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!