Kadai Chicken

I always lookout for new chicken curry recipes whenever there are guests coming over. For one, I like to experiment and secondly, to feed my blog. When Deepa of Hamaree Rasoi posted this, I was absolutely drooling over the dish. And she also wrote in that post that she had cooked this dish many times and each time the strike rate was 100%. She has some amazing collection of recipes, takes a lot of effort in presentation and her creativity brings out beautiful pics of the food she cooks. Every time she posts, I just wish if there could be a mechanism to eat right from the monitor. 

Coming to the recipe, I made it when we had 3 guests coming. I made the curry with a kilo of Chicken and there was no leftover, mind you. The bowl was clean. I took the above pic just before they arrived in a hurry and thought I'll click later. That explains how delicious this dish is. Thanks Deepa for sharing your signature recipe.

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg, cut into medium pieces

Onions - 3 big, ground to paste

Garlic - 3-4 pods

Ginger - 1" piece

Green Chillies - 2-3

Tomatoes - 3, ground to paste

Kasoori Methi - 2 tsp

Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Capsicum - 1, diced

Cream - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

For marination:

Curd - 3/4 cup

Garlic 5-6 pods

Ginger - 1", chopped

Green chillies - 3-4

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies with curd. Add all the ingredients called for in the marination. Mix well and keep aside for atleast half an hour.

2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in kadai and fry marinated chicken till all the curd liquid is soaked up and its crisp on the outside. Keep aside.

3. In the same kadai, add remaining oil and fry onion paste till raw smell disappears. 

4. Add ginger garlic paste and green chillies.

5. Add salt and stir well for another 5 mins.

6. Add tomato paste and fry till it leaves oil. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and combine.

7. Add chopped capsicum, chicken, kasoori methi and sprinkle garam masala and combine.

8. Add 1/2 cup water if you want gravy. Cover and cook for 10 mins or till chicken is cooked.

9. Add cream, mix well and cook for 2 mins before removing from heat. 

10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with flavored rice or Indian bread.

Egg Curry with Coconut Milk

This was my Grandpa's favourite. Amma used to prepare this along with Ghee Rice. It was a combo to die for. I hardly make this egg curry because Abbas is too fond of Bong Egg Curry and also Ma is allergic to coconut. Now that she is not here, I am preparing most of the coconut based dishes and loving it. I prepared this curry along with Bong Mishti Pulao and the combination worked well. Since I used instant coconut milk powder, the curry got done with minimal efforts and time. In my attempt to further reduce the effort of de-shelling eggs, I delegated the task to Mantam only to see that I got uneven scrambled eggs mixed with petty pieces of egg shell. Sigh!

Ingredients:
Eggs - 3-4, hard boiled, de-shelled and halved
Onion - 2 medium sized, finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, finely chopped or pureed
Ginger-garlic-green chilli paste - 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves - a handful, finely chopped
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Coconut milk - 1 cup thick milk, 1 cup thin milk
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions. Saute till they are translucent.
2. Add ginger garlic green chilli paste and saute till oil separates.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and keep pressing them against the pan using a spatula. Let them turn mushy and oil has to separate again.
4. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Combine.
5. Add coconut milk and give a brief stir. (I generally switch off the flame and add coconut milk due to the fear of it curdling. Then switch on flame on sim and slowly increase.)
6. Bring it to boil, place the halved eggs, add coriander leaves and let it simmer for 6-8 mins.
7. Let the gravy stand for atleast 30 mins before serving. With time, the taste of this curry enhances like with most non veg curries.

Vison Masala Fry - Seer / King Fish Fry

Vison is called Brahmin fish. You know why? The fish has a single thin line on its body which resembles the thread that Brahmins wear as per religious customs. Vison to Konkanis is what Betki is to Bong if I may say so. In Kannada, this fish is called Arakozhi (Ara meaning half, Kozhi meaning Chicken) because of minimal bones and texture is close to chicken. Back home we used to fry fish by marinating in masala and rolling in semolina. But since my Bong family does not prefer semolina coated fish, I have begun coating in rice flour which turns out yummy too.

Ingredients:
Seer Fish - 3-4 slices, medium sized
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp or as per spice tolerance
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Rice flour - 2-3 tbsp
Coconut Oil - 4 tbsp (I prefer coconut oil, any other cooking oil can be used)

Method:
1. Marinate fish pieces with ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for atleast half an hour.

2. Roll the marinated fish in rice flour so that it is well coated on both sides.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan, place the fish pieces in the pan and on low flame let it cook for about 5 mins. Invert the fish pieces. Once the fish pieces are cooked, increase flame and let it get roasted well on both sides.
4. It can be served with lemon wedges and onion rings.

