Vegetables & Coconut Milk Stew

( Non vegetarians can add boneless chicken pieces, chopped sausage or egg drop. )

While on my break, with nothing to do at hand, literally, surfing the net
was my only respite from boredom.
And while I came across some very good blogs and writings,
I was distressed to find rampant Plagiarism too.

Photos and text from my blog have been copied and used in numerous places.

I set about tracking down the people.

While most of them have picked my photos, a few have used excerpts of my writings too.

All without my permission. And no credit given to the blog.

I kept my search on.

The plagiarists ranged from bloggers to proffessional website developers to

journalists and writers for epapers and emagazines.

I wrote to whoever I could contact.
It was a problem because most of them did not have a form to post comment,
or an email id to reach them.
Others have their comments moderated, so my comments neither got published nor heeded to.

Most bloggers ... usually new bloggers ... were genuinely apologetic.
I can understand that.
They do not know much about blogging rules or ethics.
But learn quickly.

The website developers too were very prompt in replying with an apology

and removing the used photograph.

The sore losers were however the epapers' writers ... not that I could contact
all of them since most pages did not
have a 'contact us' link.

The most used photograph from my blog is of the Moong Dal Halwa.
Search for any festival on the internet and you are bound to come across this photograph with a recipe that does not resemble mine.

One, who had used this Moong dal halwa photo, actually wrote back to me offering me a 'deal'.

She offered to 'mention' my blog with the writing so that

my blog 'will gain a lot of hits and it will
help you as people will come to know you'.

Livid, I wrote back "Thank you, but no thank you".

My blog gets enough hits and I do not earn anything from it, so in no way am going to 'gain'.

She snaps back in her next mail that she is no longer interested
in keeping the photograph as it is all over the internet
and she has no time to check
if all of them have copyright claims like me.

This, after I had sent her the link to my blog and the post!

Another blogger from Kolkata, who claims to work in the IT industry,

and has a blog that is a mix of a whole lot of things,
has picked up many of my photographs

and used them on recipes that are not
even remotely similar to the snap.
She has stolen almost all of my Ilish snaps and also the Prawn Malai Rice.

She has a 'talent' for removing copyright signs, shrink the snaps to thumbnail sizes and use them.

Repeated requests from me to remove them have gone ignored.

Another has stolen my Posto Pui snaps and using them as some other 'shaak' recipe!!

A reader and blogger from Bangladesh regularly visits.

I found out later that she has been using my snaps for her blog.

After repeated requests she did remove the snaps though,
but not before complaining bitterly
about how the copyright sign was not visible.

Just the fact that the photograph belongs to somebody else is not enough for her.

Recently there is a blogger from Delhi who has been copying my text.
Needless to say, these people never leave a line on my blog.
Yet happily take the credit and respond to comments, on their blogs, regarding the beautiful snaps!!!



What I do not understand is if they are so interested in having their own food blog,
why can't they cook their own food, click their own snaps and use them.
They should know that just because something is on the web
does not mean they can use it freely.
It is somebody else's hard work; it belongs to somebody else.

I have no idea how to deal with this.

So all I can do is distort my beautiful photographs with big sized copyright signs.

Smaller signs have not worked;
the enterprising thieves trim the snaps or remove the signs.

Ranting done, I'll come to today's recipe.
A deliciously creamy, dreamy vegetables stew in coconut milk, this is very quick to make.
Perfect for these winter days or nights.

I throw in as many vegetables as I can.
And sometimes add some chopped chicken chilli sausages for myself.
And to add to the carb content, some boiled pasta which I almost always have in the fridge.

Need :

Chopped onion - 1
Chopped garlic - around 6 to 7 cloves
Very thinly sliced ginger - ½ teaspoonful
Vegetables cut into small cubes - around half a cupful of each
( I used baby beans, carrots, cauliflower, baby corn, mushrooms, fresh green peas )
Fresh green lime zest - ¼ teaspoonful
Thick coconut milk - 200 ml
Butter - 1 teaspoonful
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste

How to :

Heat a heavy bottomed kadahi / wok.
Add a little butter and then the garlic.
Stir a little ... do not brown.
Add the onions and fry till translucent.
Now add all the vegetables except the peas and give a good stir.
( If using chicken, add now).
Add the coconut milk and some water.
Add salt and sugar ( remember, the coconut milk imparts a little sweetness too).
Cover and cook till the veggies are done.
( If using boiled pasta, add now. )
Remove cover and add the green peas and the lime zest.
Give a good stir, cover and switch off heat.
Give it a standing time of around 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

The sweetness of the coconut milk combined with the lime zest gives a beautiful flavour to this otherwise very veggie stew.
I have tried adding a pinch of roasted jeera/cumin powder
to this at the end
and found the flavour very Thai like.
Loved it.

Just a bowlful of this healthy, wholesome stew for dinner is enough for us.
If you want to,
eat it with bread on the side for a fuller meal.

I can have this wonderful stew anytime ... day or evening.
Enjoy !!

Other Stews and Soups on Kichu Khon


Creamy Vegetable Stew

Another version of Vegetables in Coconut Milk

Palak & Dal Soup