Fish curry (with coconut)

Fish curry is a popular traditional South Indian recipe.  I posted Fish curry without coconut earlier and this is the version of Fish curry with coconut. Fish curry tastes better the next day.  Fish curry goes well with rice, Idli (Rice cake) and dosa. You can use any fish of your choice (Cat fish, Red snapper, King Mackerel). Enjoy!

Ingredients

Fish - 2-3 pounds
Onions - 2 medium
Garlic - 1-2
Tomato - 2 medium
Green chillies - 5
Tamarind - lemon size
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Curry leaves
Cilantro leaves

Dry roast and grind

Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 4-5

Coriander seeds - 11/2 tsp

Method

Soak tamarind in 2 cups of warm water and extract the juice. Roast red chili, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds and pepper corns and grind them with coconut by adding little water.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard, cumin, fennel seeds and fenugreek.  When the mustard sputters, add onion, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. Let it fry till the onion turns golden brown. Add the tomatoes and let the tomatoes blend well with the onion.  Add salt, turmeric powder and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the tamarind juice. Mix gently and allow it to cook till the raw smell of the tamarind disappears. Add the coconut paste and let the gravy cook for 5-6 minutes.

Add the Fish and let the fish cook in the tamarind/tomato/onion/coconut sauce for 15-20 minutes.  Stir the mixture carefully without breaking the fish.  Garnish with Cilantro.

Lamb/Goat curry

Goat meat (Mutton) is a delicacy in India.  We don't get fresh goat meat in our place but we get fresh lamb meat.  Hence, the most popular curry in our household is Lamb curry.  This mouth-watering curry goes well with Chapathis, Parathas, Idli (Rice cake), Idyappam (Rice noodles), Dosai and Rice.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Lamb/Goat -2-3 pounds
Onion - 2 medium
Tomatoes - 1
Green chillies - 3-4
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cardamom - 3
Cloves - 3
Curry leaves
Cilantro

To grind 

Coconut - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 4-5
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp 

Method

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan (I used a pressure cooker) and add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, curry leaves and cumin seeds.  Add the onions and saute till the onions are translucent. Add ginger and garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and fry until the tomatoes blend well with the onion.

Now, add the Lamb/Goat meat and add the ground coconut mixture with spices.  Add salt and turmeric powder.  Let the meat cook for 15 minutes.  The goat/lamb meat has to be tender when cooked.

Garnish the curry with Cilantro leaves. Enjoy!

Ridge gourd (Peerkanghai)

Ridge gourd is among my all-time favorite vegetable.  Ridge gourds are available in the Indian stores.  I like the vegetable so much that I make chutney out of the skin of ridge gourd. I will post the recipe for Chutney in a different post. This is a simple recipe with minimum ingredients but mostly DELICIOUS. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Ridge Gourd - 2-3 
Onion - 1/2

Green chillies - 3-4

Curry leaves

Cilantro leaves

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Toor dhal - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Method

1. Cook the Toor dhal in a pressure cooker separately.  Peel and cut the ridge gourd into small pieces.

2. Heat oil in a pan and  add the cumin seeds.  When the cumin seeds splutter, add the chopped onions, curry leaves and green chillies. Fry the onions till they are golden brown.

3. Now add the Ridge gourd, salt and turmeric powder.  You don't need to add any water. When the vegetable is cooked, you can add the cooked toor dhal.

4. Serve the vegetable with rice. I like the combination of rice, Vatha Kulambu and Ridge gourd kuttu.

Tip : If you have a pressure cooker, then you can skip step 1 and add the toor dhal (uncooked) before closing the lid and cook the vegetable with the Toor dhal.  You don't have to add any water.

Pineapple Upside down cake

An easy pineapple upside down cake with a boxed cake mix. The cake was dense, moist, just the right sweetness and delicious.  The original recipe was from Craving Comfort. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 (20 ounce) can sliced pineapple

6-8 maraschino cherries, cut in half lengthwise

1 (18 ounce) package Duncan Hines Supreme pineapple cake mix

1 (5 ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup pineapple juice (use the juice from the canned pineapple w/ a little water added) 

1/2 cup canola or veg oil

4 large eggs

Method

Preheat oven to 325 F. Pour butter in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter in the pan. Drain canned pineapple into a measuring cup. Place pineapple slices evenly in pan, covering the bottom of pan. Place the Cherry halves in the center of the pineapple slices (I used Pecan here).

Combine the rest of ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour batter into the pan.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake, and turn cake out onto a serving platter, pineapple side up. Enjoy!

Spicy tomato chutney

Tomato chutney is a spicy dip that goes well with Idli (Rice cakes). This is a simple recipe for tomato chutney and it can be served with Idli or Dosa.

Ingredients

Fresh Tomatoes - 2 medium

Garlic - 3 cloves
Onion - 1
Red chillies - 4-5
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Salt

Method

Heat oil in a pan.and add mustard, urad dhal and channa dhal. After mustard sputters, add the onions, garlic, red chillies and curry leaves.

Fry the onions till they are transparent.  Add tomatoes and stir the mixture till the tomatoes are soft. Add salt and some cilantro leaves.  Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.  Grind the mixture using a blender. Serve the chutney with Idli.

Idli (Rice cakes) with Lamb curry

Idli (Rice cake) is one of the popular South Indian breakfast. Idli is a healthy dish as it is steamed.  Though the recipe is simple, the preparation is time consuming as the batter has to be fermented overnight. Idlies can be soft or hard depending on how well the Idli batter is fermented.  Idli is usually served with chutney (a spicy dip) or sambar (a stew made with dals and vegetables). In our house, everyone likes the combination of Idli and Lamb/Goat curry.  Soon to follow is my recipe for Lamb/Goat curry.

