POTATO GREEN CHILLI KURUMA

Ingredients:

Potato - 3
Green chilli - 6
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Garlic - 5 cloves
Corrinader seeds - 3 teaspoons
Corriander leaves - one handful
Coconut scraped - 3/4 cup
Butter - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 teaspoons
Cinnamon - 4 pieces
Cloves - 3 pieces
Big jeera / sauf - 2 teaspoons
Khasa khasa - 1/2 teaspoon
Curd - 1 teaspoon

Procedure:

• Boil the potatoes and cut into small pieces.
• Fry dhania and slit green chillies. Add this to coconut, khuskhus and sauf and grind to make a paste.
• Add butter and oil to the pan. Season with cinnamon and cloves.
• Add onions, tomatoes, long sliced garlic and saute well.
• Add the ground paste, saute well and add enough water.
• Add potato pieces.
• Saute well till the raw smell gets off, simmer the stove and add curd.
• After two to three minutes, add finely chopped corriander leaves.

Note:

• If you like to add ginger, add it finely chopped.
• While you make the paste 2 or 3 cashew nuts can be used.
• If you need it to be greener, while you make the paste, add corriander leaves too.
• 1/2 spoon of lemon juice can be added instead of curd.

Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, my mother

COCONUT MILK RICE

Ingredients:


Rice - 1 1/4 cup
Coconut scraped - 1/4 cup
Onion(Big piece) - 1
Green chilli - 4
Tomato(small) - 1
Cinnamon - 3 pieces
Cardamom - 1
Big jeera / sauf - 1 teaspoon
Butter / Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 teaspoons
Corrinader leaves chopped - 2 teaspoons
Pudina - only 5 to 6 leaves
chopped ginger - 1 teaspoon
chopped garlic - 2 teaspoons
salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Extract milk from the scraped coconut.
• Add butter / ghee and oil to the cooking vessel.
• When it gets heated, season with coarsely powdered sauf, cardamom and cinnamon.
• Add long sliced onions, giner and garlic pieces and saute well.
• Add green chillies and tomato; saute well.
• Add coconut milk, water required, salt and rice and close the vessel.
• Stir now and then till it gets fully cooked.
  
  

Note:
It is a dish in which the flavour is highlighted more than the taste. Hence an apt side dish is very important. Suitable suggestions: Any type of kurma, or non-veg/veg masala curry.

Learnt from: Mrs. Jothi, my mother-in-law

Crab Pepper Masala

Ingredients:

Crab - 8
Onion - 2
Tomato small - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 teasp
Pepper - 2 teasp
Jeera / cummin - 1 teasp
Red chilli powder - 2 teasp
Turmeric powder - 1 teasp
Scraped coconut - 1/4 cup
Corriander Seeds - 3 teasp
Corriander leaves- to garnish
Oil - 5 teasp
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Clean the crabs.You can click HERE to see how to clean crabs.
• Add oil to the frying pan. After the oil gets heated, add finely chopped onions, tomato, ginger garlic paste and saute well.
• Roast corriander seeds without oil.
• Add roasted corriander seeds, coconut, pepper, jeera, red chilli powder and grind it to a paste adding very little water.
• Add the masala to the pan and saute well.
• Add turmeric powder and salt.
• Add the crabs to the pan and gently turn them.
• Add 1/2 cup of water and close the pan.
• After the crabs get cooked, turn again gently.
• Cook till the masala thickens in a medium flame.
• Garnish with corriander leaves when the dish is ready.

 
Learnt from: Mrs. Jothi, my mother-in-law

How to Clean Crabs?

At the outset a crab looks like this..

You can see a V shaped part...

Open that V....



Remove all these  yellow parts and small pieces



After cleaning the crab looks like this...

Clean the crab with water

If the crab is big split it into two parts..if it is small take the full piece



Then take these leg parts separately

The whole crab indeed...but all the split parts are arranged as a whole.

Crab pepper masala is ready..recipe follows in the next post..

LEARNT FROM: Mrs. Jothy, my mother-in-law

Sankara Fish curry

Ingredients:

Sankara fish pieces - 4
Tomato small - 1
Tamarind - Small lemon size
Garlic - 6 cloves
Onion - 1
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 teasp.
Corriander powder - 1 teasp.
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teasp.
Pepper - 3/4 teasp.
Oil - for seasoning
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teasp
Cummin seeds / small jeera - 1/2 teasp.
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Methi / Fenugreek - 1/4 teasp.
Curry leaves - as needed
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Wash the fish pieces using turmeric powder and salt.
• Cut the tomato into small pieces and grind to get the pulp.
• Make a thick tamarind pulp and add tomato pulp to it.
• Add red chilli powder, corriander powder, turmeric powder and salt to this.
• Smash pepper and curry leaves.
• Put the frying pan on the stove and add oil.
• When the oil gets heated season with mustard seeds, jeera, methi and add asafoetida.
• Add the smashed pepper and curry leaves, onion and garlic and saute well.
• When you get a nice flavour add tomato and tamarind pulp and allow it to boil very well.
• When it boils to the maximum, simmer the stove an add the fish pieces and cover the pan with a lid.
• It will take approximately 7 minutes for the fish to get cooked.
  
  

Note:

• If you don't have ashes for cleaning the fish, use wheat flour, oil and salt for cleaning.
• When you refrigerate the fish pieces add red chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder.
• While cleaning / applying masala it is important that the fish should not be chill.
• If you wish ground coconut can be added.
• It will give a nice effect if seasoning is done with 'vadagam'.

Learnt from: Mrs. Jothy, my mother-in-law

Snakegourd Puttu

Ingredients:


Snakegourd - 500 gms
Small onions - 150 gms
Garlic - 4 cloves
Green chilli - 5
Sauf - 1/2 spoon
Cinnamon - 3 pieces
Curry leaves - for seasoning
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Roasted channa dal - 50 gms
Oil - 100 ml
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Cut or scrap the snakegourd into small pieces.
• Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Add oil to the pan. Once it gets warmed, season cinnamon, sauf and curry leaves.
• Add nicely chopped onions, green chilli and cloves and saute well.
• Squeeze the water from snakegourd, add to the pan and saute.
• Add little salt and cover the pan.
• Don't add water. It has to get cooked only in the oil.
• After it gets cooked, add roasted channa dal powder and fry for some more time.

Bittergourd Fry - 1

Ingredients:

Bittergourd (big) - 3 pieces
Onion - 1
Garlic - 4 cloves
Oil - 6 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 3 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Cut the bittergourd into 3 to 4 cubes.
• Add turmerc powder and salt and mix well.
• Steam the bittergourd till it gets half-cooked.
• Add oil to the frying pan and when it gets heated, add the bittergourd pieces and red chilli powder and saute well.
• After 2 to 3 minutes add nicely chopped onion and garlic and saute well.
• Fry till it gets golden brown colour.

Note:

Small onions can be used to make it tastier.
Red chilli powder can be added as per your taste.

Learnt from: Sunitha, my friend