Fish in Coconut Milk Gravy (Meen Thikathiyathu)

Karimeen (pearl spot) cooked with raw mangoes and coconut milk (karimeen thikathiyathu) was a favourite dish back home. Ideally this recipe requires pearl spots and fresh sour mangoes. Since fresh pearl spots are not available here in US, I substituted it with tilapia fillets and tomatoes instead of mangoes. You could also use tomatillos.

INGREDIENTS:

• Tilapia fillets - 1 lb (cut into pieces)


• Onion - 1 medium (cut lengthwise)


• Ginger - 1-1 1/2 inch (thinly sliced)


• Garlic - 2-3 big cloves (thinly cut)


• Tomato - 1 medium(thinly sliced)


• Green chillies - 5-6 (slit lengthwise)


• Coconut milk - 1 can or Coc. milk powder4-5 tbsp


• Corriander powder -3tsp


• Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp


• Red chilli powder -1tsp


• Salt


• Curry leaves


• Vinegar (optional)


• Oil


• water

METHOD:

• In a hot pan heat 2-3 tbsp of oil.


• Splutter mustard seeds, saute onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies until the onions are light brown in colour.


• Reduce the flame, put all the powders stir for 2-3 minutes in low flame (so that you wont burn it).


• Add tomatoes, increase the flame saute for almost 5-6 minutes. (If you are adding mangoes you can add mangoes at this time)


• Pour 1 cup of water, put salt and bring it to boil.


• Once it starts boiling put the fish and let it boil for 6-8 minutes.


• Bring the heat to medium, pour coconut milk, mix it gently and cover the pan with a lid. Keep for 20 minutes.


• Check the salt and add vinegar (1 or 2 tsp for extra sourness if required).


• Serve hot with rice.

Suggestions:

Freshly squeezed coconut milk gives an authentic taste.
If using coconut milk powder make it a paste with minimum amount of water so that no lumps are formed and later on add more water.
Fresh ginger garlic can be substituted with ginger garlic paste.

Shrimp Fry (Chemmeen varuthathu)

INGREDIENTS:

• Shrimp - 1 lb
• Red chilli powder - 1-2 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt
• Oil- 1-2 tbsp
• Curry leaves
• Ginger- Garlic Paste (optional)- 1 tsp

METHOD:

• Clean the shrimp.
• Make a paste of red chilli powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, salt(ginger- garlic paste) with some water.
• Marinate the shrimp with the above paste.Keep aside for 20 minutes.
• Deep/shallow fry in oil. Heat the pan...Pour oil..Put the shrimp...Throw in some curry leaves.I usually shallow fry the shrimps... covering the pan with its lid. This way it keeps the moisture inside and makes it moist and juicy....Also need to turn each shrimp so that it will be evenly cooked.

Suggestions:

Chop some onions.....Heat another pan..Saute the onions with a Tbsp of oil, until the onions are transparent and cooked.Sprinkle salt.Drop the fried shrimp.Toss it.....

Chicken 65

The credit of this recipe goes to chef Sanjay from Vahrehvah. Believe me it will turn out great. I would always wonder about the name chicken 65 and its origin. According to chef Sanjay this popular dish was just the 65 th item on the menu at a military canteen in Tamil Nadu.....


















INGREDIENTS:

Step 1

• Boneless chicken thighs (cubed)- 1 lb
• Ginger -Garlic paste- 1tsp
• Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
• Salt
• Aji no moto
• Cornflour- 2 tsp
• Egg-1 no.
• Oil

Step 2

• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds-1/4 tsp
• Ginger (chopped)-1/2 tsp
• Garlic (chopped)-1 tsp
• Green chillies(chopped)-3-4
• Curry leaves
• Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
• Chilli garlic paste- 2tsp
• Tomato ketchup -2 tsp
• Salt
• Aji no moto
• Corriander leaves (chopped)
• Food colour -red

METHOD:

• Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, a pinch of aji no moto(optional), cornflour.
• Then add egg and mix in completely. Egg coats the chicken and keep the chicken tender and moist while frying.
• Heat oil in a frying wok and add chicken pieces and fry until its becomes light brown in colour. Drain and remove on to a paper towel.
• Heat a tbsp of oil , add cumin, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, green chillies, curry leaves. Fry until ginger and garlic are light brown.
• Add red chilli powder, chilli garlic paste (I used maggi chilli garlic sauce) ketchup, food colour. Sprinkle some water (1tbsp) . Add salt only if required. Keep in mind that the sauces will be having some amount of salt.
• Drop the fried chicken pieces and toss well. Squeeze some fresh lime juice to the chicken.
• Garnish with choped corriander leaves.

Suggestions:

Concerned about the spice level???....can reduce chilli powder or green chillies. Measurement of chilli garlic sauce and ketchup can vary depending on each persons palate. I use more ketchup...

Dal and Ridge Gourd Curry

This is a healthy and easy recipe which goes well with chapathi/ roti.Proteins in dal,high amount of dietary fiber in ridge gourd and carbohydrates from roti makes a perfect healthy meal.Try it out....

