Prawns Masala

Ingredients
Prawns – 500g, shelled and de-veined
Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon 
Chilli powder-1 tablespoon
Coriander powder-1 tablespoon
Onion-1 big, thinly sliced
Tomato-1, diced
Green chillies-2
Ginger-1/2 inch piece, thinly sliced
Garlic-3 cloves, thinly sliced
Curry leaves-a few
Kudam Puli(pot tamarind)-1 small piece
Coconut milk-3 tablespoons
Coconut oil-as required
Salt-to taste

Method
Boil some water and add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder. Add the cleaned prawns to the boiling water. Cover and cook in medium flame for 10 minutes. Drain and keep aside. 

Heat coconut oil in a pan and add ginger and garlic pieces. Add sliced onions, green chillies and curry leaves and saute for 5 minutes. Add all the powders and roast in low flame for a minute. Now add salt, soaked kodum puli and tomatoes and mix well. Cover and cook in medium flame until tomatoes are soft. Pour coconut milk and mix well. Add cooked prawns and mix gently. Cover the pan for 2-3 minutes so that masala gets coated well in the prawns. Switch off the flame and sprinkle a teaspoon coconut oil and garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with rice or appam.

An easy Tomato chutney

We always prepare coconut chutney for idly/dosai. Sometimes if you want to try a variety chutney, just go for a simple tomato chutney. I know it’s not that convenient to cut and saute onions and other ingredients and grind it early in the morning especially if it is a weekday. No problem, let’s try it on a weekend. I’m sure that you will like it.

Ingredients
Onion-1, thinly sliced
Tomato-2, diced
Dry chilli-3
Fenugreek seeds-1/4 teaspoon
Salt-to taste
Oil-as required

Method
Heat oil in a pan and fry fenugreek seeds. Add onion and saute till it becomes transparent. Add dry chillies and mix well. Now add tomatoes and salt and cover till tomatoes are cooked. Allow the mixture to cool down and grind to make a smooth paste. Serve with idly/dosai/oothappam.

Note:You may also fry mustard seeds, dry chilli and curry leaves into the tomato chutney.

Kerala Chicken Fry

Ingredients
Chicken-500gms
Onion-2, thinly sliced
Curry leaves-a few
Coconut oil-for frying

For Marination
Chilli powder-1 ½ tablespoons
Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon
Coriander seeds-1 tablespoon
Pepper seeds-1 tablespoon
Cumin seeds-1/2 teaspoon
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Cardamom-1
Cinnamon-1 small stick
Cloves-4
Star Anise-1
Curry leaves-a few
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Garlic-4
Poppy seeds- ¼ teaspoon
Lime Juice-2 tablespoons
Salt-to taste

Method
Cut chicken into small pieces. Clean thoroughly and keep aside. Grind all ingredients for marination to a smooth paste. Marinate the mixture in chicken pieces and refrigerate overnight. Heat coconut oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces.Keep required amount of oil in the same pan to saute onions.Saute sliced onions and curry leaves until onions turn golden brown. Add fried chicken pieces to it and mix well. Garnish with a few curry leaves and serve hot.

A simple vegetable kurma

Vegetable kurma goes well with chapatis or puris. I love this dish because of the aroma of the spices. There are many different versions of kurma and here I'm with a very simple and delicious recipe.

Ingredients

Potato-3, diced

Onion-1, sliced

Carrot-1, diced

Tomato-1, diced

Green mattar-1/4 cup

Thin coconut milk-1 cup

Thick coconut milk-1/2 cup

Coriander leaves-a few, chopped

Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon

Salt-to taste

To grind

Green chilli-2

Ginger-1/2 inch piece

Garlic-2

Cardamom-2

Cinnamon-1/2 inch piece

Coriander powder-1 tablespoon

Fennel seeds-1/2 teaspoon

Pepper corns-1/4 teaspoon

Method

Boil some water and cook all vegetables except tomato and mattar. Grind the ingredients listed under ‘to grind’ to a fine paste. Add turmeric powder, salt, tomato and mattar to the cooked vegetables and stir well. Now add the ground paste and let it boil. Add thin coconut milk and simmer the fire and allow the mixture to boil. Add thick coconut milk and mix well. Remove from the fire and garnish with coriander leaves. This is a very simple and easy dish which goes well with puri/chapati.

