Prawn Masala

The week begins and all of us get back to maintain the schedules for the week.And I make  Prawns Masala for lunch .......and wow ..........here it is...........

Banana Stem Stir Fry (Thoran)

Banana Stem - This a miracle stem is loaded with many medicinal properties.Many claim to substantiate this fact that it lowers cholesterol, helps in kidney ailments, aids in a good detox , treatment of stomach ulcers so on and so forth.

I include this in our diet mainly because it is very tasty. I do not give the family any choice as it might help us with some of its medicinal properties.

Mutton Curry

Mutton seems to have dominated our table this week, its been a long time and so after the Spicy Mutton Fry, I made the curry with some potato cubes in it..........

Spicy Mutton Fry

Red meat do not usually make it to our kitchen esp., due to diet restrictions. Therefore an occasional portion of lamb is what I cook just when the family expresses the need for it.

The options are plenty to roast, to fry, to bake to grill so on and so forth..........however, I chose to have it cooked dry.Somehow - this is how I like it for 2 reasons: One, the masala coats the meat quite well and that enhances the taste.Two, there won't be leftovers ............:)

Pan Fried Prawns

A lazy weekend - lots to do - multitasking galore!! Picked up some prawns on our weekend supermarket trip. There is someone here who can't resist prawns - my daughter Aditi.

Yogurt curry ( Moru curry)

This is one lovely curry that I whip up sometimes when I run short of time or just for the love of it.
Yogurt is the basic ingredient and all else will be around your kitchen at all times......

Sprouted Moong Pulao

Sprouted Moong( Green Gram) Pulao - I made this up...........why because - I had these stuff handy& had to make a quick fix dinner for kids ........................Thanks to the Moong that I had soaked and forgot to cook ,therefore they sprouted:) Then there was left over rice from lunch..........Other ingredients I guess are just part of every kitcken. Somethings just fall into place when you least expect them to....necessity definitely is the mother of invention:))

Over to the recipe..............

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Sprouted Moong
11/2 Cup rice cooked
1 Medium onion finely chopped
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
3 Tbsps Oil
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp Jeera
A pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Chilly powder
A pinch of Garam masala
1-2 Dry red chilly
A few curry leaves
Salt as appropriate
Water as required

Step 1: Boil Moong in a pot some water and a little salt. Keep water minimal and once done,do not throw the water.Do not over cook,the moong should be crunchy to bite.
Step 2 : Heat oil in  a wok,add mustard seeds,jeera,hing whole red chilly - stir lightly. Add the onions and curry leaves.Saute well. Now add ginger garlic paste,turmeric,red chilli powder and the garam masala & fry until the raw smell fades away.
Step 3: To this add the boiled moong along with the water,add salt - adjust to taste. Stir on a high flame. Add rice and toss well. A teaspoon on Ghee /butter at this stage will add to the taste.

Linking this post to The Kerala Kitchen - October 2011 hosted by Khushi

COLORED IDIAPPAM

Last month.while I was packing to get back to Fujairah, Mom gave me some rice powder for me to carry, which she specially had it made ready to use for Idiappam................Such a huge time saver :)) Mom understands our rush more than we do............

 ...........Idiappam or String Hoppers .........is always a family favorite. They are made of rice powder and is usually white. So, the title of the post is just what I did.I colored them :))
Sometimes , we just gotta think out of the box, I guess !!! And an experiment that I got it RIGHT !!

STEP 1: Take One and a half cups of rice powder , add salt as appropriate make a dough with warm water.
Separate the dough into 3 parts. Three parts ..because they need color.
I have used Wilton icing color - the concentrated gel. A small drop would do - and knead the portion till the color blends evenly through the entire dough.
I kept one part just to play safe.......as i have confessed earlier this was a wild experiment...:) Thus, one portion took to pink , another took green and the third stayed white.

STEP 2: No rocket science henceforth, just use the idiappam press and have them steamed in a thali or an idli stand. I have used an idli stand here. when done they look like this.

Trust me , adding color has not altered the taste in anyway. Ideally served with coconut milk and sugar or some lovely spicy curry...the choice is yours...........

