Saturday, June 13, 2015

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.

Friday, June 5, 2015

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!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

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 :)