Kerala Vegetable Stew Espuma
Ingredients
For stew
• 400 g cauliflower florets
• 100 g carrot, cut into cubes
• 100 g potato
• 50 g green peas
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 green chilli, slit
• 1 tbsp ginger, made into a paste
• 1 tbsp garlic, made into a paste
• 3 green cardamom, cracked, whole
• 1 tbsp black peppercorn, whole
• 1 cinnamon stick of 1.5”
• 4 cloves
• 10 curry leaves
• 200 ml thick, fresh coconut milk
• 100 ml water
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• salt to taste
Add-ons & garnish for espuma
• 4 tbsp pineapple-pepper reduction (see note below)
• 4 tbsp garlic breadcrumbs
• 4 tsp black olive soil (see note below)
• 1/2 tsp curry leaf powder
• 1 tsp crushed black pepper
• few fried curry leaves
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
• 8 banana chips
Method
For stew
Heat oil in a pan, add cardamom, clove, peppercorn, cinnamon and allow them to crackle. Add curry leaves followed by onions and stir-fry for a couple of minutes over medium flame.
Add the ginger and garlic pastes and slit green chilli and stir-fry for a minute or so more before adding the vegetables and continuing the cooking process for a couple of minutes.
Add water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or so until the vegetables are done.
For espuma
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Make a fine puree in a food processor. Load the mixture into an ISI cream charger and charge with N2O cartridge.
Assembly & finishing
Pour 1 tbsp of pineapple reduction in the base of a martini glasses. Top with a shot of espuma in each and sprinkle with garlic breadcrumbs, black olive soil, curry leaf powder and crushed black pepper. Repeat the process once more and garnish with fried curry leaves and banana chips.
Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Note
To make pineapple-pepper reduction marinade, reduce 500 ml pineapple juice with 1 tsp crushed black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat to 1/5th (100 ml). Set aside, allow to cool.
To make black olive soil, pre-heat oven to 100° C. Take 100 g black olives (pitted), cut them into halves, place on a small baking tray and dry in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow them to cool and make a coarse powder using a blender.
