G is for Ginger

Is Ginger a spice or vegetable? I’m not sure if Ginger qualifies for the A to Z of Indian Vegetables event, since the instructions specifically says, use a vegetable, and I think of ginger as predominantly a spice. But if I use Ginger as the main ingredient in a dish,  it could be considered a vegetable, right?

Vegetable or not, noone would disagree on the greatness of Ginger, it has been used as a medicine in India for generations. Ginger is a great remedy for a lot of digestive disorders. Ginger in hot tea is a very common treatment for cold in a lot Asian countries, and hey, it is even considered an aphrodisiac!

Ginger curry or Injikkari / Puliyinji as it is known in Kerala, has been blogged by many fellow bloggers, but each version is a little different, and my recipe is different from all the ones that I found. This is the way my mom makes it, she normally makes everything very simple, this recipe uses way too less ingredients than most other ones I have seen, and I love the flavors in this dish! Ginger Curry is supposed to be a side dish, to be had as a pickle, but this is one of my favorites that I have it like a regular curry with rice.

 

Here is my recipe for Ginger Curry:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Ginger skinned and sliced into thin pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 3 dry red chilies
• 1 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 6 curry leaves
• 1 small shallot diced
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• salt for taste
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp oil

Method

In a pan, dry roast the coconut till brown. Remove the coconut and add a little bit of oil and fry the ginger pieces , when the ginger pieces starts to brown, add the red chilies, cardamom, cloves and curry leaves to the pan and fry till the ginger is a fried well.

In a spice grinder(coffee grinder), process the fried ingredients till smooth (I found that it grinds better dry, I add water and process once more, after the ingredients are powdered well.).

In a pan, add the remaining oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the diced shallots and fry till brown. Add the ground ingredients with half a cup of water and the tamarind paste, and bring to a boil. Add the brown sugar and the salt, taste and adjust the salt and sugar. When the mixture is bubbling, and the oil starts splashing on your hands, it is time to switch off the stove.

This dish has a really strong sweet and sour taste, it goes well with steamed rice , some mild veg gravy and a veg stir fry.

This is my contribution for the letter”G” in the A to Z of Indian Vegetables by Nupur from One Hot Stove, if she will accept Ginger as a vegetable

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Category: Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Ginger, India - Kerala, Recipes, Vegetarian