Ghanta Tarkari

I got my first issue from the new food magazine subscription Joshua got me, Saveur. It was part of a birthday gift, but we delayed actually signing up until we moved up here. Each issue is themed and this one was India. So they talk about the different areas of the country and then have recipes from each. Last night we tried a recipe from the eastern part of India called Ghanta Tarkari (mixed vegetable coconut curry).

Ghanta Tarkari

1/3 cup ghee

6 green cardamom pods

6 whole cloves

5 small green Thai chilies or 2 serranos, halved

2 Indian or regular bay leaves

1 stick cinnamon, halved

1 lb kabocha or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" pieces

1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

2 medium zucchini, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

Kosher salt, to taste

1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut

1 t sugar

Melt half the ghee in a 6 qt saucepan over medium-high. Cook cardamom, cloves, chilies, bay leaves, and cinnamon 1-2 minutes. Add squash and potatoes; cook until golden, 8-10 minutes. Stir in zucchini, cucumber, and salt; cook until just tender, 4-6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; cook, covered, until vegetables are very tender 12-15 minutes. Stir in remaining ghee, the coconut, and sugar; cook 2 minutes.

I was nervous about this recipe turning out well. It sounded interesting, but I didn't know if we would think it was good. We didn't have any cardamom pods, and neither did WinCo, so we left those out. I made ghee, which was pretty simple and just required butter, and then had to use dried coconut (which was sweetened, so I didn't add any sugar). Also, I was worried about cooking it all for as long as the recipe said because I didn't want my vegetables to be very tender. So I gave the squash and potatoes a couple extra minutes on their own, then only cooked it for about a minute after adding the zucchini and cucumber and then about 10 minutes covered. That worked pretty well; everything was tender, but not falling apart. It probably could have been even a couple minutes less.

I really liked the dish. The spices on it were really nice and complemented the vegetables well. It was a little spicy, with a bit of sweetness. The more I ate it, the more I liked it. And it's good the next day too. A great fall comfort food, and pretty easy to make once you get everything chopped.