Effortless Stir Fry >>Chilly-Garlic Fish

 

When I am in no mood to cook, I make stir fries- with just about anything that’s in the fridge. The freezer had just one Bahsa fillet, so I decided to toss it with whatever remained in the fridge- I found a few sprigs of spring onions, green bell peppers, a few asparagus. Here’s was I did-

Apply a few drops of Vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the fish and set aside for 5 minutes. In 2 teaspoons of oil fry the fish until brown on both sides- ensure you do this very carefully. The fillets tend to break. Once done, keep aside.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the wok and add  chopped garlic- about 2 pods. To that add all the vegetables, 2 slit green chillies and sauté for about a minute. Don’t over cook it- the fun lies in crunchy veggies. Add the fish to this and sprinkle some salt, pinch of sugar, 1 spoon tomato ketchup, and 1/2 teaspoon corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsps of water. This makes the dish a wee bit wet, and coats the fish making it softer.

Voila! You’re done! Serve it hot with Noodles, fried rice or just have this by itself as a high protein diet meal!

Have a lovely week ahead!

How to make smoke come out of your ears >>> Stuffed Chilly Fritters / Stuffed Mirchi Bhajji/Mirchi Pakora

Some food, like people, have memories. Like the memory I have of my dad bringing home hot Mirchi Bhajji/Pakoras, wrapped in newspaper on his way back from work, for Ma. As a kid I never dared to try one, but as I grew up amongst Andhra folks, who are all essentially spice lovers, I developed a taste for the spiciest, hottest, Mirchi/chillies. To this day this remains my greatest strength and weakness, while cooking. Weakness for sure, because not all dishes require red hot chilly in it, and I can’t do without it, and this eccentric streak sometimes ruins lovely subtle recipes. I need to get myself to cook with more perfection and not arbitrarily.

 

But no, today is not the day yet for a subtle recipe- here’s a very in your face, hot as hell, snack- The mighty chilly Pakora/Mirchi Bhajji/Mirapukai bhajji- call it whatever you may, it has the power to send you on a heady trip from hell to heaven and back to earth with just one bite. This snack is not for the faint hearted who spend time lingering about cheese and desserts. And now, that I have warned you well in advance, lets get around making it.

(This recipe is in Andhra style- yes exactly the type you must have tried on bandis/thelawalas and on railway station platforms- only, cleaner, more hygienic- no points for health and nutrition though. Weight watchers, you can choose to close this window, else you might be very very tempted to try one, right away!

 

For the chilly filling-

5-6 large green chillies (if in Sydney, you get these in Coles sometimes or in Indian vegetable markets around Flemington)

1 small cup of seedless tamarind, soaked in hot water

1/2 spoon coriander powder

1/2 spoon cumin powder

salt to taste

For the batter

1/2 spoon baking powder

2 cups of besan / chickpea powder/gramflour

1 spoon garlic paste

salt to taste

water about 1/2 cup

Red chilly powder- 1/4 spoon

Ajwain seeds

Oil for deep fry

Method:

• Slit the green chillies length wise and de-seed them
• Blend the tamarind, coriander and cumin powder together in a blender/grinder with very little water- maybe a spoon or 2.
• Stuff the tamarind mixture into the slit chillies. Set aside all the stuffed chillies.
• For the batter, be careful with the consistency. Use little water at a time and beat the gramflour/besan, garlic, Ajwain seeds, chilly powder, salt and baking powder together. The batter shouldn't be watery.
• Now dip each chilly into this batter and deep fry until golden brown. Dain on a kitchen towel/tissue.

Serve hot with tea, on a rainy evening and get nostalgic. :-)

(The North Indian version doesn't use any tamarind. Instead they make a mixture of salt, Amchur (dried mango) powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and stuff the chilly with this mixture.  They use normal chillies instead of big ones. You might want to try that variation too)

Chinese: Sweet Chilli Chicken with Veggies

Happiness in 15 minutes. I promise. Here’s how.

In a wok, pour oil. Add boneless chicken (breast fillets). Once it browns, add diced ginger, garlic and green chilly – lots of it. Sprinkle some cornflour. Mix well till chicken coats well with the cornstarch. Add soya sauce- about 1-2 teaspoon and 2 spoons of fountain sweet chilli sauce. Stir fry. Add salt to taste. when almost done, add mushrooms, capsicum, broccoli, shallots, baby corn and all the veggies you’d care to consume. Pour cornflour dissolved in water – 1 tsp. Bring it to a boil.  If you don’t want gravy, then, don’t add the cornstarch in the end.

Serve with rice and watch the grin on yours and his face widen.