Burmese Khow Suey

There were a lot of Indians living in Burma and had to leave everything behind and flee during the war. Ma's older sister's husband's family was one of them. They left a lot behind, but carried back many memories and a bit of the Burmese culture and cuisine.Living in a different place always adds so much to your cuisine, if you are open to it.

This recipe for Khow Suey is from this aunt and may have got Indianised along the way, but its a nice blend of veggies and noodles with coconut milk.



Simple, quick and delicious with the creamy coconut milk, the tangy lemon and the crunchy vegetables.
To serve this, place the coconut curry in one bowl, the noodles in another and have all the garnishes in separate bowls. You can serve the noodles first, then pour the curry over it. Garnishes can be added as per individual tastes



For variation, add chicken to the curry, or keep halved boiled eggs as part of the garnish
For an all vegetarian / vegan version, make the curry using only vegetables.
Here, I used carrots and coloured peppers / capsicums in the curry. The garnishes are spring onions, coriander leaves, lemon wedges and chillies in vinegar

Burmese Khow Suey

What you need -

1-2 capsicums (coloured ones make the dish pretty)
2 carrots
1 onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1" piece ginger
3-4 green chillies
4-5 stalks of spring onions
3 eggs
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 pkt noodles (thinner the better)
coconut milk from 1 coconut / 1 can ready coconut milk / coconut cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chickpea flour / besan

What you do with it -

Grind together the onions, garlic, green chillies and ginger
Chop carrots and capsicum lengthwise into thin strips
Slice the spring onions
Hard boil the eggs. Peel and quarter
Boil water with a little salt in a large pot.
Drop in the noodles and keep for 5-6 mins, or as per the packet instructions
Drain the noodles and set aside
Fry the onion paste in a large pan till the raw smell goes away
Add in the capsicum and carrot
Add a little oil and stir on high heat till the carrots are almost done
Add in the salt, turmeric powder and coconut milk and the chickpea flour mixed in a little water
Simmer till done
Serve noodles first. Pour the coconut milk with veggies over the noodles
Place the boiled eggs over it
Garnish with spring onions, coriander leaves, lime wedges and chillies in vinegar