Prawn Pickle - South Indian Style

Prawn Pickle - South Indian Style

As I live in the coastal Andhra, fresh seafood is easily available. So to kick start Easter my special Prawn pickle

Health Advisory - Very tasty but not for the health conscious.

Ingredients

250 gms Fresh Prawns ( Must be very fresh)

1 Tea spoon Turmeric Powder
250 ml Gingelly oil
250 gms Garlic - Peeled
100 gms whole Red chilies
8-10 Green chilies (slit into half)
200 ml Vinegar
1 tea spoon Cumin seeds
1 tea spoon Mustard seeds
1/2 tea spoon Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds
few sprigs of Curry leaves
Salt to taste

for extra heat
2 table spoons Red chili powder (optional)

Procedure

1. Clean the prawns. Add Turmeric powder and rinse well.
2. Saute the prawns in a pan with 1/2 spoon oil till they turn opaque. Don't fully cook the prawns. Set aside to cool
3. Blend the half cooked prawns to a very coarse mixture (Its nice to find whole bits of prawn while eating)
4. Grind Garlic, Red chilies and Vinegar to a coarse paste
5. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan. Temper the Cumin, Mustard and Fenugreek seeds. After they pop, add the curry leaves and green chilies
6. Add the Garlic - Red chilies mixture prepared earlier and fry till the mixture loses the raw garlic smell and oil separates
7. Once the mixture is cooked, add the prawn mixture and cook for an extra 5 minutes
8. Add salt to taste (its a pickle so be generous)
9. Store in air tight containers in the fridge
10. Tastes better the next day 

Tastes great with anything from powa, upma, dosai, idli, sambar rice, lemon rice, chappati... the list is endless

Storage life - 3 weeks in the fridge. Use dry spoon while scooping out. Don't be tempted to put you fingers in.. very hard I know :D

Let me know your comments

Take care.

Podalanga Poriyal A.K.A Snake Gourd Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Keeping the summer heat in mind, I am trying these recipes. Gourd vegetable are very good during summer due to their high water content

Ingredients

1 Snake Gourd - chopped
1 small onion - Diced finely
3 green chillies - chopped
few sprigs of Curry leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Yoghurt - 1/2 a cup, beaten
1/2 tsp Jeera Seeds
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

Procedure

1. Add oil , temper Musard and Jeera seeds.
2. Add the onions, chillies and Curry leaves. Saute till onions are soft.
3. Now add the chopped snake gourd. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. The vegetables should retain some crunch
4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

5. Take 1/2 cup of yogurt and add salt and beat well to get a smooth mixture.
6. Add the cooked and cooled vegetables to the yogurt mixture.
7. Chill and serve

Enjoy.

Cheats grated Coconut recipe

As promised my cheat’s recipe for grated coconut for lazies like me. This can be used for any recipe which needs grated coconut

Usually my Mother or Mother-in-law do this for me. I am sharing both their recipes.

Mother's Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 fresh coconuts grated finely
• 5 tbsp Chilli flakes
• 10 cloves of Garlic crushed with skin
• Few sprigs of Curry leaves

Procedure

1.        Grate the coconut using coconut grater.
2.        Dry roast all the ingredients till the coconut is dry and lost most of the moisture
3.        Store in a sterile container in the fridge.
4.        Dry this mixture in the sun every few days to last long. 

     Mother-in-Law's Recipe

Ingredients

• 250 grams dry Coconut or Koparai, Sliced thinly
• 2 tbsp Chilli Powder
• 5 cloves of Garlic crushed 
• 1 tbsp Jeera 

Procedure

• Dry Roast all the ingredients
• Blend it in a mixer
• Store and use as required.

Parupu Keerai A.K.A Green veg with Dal

Hi, In mindful of summer and the dire unavailability of fresh Carrots, beans or "English  Vegetables"  or "Happy vegetables" (Smirk :D) as my husband calls it ,I have to depend on buying "Country Vegetables" or "Sober Vegetables" again coined by the genius mentioned above (Double Smirk :D :D) like all the gourd varieties, pumpkin (White and Red), greens etc.

To bring variety and force these veggies on my husband, I try to mix and match the preparation. Below is  my attempt at Parupu Keerai.

