Prawn Roast - Chemmeen Ularthiyathu

Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely mothers! 
May God bless you and help you fill the lives of your near and dear ones with your kindness and care! 

And here is a recipe for all the prawn lovers, its a favorite dish in our household! 

Ingredients

1. Prawns, cleaned and washed -300gms
2. Big onions-2 small, chopped thinly 
3. Small onions   -10 nos, chopped thinly
4. Ginger 1” piece, thinly chopped
5. Garlic-10 nos, thinly chopped
6. Kudam puli (Gamboge) - soaked in small qty of water
7. Chilli powder -2 tbsp
8. Coriander  powder-2tbsp
9. Green chilli -5 nos sliced
10. Pepper powder-1 teaspoon
11. Salt to taste
12. Garam masala-1 teaspoon
13. Half of a Coconut cut into thin pieces
14. Oil 2 tbsp
15. Curry leaves

Method

Mix the cleaned prawns with all other ingredients up to 11 ,including the water in which gamboge was soaked. Place this on fire in an earthen vessel (preferably). Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and cook in low fire until the water has almost dried up. 

In another pan, heat sufficient amount of oil, add the coconut pieces, then the cooked prawns, garam masala and curry leaves. Saute until its completely dry. Serve with hot rice! 

Meen kudampuli ittu Vekichathu (Fish cooked in gambooge)

This is an easy and delicious fish curry which is prepared for weddings and can be used for 3 or 4 days if prepared with care.

Ingredients.

1. Fish(Seer Fish or any big fish which can be cut into small pieces) –half  kg
2. Kudampuli/Gambooge (tamarind which is used in central Kerala for fish dishes) -4 pieces which is placed in hot water half an hour before the fish is prepared
3. Small onions - 5nos chopped thinly.
4. Ginger- 1inch piece chopped thinly
5. Green chillies - 5 nos sliced
6. Garlic –half a pod sliced
7. Red chilli powder-2 tbsp
8. Pepper powder-1 tea spoon
9. Oil -1tbs
10. Salt to taste, curry leaves –a big bunch


Method

Clean the fish pieces and mix it with some red chilli powder, turmeric, pepper and salt and keep aside for sometime. Put 2 tbsp of kashmiri chilli powder in tamarind water, keep the kudampuli pieces separate.

Keep an earthenware pot on the flame add chopped onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies and sauté well. Keep half of it aside. Leave the remaining half in the pot, add kudam puli pieces and curry leaves  with its branch then place half of the fish pieces. Over that, place the remaining sauteed onion-mix, puli pieces and curry leaves. Then place the remaining fish pieces and then the chilli powder soaked in kudampuli water putting  putting sauted onions and fish in two layers.

While doing all these you can place the pot in simmering heat, but be careful that the fish does not smoke. Then if needed add some more water and swirl the pot so that everything mixes well. Cook the fish curry on medium fire till it boils. When the fish is cooked, slow down the fire and heat it till the gravy thickens.

Serve hot with rice/puttu/chapathis.

Maundy Thursday Specials - Pesaha Appam & Pesaha-paal

For the Easter season, I would like to share certain recipes which are commonly prepared in the Syrian Catholic homes of Central Kerala. On Maundy Thursday, a special type of appam known as Inriappam/Pesaha appam (Pesaha is the malayalam word for the Passover festival) and Pesaha-paal are a must for ancient Syrian Catholic families.  

Inriappam/Pesaha-appam

Ingredients:-

1. Roasted, ground rice powder-1 cup
2. Coconut grated -half
3. Cumin seed -a pinch
4. Garlic-3 or4 flakes
5. Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

Boil 2 cups of water, Add salt and enough boiled water to the rice powder to get a thick dough (similar to idiyappam). Grind coconut with urad dal, cumin seeds and garlic. Add this to the dough and some water if needed so that the dough gets the consistency similar to that for idli. Pour this in a steel dish. Make a cross with tender coconut leaves received on Palm Sunday and place it in the middle of the dough. Cook it in steam.

Pesaha-paal.
Ingredients:-

1. Coconut milk from one coconut.
(First second and third exracts can be taken together)
2. Jaggery (sharkara)- 2
3. Roasted, Powdered raw rice - 2 tbsp
4. Dry ginger, cumin seeds powdered - half tea spoon each

5. "Njalipoovan" banana

Preparaion of raw rice powder:-

Roast half cup of raw rice(i.e.the chemba rice ) in a tawa. When it gets roasted, remove from fire, cool and grind it fine and if needed sieve it.

Slice jaggery into the coconut milk, stir it so that it dissolves. Sieve and take it in a new earthen pot or an aluminium pot of required size. Boil the coconut milk stirring continuously. When it boils, heat in a small flame. To the boiling milk add 2 or 3 "njalipoovan" banana sliced (optional). Add the prepared rice powder while stirring the milk so that it is uniformly mixed. When both the banana and the rice powder are cooked add the dry ginger and cumin seed poders and remove from fire when the whole gets the required consistancy. This is served with inriappam or bread in the evening after prayer.

