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. 

Uppu-manga palu curry

A simple and tasty curry using salted mango or 'uppu-manga'!

The typical preparation of uppu-manga is pretty tedious. But you can also do it in a simple way - get some fresh raw mangoes during the mango season, cut it into 2cm square pieces and place it in a glass bottle, adding salt in between. You can add salt according to your taste. If you add more salt, the mango will remain hard; on the other hand, if the salt is less mango pieces will be soft and you need to place it in the fridge to use when required.

After one week, the mango will be ready for preparing the curry.

Ingrdients:-
 
Uppu-manga - 3 or 4 tbsp

Small Onion - 4 or 5 nos

Green chillies - 4 or 5 (adjust according to your preference)

Oil - 1 or 2 tsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup of thick milk and 2 cups of thin milk (2nd and 3rd extraction)

Curry leaves

Method:-

Slice small onions and green chillies. Take oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, green chillies, onion and curry leaves. When it becomes slight brown, add the mango pieces and the thin milk. Allow to boil and then simmer till the gravy thickens. Then add the thick milk and just when it boils, switch off and remove from stove.

A great accompaniment with hot kerala red rice!
 

Minced Meat Pulao

This is a delicious and easy alternative for a meat biriyani. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me and since then has been one of my family's favourite dish! The pulao consists of alternating layers of rice, minced meat gravy and coriander chutney.

For the Rice layer:-

Basmati Rice/Jeera Rice – 2 cups

Water – more than 4 cups

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece (optional)

Clove – 3 or 4 (optional)

Cook the rice with cinnamon and cloves with a little more water than required. Keep checking, when the rice is as soft as you prefer, remove from fire and drain the excess water.

For the Minced Meat layer:-

Minced Chicken or Beef – ½ kilo

Oil – 2 tbsp

Big onion – 3 chopped

Chilli powder – 2 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp.

Garlic – ½ a pod

Ginger – 1inch piece sliced

Green chillies – 5 nos

Tomatoes – 4 sliced or chopped into small pieces

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Put oil in a pan, sauté big onions with some salt and till it lightens and becomes brown. Add chopped green chillies, garlic and ginger. Then add chilli powder and coriander powder. When the fresh taste of chilli and coriander vanishes, add tomatoes, minced meat, garam masala and the stock (if available from previous cooking of meat). Cook well to a gravy form.

For the Chutney layer:-

Coconut – ½ grated

Ginger – 1inch piece

Green chillies- 6nos

Coriander leaves – a large bunch

Lime juice – from 1 lime/lemon

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients except lime juice. Then add just enough lime juice to get a tangy flavour.

Final Layering:-

Take a baking dish or glass bowl. Grease it with butter.  Spread half the minced meat and above that half the cooked rice. Now spread all of the chutney over the rice. Over the chutney layer, add the remaining rice, and on the top, the remaining minced meat. Garnish with slices of boiled egg, coriander leaves and lemon slices. Bake for few minutes or heat in microwave just before serving. Sprinkle few drops of lime juice on top.

Serve hot with raita and pappad.  

Fish and Raw Mango Curry

This is a common curry in Northern Kerala and if you get the right kind of fish and the right type of mangoes it is a very good curry for rice. Fishes like prawns, mackeral, sardines and big fleshy fishes can also be used.
 

 

Ingredients:-

Fish cut into small pieces – Half kilo.

Coconut milk from half coconut.

Mangoes - 1 or 2 cut into small pieces (depending on the ripeness/sourness of the mangoes)

Small onions cut  - 4

Ginger   - 1 inch piece cut.

Green chillies   - 4 cut.

Kashmiri Chilly powder -2 tbs.

Coriander powder -1 tbs.

Method 1:-

Put oil in a pan or manchatti, add mustard seeds and then onions, green chillies and ginger and sauté. Then add chilly and coriander powder and sauté for some more time. Add mango pieces, the second and third extracts of coconut milk (the thinner extracts) and salt and heat. When the mango pieces are cooked, add the fish and cook in low fire till the gravy thickens to the desired consistency. Add the first coconut milk (thick milk) and allow to boil slightly and switch off the fire. Garnish with fresh curry leaves.  Serve with hot rice!

Method 2:-

If you are interested in low-oil cooking, this curry can be prepared in a different manner as given below:

Extract the coconut milk.  Grind the listed quanitities of ginger, garlic, small onions, chilly powder, coriander powder along with 1/4 cup of grated coconut.  Grind it to a smooth paste. (The ground coconut makes the curry more thick).

Add the second and third extracts of coconut milk (thin milk) in a pan, add coconut paste, stir uniformly, add mango pieces and green chillies and salt.  Boil the mixture until the mango pieces are cooked. Now add the fish pieces. When the fish is cooked, add the first coconut milk extract (thick milk) and allow to boil slightly on low fire. Switch off the fire and garnish with curry leaves.  You may also top it with a 'tadka' of mustard seeds, sliced small onions and curry leaves.
 

Easy Chicken Roast

When you wish to make a chicken dish in a hurry and with minimum attention!

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces - 1/2 kilo

Big onions  - 2 large chopped

Ginger  - 1 inch piece chopped.

