PRAWNS Or SHRIMP FRY Or KONJU FRY

PRAWNS Or SHRIMP FRY Or KONJU FRY: Prawns has always been one of my favourite sea foods. This is a very simple and easy recipe. The biggest problem with prawns is their cleaning. I always prefer fresh prawns to frozen one. My mother makes a variety of dishes with prawns like fry, theeyal, curry, fried rice, pickle, etc.... This is one of her recipes.

Prawns are known for their calcium and protein content. It helps in fighting cancers due to their high selenium content. It has high omega 3 fatty acids and also has vitamin B12. But it has high cholesterol levels. So people with cholesterol problems should consume less.

So, off to our recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

Prawns – 250 Gms cleaned

Corn flour – 1 tablespoon

Red Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Pepper – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Garam masala powder – ¼ tablespoon

Fennel powder – 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves - a sprig

Lime juice of 1 small lime

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

Water to make a paste

METHOD:

Make a smooth paste of - corn flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder, fennel powder, curry leaves along with salt and water. Taste the paste lightly and ensure it has right amount of spice and salt. Add the shrimps and mix well. Marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add the prawns one by one using a spoon. Fry both sides till golden brown. Serve Hot!!!!!!!!!!!

NB: You may use rice flour or maida instead of corn flour. But corn flour gives the right crunch.

Do not fry for long as the prawn would become rubbery. 

To clean prawns, dip them in water. Take a prawn; twist its head and pull. The head comes out. Next, start opening its shell from the bottom, near the head area. Tighten two fingers on the tail area, right after the place where the flesh ends. Pull the flesh from the other side. You will get the complete flesh out without breaking them. 

CHICKEN CURRY WITH COCONUT MILK

CHICKEN CURRY WITH COCONUT MILK: This has always been one of my favourite dishes with chicken. But my mother used to hardly make this. This curry has a thick and creamy consistency. Since it is yellowish to light brown colour, most people think that it is not hot and spicy. But I must say you are absolutely wrong. This curry gets its heat from the ginger and green chillies apart from pepper and red chilli powder.

 The combination of coconut milk and curry leaves lends an authentic kerala taste i,and aroma to the dish.  This goes perfectly well with appam, chapatti, Porotta, puttu, idiyappam, rice, etc....

Not making you wait longer, the recipe is being posted below...

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken – 250 gm

Red onion – 2

Fennel seeds  - ¼ tablespoon

Green chilli – 3

Ginger – ½ “ piece

Garlic  cloves –2

Curry leaves – 1-2 sprigs

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – 1 ½ teaspoon

Coriander powder – ½ tablespoon

Garam masala powder – 3/4 tablespoon

Pepper powder – ½ teaspoon (optional)

Thick Coconut milk – ½ glass

Salt to taste

Oil – 2 to 3 tablespoons

METHOD:

Clean and cut the chicken and vegetables. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel or pressure cooker and add fennel seeds. Once they turn brown add and sweat the onions. Add ginger, green chilli and garlic. Saute till the onion starts turning brown.

 Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Saute till the raw smell goes. Add chicken and salt and mix well. Close the lid of the cooker and cook on medium heat till one whistle. 

Switch off the stove. Once the pressure subsides, open the cooker and add coconut milk and pepper powder. Once boiled switch off the stove. Serve after 5 to 10 minutes.

NB: If you are using a pan, cook on low heat with closed lid so that the water will ooze out and get the chicken cooked without burning. Once the chicken is cooked add the coconut milk and wait till it boils.

This curry would get spoiled fast as it contains coconut milk. So refrigerate the left over curry as soon as possible. 

  

CHICKEN THORAN or KOZHI THORAN

CHICKEN THORAN or KOZHI THORAN: The first time I had this dish was the last time we went for vacation to India. I had never heard of it before. In fact my at my husband’s place everyone is a big fan of this dish. He even showed me a whole street in Trivandrum where they would have stalls that sell exclusively chicken and this being the most important one. This happens mostly on Sundays.

