Food Talk
 The taste of good health

Rainbow stir-fried vegetables can be prepared at short notice, writes Pushpesh Pant

THE story of the Chinese stir-fries is an interesting one. If legend is to be given credence, the country had such a distressing shortage of fuel in the past that very little firewood could be used up for daily cooking by the multitude. Ingredients—meats and vegetables—were cut /sliced into tiny pieces that could be done in a jiffy over high flame. Other advantages, too, soon became apparent—the cooking medium required was negligible when compared to deep or shallow frying and everything seemed to retain its natural texture and taste.

The sight of a culinary master at work is a delight. Vast quantities of food are prepared in a blink and dished out to drooling guests by the street-side kiosk owners in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Chef’s special

Ingredients

Water chestnuts (fresh or canned net weight after peeling) 400 gm
Button mushrooms 200 gm
Cherry tomatoes 100 gm
Capsicum 100 gm
Freshly ground mustard or
 kasundhi from the bottle 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Green chillies (chopped) 2-3
Vegetable oil 2tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

Trim the chestnuts to give them a round shape. Quarter the capsicum after removing the core, then cut the pieces into halves. Slice the button mushrooms after washing well. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wide pan-flat karhai. Put in the cumin seeds and when these begin to splutter the cherry tomatoes, swirl the pan to ensure that these are glazed but do not burn or burst.

Add water chestnuts, and capsicums pieces. Stir fast and continuously while the dish cooks on high flame for about two-three minutes. Just take care the ingredients are not singed. You may have to remove the pan from fire or raise it high for a while. A gentle circular motion (of the pan not your body!) is advised and is not hard to master. If you like a more ‘moist’ dish, you may add freshly pureed tomatoes (about half a cup) before the cherry tomatoes and cook it for 30 seconds. (If this option is being exercised we also recommend the incorporation of `BD tsp each of garlic and ginger paste.) Arrange on a serving dish and garnish with chopped chillies and mustard.

We have often asked ourselves the question why did stir-fries not entice our ancestors. True, we do have our karhai delicacies but these are more often than not slow cooked for a longer time and the spicing is far heavier. A qorma like lubabdar sauce drapes the fish, fowl or flesh as well as the ubiquitous paneer.

The tawa specialities are even more disappointing—gone are the days of made-to-order farmayishi items. At best you can select from a few—visibly oily—‘pre-prepared’ staples— bhindi, karela, kamalkakadi, arbi and simla mirch. Most taste alike, stuffed or drizzled with the same chaat or home-made garam masala. With growing awareness about the healthy contribution that the stir-fries can make to our diet, there is a happy hunger about recipes. The Rainbow stir-fry seeks to balance the native with the friendly alien. It can be prepared at short notice, has a wonderful salad-like crunchy feel and a most appealing, nay inviting look. A tempered raita can be poured over delicately to transform it into a gravy item to be relished with rice. You can make it as mild as baby food or really fiery for those who like it hot. For us it sure beats the hell out of the run of the mill sabzi panchmel or navarattan.

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