Ingredients

• 1 big bunch of Keerai (Any kind), washed throughly and cut coarsely
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup boiled split green lentils or "Siru Paruppu"
• Diced Green chillies to taste
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp Jeera 
• Salt to taste

Optional Ingredients

• 1 heap spoon of freshly grated coconut. I have a cheats recipe for this. I will share it tomorrow.

Preparation

• Rinse the greens well and dice them coarsely.
• To hot oil, add and temper Mustard and Jeera seeds.
• Add the onions and saute till soft and translucent.
• Add the garlic ,chillies and fry.
• Now add the cut greens and wait till they wilt and are half cooked.
• Add the pre boiled dal and mix through. Cook throughly.
• Finally just before serving add the diced tomato.

       P.S. I hate squishy, over cooked tomatoes. Those who love that can add earlier and cook for a few minutes

• Serve and enjoy with hot rice and Little Ghee :D

My Summer Cooler

It’s just April and the summer is already almost at its peak. It’s very disheartening to read in the papers that this year will be exceptionally hot (as if every year is not). I remember summers used to be more forgiving when I was younger, not like the fry your brains, pop your eyeballs heat now. Anyhow for those who want to get a little respite from the daunting heat follow the easy recipe below.

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized cucumbers – diced roughly
• ½ cup curd
• ½ cup mint leaves -chopped roughly
• 2 cups cold water
• Salt to taste

Optional ingredients to whiz it up a little more

Small piece of ginger

½ tsp chat masala

Few squeezes of lime

Procedure

• 1.       Wash the cucumbers , peel the skin and dice
• 2.       In a blender, add the all ingredients and blend till smooth mixture
• 3.       Taste and adjust Salt
• 4.       Serve in a tall glass, if in a fancy mood with a sprig of fresh mint.

Enjoy.

Egg Fried Rice

After eating healthy for some time, this is my take on Egg Fried Rice. Also because my mom forced us to eat the afternoon's rice which my sister and me had wasted trying "portion control" diet.

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 medium onions sliced or chopped - depending on your level of laziness

Bunch of beans chopped finely

4 green chillies chopped 

2 carrots chopped finely

4 cloves of garlic chopped

1 medium capsicum cubed

1 cup cold rice

2 tbsp Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Strictly Optional Ingredients

1 maggi chicken soup cube 

1/2 tsp Soya Sauce

1 tsp green chilli sauce

Procedure

Step 1

Beat the eggs along with some salt and pepper. Add oil to a small frying pan and scramble the egg mixture. Keep aside

Step 2

Add oil to a large frying pan, once heated add the sliced/chopped onions and garlic and fry till the onions are cooked. Add the chopped chillies,carrots and beans. Fry till partially cooked.

Note: All the vegetables should retain some crunch at the last and should not be totally cooked and mushy

Step 3

Add the chopped capsicum.Season the vegetable mixture with salt and pepper. Also add any optional ingredients (refer to the list above) at this stage.

Step 4

Add the egg and vegetable mixture together

Note: I fry the egg and vegetable mixture separately and then mix them together finally. This somehow reduces the "EGGY" smell from the dish.

Step 5

Add the cooked rice to the egg-veggie mixture and mix through. Check seasoning, add if necessary.

Note: In my opinion,Cooked rice which has been chilled for a while works best in case of all fried and variety rice. All the grains remain separate and don't get mushed like in the case of just cooked rice.

Step 6

Eat and let me know

Spinach soup

Spinach soup

Day 2 of my weight loss mission was very bad. My mom made my favourite Payasam. Totally unhealthy but tasted divine. So to redeem myself I made this soup for my dinner. 

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach leaves

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 carrot

a handful of beans

2 green chillies

1 maggi chicken soup cube (optional)

1 tsp Olive oil

2 cups of water

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Step 1

Wash the spinach and remove any dirt and bad leaves. Slice the spinach into small pieces.

Step 2

Dice the onion, beans, carrot, green chillies and garlic finely.

Step 3

Heat 1tsp of olive oil in a non stick pan, heat and saute the onions and garlic.Till the onions are translucent and the garlic has lost its raw smell. 

