Now with the festive season over for the time being and before we dive into the Christmas - New Year celebration frenzy, how about indulging in some simple comforting everyday dishes. Am sure most of us have indulged majorly during pujas and Diwali and now its time to get back to some easy "ghar ka khana". That ofcourse wouldn't mean that we stop eating tasty food. Sometimes the simplest of meal bring so much respite to our tired souls. I for one is going through a super hectic stressful phase ( would elaborate maybe later sometime ) For now I made this very simple flavourful Prawn Curry with everyday spices and enjoyed it with some boiled rice and a squirt of lime. I made it a little spicy coz I felt like eating a hot curry! You can easily adjust the spice levels according to your taste buds.
Prawn is something immensely enjoyed by us at home and this is a perfect dish which doesn't require much of a preparation.
Ingredients:
Prawns - 500 gms - medium sized - de shelled and deveined
Potato - 1 large or 2 medium sized - cut into cubes
Onion - 1 large - thinly sliced
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp each
Red chilli powder - 1 and half tsp - adjust according to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 heaped tsp
Tomato puree - 2 tbsp.
Bay leaf - 2 nos
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - half tsp
Green chillies - 4-5
Refined oil - 1 tbsp for frying the prawns and 1 tbsp. for the gravy
Method:
Wash and dry the prawns. Marinate with 1 tsp turmeric and salt.
Heat 1 tbsp oil and lightly sauté the prawns till they turn golden.
Drain and keep aside.
In the same pan add another tbsp of refine oil.
Add the bayleaf. Next add the sliced onion and fry till slightly browned.
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry that too.
Next tip in the cubed potatoes and fry for 2-3 mins.
Add all the dry spices except the garam masala - cumin powder,red chili powder,turmeric , salt and sugar along with the tomato puree.
Roast the spices well, add a little water if the masalas stick to the sides. Roast on low flame so that it doesn't burn.
Once the spices start to leave oil on the sides, add one cup water and let the gravy simmer for 5 mins.
Add the sautéed prawns , green chilli and garam masala powder. Give it a boil and remove from heat.
Serve with hot rice and some lime on the side. Even some roasted papad would go really well with it #afterthought
Notes :
- Don't overcook the prawns as they would turn rubbery.
- You could also add some diced tomates for that extra tang.
- Tomato purees are as it is very tangy so cut out on that if using fresh tomatoes.
- You could also garnish with some fresh coriander leaves.
- Medium sized prawns work best with this dish. But you could use big ones too. You could also replace prawns with either rohu or katla.
Confession time! I was slipping away from my detox therapy and being lured towards food and more food again. But I quickly got my act together and got back to eating healthy and I intend to do that for a few more days. This salad I made today is one of the easiest really. No fuss, hardly any prep and what emerged was a plate full of gorgeousness! Didn't have too many fresh veggies at hand so had to make do with peppers,onion and chicken. Am not complaining though - it tasted superb. Sharing my Grilled Chicken Salad recipe with you all.
Ingredients:
Bell peppers - 1 cup - diced - I used red and yellow ones
Chicken - 1 breast piece - diced
Green tomatoes - 2 small - diced
Tomatoes - 1 large - diced
Onion -1 medium - diced
Spring onion - 1 stem - finely chopped
Feta cheese - a handful crushed
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Honey - 1 tbsp.
Mustard sauce - 1 tbsp.
Olive oil - 2 tbsp.
Method:
Take all the diced vegetables (except spring onion) and the chicken in a baking tin. Drizzle a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Put the baking tray in a preheated oven and grill for 15 mins at 200 deg C.
In a glass bowl mix together the olive oil,honey and mustard sauce. Season with salt and pepper and mix well into the grilled vegetables.
Garnish with chopped spring onion and crushed feta cheese. Serve warm.
Sunday lunches are special. Its that one day of the week when we do nothing, watch mindless television, don't get out of our pajamas and are generally very lazy! But that doesn't mean we like to compromise on our Sunday lunch ritual. It can be a one dish meal but it better be good. And for such days I am always on the lookout for easy tasty recipes that doesn't require me to slog in the kitchen - its my Sunday too u see! With some prawns lying in my freezer I knew exactly what I wanted to make. Nopes not the usual Chingri Malai kari but something new this time - Chingri Narkel Shorshe - Prawns in a coconut mustard gravy. The recipe again uses just a few ingredients and goes very well with some hot steamed rice. Its light and fragrant gravy is a sure shot winner and making this hardly took anytime. I could simply breeze in and out of the kitchen - la,la,la
Ingredients:
Prawns - 500 gms - medium sized - deveined and cleaned
Mustard paste - 2 tbsp
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Mustard oil - 2 tbsp for frying the prawns + 1 tbsp for the curry
Nigella seeds / Kalojeera / Kalonji seeds - a pinch
Green chillies - 4-5 slit
Method:
Wash and clean the prawns. Mix well with 1 tsp turmeric and salt. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute the prawns till they turn opaque. Remove from heat and keep aside.
