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Recipe for Success

Arthur J Pais

Three years after her first book, Curried Favors was published and won several top prizes, Maya Kaimal MacMillan is getting ready for the publication of another book. Like her previous book, which offered family recipes from south India, many of them from Kerala, MacMillan, the photo editor atGood Housekeeping, concentrates on Kerala cuisine.

Curried Favors is one of the steadiest selling Indian cookbooks in North America, with an estimated 30,000 copies sold. MacMillan, daughter of a Malayalee father and an American mother, thinks two factors weighed in her book's favor -- recipes and food legends which are hardly known to many Indians. "I was not interested in writing about food I was not familiar with," she says.

Secondly, the recipes have been tested over and over again. Being a food perfectionist who also happened to be a daughter of a scientist, helped her in shaping precise recipes she says. Many recipes were collected from her father, and she worked on them in her parents' home during weekday visits.

One of MacMillan's favorite dishes is Lamb Piralen, which she serves with Okra Kichadi, Kootu and Lemon Rice.

Lamb Piralen

Two pounds of cubed leg of lamb, trimmed of fat
Six teaspoons ground coriander, lightly toasted
Half teaspoon ground cumin
Half teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
Half teaspoon ground black pepper
Quarter teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
Half teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground with a mortar and pestle
One and half tablespoons white vinegar
Salt to taste
Two medium boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
Half cup thinly sliced onion
Five tablespoons vegetable oil
Two teaspoons minced garlic
Two teaspoons minced ginger
Half cup water
Half teaspoons mustard seeds
10 curry or two bay leaves
Quarter cup minced onion

Marinate the lamb in the mixture of ground spices, fennel seeds, and vinegar for at least one hour.

In a saucepan of salted water, parboil cubed potatoes for 12 minutes, set aside.

In a large frying pan over medium- high heat, fry half cup sliced onion in oil until the edges are nicely browned. Add garlic and ginger and stir for two minutes, or until the onion turns medium brown.

Add marinated lamb and stir until the meat is no longer pink. Add salt and half cup water to keep the meat simmering. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the meat is tender and sauce is reduced to a very small amount.

Meanwhile, in a nonstick frying pan, over medium high-heat, fry the potatoes in 2 tablespoons oil until light brown, crusty and cooked through, for about 20 minutes. Add potatoes to lamb. Raise heat to medium-high and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce. Turn heat down to low.

In a small covered frying pan, heat mustard seeds and curry leaves in one tablespoon of oil over medium heat until the mustard seeds begin to pop. Add a quarter cup of minced onion and fry until they turn light brown. Pour contents of frying pan over lamb and potatoes, stir well, and remove from heat. Taste for salt.

The whole effort takes about 80 minutes, apart from the marinating time. Serves six.

Okra Kichadi

Five tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound fresh okra, trimmed and cut into thin slices
2 green chilies, split lengthwise
Salt to taste
1 cup grated, unsweetened coconut
Half teaspoon mustard seeds, coarsely ground with a mortar and pestle
Half teaspoon cumin seeds, coarsely ground with a mortar and pestle
15 curry leaves
Water
One cup plain low-fat yogurt
Half-teaspoon mustard seeds
Two dried red peppers
One teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a wok or large frying pan heat three tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add sliced okra and one green chile and stir-fry until the okra softens and browns around the edges. Stir in salt. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In a food processor or blender combine coconut, coarsely ground mustard, cumin seeds, one green chile and five curry leaves with just enough water to make a fine paste.

Wipe clean the wok, and combine in it coconut paste, yogurt, half-cup water and little salt. Bring mixture to a simmer -- do not allow it to boil -- and remove from heat immediately (or else yogurt will separate).

In a small covered frying pan over medium heat, heat mustard seeds, dried red peppers, and 10 curry leaves until the seeds begin to pop. Stir contents of pan into coconut-yogurt mixture.

Stir in fried okra, adding more water if necessary to form a thick but pourable mixture. Stir in lemon juice; taste for salt. Serve at room temperature.

It takes 40 minutes to prepare and serves six to eight people.

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