Tomatillo Fish Curry

This fish curry is very special to me because it tasted like my mom's special curry with a special type of tangy fruit,elumbipuli. Sorry guys,I don' t know it's English name. It is green in color, tangy taste, used in kerala to make pickles and in curries. Like mango, elumbipuli in fish curry is so tasty and gives a special flavour to curry. Tomatillo almost tastes like elumbipuli and is so good in fish curry. Sometimes I was in a feeling that I can't make mom's elumbipuli fish curry because that fruit is not available here. But now I am happy I can try her mouthwatering fish curry with tomatillo. I am thankful to Annita who introduced me to this fruit with her tomatillo egg thoran.Thanks Annita.
This tomatillo is of mexican origin and have a papery outer skin. It has a very tart flavour, not at all like a tomato. It is widely used in mexican cooking and it acts as a base of various salsas and sauces. The tomatillo actually used when it is still green. More information here

Tomatilloes(husks removed)

The recipe:
Fish pieces - 225 gm
Tomatillo - 2 medium sized
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 1/2tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Shallots - 5 or 6
Ginger - garic paste - 1tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Water -as needed
Salt-to taste
Oil - as needed

Wash and clean the fish pieces and set aside. Remove husks and wash tomatilloes. Cut it into medium wedges.

Mix the masala powders with a little water in a little bowl. Chop 4 shallots. Grind coconut smoothly with 2 or 3 curry leaves by adding water. Heat some oil in a pan and add shallot pieces and ginger- garlic paste. Saute in low flame. Don't let it brown. This step is to remove the raw smell of shallots and ginger- garlic. Add masala paste and saute half a minute in low flame. After that add fish pieces, tomatllo pieces, ground coconut and salt. Add water to cover the fish pieces. Let it boil and change to low flame. Cook till fish pieces are done.Chop remaining shallots and let it brown in oil with curry leaves. Pour it on the top of the curry and let it rest for one hour. Enjoy with rice!!

This is my entry for Antony's curry mela this week.

Ada - Traditional Breakfast of kerala

Ada, a simple and delicious breakfast in kerala is traditionally prepared in banana leaves. During my last vacation in india, I was craving for the ada prepared in banana leaves and roasted in manchatti(earthern pot). The smell of ada slowly cooked in manchatti in open flame is wonderful. Alternatively you can prepare it by using a steamer. Ada with sweet coconut fillings and a cup of hot tea, I love it. The fillings can vary as you prefer. If you are using only coconut as the filling, It is called 'Poovada'. I like all these variations, but my hubby prefers coconut -jaggery-banana filling. Banana leaves are not available here, so I used parchment paper instead. First I thought whether it would work out, but it came out good. I tried adas with rice flour and wheat flour with different type of fillings.Here I am presenting you my mom's special adas.

For rice ada, you need
Rice flour - 1 cup
Warm water - As needed
Salt

For filling:-
Sugar or jaggery- As needed
Coconut-1 cup or more
Plantain pieces - 1/2 cup(if desired)

Cut parchment paper into squares(approximately 8 inches sides). Mix rice flour with salt. Knead the flour using warm water to a smooth dough like chappathi dough.

Take a big lemon sized dough ball and put in one end of paper. Pat it out with your fingers held together thinly as shown in the figure. If the dough is sticky, wet your fingers occasionally. For wheat ada, you can use the same measurement of rice ada, only difference in the consistency of dough. It would be slightly looser than the chappathi dough.

You can use different type of fillings for the ada. For wheat ada I think plain coconut would be the best filling. Just put the filling on one side of the pat out dough and fold and press lightly. I made rice ada with coconut-sugar filling and coconut-jafggery-ripe plantain filling.

For filling
Add the desired amount of grated jaggery or sugar to the coconut and mix well. If you want, you can add ripe plantain pieces to it. For little more aroma,you can add some crushed cardamom to the filling and mix well.

Transfer the folded adas into a steamer(I used an idly vessel for steaming purpose) and steam it for 15 to 2o minutes or until well cooked. Take out adas and remove paper. Serve it hot with a cup of tea.