Step 4

Add the chopped green chillies, carrot and beans to the mixture. Add the chicken stock cube(totally optional). Fry till partially cooked.

Step 5

After 5 mins add the chopped spinach leaves and cook for an additional 5 mins.

Step 6

Add 2 cups of water to the fried mixture and boil for 3 mins.

Step 7

Take out half the solid content of the soup into a blender and blend roughly. The vegetables should be soft but maintain some crunch. If the vegetables overcook, when we blend we will get a baby food like puree. You could go ahead and blend the entire content into a pureed soup. Its a matter of personal preference.

Step 8 

Add the blended mixture to the soup mixture and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste

Step 9

Have the soup and pray that your guilt of having 2 cups of Payasam goes.

P.S

It tastes amazing. Not at all what you expect from something healthy.

Following the suggestion of my Dad I am going to include health benefits of this dish below.

Spinach - Good source of Iron, Minerals and Vitamins. Contains powerful antioxidants which fight heart disease and cancer. It is also a very good source of fiber

Carrot - Great source of Vitamin A. Improves vision.Cancer preventing properties. Healthy and younger looking skin.

Beans - Increases haemoglobin count and provides energy to the body without adding calories.They also help in improving the immune system of the body as they are a rich source of Vitamin C. Good for those suffering from diabetes.

Tit-Bit 

To make my soul happy. My baby sitting on my mom's silk sari.

BEETROOT SALAD

BEETROOT SALAD

                    After the longest time, I am restarting my food blog. I started my blog with full steam and then totally forgot about it. I guess that is why my sister calls me Dory ( the adorably forgetful fish from Finding Nemo). Anyway I have no reason to state why I was absconding. So after 2 years and 3 transfers (Hyderabad -> Vizag -> Kakinada) here I am.

After 4 years of marriage and 2 of those sitting at home happily, I am very sorry to face the mirror and see me "FAT". I know people (Meaning my sweet hubby) say its all in my head but the truth is I am not as fit I should be. So with  million false starts, I have decided to "TRY" eating healthy. And as all weight watchers I started my new healthy eating mission today( which I decided day before yesterday and postponed to yesterday and finally arrived today). My first recipe is a Salad,made of a vegetable my husband absolutely hates because he hates the colour Pink. So it was just me to finish the ugly Pink veggie.

Ingredients

1 Medium sized Beetroot - Partially steamed and diced

1 Small Red Onion - Sliced into half moons

1/2 Lemon's Juice

A small bunch of Coriander and Mint leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1

Steam the Beetroot with skin in a Idli maker or pressure cooker without adding weight. After 10 mins, remove the beet and allow it to cool. Remove the skin and dice the beetroot. The beet should be soft on the outside but still retain crunch inside.

Step 2

Slice the onions and add half a lemon's juice to it. This removes the acrid taste of the onion. I  can't say much about the smell.

Step 3

Clean and cut a small bunch of Coriander and Mint leaves. I have a preference for more Mint leaves. So I added more. Depends on your taste.

Step 4

Add all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Step 5 

Eat with a self righteous smug grin..

P.S

1.For extra quirk add a pinch of Italian seasoning (Always makes me feel as if I am eating Pizza)

How to make Rasam

Hi..

Rasam is the most simple yet at the same time complex dish. A good Rasam should be mildly spiced,mildly sour, a faint hint of sweetness and a treat which plays on your taste buds.

I am going to give two recipes. One is more authentic. Another is the cheat's way(My Way).

Slightly Authentic :-)
Ingredients
4 Ripe Country Tomatoes
2 Cloves of Garlic Crushed
1 tsp of  Tamarind Paste
1/2 tsp of Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp of Jeera Seeds
1/2 tsp Pepper
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp of Ghee (Totolly Optional)
Salt

You get a loads of Rasam Powders available in stores just pick one. For a more homely taste you could use the below recipe

For the Rasam Powder
50 gms Toor dal

1/2 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
25 gms Zeera
25 gms Pepper
Few dry Red Chilies
Few Curry leaves

Dry roast all the above ingredients and powder it. It keeps good for 15 -20 days max.

