Mappas is a coconut milk based curry that is unique to Kerala and particularly among the Kerala Syrian Christian community. Fish mappas, Chicken Mappas and also vegetable mappas. Last week I wanted to make some kind of vegetable korma since I was so excited that I was finally able to make grain free parathas using cassava flour. After being deprived of all kinds of breads the past two years, I am now ecstatic that I can finally eat parathas. And so I was looking to make a curry that will go well with parathas / rotis – I was craving for a flavorful and rich curry where I could use my cassava paratha to soak up all the gravy. I suddenly remembered my friend Reena’s mixed vegetable curry that she had brought to a potluck some several thousand moons ago! Yes, I am weird like that – I remember everything about who brought what dish to what potluck even if it was several years ago 🙂
Reena doesn’t stay near us anymore but in these days of whatsapp messaging, distances hardly matter! So I messaged Reena to give me her recipe and lo and behold, a very beautifully crafted recipe was delivered to me 2 days later. I wasn’t surprised since Reena is the most meticulous of all my girl friends – she likes to go about things in an organized fashion. And she is a fabulous cook too being a Keralite brought up in Chennai, she has the best recipes from both the worlds! Thank you Reena for this fabulous recipe. I made it exactly as her recipe only replacing peas with carrots and then also adding green beans. We had the curry with rotis (for the family) and my cassava paratha. The gravy was finger licking good and even my 10 year old daughter who is allergic to vegetables(not clinically but you know what I mean right?) also took seconds! God bless you Reena darling 🙂
I like to use homemade coconut milk for this recipe but you can use canned organic coconut milk as well. For making homemade coconut milk, you can check out my post where I explain how I make it. Hope you all enjoy this recipe. I have also included the recipe for cassava (tapioca) paratha here. Check out my youtube channel for a video of this curry and my grain free cassava paratha recipe.!
- Red chilly powder or cayenne pepper - 2 tsp (I used Kashmiri chill powder to keep it mildly hot and for color)
- Coriander powder - 3 tsp
- Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
- Fennel seeds - 2 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1 inch long piece
- fresh Ginger - about 1 inch by 2 inch piece
- fresh Garlic - 4 big cloves
- ¼ cup warm water
- 2 cups fresh or frozen grated coconut
- about 2½ cups hot water
- Coconut oil - 1.5 tbsp
- Shallots/red onions, chopped 1 cup
- Potatoes- peeled and cubed - 2 (replace with taro root for Paleo version)
- Carrots - ¼ cup
- Green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces, 1 cup
- Cauliflower - florets - 2 cups
- Vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar but any vinegar is fine)- 1 tbsp
- Homemade coconut milk as Thinned Coconut milk (2nd extraction) - 2 cups and Thick Coconut milk (1st extraction) - 1 cup OR 3 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk
- Salt about 1 tsp (or per taste)
- fresh Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
- extra coconut oil for drizzling on top
- ½ cup cassava flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- pinch sea salt
- ½ cup hot water (water that has been boiling and just removed from heat)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Place all the ingredients listed under 'masala' in a small blender jar and grind together to form a fine paste. Keep aside.
- In a blender mix the grated coconut with about 1 cup of the hot water and blend for 1 minute. Using a strainer, extract the coconut milk. Keep aside this first coconut milk. Now add the rest of the water and blend again. Strain to get the 2nd extract. Keep both extracts aside.
- Heat the coconut oil and sauté the shallots for 2-3 mins.
- To this add the ground masala paste and sauté for about 1 minute on low heat until the raw smell dissipates.
- Add all the veggies, stir to mix veggies with the spices, cover with a lid and cook for 5 mins.
- Add the 2nd extract milk (or all of the canned coconut milk if using canned), vinegar and salt. Cover and cook for about 8-10 mins or until the vegetables are cooked.(Take care not to overcook)
- Now add the 1st milk (skip if using canned coconut milk) and the fresh curry leaves.
- When the curry comes to a boil, remove from heat and drizzle extra coconut oil on top and serve warm with rotis or parathas!
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cassava flour. Add the salt and the oil. Then add slowly the hot water in 2-3 portions and continue stirring with a spoon. When all the water is added, add 1 more tsp of oil and then knee with your hands to form a smooth dough.
- Roll dough into chapatis and cook on a frying pan cooking about 2 mins on each side. Apply ghee or oil as needed.