Notes:-You may add more veggies like cauliflower, French beans etc. Add water to adjust the consistency as required.

Sesame Chicken

A few of you might have tried this dish from local food courts in Singapore. It's a non spicy item that everyone enjoy as a side dish. Here I'm with a very simple recipe that anyone can prepare within minutes.

Ingredients
Boneless Chicken-1kg, cut into thin slices

Ginger garlic paste-2 teaspoons

Pepper powder-1 teaspoon

Soy sauce-2 table spoons

Honey-5 tablespoons

Vinegar-2 tablespoons

Sesame seeds-2 tablespoons

Sesame Oil-3 tablespoons

Spring Onions-2 tablespoons, chopped

Salt-to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a wok and add chicken pieces. No need to add water as there will be water coming from chicken. Saute until the chicken is cooked and ¾th water gets drained off. Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl and keep aside. To the remaining chicken stock in the wok, add ginger garlic paste, soy sauce, honey, vinegar and salt. Stir well until you get a creamy sauce. Now add the cooked chicken pieces and sesame seeds and mix until the sauce coats well on the chicken. Add pepper powder. Remove from the fire and add remaining sesame oil. Garnish with sesame seeds and spring onions.

Mathanga Payasam (Pumpkin Dessert)

As I always make palada, parippu or semiya payasam, thought of trying a different payasam for this Onam which I have never tried before. A few options came up in my mind like carrot, pineapple or pumpkin payasam. Pumpkin payasam is something which I haven't tasted before and was not confident enough to try. Finally I decided to give it a try and to my surprise it turned up a very yummy dessert. It's different from our usual payasams and easy to prepare too. I would recommend this recipe for all my friends who love to try something different. Please do try and let me know your feedback.

Ingredients
Pumpkin-2 cups, cubed
Almonds-10nos
Sago-5 tablespoons
Jaggery-1 ½ cups, grated
Cardamom-5, crushed
Thin Coconut Milk-2 cups
Thick Coconut Milk-1 cup
Ghee-1 ½ tablespoons
Cashew nuts-a few
Raisins-a few

Method

Pressure cook pumpkin cubes upto 3 whistles and low the fire for 5 minutes. Soak almonds in hot water for 20 minutes and remove the skin. Grind pumpkin and almonds until smooth. Boil some water and add grated jaggery to it. Mix until jaggery is completely dissolved. Allow it to cool and strain. Cook sago in boiling water and wash in cold water and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pan and saute the pumpkin-almond mixture for 5 minutes. Add jaggery syrup and mix well. Add crushed cardamom and cooked sago. Add thin coconut milk and let it boil for a few minutes. Add thick coconut milk and simmer the fire. Let it boil for 2 minutes and turn off the fire. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and garnish the payasam.

Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients

Cauliflower – 1

Ginger – ½ inch piece, thinly sliced

Garlic - 3 nos, thinly sliced

Green Chillies - 2, sliced

Onion – 1 large, diced

Capsicum – 1, diced

Soy sauce - 1 ½ tablespoon

Tomato ketchup - 3 table spoons

Spring Onions – 3 tablespoons, chopped

Oil – as required

Water – as required

For batter

Corn flour - 3 tablespoons

Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Salt-to taste

Water – as required

Method

Boil some water with turmeric powder and a little salt and keep aside. Cut the cauliflower into small sized florets and wash in cold water. Add the florets into the boiled water and cover it for a few minutes. Drain and pat dry the cauliflower florets.

Mix the ingredients listed for batter and make a smooth batter. Heat some oil in a pan and dip the florets in the batter and fry until it turns golden brown.

Heat oil in a pan and saute onions, ginger and garlic for a few minutes. Add green chillies, soy sauce, tomato ketchup and salt. Add capsicums and a little water and mix well. When it turns a thick consistency, add fried cauliflower florets and mix well. Cover and let it cook in low fire for 2 minutes.

Remove from the fire and garnish with chopped spring onion. A great dish which goes well with vegetable pulav, fried rice or chapati.