This was the second time I am making it. It tastes good. It is quite a different take as compared to the other normal chicken recipes.  It is called chicken thoran, as it looks like any other normal vegetable thoran, with lots of scraped coconut. Scraped coconut, curry leaves and coconut oil are the prime ingredients apart from chicken which gives it the taste and aroma. This is a dry side dish and goes perfectly well with rice.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken – 500gm

Onions – 5

Chilli powder – ½ tablespoon

Scraped coconut – 1 ½ cup

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves – 2 to 3 sprigs

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Fennel seeds – ½ tablespoon

Ginger – ½ “piece

Coconut oil – 3 tablespoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and cut the chicken into small size cubes. Usually the chicken used is with bone, even though you may use boneless too. Chop 3 onions and slice the other two. Keep them separate. Chop the ginger.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and splutter the mustard seeds. Add fennel seeds and brown them. Add chopped onions and sweat them well. Add ginger and sauté. 

Just when the onions start turning brown, add chicken along with the sliced onions. Add salt, cover with a lid and cook.

 In the meantime, combine the scraped coconut, curry leaves, half turmeric powder and chilli powder and mix well. Either mix it with hand well or give a quick grind. Do not make into a paste. If you are mixing with hand, ensure you give rub the mixture well. This ensures that the flavour gets enhanced.

When the chicken is almost done, add the remaining turmeric powder and garam masala to the chicken and cook till done. Add the scraped coconut mixture and mix well. Saute till the dish becomes nice and dry. Do not overcook as the chicken might become dry.

NB: Do not add water at all to the dish. Shallots enhance the taste of the dish. So you may replace two onions with around 10 shallots.

BROCCOLI EGG SCRAMBLE WITH GARLIC

BROCCOLI EGG SCRAMBLE WITH GARLIC: I was thinking about trying out the broccoli garlic combination for some time now. Started making having that in mind and I ended up with the broccoli egg scramble with garlic. I had no idea how it would taste. But after cooking it, it actually tastes good and it is so simple. Since, I cooked it for the first time, the quantity measurements are for one small serving. So adjust accordingly. You can have it for breakfast or as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

Broccoli florets– ½ cup

Garlic clove minced – 2

Egg – 1

Chilli powder or pepper – ½ teaspoon

Oil – ½ tablespoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and separate the broccoli florets. I do not usually take the stalk. Mince the garlic.

Heat oil in a pan and add the minced garlic and salt. Saute till garlic turns brown. Add broccoli and chilli powder. Sauté till the water starts oozing out of the broccoli. Add egg. Scramble till the egg is cooked. Serve!

CHICKEN CURRY (my mother in law’s style)

CHICKEN CURRY (my mother in law’s style): This curry was a result of one of my husband’s wish. He wanted the chicken curry to be made exactly the way his mother makes it. It was a tough wish though as I did not attempt making it before nor have I seen her making it.

 But I have had it and I love it even though it is really hot.  It has a lot of gravy too. It is made the traditional way. The smell of the curry will make you go hungry even though your stomach is full. 

Each time my mother in law makes it she still consults her mother in law regarding the ingredients. It is fun to see that. 

This goes with rice or chapatti or even khuboos. So here goes the recipe....

INGREDIENTS

Chicken – 1 kg approx

Shallots or Small onion – 200 gm

Red Onions – 2

Potato – 1

Ginger – 1” piece

Garlic – 4 to 5 cloves

Fennel Seeds – 2 tablespoon

Turmeric Powder – ¼ tablespoon

Chilli Powder – 2 tablespoon

Coriander powder – 3 tablespoon

Garam masala powder – 1 ½ tablespoon

Pepper powder – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves -3 sprigs

Salt to taste

Oil – 3 tablespoon

METHOD

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Clean and chop the potato and onions. Make a paste of the garlic and ginger. Pressure cook the chicken and potato with some salt and water. (One whistle would be enough on medium heat).

Take a heavy bottomed vessel. Heat the oil and add fennel seeds. Once they start turning colour add onions with salt and sauté till light brown. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Sauté till the raw smell goes. Add curry leaves and water. Add ginger and garlic paste. 

