SPICY PRAWN CURRY

A recipe from my kitchen for that yummy prawn curry. Tastes good with rice, aapam, roti and dosa. You can even sandwich it between 2 bread slices and toast it on tava for a delicious prawn curry sandwich.

I have used only 2 whole spices in this prawn dish unlike other non vegetarian dishes. What makes this prawn curry different is that, it does not have ginger garlic paste and garam masala, which is a usual in most non vegetarian recipes. The spicy taste comes mainly from the chili for this dish. Please adjust the spice level as per your taste. If you prefer something mild spicy, please reduce the quantity of chili powder by half. Some of you might like it very spicy, in that case, you can add another slit green chili to the dish.

The ingredients below makes it a medium spicy gravy, nevertheless you can follow the above suggestions to suit your palate. I have marinated the prawns before cooking it in the gravy, this is done to infuse flavour into the prawn. It is sufficient if you marinate the prawns for a few mins. Overnight marination is not required. Easy to cook and tastes great as an accompaniment. Serve hot on a bed of hot steaming rice.

 

INGREDIENTS

Gravy

Prawns - 750 gms

Onion - 2 finely chopped

Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped

Garlic - 5-6 cloves finely chopped

Green chili - 1 slit

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece

Chili powder - 1 tbsp  (Kashmiri chili powder) OR 

                        2 tsp if you're using ordinary chili powder

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Salt as per taste

Water - 1 cup

Coriander leaves chopped for garnish

Marination

Chili powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Juice of half lemon

METHOD

Clean and devein prawns. Add all the ingredients for marination and marinate for 10-15 mins. In a pan, heat oil, add fennel and cinnamon. Once fragrant, add the garlic and onion, saute till they turn light golden. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chili, masala powders and cook till it gets mushy. Now add the marinated prawns, 1 cup water and cook for 15-20 mins or till done. Check for salt and spice level. Add more water if you want a gravy. Once done, garnish with fresh coriander leaves. 

Isn't this easy? Do try it and send in your feedback. 

MILLET CURD RICE

Curd rice completes a meal, at least for South Indians. This humble dish is a comfort food that we all love with or without any accompaniment. Thayir Sadam, as we call in Tamil is a delicacy and loved by all . We usually make curd rice with rice and sometimes with vermicille (bagala bath) and present it in different ways ~ we temper it with cumin and mustard, add fruits, veggies or consume as it is. 

Here, I've used millets to prepare the curd rice. Millets have a lot of health benefits and it's suitable for all age groups. I've already shared a millet recipe - one pot sambhar rice. Here's another simple and tasty one from my kitchen. At home, mom prepares curd rice by mashing the rice well and adds more milk than curd so it's never sour even if we have it late. It also gives it a rich and creamy taste. I've incorporated the same method here just that I've added milk while cooking the rice itself instead of adding it to cooked rice. 

This is made with Barnyard millet but you're free to choose the millet variety of your choice. If you're using rice instead of millet then cook it in a pressure cooker with water in 3:1 ratio i.e 3 cups water for 1 cup rice because we're looking for a mushy consistency. Once the rice is cooked, mash it further adding milk and temper!  

INGREDIENTS

Barnyard millet - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Thick curd/yoghurt - 1/4 cup

Water (to cook millet) - 1 + 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

For Temering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Dry Red chili - 2 

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp 

Curry leaves - 6

Coriander - chopped finely for garnish

METHOD

Wash the millet in water for about 5-6 times. This recipe uses Barnyard Millet, feel free to use any variety of your choice. Add the millet, water and required salt in a vessel or boiling pot and keep it on high until it boils. After the first roaring boil, slow down the heat, add the milk and keep mashing until all the liquid is absorbed by the millet. This will take about 7 minutes. Switch off the heat, mash the millet further with a wooden ladle. Check for salt and add the yoghurt. Give it a good mix. 

In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard, cumin, urad dhal, dry chili and once the mustard splutters and the urad dhal has become light brown add the asafoetida and curry leaves. A quick stir and add to the curd rice. Transfer it to the serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander. 

Note:

You can add grated carrots, pomegranate or chopped ginger if you prefer. It enhances the taste. 

VEGETABLE CLEAR SOUP

The one thing that we all crave or wish to have when we have a cold is some good hot soup! At the same time who feels like preparing one with all the blending, grinding and boiling procedure when we're sick.. this recipe comes in handy and my go to recipe for such times! 

It's one pot, no grinding required, mild and soothing! You can prepare this soup with veggies of your choice. 

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

Carrot  - 2

Beans - 10

Frozen peas - 1/4 cup

Onion - 1

Tomato - 2

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Cumin - 1/4 tsp

Clove - 2

Freshly ground pepper - 2 tsp or more as per taste

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Water - 4 cups

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt

METHOD

Chop the beans into 2 inch pieces and the carrots into thick pieces. Slice the onions and cut each tomato into 4 pieces. In a pressure cooker, add oil and saute the onion and the veggies. After a minute or two add the tomatoes with salt, turmeric and pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes and add required water. Check for salt and add more salt and pepper if you require. Close the lid, after 3 whistles switch off  the heat and let the pressure release. In a small kadai, temper cumin and clove. Open the lid and add the tempering to the soup. Mix and serve hot. 