Steps:
1. Cube the Tomatoes. Boil them in a 1.5 lts of water. The skins of the tomatoes will start to peel. This takes about 15 minutes.
2. Squeeze the tomatoes to form a pulp. Push it though a sieve. Keep the liquid aside. If too strong in flavor,add more water.
3. Crush the Garlic,Pepper,Jeera and Curry leaves. Take a second and smell this mixture. Pure Heaven.
4. Heat the oil. Add the Mustard seeds. After they pop add the crushed mixture and fry for few seconds.
5.Add the Tomato Juice and the Tamarind paste. Add Salt. Give time till it comes to boil. Add 1/2 tsp of Rasam Powder.Rasam should not be boiled too much. It spoils the taste.
6. Before you turn off the stove, add a dollop of Ghee. Just for guilty pleasures. :-D

Cheat's Way
Ingredients

4 Ripe Country Tomatoes
2 Cloves of Garlic Crushed
1 tsp of  Tamarind Paste
1/2 tsp of Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp of Jeera Seeds
1 tbsp Sesame Oil

Steps:
1. Cube the Tomatoes. Boil them in a litre of water. Add the Tamarind paste to it.
3. Heat the oil. Add the mustard and Jeera. Pop them.
4. Add the Garlic and cook for few seconds.
5.Add the Tomato Juice and the Tamarind paste. Give time till it comes to boil. Add 1/2 tsp of Pepper Powder. Add Salt and Switch off the stove.
This tastes good too. Not spectacular but good.

To Turn this into Lemon Rasam (Cheats)

Have some warm water ready. Squeeze half a lemon in it. Add the Hot Rasam into it. Lemon Rasam Ready.
Do not boil after adding Lemon juice.

Happy Cooking!!

How to make Tomato Salsa

Hey people.

I know tomato salsa sounds easy. Actually its not even qualified to be called a recipe. Lets look at the how to make it first.

Ingredients

1 Ripe Plum Tomato - Remove seeds. Dice into small cubes
1 Medium Spanish Onion (Red) - Chop Finely
1 Chili Finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice
Salt to taste

Steps:

Mix all the ingredients. End of Recipe. :-D

Now to the fun part. Transformation of this simple recipe.

Dish 1 - Instead of  Lemon Juice. Add curd. Great side dish for Pulavs and Biriyanis. Before serving sprinkle a touch of Red chili powder on top. It adds to the glamour of the dish.

Dish 2 - Dry roast some of the large pepper papads we get in stores. Hold the papad over the stove flame till it starts to slightly burn or just microwave it (takes 15-30 secs max). Have the salsa in a bowl. Break the papad into bite sized pieces. Use them as cutlery,scoop the salsa and just eat. The combination of the smoked    papad with the freshness of the salsa is just great.

Tip: Removing the seeds of the tomato,helps in keeping the salsa moist but not runny.

Optional ingredients ( When you are feeling special and not lazy)

Add finely chopped fresh coriander, Mint to the mixture. You could also add a little dry mango powder and Red chilli powder for extra kick.

Dish 3 - Can be used a topping over cheese crackers, Salted biscuits, Baked potato and Corn chips. It would taste great with a dollop of thick curd or if not calorie conscious, cheese spread or mayo on top.

Dish 4 - Dry toast Salted bread slices. Spread cheese. Add this as topping.

The same thing can be done with Chappatis. After adding the toppings, Roll the chappatis, cut at an angle in the middle and serve. Looks and tastes great.

Instead of cheese spread, grated cheese can be added and later microwaved for a few secs to melt it. Looks like a very simple rustic thin crust pizza.

It can just be had a simple salad. Add a little spring onions, coriander , mint to spruce it up.

This recipe is fresh, tasty, and most important easy to make.

If you have any more ways in which this can be used please do post it.

Thank you and happy cooking.

How to make Tomato Thokku.

I know its very easy and people might be thinking what a simple recipe etc. But lets aim small and reach for bigger things.

Thokku is an easy to make and tasty recipe. Simple ingredients. Fast to cook. What more can I say.

This entire recipe takes 10 minutes max. Including chopping and cooking time. It can be had with almost any main dish - Idli,Dosa,Chappathi,Rasam Rice,Sambar Rice,Curd Rice etc. For a quick and easy side dish Tomato thokku is the perfect answer.