This my entry for JFI#4 hosted by Santhi and WBB #2 hosted by Nandita.

Moong sprouts curry(cherupayar curry)

Everybody knows the fact that beans or pulses are healthier and a choice of less expensive protein source. Especially for vegetarians,these are meat equivalent. There are endless things to say about the benefits of pulses. These are low in fat, good source of minerals and contains complex carbohydrates. A diet rich in pulses ensures fiber which helps to lower cholestrol. Their nutritive value increases if these are allowed to sprout. These becomes less calorific and far more nutritious than before. No need to say more,I know everybody knows these things.
Here I am presenting you a simple sprouted moong curry with less spice.

here the recipe:-
Whole moong (cherupayar) - 1 cup
Cloves - 6
cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Crushed cardomom - 5
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Onion (chopped) - 1
Coriander leaves (chopped)- 2 tbsp
Oil - as needed
Water - as needed
Salt - as needed

Soak the beans minimum of 8 hours and allow to sprout.I hope everybody knows the technique of sprouting the beans. I have not used any special vessel for this purpose. A cheesecloth and a little patience, I will get good sprouted beans.
Cook sprouted beans along with cloves,cinnamon and cardamom in a vessel. One can use pressure cooker for this step. The beans should be immersed in water.
At the same time soak coriander powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder with a little water.
Heat some oil in a pan. Allow mustard seeds to splutter. Add chopped onion and saute till little brown. Add masala paste and saute till the oil separates.Then add cooked beans and mix properly. The masala should be very well coated with masala.You can add some water if needed to get the desired consistency.
Finish it off by adding sugar,lemon juice and coriander leaves.
Serve it hot with chappathi, rice or puttu

Try and let me know the result.I am sure you will like it.
Recipe courtesy: Mrs.K.M.Mathew
This is my entry for From My Rasoi #7 hosting Revathi of En ulagam.

Bombay Vegetable Sandwich

If you ask anybody who has lived in Bombay about the best places to eat in the city, the road-side sandwichwala or panipuriwala or....will be in his list. Although I was born and brought up in kerala, did get married to a bombayite. I realised the above mentioned is true during my short stay in bombay.The first road side food I had in Bombay was a vegetable sandwich. I can still recollect that wonderful taste.
I got this recipe from my sister-in-low who is very fond of this dish. very simple and easy to make.Commonly White bread is preferable for this sandwich but I am using a healthy multigrain bread here.

Recipe:-

Ingredients:-
Bread - 4 slices
Tomato - 1
Cucumber - 1
Potato -1
Red onion - 1
Coiander-mint Chutney - 4 tbsp
Chat masala - 1/2 tsp
Crushed peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Butter - As needed
Salt - to taste

1) Cut onions,tomato and cucumber into thin roundels.Boil and Peel potato. Sice into roundels.
2) Trim the edges of bread and apply butter on each slice.
3) Apply coriander-mint chutney liberally on each slice.
4) Layer potato,tomato,onion and cucumber on two bread slices.

5) Sprinkle chat masala,peppercorns and salt.
6) Cover with another slice of bread and press it lightly.
7) Cut into four equal portions and serve it with tomato sauce.


Recipe for Coriander-mint chutney

Coriander leaves-1 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Green chilli - 2 or 3
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Black salt - to taste
Grind altogether by adding some water. Chutney is ready.
Happy Cooking!!

This is my entry for Anthony's curry mela.

Chicken Vindaloo

This is a goan chicken dish called chicken vindaloo.
If you are fed up with ordinary chicken preparations, it is a very good option to try out. First I thought,the red color of the dish is due to adding by some color,but after the dish was prepared; I was suprised by the color and texture of the curry. It was so good in taste too. Vinegar and spices are the specialities of chicken vindaloo. If u don't like to add vinegar,replace it with lemon juice.This dish will create hot and tangy taste in your taste buds.
Actually this recipe is derived from a few recipes that I came across internet.

The recipe follows:

Cuminseeds - 2 tsp
Peppercorns- 1tsp
Cardomom seeds - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 11/2tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1tsp
Cinnamon - 3 in stick
Grind all these together to a fine powder.

