Spicy Shrimp

Believe it or not, I made this dish in just 15 mins! There is not much chopping and if we do some steps in parallel, this is a pretty quick one. The only time consuming part is peeling the tail off the shrimp, but I did it while the other ingredients were cooking. After a very long time, I cooked a shrimp dish in my kitchen. If you are Shrimp lover, here is one of the most flavorful Shrimp dishes for you.

Ingredients:

• Medium sized Shrimp - 1 lb or about 12 pieces, peeled and deveined. I used frozen shrimp and it came out just fine.
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Garlic - 5 medium cloves
• G.chilly - 1
• Chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
• Curry leaves - a few
• Chopped Tomato - 1 medium 
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Corriander powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Black Pepper corns - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cloves - 4
• Cardamom - 2
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Corriander leaves - a hand full.

Procedure:

• Wash the Shrimp thoroughly and remove the tail portion, if present. Set aside.
• Grind the ginger, garlic, g.chilly, a few curry leaves, black pepper corn, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom to the a fine paste. 
• Heat oil in a non stick pan, add chopped onions and curry leaves. Fry until the onions change color.
• Add tomatoes and fry for a few mins until it loses shape.
• Add the ground paste, turmeric, chilli powder and corriander powder, salt and 1/2 cup water and cook for a few mins until it thickens and oil starts separating. 
• Add Shrimp and mix well. 
• Add 2 tbsp water cover for 5 mins in low heat. Shrimp takes just a few mins to cook. 
• Remove the lid and cook for the a few more mins in medium heat until it reaches a thick consistency.
• Garnish with corriander leaves.

Excellent side dish for any kind of rice or chapathis.

Cabbage - Broccoli Poriyal (Stir-fry)

This is one of my favorite quick and easy stir-fry dishes. Broccoli is a vegetable I started liking only recently as this was not a common vegetable in India when I was growing up. However, once I started trying dishes with this healthy vegetable, I started using it more and more in my dishes.  This is one such combo I tried just like that and it came out quite well. Hope you all like it too.

Ingredients:

• Cabbage - 1 cup (Chopped)
• Broccoli - 1/2 cup (Grated - The trick is to grate the Broccoli so the flavor is distinct).
• Onions - 1 medium
• Garlic - 2 
• G. chillies - 2
• Mustard leaves - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Crushed Peppercorn - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Finely chop the onions and g.chillies. Crush the garlic and set aside.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan, season with mustard seeds and Urad dal.
• Add asafoetida, g.chillies and garlic and fry for a few seconds.
• Add chopped onions and curry leaves and fry for 2 mins until onion changes color.
• Add the chopped cabbage and grated broccoli and stir fry for a min. 
• Add salt, 1/4 cup water and salt and cover in low heat until the vegetables are fully cooked.
• Increase heat and fry gently until all the water evaporates.
• Finally add coconut and mix well. 

Enjoy!

Gongura Mutton (Lamb with Sour Gongura leaves)

Here is a spicy mutton dish I'm sharing that I tried and tasted recently. I have tried very few dishes with Gongura leaves and this one is my favorite so far. I have seen several variations of this recipe and this one is customized with my choice of ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Mutton - 1 lb (I prefer with bones)
• Chopped Gongura leaves - 3 cups, loosely packed
• Chopped onions - 1 cup
• Ginger/Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• G.chillies - 3
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Chopped tomatoes - 1 cup
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Corriander powder - 2 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Corriander leaves - a hand full.

Procedure:

• Remove the gongura leaves from the stem, wash under running water. Chop them roughly.
• Heat a pan. Add the Gongura leaves and g.chillies. Sprinkle some water, cover and cook in low heat for a few mins.  Cool and make this to a paste using blender.
• Meanwhile wash the mutton thoroughly and chop into small pieces. 
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel, season with Cinnamon and cloves. Once they pop, add chopped onions and fry for a few mins.
• Add ginger/garlic paste and fry for a min.
• Add the mutton and mix well.
• Add turmeric, chilli powder, corriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix the mutton well until the spices are coated well. 
• Add tomatoes and fry for a few mins.
• Transfer this mixture to a pressure cooker. Add the gongura/g.chillies paste and 1 cup water. Cover and cook until the mutton is fully cooked. This may take 8 - 9 whistles depending on your pressure cooker.
• When done, open the pressure cooker, mix well and cook the mutton in high heat until all the water is evaporated and it becomes thick. 
• Finally add chopped corriander leaves and mix well.

Goes well with hot rice and any type of curry. As the picture shows, I enjoyed it with Sambar :)