When sammy came home

I was on GM diet- that’s when I cooked all this and didn't taste any of it. Dosa & rice with prawn curry, spicy chicken curry and Paneer.

It was apparently yummy :(. I fished this picture out and am drooling ….guess will make it again tonight? Now that’s a happy thought :)

Creamy Prawn Curry

Ananya made this one night for dinner, and I still haven’t forgotten the taste. Each time I make it, i want more of it. you can create wonders by just replacing one ingredient from a curry. This is similar to Malai Curry, but you replace coconut milk with fresh pouring cream and I use tomatoes in this.

You’ll need:

500 gms fresh prawns/shrimps – cleaned, deveined

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon Ginger

1 chopped onion (large)

1 teaspoon tomato paste or 1 diced tomato

1/2 to 1 spoon of red chilly powder

1/2 spoon turmeric

1 tablespoon dhania powder

1/4 spoon cumin powder (optional)

1/2 cup pouring cream

3 table spoons of ghee or oil (i recommend ghee)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon Garam masala

Bunch of coriander

Preparation:

Mix lemon juice and turmeric to the prawns and set aside for about 10 minutes. In a non stick pan sauté the prawns till pink. Set aside. Sauté onions till brown in ghee. Add ginger, garlic and sauté come more. After about a minute add the tomatoes, chilly powder, dhania powder, cumin, salt, turmeric and mix well to form a paste. Now stir in the fresh cream and mix well. Add the prawns and mix for about a minute. Pour water as per your gravy requirement. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. After 5-7 minutes, sprinkle garam masala and top with lots of coriander.

Serve with hot steamed rice!

Chicken Skewers

I always go overboard with starters for any party at home. That’s because I believe my guests will appreciate the food most, when they are still sober, and not intoxicated with scotch and wine- and that happens only in the starter stage. By the time they move on to main course, half of them are thinking of a good night’s sleep and the other half can’t tell the difference between chicken and  lamb. So then, if you are entertaining guests over drinks, work on your starters and keep the main course simple. :-)

I make chicken skewers very often, mostly because it is simple, and tastes out of this world.

You’ll need:

500 gms diced chicken

Teriyaki/barbeque/honey chilly/sweet chilly sauce/ ANY sauce :-)

1 –2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

salt to taste

Preparation:

Mix the chicken pieces with garlic, salt, lemon juice and the sauce of your choice. You can make 3 different portions and make different kinds of sticks for the sake of variety! Dump in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Remember- the more you marinade, the better it is!

Soak wooden skewers in water for about one hour.

Half an hour before the guests arrive, arrange the chicken pieces n skewers and grill it in the oven, ocassionally turning it. I grill it at at about 200 degrees for around 15 minutes.

 

You are now, all set to entertain!

Vietnamese Spring Roll

Made Vietnamese Rice paper spring rolls the other day. It was a welcome change after the deep fried Indian version. Loved it.  They look so peaceful too- white and serene. Perfect mood food for those soul searching moments.

The best part of the entire spring-roll experience is how light and happy you feel despite having 10 rolls! 

Go on, roll one!