Frozen Vegetables

Frozen vegetables cover the produce Indian and Sri Lankan cooking needs but British shops rarely stock fresh. Drumsticks, known as murungakkai in Tamil and saragva in Gujarati, go into sambar and Sri Lankan curries. Okra (bhindi or vendakkai), tindora (ivy gourd or kovakkai), karela (bitter gourd) and surti papdi are common, alongside toor lilva and val for Gujarati undhiyu, cassava (manioc) for Sri Lankan curry and chips, and banana flower and jackfruit for South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes. Methi, spinach and mixed greens are frozen in blocks or loose.

To choose, look at how the vegetable is cut. Drumsticks come in short lengths ready for sambar, okra is whole or sliced, and greens may be chopped or puréed. Peas, sweetcorn and mixed vegetables suit pulao, upma and fried rice. A bag of frozen vegetables also makes a fast poriyal, thoran or sabzi when the fridge is empty.

Most vegetables cook from frozen: add them straight to a hot pan or simmering curry and allow a few extra minutes. Okra and tindora fry better if you let them sit in the open pan so the moisture steams off before stirring. Thaw leafy greens and squeeze them before adding to dal or saag. Reseal the bag and keep it at -18°C. For spice to season them, see sambar powder, for cupboard alternatives tinned vegetables, and for grated coconut to finish a thoran, frozen coconut. The parent section is frozen vegetables and coconut.