April 28, 2009
Fish kuzhambhu (Fish gravy)
My mother, though a strict vegetarian didn’t deprive us of goodness of non vegetarian dishes.Since my dad is a meat person, as kids we were shown the best of both worlds.My mother makes this dish twice or even thrice a week. She used to be so scared to even see the meat but she always made sure that we ate what we loved to eat.All the prep work would be done by the sweet helper lady, my mom would do the cooking part and i would happily do the taste testing 
.Here is my mom’s fish recipe…
Ingredients
- Tilapia – 1 pound ( or any fish of your choice)
- Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 teaspoon ( or less if you think it’s gonna be bitter)
- Fennel seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
- Curry leaves – 3 sprigs
- Garlic – 4 cloves
- Roma tomatoes – 4
- Chilli powder – 2 teaspoons
- Coriander powder – 3 teaspoons
- Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon
- Grated Coconut – 3/4 cup
- Oil – 4 tablespoons.
- Tamarind pulp – 1/4 cup
Method
- Heat oil in a deep pan.Add the fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves ,sliced garlic and fry them .
- Add the finely chopped onion and pinch of salt.Saute them for few minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and saute the tomatoes till the oil separates from the tomatoes.
- Add the chilli powder, coriander powder,turmeric, salt and mix them well for a minute.
- Grind the grated coconut to a fine paste.Add the coconut paste, tamarind pulp and bring it to a boil.
- Check for seasoning before adding the fish.
- Now ,add the fish and cook till the fish is done.
- Serve hot with rice.
March 18, 2009
Chicken masala, birthday party and a thing of beauty.. :)
my son has turned one! yayyy!
It was so tempting to see the left over Cake lay on the kitchen island . Since i am on diet 
, i didnt want the temptation to win over me.. so i quickly packed the leftover cake and stored it in the refrigerator (No.. i am not going to eat it ever ).I heard someone say this -’ A minute on the lip ,forever on the hip ‘ . And now this has become my slogan . As i said, since iam on diet i am cutting back on rice. I try to make flavorful and spicy meals so that i dont miss rice that much.The following recipe is my mother’s chicken recipe.My mother though a strict vegetarian, makes the best chicken masala without even tasting it.you can use chicken breasts,thighs or even drumsticks for this recipe.
Chicken masala
Ingredients
- Chicken cut into 1 inch pieces – 1/2 pound
- Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/4 tablespoons
- Fennel seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
- Whole pepper corns – 3/4 teaspoon
- Cinnamon ,cloves,bayleaf – 1 stick,4,1 respectively
- onion finely chopped – 1 cup
- Tomatoes – 4
- Chilly powder – 2 teaspoons
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
- Dhania powder (coriander seeds) – 3 teaspoons
- Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Tamarind paste - 2 teaspoons (can be adjusted to taste)
- Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
- Cilantro to garnish
- oil – 3 tablespoons
Method
- Heat oil in a pan.Add the fennel seeds,Bay leaf,cloves,cinnamon sticks,curry leaves and pepper corns.fry them on medium flame.Pepper corns may burst .watch out for it and stay away
- Add the finely chopped onions and cook it till it turns golden brown.
- Add the ginger- garlic paste and saute them until you get rid of raw smell .
- Add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook till they are well done.
- Add the chilli powder,turmeric powder,salt,dhania powder and cook them for a min.
- Add the chicken pieces and a little water to it.Mix well,cover it with lid and cook well on medium flame until the chicken is well done.Add the tamarind paste and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve it with rice.
My hubby surprised me with a chocolate fondue on valentine’s day.It tasted scrumptiousssssss though he scorched it a little bit .I made the strawberry hearts for him.These two looked too pretty to eat….so we just left it and had the rest .
September 25, 2006
prawns (shrimp) curry
Ingredients
- prawns (big size) (cleaned and deveined) – 8 to 10
- Onion -1
- Tomatoes – 3
- Ginger Garlic paste – 2 teaspoons
- cinnamon stick – 1
- cloves – 4
- bay leaf – 1
- Chilli powder – 1 tablespoon ( can be adjusted to taste)
- Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon
- Garam masala – 1 teaspoon
- Thick coconut milk – 1/2 cup
- oil – 2 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro (coriander leaves ) – Little
Method
- Add oil to a deep skillet.When it is hot add cinnamon stick ,cloves, bayleaf. When it pops add finely chopped onion and ginger- garlic and saute them for few minutes.
- Puree the tomatoes in a blender and add it to the pan.
- Cook the tomatoes until you get rid of the raw smell.
- Add the chilli powder,turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt and mix well.Add about a cup of water and stir well.Close it with a lid.
- When it comes to a boil add the prawns (shrimp) and cook for not more than 5 mins.
- Add the coconut milk to the gravy.Cook for a miute and take it out of heat.
- Garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves).
Note : Dont over cook prawns as it becomes tough if overcooked.
August 14, 2006
Prawns (Shrimp) fry
Ingredients
Prawns (cleaned and deveined) – 8-10 (bigger size prawns)
Butter – 2 tablespoon
Garlic cloves (crushed) – 2
Cilantro
To marinade
Fresh ground black pepper – 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder (for color) – 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Salt to taste
Method
1.Marinade the prawns (shrimp) with above said ingredients for 20 minutes.
2.Heat butter in a pan.Add garlic.Don’t let the garlic to burn.
3.Add the prawns to the pan and saute them for 2 mins on each side until they turn pink.
4.Garnish with cilantro.
July 23, 2006
fish fry
fish has been one of my favorite food items.here is a recipe for fish fry.vanjiram or tilapia or salmon is perfect for this recipe.
Ingredients
Fish fillet – 5
red chilli powder – 1 table spoon (can be adjusted to suit your taste)
turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon.
dhania poder – 1 table spoon
garlic cloves (crushed)- 3
cumin powder (seeragam) – 1 teaspoon
Corn Flour – 1 tablespoon
juice of half a lemon
curry leaves – for garnish
salt to taste
oil for frying.
Method
Add all the above ingredients and form a paste adding some water.
Coat the fish fillets with the paste and marinate them for a minimum of 3 hours.
you can either deep fry or shallow fry the fish using oil.
Garnish with fried curry leaves.
Note : Corn Flour helps the paste to stick to the fish and forms a uniform coating.