The other ingredients are:-
Kashmiri red chillipowder - 1tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
Brown sugar - 1tsp
Gnger-garlic paste - 2tbsp
White vinegar - 1/4 cup
lime juice - 2tbsp
Tomato sauce- 8oz can
Large yellow onions - 2,thinly sliced
Medium sized potato - 3
Chicken- 2 lb
oil - 1/2cup or more
water - As needed
salt - to taste

1) Heat 1/2 cup oil in a pan and fry the onions till dark brown. Remove onions and grind to a smooth paste with water. Don't undercook the onions. Mix it with the ground spices,vinegar and sugar. Set it aside.
2) Heat remaining oil and add ginger-garlicpaste. Saute until lightly brown. Add powders and stir.Add chicken and brown little.
3) Add onoion paste,tomato sauce ,salt and potatoes. Bring to Boil. Add some water if the mixture is too thick.
4) Cover and simmer about an hour till the chicken and potatoes are cooked.
5) Stir in lime juice(Use less If u like the less tangy taste.)
6) Serve it with roti or rice.

Chicken vindaloo with moghul roti

Cooking from Fellow Bloggers

Last weekend, I tried annita's 'Tomato in curd gravy'without garlic. The dish turned out very good and my hubby liked it. Thanks Annita.

I don't like tofu much. The post of My Workshop's broiled tofu sounded tempting. I tried the dish with a little difference. I omitted yogurt and added a small quantity of amchur powder and garam masala.The rest of the ingredients are same. It is the best tofu dish I had ever tasted.
Thanks RP.

Spaghetti in Red Pepper-Carrot Sauce

Yesterday,after two hours of play in park,my little one was very hungry,when we reached our home. I had to make something fast for her.I remembered an italian recipe of khana khazana fame Sanjeev kapoor and decided to try that recipe. The measurements are my approximations because I watched his show long back.The recipe turned out really good and my little one enjoyed her dinner.

The recipe follows:-

Red pepper-1
Carrot -1
Onion -1
Thinly slice these three veggies and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15minutes.
Simultaneously,cook one fistful of spaghetti according to package directions.

vegetables ready for oven

vegetables from the oven

Puree the vegetables along with one tomato in the blender. Heat 2 table spoon of olive oil in a pan and lightly brown garlic. Add the vegetable puree and 1/2tsp of pepper powder and heat 2 minutes.add spaghetti and mix. Finally add 2tbsp sour cream and salt. (I had no fresh cream,so I used sour cream.) Remove pan from heat and top with parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti in red pepper-carrot sauce

Fish curry with raw mango

This is my mom's special fish curry. The cooked raw mango pieces gives a special texture and taste to the curry. When the mango season arrives, she prepares many dishes with mango.This fish curry is one among them. It takes me to the fond memories of my mom's cooking. She will create different versions in fish curry by using kokum, mango, tamarind and erumban puli(a special type of fruit with tangy taste, I am sorry, I don't know the English name). I am trying to recreate her version here, I hope I can match her hand's own taste.

The recipe follows:

fish - 1lb
raw mango - 1, peeled
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
red chilli powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 1tsp
pepper powder - 1/2tsp
fresh coconut - 1/2 cup packed
red onion- half,chopped
ginger - 2 inch piece
garlic cloves - 2
curry leaves-1 sprig
salt - as per taste

Clean fish and cut into medium sized pieces. Peel ginger and garlic. Grind it using a mortar and pestle. Cut the mango into 2 inch pieces.Grind coconut finely with 2 or 3 curry leaves.Mix all the items together with 2 cups of water in a vessel.The fish pieces and mango pieces should be immersed in water.That's the criteria.Put the vessel on a high flame.When it comes to boil, change the flame to low.Cook covered for another 20 minutes. Switch off the flame and pour some oil on top and put some curry leaves.The curry tastes better after 3 or 4 hours or overnight.

Brown Rice with Gherkin fry and Fish Curry

Welcome to my blog!

Hi friends,

My goal is to share and enhance my cooking experiences and experinments, with a theme of healthy and spicy cooking.

Happy cooking,
surya.