Isn't this simple? 

BROWN CHICKPEA/CHANA PULAO

INGREDIENTS

Brown chickpea boiled - 1 cup

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Onion - 2 sliced

Green chili - 1 slit

Turmeric pwd - a pinch (optional)

Clove - 2

Green Cardamom - 1

Black cardamom - 1

Cinnamon - a small piece

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin/ Jeera seeds - 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Pudina leaves - about 7 leaves

Salt

METHOD

Wash and soak basmati rice for 10 mins. Drain the water and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan (you can add ghee if you wish), add fennel, cumin, green cardamom, cinnamon, clove and black cardamom and saute for 2 mins. Now add the sliced onions and salt. Saute till it gets brown and add ginger garlic paste, slit green chili. Once the raw smell goes, add the boiled and cooled chana, turmeric and saute for 5 mins. Now add the drained rice, salt, water and boil in high flame till 80% of the water is absorbed, then add pudina leaves and cover the pan with a foil and close the lid airtight. Reduce the flame to low and cook till the water is absorbed completely, this will take about 10-15 mins ( it took 7 mins for me ). Once ready have it with raitha. It goes well with my Capsicum peanut gravy. 

LITTLE MILLET AND BARNYARD MILLET SAMBHAR SADAM/ MIXED MILLET SAMBHAR RICE

Millets - these small grain plants are primarily produced in India, who cultivates over 8 million tons every year, followed by a number of larger African countries and China. Millet is gluten-free, so Celiac sufferers can turn to millet as their source of grains, instead of wheat. There are myriad health benefits of millets. Regular consumption of millets is beneficial to health.  

Millet is  rich in fibre and the breakdown of glucose is slower.  It benefits people suffering from respiratory ailment, digestive disorders and high cholesterol. They reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes because millets are rich in magnesium, which regulates secretion of glucose and insulin. 

Now, there's enough reason to include millets in our daily diet. This sambhar rice, prepared with barnyard millet and little millet is not only healthy but tasty and pretty simple to prepare. A good option for packed lunch too. Enjoy this healthy tasty one pot sambahar sadam with Yam fry, Potato fry, Carrot and roasted peanut raitha or Chena kilangu roast. 

Once you start cooking with millets, you'll never want to go back to eating rice. In this recipe, I've added 2 types of millet and 2 types of dhal along with vegetables, which makes it a healthy one pot meal. I've used barnyard millet and little millet, please feel free to use any millet with any combination or just one millet. The same applies to dhal, I prefer mixing 2 dhals in all that i cook. You may use only toor dhal or only moong dhal too.

 

INGREDIENTS

Barnyard millet - 1/2 cup
Little millet - 1/2 cup
Toor dhal - 3 tbsp
Moong dhal - 2 tbsp
Onion - 2 sliced
Tomatoes - 2 chopped

Beans - 10 nos chopped into 2 inch pieces

Carrots - 1 chopped into 2 inch pieces

Potato - 1 cut into cubes

Peas - 1/4 cup

Tamarind pulp - 3 tbsp

Turmeric pwd - 1 tsp

Sambhar pwd - 3 tbsp

Coriander pwd - 2 tbsp

Water - 5 cups

Green chili - 2 

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 6

Salt to taste

Finely chopped coriander for garnish
Cashews fried in ghee or oil - 10 

METHOD

Wash and soak rice and dhal for about 30 mins. In a cooker, add 4 tbsp of oil, when hot add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, fenugreek, curry leaves and green chilies. Don't slit the chilies, chop the ends and add. Then add all the curry powders, fry for a minute. Add sliced onions, tomatoes and sauté well for 3 minutes. Add the vegetables, sauté and add tamarind pulp, rice dhal mix, salt, 5 cups of water. Check for salt and spice level. Let it boil now close the cooker and reduce the flame to low. Cook for 25 mins and open once the pressure releases. Garnish with cashews and coriander. Enjoy millet sambhar sadam with appalam/ papad. 

PEAS PULAO

Peas pulao is very easy and pretty simple to prepare. This recipe is a simple one for people who're trying it out for the first time and who's looking for a quick and easy version. I'll be posting my version of peas pulao soon.

Ingredients

Basmati rice- 1 cup

Peas- 1/2 cup

Cinnamon- 1 (1/2 inch piece)

Clove- 1

Cardamom- 1

Black cumin/ shah jeera- 1/2 tsp

Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Green chilly- 1 (small) 

Salt 

Method 

Wash and soak rice for about 15-20 mins. Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add all the whole spices (i.e) cinnamon, clove, cardamom. Saute for about a minute or till you get the fragrance. Now add black cumin/Shah jeera, slit green chilly and saute for a minute. Next, add the peas with little salt. Fry for 3-4 mins. Add the soaked rice with ginger garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add required salt and 2 cups of water (since the basmati rice and water ratio is 1:2). Close the lid of the pan and keep the heat on low and cook till the rice is fluffy and done. 

Note

If you're preparing this in a cooker, follow the same method by adding 2 cups of water and then close the lid of the cooker with the cooker weight. Keep on high flame and wait for a whistle. After the first whistle, reduce the heat to low and switch off the heat after 5 mins.