In another pan , heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the kalojeera/nigella seeds. Once they splutter add the mustard paste and the grated coconut. Once the coconut starts to brown add red chili powder , turmeric powder , salt and sugar. Mix well and add a little warm water to prevent the masala from burning.
Next add the coconut milk , stirring continuously . Add the sauteed prawns and the green chillies and let the gravy simmer for 2-3 mins.
Remove from heat and serve hot with plain rice.
This I think is one of the easiest way to cook prawns. Traditionally this dish is steamed , ideally wrapped in a banana leaf. My original plan was to do it the real way and i had even arranged a banana leaf but then I got lazy and tried it out this way and it came out yumm!
You all try it out and tell me about it , till then have a great week!
Ever tried making something with curd/yogurt/dahi apart from lassi , raita ..the usual stuffs...i hadn't and I wonder why I never made the super delicious Dahi ke kababs before this!!!! On my recent dinner outing to one of the most amazing Indian restaurant in town Durbari at the Swissotel I had ordered a portion...out of my sheer curiosity to understand the taste and texture.To be honest I didn't quite like it there - it had a crunchy coating on the outside and inside was a dollop of cold curd and some sweet chutney. Something was off about the whole thing. I looked up on the net and found a very nice recipe - here - it had used a mix of hung curd and chana dal but i replaced that with paneer and gave it a try. The result has been gorgeous. I served it with some sweet chilli sauce and the husband said it was awesome. Well...what more do I need.
Ingredients:
Hung curd - 1 cup
Paneer /cottage cheese - 1 cup - grated
Gram flour /besan - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - a handful - finely chopped
Green chilli - 2 nos - finely chopped
Roasted cumin powder /bhuna jeera powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Breadcrumbs - for coating the kababs
Oil - for frying
Method:
In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs and the oil.
Mix well in to a smooth mixture. Check seasoning. Cover and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.
In a plate spread out the breadcrumbs. Make little balls of the curd -paneer mixture and flatten them on your palms into tikkis. Make sure your palms are greased with a little oil.
Roll the tikkis/pate into the breadcrumbs. Roll all the tikkis and refrigerate again for 15 mins.
Heat oil in a non stick frying pan - about two tbsp.
Gently tip in the kababs in the hot oil and shallow fry till golden brown on each side.
Serve with sauce of your choice - they are delicious - melt in your mouth types.
Note : I realised later that these kababs can be baked very easily in the oven.If you do not like the fried option , try baking them in the oven at 200 deg C for 20 mins - should turn out just fine.
After a foodilicious( not sure if that is a valid English word) Eid weekend all that I craved for today was a light fish curry and rice - translated in bengali as we say 'patla macher jhol and bhaat'. Of course with some gondhoraj lebu. We Bengalis love our fish, that everyone knows but what we also love are these light fragrant fish or chicken curries that cleanses up the palate as well as our minds. I am however very finicky when it comes to fish and there are just a few variety of fishes that I cook and eat. Rohu/Rui/Rou are the different names given to one fish that I like. It belongs to the carp family and is the non oily white fish. Staying in Assam all my life I have eaten the best quality of this fish always. And it is something I love. It tastes best when made into a non-spicy light curry.In my family it is made with cauliflower - potato or many a times with bori - dried lentil dumplings. The dumplings lends a very unique taste to the gravy and is best devoured with rice.We all have our version of the fish curry..here is my super super easy recipe of Bori diye patla macher jhol.
Ingredients:
Rohu fish - 6 pieces
Potato - 1 medium (cut lengthwise)
Tomato - 1 medium (cut lengthwise)
Bori ( dried lentil dumpling) - a handful ( i used the urad dal bori here)
Mustard oil - 2 tbsp for frying + 1 tsp for the curry
Nigella seeds (kalojeera/kalonji) - a pinch
Cumin paste (Jeera) - 1 big tbsp (soak whole jeera seeds in warm water and then grind into a fine paste)
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( i use it mainly for the colour)
Salt - to taste
Warm water - 2 cups
Green chillies - 8-10 nos
Method:
Wash and clean the fish pieces . Smear with turmeric and salt and keep aside.
In a pan heat 2 tbsp mustard oil. Once the oil heats up, add the boris (lentil dumplings) and fry till light brown in colour. Keep aside.
In the same oil , fry the fish and keep aside.
In the same pan add the remaining mustard oil. Once the oil reaches smoking point , reduce the heat and add the nigella(kalojeera) seeds.Once it splutters add the cut potatoes and tomato.
Fry till the potatoes turn light brown in colour. Next add the ginger paste , cumin paste , turmeric , red chilli powder and salt.
Mix well and roast the masala mixture well adding some warm water in between.
Once the masalas are fried add 2 cups warm water, cover the pan and let it simmer for 10 mins till the potatoes are cooked through.
Next add the fried boris, fish pieces and the green chillies and mix well into the gravy.
Give it a quick simmer and remove from heat.
Serve with hot rice and some lemon wedges.
