Spice is the only variety of my life

Raj’s 32nd birthday and the long weekend coincided, so we took off to Port Stephens. I love the little getaways in Australia, especially the beach towns, and Port Stephens was a lovely getaway. But one thing that I really really miss in these holidays is a variety in food. The sea food available is brilliant, but after a while the regular breaded fish, grilled fish and chips fare kind of gets to me. The picture here is that of grilled Fish with greens and some sauce- I forget, and it was phenomenal, but we did want fish in a hot, spicy sauce. Or may be even a Goan version of this.  But then, we did enjoy what we got to eat, missed spice a little bit, but were happy nevertheless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the minute I got back yesterday, Raj suggested we order in. Oh, no! How can that be. Order in more Pizza? No way! I had to have my spicy fare! So in  I went to the kitchen to make my favorite – jhatpat spicy Chicken pulao. Thought I’ll share this with you all.

You’ll need:

Chicken thighs and breast pieces – 500 gms

1/2 cup curd

Onions- 2 large- thinly sliced

Basmati Rice Soaked half an hour before preparation: 1 1/2 cup

Ginger and garlic Paste-2 spoons

Green Chilies- 8 (i like it SPICY)

Coriander chopped- 1 cup

1 spoon red chilly powder

Mint – fresh or dried flakes (I suggest you buy a bottle of the dried mint flakes- they are handy and very very good on flavor)

Tomatoes- 2 large

Whole garam masalas- a few of whatever you have- i had only cinnamon and cloves.

salt to taste

Dhania/Coriander Powder- 2 teaspoons

Ghee – 2 tbsp

 

Method:

In a non stick vessel (ideally deep and wide mouthed), melt the Ghee and add garam masalas. Add green chilies and onions and sauté till it browns. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté some more. Add chopped tomatoes, coriander chopped , 1/2 spoon of mint flakes or a 1/2 cup of fresh mint  chopped, and mix well. Add Dhania Powder, chilli powder, salt and curd and mix. let the tomatoes soften. Now add the chicken to this and mix well. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Now add the soaked Basmati Rice and mix. Add 3 cups of hot water, stir well, and cover with lid. In low flame let it cook. Else, just pressure cook it, if you are in a tearing hurry!

This is heaven. I am home.

A deadly combo: Dosa and Chicken Curry

 

When the day ends with hot crispy Ghee Dosas (crispy rice crepes) and Srilankan Chicken curry, you know, you’ll sleep like a baby that night. Raj had a total of 15 Dosas or something…he loves them. And when coupled with chicken or prawn curry, he can have just about as many you can make. I made the Dosa batter, with the rice flour I bought from the Indian store the other day. Pretty good, I must say. I didn’t have to soak the rice, so it was easier grinding the urad dal. Here’s how you go about it.

For Dosa batter:

1 cup- Urad dal (Soaked in 1 teaspoon of fenugreek /methi seeds for about 6-7 hours or over night)

3 cups of rice flour

Grind the soaked dal and methi in a mixer to a paste. Mix well with hand. To that, add rice flour and 1 to 2 cups of water. Add salt and mix well. Don;t make the batter watery. be careful with the consistency. In in a dark place , keep the batter to ferment over night. It takes about 12-24 hours for the batter to rise.

Once its risen, mix with a ladel and pour on to a non stick tawa,  and make yummy crispy dosas. Here’s a Video for your convenience from Sanjay Thumma, of Vah Re Vah. He shows quite a few tricks. Check it out!

 

 

Chicken Srilankan :

You’ll need

whole spices- 2/3 of each - Cardamoms, cloves, pepper corns, 1 inch cinnamon

Onions chopped- 2 big

Tomatoes chopped- 2 big

Coconut milk – 1 cup

Milk – 3 table spoons

Chilly powder 1-2 teaspoons depending on your taste

Dhania Powder

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 1/2 teaspoon

Chicken – boneless – 500 gms

Salt to taste

Coriander for garnish

Oil- 3-4 tbsp

Method:

Add the whole spices to heated oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté till brown. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté some more. Add tomatoes, chilly powder, dhania powder and salt to this. Mix and cover with lid and let the tomatoes soften on medium flame. Once the tomatoes have softened, add the chicken. Mix well and cover with lid. On medium flame let it cook for about 8 minutes. After 8 minutes,  add the milk and coconut milk and mix well. Cover again with lid and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add chopped coriander and serve hot with dosas!

Munni’s and my all time favourite, Ginger Chicken

  I have always been a great lover of Indo-Chinese food. The fusion of Chinese flavours with Indian masala, always gives an exotic result. When in Hyderabad, a friend (Munni) and I frequented Nanking, and always ordered Ginger chicken, with fried rice. And it was such a treat! We both love spicy food, the hotter the better! Ginger Chicken is a classic example of Indo-Chinese cuisine – it takes the best of both worlds, and the result is a spicy, aromatic dish, that will melt your heart. I always wondered how it is made, and found the best method on my favourite website- Vahrevah dot com. And below is the video of this really sweet chef, who has made my life so wonderful with his most soulful recipes. His South Indian dishes are especially awesome.

 

Watch the video and make Ginger chicken for a special dinner. I made it today, to make my day special :-). It looks good, no? And trust me, it tastes as good.

 

 

He is a trifle funny, but his recipes are top class and very doable.  Enjoy!

The Great Indian River Fish.

My husband, a fish fanatic, had been in mourning ever since he set foot in Sydney. Well, he does gorge on sea fish, but his bong heart lingers about the Indian river fish – ‘Rohu’. ‘Katla’ ,‘Ilish’, ‘Tilapia’. Thanks to Scribbler’s sister, Sanjukta, who told my depressed husband, that we do get frozen Rohu-Katla-Ilish-Tilapia, in Paraamatta. And  what’s better was her mother endorsing the fish saying- ei khaankaar rou-katla, India theke onek bhalo- export quality to, tai bhishon bhalo! (Since they are export quality fish, they are seldom bad fish- in fact they are tastier than the ones we have in India).

So off we went, despite our flu to Paramatta over the weekend, accompanied by another bong shell, Ananya. Needless to say, I wasn’t all that excited- to me it was – oh! more fish, more cooking. And what was worse was- picking bones for my little Meeshu, who so easily had Bhasa fillet curry with rice. But I had to give in, for his sake. I cannot describe in words his ecstasy on seeing the fish. He got into this mindless banter with the shopkeeper about asking if the fish was indeed as tasty as described by Sanjukta’s mother. All the shopkeeper said was – mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (a real long drawn one), and nothing more, much to my husband’s chagrin.

Anyway, to be on the safer side we got home a 2 kg fish, of which Ananya took back a few pieces for her dinner. Ananya left for the day after spending the weekend over a lot of adda and food, only to call back late in the evening saying- Maach ta durdanto khete – (the fish is exceptional) , Maakhon er moton (its like butter- it simply melts in your mouth).

So now a decision has been made- to buy 4 kgs of fish, just so we don’t run out of it, through the week.

Anyway, this was a post celebrating the great Indian River Fish- Rohu Or Rui Maach.

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!