Garlic - 1 pod crushed

Green chillies -5 nos.

Tomatoes  -2 chopped

Oil   - 2 Tbsp

Garam masala  - 1 teaspoon.

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method:-

Put all the ingredients in a non stick pan, mix well and heat, closing with the lid. When the curry begins to boil lower the heat and let the chicken cook.

When the chicken is cooked enough, open the lid and cook in low fire, stirring it occasionally and add some more oil if needed. When the gravy gets dried up, fry for some more time so that the chicken pieces get roasted.
 

Pineapple Souffle

 

Ingredients:-

Half a pineapple cut into small pieces

China grass   -10 gms

Milkmaid   -1 tin

Milk -1 litre

Sugar   -4 tbsp.

Nuts  - 25 gms

Method:-

Cook pineapple pieces with 2 tbsp of sugar until all the water evaporates.
Do not overcook the pineapple. Keep aside. In another pan, boil milk with 2tbsp sugar, add the condensed milk , stir to a thick consistency.

Add the melted china grass and stir in a low flame for few minutes. Take it away and let it cool, add vanilla essence and the pineapple pieces, stir and pour in a pie dish.
Decorate with caramalised nuts.
 

'Pressure Cooker' Biriyani

This is an easy biriyani and there is not much ghee or oil. It was a favourite for all my kids, nephews and nieces when they were young, and now a big hit among all my grandkids!

 

Ingredients:-

Chicken pieces  - 0.500gm

Basmati/Biriyani Rice  - 3 cups.

Ginger  - 1” piece

Garlic   - 1 pod.

Green Chillies  - 6 nos (adjust according to your spice level)

Cloves   - 8

Cinnamon   - 4 or 5 pieces

Cardamom  - 6

Big onions  - 1

Cumin Seeds  - 1/2 teaspoon

Aniseed (Perinjeerakam or Somph)  - 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander leaves  - a large bunch

Mint leaves  - a large bunch.

Oil   - 2 Tbsp

Tomatoes  - 5 large chopped

Coconut milk  - 5 cups (mix of first, second and third extracts if you are making it fresh from grated coconut)

Method:-

Cook the chicken with salt, some turmeric powder and half of the spices crushed  and some water so that we get around 1 cup of stock.

Take oil in a pressure cooker or in a large non stick pan. Saute the big onions, crushed ginger, garlic  and green chillies. When it turns slightly brown, add  the remaining garam masala and the chicken pieces and sauté a little. Then add chopped tomatoes. Cook for a while, then add coconut milk and the stock (totalling to 6 cups). For biriyani, fried rice etc we normally add 2 cups of water for one cup of rice, but if you like the rice to be cooked very soft, add a little extra water in addition to coconut milk and chicken-stock.  

When the milk+stock boils, add a pinch of cumin seed and aniseed, chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves. When it boils, add the washed rice and cook for 10 minutes in a slow fire or until cooked to desired level. If you are using a pressure cooker, it is better to not use the weights so that you can check the rice and stir occasionally.When the rice is cooked enough switch off the fire and let it stay closed for a while.

Serve with raita/salad of your choice and pappadams.
 

Meen Pattichathu or Meen Peera with Ilumbi-puli

This easy fish curry can be prepared using small fishes like Anchovies or Sardines (called 'Nethili' or 'Mathi' respectively in Kerala).

Ingredients:-

Natholi washed and cleaned      -  500gm

Ilumbi-puli ('Bimbool')                 - 250gm

Green chillies                                  - 6nos

Green pepper seeds (if available)

Ginger                                                - 5” size

Garlic                                                  - half a pod.

Small onions                                     - 8 nos.

Coconut                                             - half coconut grated

Salt to taste.

Method:-

Mix all the ingredients together add half a cup of water and cook in a small flame, after boiling.  When all the water is dried up put off the fire and the curry is ready. Tastes best when cooked on "manchatti" (pan made of clay).

Mackeral in Tomato Gravy (Ayala thakkali cherthu vattichathu)

Mackeral (Ayala for keralites) is a common sea-fish and this is a very tasty and easy preparation that goes well with rice.

Ingredients:-

                   Mackeral (Ayala) - 4

                   Small onion - 75 to 100 gms

                   Big onion  - 1

                   Garlic -1/2 pod

                   Ginger -1 inch piece

                   Green chillies - 4

                   Kashmir Chilli powder - 2 tablespoons

                   Pepper Powder - a pinch

                   Coriander  Powder -1 ½ tablespoons                  

                   Ripe tomatoes - 2nos, cut and mashed well

Method:-

Clean the fishes and cut into three or four pieces according to the size of the fish . 

Marinate the fish pieces with a paste of salt, some chilli powder and a pinch of pepper powder. Leave it for sometime and fry in oil. Do not fry it completely, take them out when they are almost done.

To the same oil, add the small onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic etc and saute well.  Then add chilli and coriander powder. Saute until done.

Add the mashed ripe tomatoes and saute. When done, add water and sufficient salt. When the water boils, put the fried mackeral pieces and keep in low fire for 2 or 3 minute or till the gravy thickens. 

Garnish as per your choice, serve with hot rice and listen to your family go sluurrpp!