Since these are prepared only on Maundy Thursday, I am unable to share images now. Hope to get few pictures on Thursday after we make them.

Easy Kabuli Channa Curry

 

 

Ingredients:-

 

Kabuli Channa - 1 cup

 

Kashmiri chilli powder -2 tbsp

 

Coriander powder -2 tbsp Big onions -1 no

 

Tomatoes - 1  no

 

Garlic-4 nos

 

Green chillies -2 nos

Method:-

 

Soak channa overnight and cook this channa in a pressure cooker along with big onion (whole), garlic, tomato (whole), chilli and coriander powder along with enough salt and water. After the first whistle, slow down the fire and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from fire, cool and open the cooker.

 

Take the onion, tomato and some channa and grind it well in the grinder. Add the ground masala to the rest of the channa and mix well. Then heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and thinly chopped small onions. When it turns brown put coriander leaves and the whole of channa mix. Boil. Add water if needed. Finally add a pinch of garam masala powder.

 

Serve hot with bhattura, chapathi or poori...!

 

 

 

Tomato Rice

Here is a recipe for my vegetarian readers.  

Ingredients:-

Biriyani or jeerakasala rice - 2 cups

Tomatoes chopped- 5 large

Green chillies-10 numbers

Spring onions(optional) -2 bunches, chopped

Fennel Seeds/Somph(perum jeerakam)-a pinch, crushed

Big onions chopped- 2

Coriander leaves-a big bunch

Chilli powder-1 tbs

Oil-2 tbs

Method:-

Take oil in a large container. Saute the big onions and spring onions.
To this, add crushed fennel seeds, chilli powder and tomatoes. When all these are done add 4 or 5 cups of water and salt.  Bring to boil. 

To the boiling mixture, add coriander leaves and the washed rice and cook in low fire. When the rice is cooked, remove frome fire and serve hot with salad, pappad and pickle.
 

Fish Moilee

Fish Moilee garnished with fresh tomato slices

Ingredients

1. Fish, 1.5 inch pieces - 20nos

2. Big Onion -1 chopped

3. Ginger - 0.5 inch piece thinly sliced

4. Green chilly, slit into two -6 nos (or as per your taste)

5. Garlic - 4 small pieces

6. Coconut milk from 3 or 4 cups of grated coconut:  first(thick) milk 1 cup, second and third(thin) milk together-2 cups

7. Tomatoes chopped-1 large or 2 small

8. Turmeric powder-half teaspoon

9. Coriander powder-3 teaspoon

10. Oil-1 tbspoon

Curry leaves

Method:-

Take oil in a suitable pan, add mustard seeds and fenugreek (uluva). Then saute big onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. When it becomes thin, add turmeric powder and coriander powder. 

Saute for a while, then add chopped tomatoes and stir for a while. Add the second and third coconut milk (or the thin milk). When it begins to boil, add the fish pieces and allow it to boil. Reduce the heat and cook in a small fire. 

When the gravy thickens, add the first coconut milk and a teaspoon of gram masala. Allow the whole thing boil for half a minute. Do not allow to boil for a long time. If required, one teaspoon of vinegar can be added for a fine punch. 

Serve hot with Appam/Chappathis/Nan etc.

 

PS: Apologize for the long gap in blogging! 

Meen Pappas (Semi fried fish in coconut milk gravy)

Fish/Meen Pappas can be made using Karimeen (Pearlspot), Akoli (Pomfret), Parava (White fish/false trevally) or Neimeen (Seer Fish). 

Fish/Meen Pappas

Ingredients:-

1.  Fish pieces - Half kilo

2. Turmeric powder - Half tsp,  Chilli powder - 1 tbsp,  Pepper powder - Half tsp, 
    Ajwain - a pinch if needed,  Salt to taste

3. Coconut oil- 1/4 cup

4. Big Onion - 1 big, nicely chopped

5. Small Onion - 6 nos chopped

6.  Ginger - 1.5 tsp finely chopped

7. Green chillies sliced - 6 nos (or as per your spice level)

8. Garlic - 6 nos chopped

9. Curry leaves

10. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

11. Coriander powder - 2.5 tbsp

12. Coconut milk from 2 cups of coconut
       1st extract (thick milk) - 0.5 cup
       2nd & 3rd extracts together (thin milk) - 1.5 cup

13. Tomato - 2 medium size chopped

14. Vinegar - if needed

15. Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Fish/Meen Pappas

Method:- 

Marinate the cleaned and sliced fish with ingredients 2 and set aside for half an hour.

Pour oil in a pan and fry the fish slices in a slow flame until it is just cooked, and not fully fried. Remove the fish pieces.

To the same oil, add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. When it is done, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder and saute for some more time. Add chopped tomatoes, heat for 2 more minutes, while stirring. Then add the 2nd and 3rd coconut extracts (thin milk). When it boils, add the semi-fried fish pieces and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or till the gravy thickens. Then add the first coconut milk and the garam masala powder and allow it to just boil. Remove from fire, add fresh curry leaves and 1 tsp of vinegar if you prefer a slightly more tangy taste.