I seem to have some unresolved issues involving food and color. For, just a couple of weeks after I accidentally created the whitest chili ever, I inadvertently assembled a meal in which every dish was the same shade of yellow.
The first dish on the menu was pineapple pachadi, or pineapple with crushed mustard seeds. While the combination of pineapple and coconut might suggest a sweet dessert, this dish has a nice kick thanks to the inclusion of cayenne pepper and red chilies.
The next dish on the menu was a seasoned dhal. This is one of my favorite ways to eat lentils, and when I decided to substitute yellow split peas, I didn't realize that the dhal would now be the same color as the pineapple.
It was only when I tossed the chopped zuchinni and squash with tumeric and watched it turn yellow, while preparing the squash with mustard seeds, that I realized what I had done. Yellow, yellow, yellow!
Interestingly, while every dish was the same color, and contained some of the same seasonings (mustard seeds, red chilies and curry leaves), each had its own unique flavor: the rich dhal, the spicy-sweet pineapple, and the seasoned squash. While I prefer that my food both look and taste interesting, the contrasting flavors made up for the monotony in the color department.
Recipes for each dish can be found in Maya Kaimal's "Savoring the Spice Coast of India."