Ingredients

Idli Rice (available in Indian stores) - 4 cups
Urad Dhal (skinless) - 1 cup
Fenugreek (Optional) - 1 tsp
Salt

Method

Soak the rice and soak the Urad dhal with the fenugreek seeds for 4-5 hours. 

 

You can use a wet grinder (recommended) or a blender to grind the rice and the dhal. Switch the grinder on and slowly add the urad dhal with the fenugreek seeds. Grind the dhal for 30-40 minutes until the flour is fluffy.  You can sprinkle some water while grinding the urad dhal. After grinding dhal, transfer the dhal batter to a big container.

 

Add the soaked rice to the grinder little by little and add water if necessary. I usually grind the rice for 40-45 minutes and stop grinding when the texture of the batter is like semolina. The rice batter need not be as smooth as urad dhal batter.

Now add the urad dal batter to the rice batter and let the grinder run for 3-5minutes or until both the batters blend well.  You can add salt now to the batter.

Now, transfer the idli batter to a big container (the batter will rise and hence you need a big one). Keep the container in a warm place (oven) overnight (at least 15 hours) for fermentation (18 hours during winter). 

(before fermentation)

After fermentation, the batter would rise and increase in quantity. Once the batter has risen it is ready for preparing idlis. You may have to store the batter in the refrigerator if you are not using the batter after fermentation.

(After Fermentation)

Grease idli moulds (in the picture below) with oil. I also spray the bottom of each plate so that the batter does not stick from the plate below.  Fill the moulds with Idli batter.  You can use a pressure cooker or a vessel to steam the Idlis.  Add some water in the pressure cooker or the vessel and when the water starts boiling, place the moulds in the cooker/vessel and cover the lid.

After about 20 minutes, the Idlies will be cooked and turn off the stove and let it stand for 5 minutes.  Remove the Idly mould from the vessel/cooker. Run a spoon around each steamed idli to remove the Idli from the plate.

 I

(Idli with Tomato chutney and sesame seed powder)

Tips : I use whole urad dhal instead of the split urad dhal and I think they are better for making Idlis.  Adding Fenugreek seeds also make a difference.

Pav Bhaji

 

Pav Bhaji is a popular dish in Northern India. You need 'Pav Bhaji Masala', the spice to prepare the dish. Pav is actually the buns and Bhaji is the vegetables cooked with the spice.  Though this dish is not popular in the Southern India, everyone loves Pav Bhaji.  I like the combination of Cauliflower, potatoes and the spices.  If you don't like the dish to be spicy, you can reduce the amount of Pav Bhaji masala. Enjoy! 

Ingredients

Cauliflower florets (2-3 cups)
Potatoes - 2-3
Green beans
Carrot
Peas
Green bell pepper
Green chillies
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Pav bhaji masala (2-3 tsp)
Curry leaves
Cilantro
Salt

Method

Boil all the vegetables till tender (except the green pepper and peas) and set them aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onion, green chillies and curry leaves. When the onion becomes translucent, add ginger and garlic paste and saute for few more minutes.  Add the green pepper now and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and let the tomatoes blend well with the onion.

Now, you can add the cooked vegetables and peas.  Add pav bhaji masala and salt.  Keep stirring the vegetables and simmer for 10-15 minutes till the mixture has a smooth consistency.  You may have to add some water. Bhaji is ready to be served.

Serve with chopped onions, minced cilantro and lemon. Bhaji is usually served with slabs of bread (Pav).  Toast the bun/bread in some butter and serve them with Bhaji masala.  Bhaji goes well with chapathi too.

Poondu/Vatha Kulambu (Onion/Garlic gravy)

Poondu/Vatha kulambu is by far my most favorite kulambu (gravy).  I like the tangy and spicy gravy in the Kulambu.  I learned this recipe from my mother-in-law.  This is a simple recipe but you need the patience in getting the gravy in the right consistency.  All my friends have liked this dish.  The kulambu goes well with white rice and papad. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 medium Onions
2 medium tomatoes
Garlic - 10-12 pods
Green chillies - 6
Curry leaves
Tamarind - lemon size
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt

 Method

Soak the tamarind in two cups of warm water.

Heat 2 tsps of oil in a a pan and add mustard, urad dhal, fenugreek, cumin seeds and fennel seeds.  When the mustard sputters, add the onions, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves and sauté nicely. When the onion becomes translucent, add the tomatoes.  Now add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.  When the tomatoes have blended well with the onion, add the tamarind dissolved water.

Reduce the flame to simmer and allow the gravy to cook till it becomes thick and the oil separates. You may need to add more salt because of the addition of tamarind water. You can add a pinch of jaggery towards the end (optional). Garnish with Cilantro. Enjoy!

Spicy sweet potato

Indian Sweet Potatoes are different from yams.  They have pretty pink skin and the inside is yellow. They still taste sweet and delicious. I am sharing a simple Indian Sweet Potato recipe that is sweet, spicy and flavorful. I serve this as a side dish for rice.

 Ingredients

2 Indian sweet potatoes (boiled)
1 Onion
Green chillies - 3
Curry leaves
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
salt

Method

Boil the sweet potatoes.  I usually cook them in the microwave oven for 10 minutes. Peel the skin and cut them into cubes.  

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and some urad dhal.  When the mustard seeds sputter, add the onions with green chillies and curry leaves.  Fry the onions until they become golden brown.  Add the sweet potatoes, salt and the spices.  Keep on stirring until the spices blend well with the sweet potatoes.  Garnish them with some cilantro leaves.