Kancha Lonka Murgi - Green Chilli Chicken

I recently saw this recipe posted by Pree and mesmerized by the minimal ingredients which yielded such a beautiful outcome. It was love at first sight for me. When I actually set out to make it, I realized that Abbas is gonna wrinkle his nose at the sight of chicken dish without potatoes in it. Also, all of us need some gravy in a chicken dish unless it is fried and served along rice and dal. So I removed it from flame when it was in a semi-gravy condition. I had prepared this dish in meager quantity as it was my first time at cooking chicken without red chillies. But the dish got rave reviews by my 'hard to impress' critics - Ma and Abbas. Abbas asked me to prepare it again very soon. So I made it again after 2 days. And Ma came into the kitchen and asked me "Are you preparing the same dish that you prepared the other day?" When I nodded, she left the kitchen happily.


Ingredients:
Chicken pieces - about 500 g, cut into medium sized pieces
Potatoes - 3 medium sized, peeled and cut into halves
Onion - 2, finely chopped
Green chilies - 8-10, halved lengthwise
Green chili paste - 1 tbsp (I substituted with green chilli sauce)
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Black cardamoms - 2-3
Bay leaves - 2
Mustard Oil - 4-5 tbsp (Substitute with any other cooking oil, I would highly recommend mustard oil though)
Salt - to taste



Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt in the oil. Fry the potato pieces till they are golden brown from the outside. Remove from oil and keep aside.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a until almost smoking and add the onions, bay leaves and black cardamom to sauté till the onions are lightly browned. 
2. Now add slit green chillies and saute on medium heat for 4-5 mins.
3. Add chicken pieces and saute till they are well combined with onions and chillies. Also make sure they get well roasted to attain a light brown colour.
4. Now add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Combine and saute till the raw smell goes off.
5. Add fried potatoes and salt. Combine.
6. Add half a cup or a full cup of water and pressure cook for 1 or 2 whistles.


Note:
1. When I prepared for the second time, I pounded 2 cardamoms, 1/2" cinnamon and 2 cloves and added before cooking in pressure cooker.
2. I had shared this recipe with one of my ex-colleagues, a good friend, a big time foodie who cooks for pleasure. He made this today and said it was finger biting tasty! Well, he made a few changes like adding a pinch of sugar in mustard oil and Grinding a small bit of cinnamon along with ginger garlic green chillies. I will try these additions next time for sure.

Ghongura Mutton - Mutton Curry with Sorrel Leaves

While a language can be the best medium of communication, choice and order of words could easily alter the intended meaning and mis-interpret one’s purpose. My post marriage exploration of Bengali language has been fun and a few goof-ups that I did are inseparable from my memory. People ask me how I learnt Bengali so quick! The secret to it was simple. I kept speaking it irrespective of it being broken or mis-pronounced. Because, people around me would correct the mistakes and I learnt with every incorrect sentence. Imitating Ma (my MIL) also accelerated the process as she narrates the same stories to each person atleast 100 times and I almost memorized her unperturbed and unaltered speeches!

It was one of those initial months of marriage and I was asked to speak to Abbas’ aunt who was going to visit us the next day. I kicked off easily as I had mastered the ‘How are you?’, ‘I’m fine’ business in Bengali flawlessly by then. I then went a bit overboard and thought of asking her to come for lunch the next day. I confidently uttered – “Apni kalke khete ashben to?” I could hear chuckles and giggles around me and I wondered what was wrong. It was later when I hung up the phone that I came to know that what I asked her literally meant – “Are you coming to eat tomorrow?” What an embarrassment!

Why I am talking about all this while I post this Mutton curry here? I again messed up with the language even after 5 years of my Bong quest. But this time I was proficient enough to see the wrong usage of my words and immediately corrected myself. Abbas fondly asked me to cook Mutton curry for dinner that night. And as usual I wanted it to be something different than the version I already have in my blog (Talk about agonies of a food blogger) I thought of preparing it the same way but adding Ghongura or Sorrel leaves to make it a new post in my blog. Ma heard my conversation with Abbas and knew that I was gonna cook Mutton in a way even her ancestors might have never dreamt of… While I was busy sautéing the Mutton and Potatoes, she came in whiffing in the air and said “Kisher ekta gondho asche… Shaag dichho na ki?” Meaning “I smell something strange, are you adding greens?” I was just cleaning the greens by then. Guess what I told her “Apnar moner moddhye gondho ache…” Meaning “The stink is in your mind”. Shockingly she asked if her mind stinks??? I came to know that I had put across my words wrongly yet again!!! I instantly (and politely this time) said No I meant that since you already know that I am adding greens to Mutton, it is just your presumption about the smell. I have still not cleaned the Sorrel leaves. She got my point and I was relieved!!! Sigh…