I link this post to The Kerala Kitchen - October round up ,hosted by Khushi

PRAWN CURRY

This is a Prawn curry shared by a good friend Susan.I do not remember the details , yet i guess I have made it close. This sure tastes yummmmm !! as much as it looks...!!! The flavor of kokum just makes it heavenly...

Ingredients :

500 Gms prawns de veined
6-8  Shallots sliced
  3   Green chillies slit lengthwise
4-5 pods of garlic sliced
  1" ginger sliced
Two sprigs curry leaf
1 Cup grated coconut
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsps red chilly powder
2 tsps coriander powder
A pinch of Hing
A pinch of fenugreek powder
3 tbsps coconut oil
Half a tsp mustard seeds
2-3 red chilly whole
3 tbsps tamarind pulp
A small piece of kokum
Salt to taste

Step 1: Heat oil ,add mustard seeds, when they spultter add whole red chilly, hing,sliced shallots,ginger,garlic,green chilli and curry leaves. saute well.
Step 2: Grind together - coconut, turmeric,red chilly powder & coriander powder - add water as appropriate and grind to a fine paste.
Step 3: Add the paste to the sauteed onions, fry well until oil comes on the sides of the pan.
Step 4: Now add salt & tamarind - mix well. Add warm water just enough to bring to a gravy consistency.
Step 5: When it comes to a boil, add fenugreek powder. stir well and add prawns. Let it simmer for 10 minutes and add the slice of kokum. Adding kokum is optional........Usually in practice kokum is removed from the gravy after it is taken off the fire. what i do here is - I reduce the tamarind and let the kokum stay in the curry,just to balance the tangy taste of the dish.

Let it simmer til oil floats on top. The curry is now ready to serve.

I link this post to The Kerala Kitchen - hosted by Divya

CARROT THORAN

Am back after a short rush rush trip to India.........managed to attend three weddings and that means meeting a whole load of people, most of them in touch thro facebook - & now face to face finally :))
Still home sick ........but life must go on.Kids are back in school the whole week went by just getting their stuff in order. When everyday life gets back in order - the big question always pops - what to cook.......?????? I did nothing extraordinary today for lunch - just this Carrot Thoran .......

Ingredients:

2 Cups sliced carrots
1 Medium sized onion sliced
2 Green Chillies slit lengthwise
A small piece of ginger sliced
Curry leaves a few.
Salt as required
3 Tsps Coconut oil
Half a tsp mustard seeds
Half a tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of Hing ( Asafoetida)
Fresh grated coconut for garnish


Step1: Heat oil , add in mustard seeds. When they crackle add the green chilly,ginger, curry leaf and onions. Saute well.
Step2: Add sliced carrots and stir well on high heat. This is to let the carrots remain crispy while they are being cooked. Add turmeric and salt and mix well.
Step 3:Now add hing and fresh coconut and mix well. Serve hot with rice.

I link this post to The Kerala Kitchen September 2011 - now hosted by Divya Kudua at http://divyascookbook.blogspot.com/2011/09/announcing-kerala-kitchen.html

BANANA FRITTERS

I had two very ripe Kerala yellow bananas in my fruit basket just staring back at me. I had to find a way to use it up , else would have to toss it away in a day.Pazhampori  was the most available option. Now that we have all tasted it the traditional way , thought I shall add a twist to this & here we go.................
Ingredients:

2 Large ripe yellow bananas - mashed or grated.
3/4 Cup All purpose flour
2 Tbsps Corn flour
3 Tbsps Sugar
1 1/2 tsps Coconut Milk Powder
A Pinch of Salt
Grated Nutmeg - for mild flavour
Oil for frying

Step 1:  Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl so that the powders blend well with the grated banana.
 Never add water - if the mixture is too thick - let it rest for about 15 minutes and mix again.The mixture would look like this ....

Step 2: Heat oil and drop a teaspoonful one by one. Deep fry them in batches, till they turn golden brown. So when it is done, it looks like this............

They are now ready to serve. Am linking this post to the July 2011 Round up of The Kerala Kitchen as hosted by Magpie. This is my first entry to the group.........Good wishes  to Ria and Magpie.