When the mixture starts to boil add the pressure cooked chicken and potato pieces. Let it boil for around five minutes and it is done.

NB: If you do not like the raw taste of the ginger garlic paste, you may add and sauté it as soon as the onions turns brown.

If you have a big pressure cooker, you may make the gravy and then add the potatoes and chicken and give it a whistle. In that case there is no need to pressure cook the chicken and potato before. This will save time too. 

you may make it without potato too, but potato helps in thickening the gravy.

POMFRET FISH or AVOLI WITH MANGO IN COCONUT MILK GRAVY

POMFRET FISH or AVOLI WITH MANGO IN COCONUT MILK GRAVY: I find it much easier and tastier to make fish with coconut milk than the traditional scrapped coconut paste. It is more convenient also. This is a less spicy, sour and creamy recipe. 

You can make it spicier with the addition of more green chillies to the curry. This may be served with rice or chappatis.

You may replace mango with both normal tamarind and Malabar tamrind or gambooge or kudampuli to give the sour taste. With mango it is certainly a different feast.

Compared to the fish made with Kudam puli, this will get spoiled fast as it uses coconut milk. So, refrigerate the same within few hours (depending on the room temperature).

INGREDIENTS:

Pomfret – 6  to 8 slices

Red Onion – 1 small

Green Chillies – 2 small

Garlic cloves – 2

Ginger – 1/2” piece

Raw Mango – ½ to 1 mango

Curry leaves – a sprig

Chilli powder – 3/4 tablespoon

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Coriander powder – ¾ tablespoon

Fenugreek powder – a pinch

Thick Coconut Milk – 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and cut fish. Slice onions and cut garlic and ginger into small pieces. Slit the green chillies lengthwise. Slice the mangoes.

Heat oil in a pan and add fenugreek seeds. Once brown, add the onions and sweat them. Add ginger, green chillies and garlic and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown the onions.

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder. Sauté till the raw smell goes.

Add water, salt and mango pieces. Add water enough to cover the mixture and mango slices. Boil the mixture well.

Once the whole mixture bubbles, add the fish. Do not sauté or mix as you might break the fish pieces and add curry leaves. Cover the pan with a lid and cook. Once, the fish is cooked add the thick coconut milk and cook for about a minute or two. Serve

.

NB: Check on the sourness of the mango and use accordingly. You may use other small fishes also.

POMFRET WITH KUDAM PULI or MALABAR TAMRIND

POMFRET WITH KUDAM PULI or MALABAR TAMRIND: This is a spicy and sour fish curry. It tastes better when made day before. Or at the least make it 3 to 4 hours before having it. It can be had as a side dish with rice or chapattis.

Kudam puli is also known as gambooge or Malabar tamarind or fish tamarind. It has various health medicines. In fact it is even used in ayurvedic medicine. It promotes digestion and there have been studies stating that it aids in weight loss. I am not quite sure about that. But it is definitely a healthier option when compared to the normal tamarind.

Pomfret has good proteins and omega 3 fatty acids. Eating 2 servings of fish every week improves your health and increases your life line.

INGREDIENTS:

Pomfret – 6 slices

Red Onion – 1 small

Garlic cloves – 2

Ginger – 1/2” piece

Kudam Puli – 1 to 2 pieces

Curry leaves – a sprig

Chilli powder – 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Coriander powder – ¾ tablespoon

Fenugreek powder – a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and cut fish. I have used only 6 slices of medium size. Slice onions and cut garlic and ginger into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and add fenugreek seeds. Once brown, add the onions and sweat them. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown the onions.

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder. Sauté till the raw smell goes.

Add salt and Kudam puli and mix. Immediately add water, just enough so that the fish would not burn while cooking. Do not add too much water. Less than a quarter cup would be fine. Boil the mixture well.

Once the whole mixture bubbles, add the fish. Do not sauté or mix as you might break the fish pieces and curry leaves. So gently toss the pieces to cover them in the curry. Cover the pan with a lid and cook.

