb with aromatic spices, stewed in coconut milk. The blend of coconut milk with the flavour of tender meat and the perfect fusion of cinnamon and cloves matches with the Appam. You will hardly find any tea shop or dhabba in South India not selling this combination in the Malabar belt. In the homes of Kerala, this is a favourite breakfast item. It is surprising to have a meat item for breakfast but this combination is very difficult to resist. With people moving towards vegetarianism, the universal accompaniment which would rightly substitute Iraichi stew is Kaikari Ishstew which is a mixture of vegetables stewed in coconut milk and infused with aromatic spices and herbs such as cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves. You can use any seasonal vegetables from any region but avoid strong-flavoured vegetables like cabbage, radish and coloured vegetables like beet root. You should also avoid red chillies while tempering.Kaikari IshtewCarrot 100 gmBeans 50 gmPotato 100 gmGreen chillies 2Ginger 1 pcRefined oil 1 tbspCinnamon 2Cloves 4Coconut milk 500 mlSalt As Per TasteWater As RequiredTempering:Red chillies 2Mustard seeds 1/2 tspCoconut oil 1 tbspGarlic 12 flakesCurry leaves 1 sprigUrad dal 1/2 tspMethod of preparation: 1. Cut beans, carrot and potatoes into 1 cm cubes. Slit green chillies and cut ginger into julienne.2. Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger and chillies and sauté for a while.3. Add chopped vegetables and sauté for 2-3 minutes.4. Add coconut milk and seasoning. Cover and simmer till vegetables are tender.5. Check for seasoning.For tempering:Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add urad dal and mustard seeds. Once mustards seeds start to crackle add curry leaves. Add garlic, red chillies cut into three pieces and sauté for a while. Once it is ready, add to the stew and bring it to a boil. Serve hot with Appam.