INGREDIENTS:

• Tuvar Dal - 1 cup
• Ridge gourd - 1
• Onion - 1 medium
• Green chillies - 3
• Garlic - 1 pod
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Curry leaves
• Corriander powder - 2 tsp
• Redchilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1- 2 tbsp
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Water

METHOD:

• Cook dal and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan,splutter mustard and curry leaves.
• Fry the cut onions ,green chilles and chopped garlic until the onions are cooked well.
• Add redchilli powder,turmeric and corriander powder.Mix for 1-2 minutes.
• Now add chopped ridge gourd ,put salt ,mix well. Cover and cook.Stir in between.
• Once the ridge gourd is cooked leave the pan open. Let the water evaporate from the vegetable.
• Add chopped tomato.Stir for few minutes.
• Add cooked dal .Add more salt if needed. Can add water to make it to required consistency.Cover and keep it on low flame.
• Throw in some chopped corriander leaves too.
• Serve with roti/chapathi.
  

Kerala Fish Fry

Karimeen (Pearl Spot ) fry is one of our favourite kerala delicacy.We just love it.....and have been craving for that....Here in US when it comes to fish we are left with very few options. In order to satisfy our palates I thought of giving it a try with fresh whole Tilapia...And finally the result was amazing......

INGREDIENTS:

• Fish (Pearl spot,Pomfret,Tilapia) - 1
• Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• Black pepper powder - 1tsp
• Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Salt
• Curry leaves
• Oil

METHOD:

• Clean the fish (Soak fish in water with some tamarind pulp and keep for some time. Rub with salt and wash off with water)
• Give some slits to the fish on both sides. Keep the cleaned fish aside to drain off water.
• With some water make a thick paste of chilli powder, salt, turmeric,ginger garlic paste, pepper powder.
• Marinate the fish on both the sides with the paste. Leave it for 20 - 30 minutes.
• Deep/Shallow fry the fish in oil.Fry both the sides. A sprig of curry leaves in the oil while frying gives a good flavour.
• For added flavour squeeze some lemon juice on to the fried fish. Serve hot with rice.....

Egg Curry

Kerala, my sweet homestate is all about coconut trees. Coconut is a main ingredient in almost all our recipes. Here is an egg curry recipe where coconut milk shares a major role...Whenever my mother made this curry, I would help her in extracting fresh coconut milk. Will be posting in detail at a later time on how to extract fresh coconut milk from grated coconut. Here I have used coconut milk powder. You can use canned coconut milk instead which makes the whole process a lot more easier....

INGREDIENTS:

• Eggs (boiled) - 4
• Onion - 1 medium(cut lengthwise)
• Ginger -1 inch piece (finely sliced)
• Garlic -2 big cloves (finely sliced)
• Green chillies -3-4 (slit lengthwise)
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Tomato - 1 medium(thinly sliced)
• Corriander powder - 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1- 1 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Salt
• Water-1/4 cup
• Coconut milk - 1 can or 3-4 tbsp of coc.milk powder.
• Corriander leaves(optional).
• Oil- 2-3 tbsp.

METHOD:

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Saute onions,ginger,garlic,green chillies and curry leaves until the onion turns light brown in colour.
• Reduce the flame.Add all the masala powders.Mix for 1-2 minutes.
• Throw in sliced tomatoes .Saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Pour the water,add salt and let it boil.
• Add coconut milk.If using coconut milk powder make it a paste with luke warm water and then add to the pan.
• Simmer and keep for around 10 minutes.Stir in between.
• Put the boiled eggs.I usually give a slit to the eggs too.Keep it on low flame for few more minutes.
• Garnish with chopped corriander leaves .(optional...this is only for cilantro(corriander leaf) lovers.
• Goes well with appam,idiyappam,chapathi.For chapathi you can make the gravy little more thicker by reducing the quantity of coconut milk.

SUGGESTIONS/TIPS:

Fresh ginger garlic can be substituted with ginger garlic paste.

A dash of tomato ketchup gives a good flavour. I sometimes use ketchup instead of tomato.

Can use egg masala powder or chicken masala powder which has all the ingredients mentioned above.

Can splutter mustard seeds in the beginning before putting onions.

Concerned about your health??substitute milk for coconut milk .

Idiyappam

Idiyappam, soft and thin steamed rice noodles with spicy curries or stews makes a perfect kerala breakfast. Here is the way I make it.














INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour(appam podi/idiyappam podi)- 2 cups
Salt - as required
Water-2-3 cups
Grated coconut-1/2 cup

Also require:

Idiyappam press
Idli mould and steamer

METHOD:

Bring water to boil

Take the rice flour in a bowl.Add salt.

Pour hot water(beware..water is super hot)little by little to the flour.Mix with a spatula.

Cover and keep aside until the dough is cooled enough to knead it with the hand.

Make a soft dough.Softness depends on the amount of water.You can add warm water and knead it in between if you feel the dough is getting dried off.That way it makes it easier to squeeze through the idiyappam press.Also always keep the bowl covered which prevents the dough from getting dried to a certain extent.

Take idli mould .Put some grated coconut as a base to each mould.

Take a small portion of the dough.Fill halfway through the idiyappam press.Remember not to overstuff the idiyappam press.Overstuffing makes it hard to press.

Gently squeeze the dough out to the mould in circular motion.
















Meanwhile you can keep the steamer with water to boil.

Keep the mould in a steamer.Steam it for almost 6-8 minutes.

Carefully remove the idiyappams one by one to the serving bowl.

Enjoy with egg curry, vegetable stew,mutton stew or kadala (black chana) curry.