Once the fish is cooked, gently toss the fish to the other side and turn off the stove. Serve after 3 to 4 hours so that the slices absorb the spice and sourness of the curry.

NB: If the curry turns out to be more spicy, you may add a small amount of coconut milk to this.

CHICKEN FILLET SANDWICH

CHICKEN FILLET SANDWICH: This is a wholesome sandwich which can be used as tiffin for kids or adults alike. It can even be used as a snack.  This serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Fillets – 2 to 3

Bread slices – 8

Red Onion -1

Tomato – 1 small

Coriander leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Pepper powder – ¼ to ½ tablespoon

Garam masala powder – 2 to 3 pinches

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Slice the onions and dice the tomatoes. Chop the coriander leaves. Dice the fillets too.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fillets together and sauté till the fillets are cooked.  Do not brown, just cook.

Add salt, Garam masala powder and pepper powder at this stage. This would help it to cook fast and get the flavour. Some ready to cook fillets would have salt already, so check the levels.

Add tomatoes and coriander leaves and sauté for less than a minute. The filling is ready.

Now, take the bread slices. You may brush it with a bit of mayonnaise or cheese. Otherwise also it is fine, as the filling is not completely dry. Add the filling between the slices and serve. You may even microwave the whole sandwich to get the bread also hot.

EGG BURJI or SCRAMBLED BOILED EGG - MY STYLE

EGG BURJI - MY STYLE: Normally Egg burji is the other name for scrambled egg. But the one I am going to pen down is made with boiled eggs. It is simple, healthy and tasty.  It can be served hot with rice or chapattis. For kids, you may even toss them between their dosas or chapattis and take them as a roll or put them between bread slices and you have a good egg sandwich.

INGREDIENTS:

Egg - 3 whole (I have used chicken eggs)

Red Onion – 1

Mustard seeds – ½ tablespoon

Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Fennel Seeds – around 10 nos.

Oil - 2 teaspoon

Coriander leaves to garnish

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Boil the 3 eggs and slice them. Slice the onions. Take a pan and heat the oil. Splutter the mustard seeds. Add fennel seeds. Once they turn brown add onions and sauté till light brown. Add chilli powder and turmeric powder. Sauté till the raw smell goes. Add the egg slices. Mix the eggs into the onion masala. Add coriander leaves for garnishing. Serve hot.

Chicken Dry Roast or Chicken Varattiyathu

CHICKEN VARRATIYATHU : Chicken cooked in rich spicy masala with almost dry gravy. Its an authentic kerala dish. It tastes best with rice, tapioca, plain bread, chappati , poori. It tastes good even with dosa or idili. I can eat it with almost anything. Yum!

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken – 1100 gm ( I have used fresh chicken)

Red Onion – 5

Ginger – 1” piece

Garlic clove – 3 to 4

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Chilli Powder – 3 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tablespoon

Pepper – ½ tablespoon

Corriander Powder – 5 tablespoons

Garam masala powder –  1 tablespoon

Fennel seed powder or crushed – ½  tablespoon

Oil – 2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Make a paste of garlic and Ginger. Add half of the paste to the chicken along with salt and marinate for an hour or so (minimum 20 minutes). Place the marinated chicken in a heavy bottomed pan and cook till done. The water will ooze out from the chicken, so do not add any water while cooking.  In the mean time slice the onions. Take a heavy bottomed pan and place it over the stove. Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the onions and sweat them. Add the rest of the ginger garlic paste and curry leaves and sauté. Sauté the mixture till the onions become light brown. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, Fennel seed powder and garam masala powder and sauté for 2-3 minutes on low flame.  Add the chicken along with the water that has oozed out from the chicken. Mix it well and add pepper powder. Cook the chicken in the gravy till it becomes dry. If you want to have gravy, you may stop cooking before it gets fully dry. Make sure you check the chicken and keep mixing so that the chicken would not get burned.  You may also garnish the chicken with roasted coconut pieces.

Happy Cooking!!!