Our veggies for the week are

1. Tomato.
There are 2 kinds of Tomatoes available here.

• Country tomatoes (Tamil : Nattu Thakkali)- These are the best. Sour to taste. Juicy. Perfect for all Indian recipes.
• Plum tomatoes ( Commoly known as Bangalore Thakkali) - Sweeter than their country cousins. Good for pastas and Jams.

2. Onions - We get different kinds of onions actually. Red, White and Rose Gold shades. Red onions in my experience have more bite and don't become too sweet after cooking.
When you add Onions to oil, it cooks, becomes sweet and turns brown. This is because the natural sugars in the onions.

3. Green Chilies - Thumb rule for all chilies - More greener it is more Spicy. When you cut a chili it releases a pungent smell. The pungency is usually a good indicator for the spiciness. The seeds contain all the hotness. So if you want milder flavors remove the seeds.

4. Garlic - Garlic is a superb ingredient. I love garlic. It adds an instant exotic flavor to any dish. Good to your health. There are a million cool health facts about garlic. For the lazy people out there like me garlic comes in various sizes. Small ones have more flavor. The impatient and lazy me prefers the big ones. They are called french garlic or Rose garlic or Mallai Poondu in tamil. They are big in size,easy to peel and you get more volume. Flavor wise they are quite mild and not over powering.

Now for the recipe-


Ingredients
2 Medium size Country Tomatoes- Finely chopped
1 Medium Onion - Finely chopped
2 Green chilies - Diced into large pieces.
2 Cloves of Garlic- Finely chopped
1 Tbsp of Oil ( Any oil will do.I prefer Gingelly Oil)
1 Tsp of Mustard and Cumin seeds
1/2 Tsp Red Chili powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Steps:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. After the oil has heated, add the  Mustard and Cumin seeds. Wait till they start crackling. Care should be taken that the cumin seeds don't burn and turn black. It should be mildly toasted and have a rick dark brown colour. If they burn they make the dish taste bitter.
3. Add the onions and garlic and fry till golden brown.
Tip: Garlic should not be fried too much. Burnt garlic gives a very acrid taste. This can be avoided by added few tea spoons of water to the mixture when the garlic starts to turn colour.
4. Add the chilies. Depending on your taste, you can either dice then into large pieces or chop them finely. If you are going for finely chop,reduce the number of chilies.
5. After the Onion,garlic and chilies have cooked (this takes approx 3 minutes), add the Dry spices (Red Chili and Turmeric Powder).  If the spiciness of the green chili is enough for you, skip the red chili powder ,just add a little turmeric for colour.
6. Add the tomatoes. Cook them till they are soft and mushy in a slow flame.
7. Give a uneven mash to the mixture and serve.

If you have time, you can garnish with freshly chopped Coriander and Mint. You can also add a tsp of  Bengal gram (Kadalai Paruppu) along with the mustard and cumin seeds. Fry the gram till golden brown.

Try it and let me know. Happy cooking.

Cooking for Dummies

Hi people..

I am planning to start a blog for people like me who want to eat good home cooked food but don't know the basics. It has been a long but amazing journey of cooking new dishes, learning from the bad ones and enjoying the good ones.

I started cooking after I got married. Initially The question "What to cook tomorrow ?" used to keep me awake at nights. Recipes over the net though yummy to look were not easy enough to make when you are rushing to office and time is limited. Innovation and fun are totally absent when you open your refrigerator and you find 4 beans and 2 old ,shriveled carrots.

The 1st mantra we need to learn is - "Cooking is NOT difficult". Rarely do kitchen accidents happen like the ones they show on TV. Most of us don't know how to even open a pressure cooker. You might think what kind of idiot does not know this. Believe me, there are a lots of simple souls out there who don't know like me.

I am planning to post a simple,easy recipes or just kitchen tips daily. Simple things like Rasam or all time favourite - Curd Rice.

As this is my first post, I will just start with a tip.

Tip: Always have Onions, Tomato,Green chilli and Garlic at home.

Through this week I will concentrate on dishes which only use the above 4 vegetables.

Thanks for your time and happy cooking..