Going to the recipe:

Ingredients:
Mutton – 1 kg
Tomatoes – 1 medium sized, chopped
Potatoes – 5-6 medium sized, peeled and cut into halves.
Curd – 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 4 tbsp

Sorrel leaves / Ghongura leaves – 1 bunch, pluck leaves and thoroughly wash a couple of times

To grind to a paste:
Onion – 3 medium sized
Ginger – 2” piece
Garlic – 7-8 pods

For the masala powder:
Red chillies – 10-15
Coriander – 1 tbsp
Cumin – 2 tsp
Cardamom – 2-3
Cloves – 4-5
Cinnamon – 1” stick

Method:

1. Marinate the mutton with onion-ginger-garlic paste, curd, turmeric powder and salt and keep in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 mins, the longer the better.

2. Dry roast the ingredients called for under the masala powder head and grind them to a fine powder. (I microwave the masalas instead on high for a min)

3. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add a tsp of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. Drop in potato pieces on a high flame. Stir for 2-3 mins. Lower the flame and cook covered till the potatoes turn golden on all sides. Remove them from the oil and keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the marinated meat along with chopped tomatoes and cook on a low flame. The meat gets cooked in its own juices. Occasionally stir and cook till all the water gets evaporated from the mutton and oil oozes out from the sides. This process might take an hour even.

5. Now combine the mutton, fried potatoes, washed Sorrel / Ghongura leaves and the masala powder in a pressure cooker. Add water to suit your desired consistency. You may adjust salt at this stage. Pressure cook for 1 or 2 whistles.

Spicy Chicken Meat Balls

Boneless chicken pieces lying in the freezer are life savers at times. It’s when I’m in no mood to chop or sauté and sweat in the kitchen for a long time. I just let rice and dal cook on stove top, while the frozen chicken pieces left to thaw. Spiced chicken meat balls like these add a special touch to the otherwise bland meal. I am absolutely in love with these balls ever since I first caught sight of them in Sailu’s blog. According to her, these balls could be grilled as well but I have always deep fried them. Try these, they are too easy to prepare and the blend of spices that go in are sure to create an outburst of flavours in your mouth when you munch on these balls!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 kg boneless chicken pieces, cleaned and washed

8-10 fresh green chillis

1/4 kg onions finely sliced

8-10 fresh green chillis

5-6 dry red chillis (adjust according to your choice)

15-20 garlic flakes

3″ piece ginger chopped

small bunch coriander leaves, chopped

4 tbsps coriander seeds

1 1/2 tbsps cumin seeds

2″ cinnamon stick

3 green cardamoms

5-6 cloves

20 cashewnuts or you can add peanuts as well

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamom, red chillis and cashewnuts and stir for a minute till a nice aroma emanates the whole kitchen. Be careful not to burn the spices. Cool.
2. First grind the roasted ingredients along with ginger, garlic and green chillis to a coarse paste. Next add the chopped raw onions, coriander leaves, chicken and salt and grind further to form a smooth paste like shown in the picture above.
3. Add a tbsp of oil to the ground mixture and mix thoroughly before shaping into small lemon sized balls.
4. Heat oil for deep frying. Once it’s piping hot, reduce flame to medium and place these balls in the oil and fry them to a crisp, golden brown color.
5. Serve hot with tomato sauce or green chutney.

Chicken Stew - My kids' fav

This dish gets made atleast twice a week in my household. The ease of preparation, health benefits and the fact that my kids simply love it is the reason behind its frequent appearance. Chicken in the star ingredient with veggies of choice or veggies available are simply dumped per convenience. I had learnt it from my sis-in-law as she used to make it for my nieces. Then I even saw Kakima (Bhabi’s Ma) making this with only butter and no oil which tasted simply out of the world. I follow this method now and the stew turns out yummilicious.

Ingredients:

Chicken legs – 2

Onion – cut into cubes

Carrot – 2 small, cut into cubes

Potato – 2 small, cut into cubes

Ridge gourd – 7-8 cubes

Soya chunks – 7-8

Capsicum – 7-8 cubes

Spinach leaves – 8-10, roughly chopped

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Tomato – 1, finely chopped

Salt – to taste

Butter – 2 generous tbsps

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Cloves – 3

Cardamom – 3

Cinnamon – 1”piece

Bay leaf - 1

Method:

1. Coarsely pound cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.
2. Heat butter in a pressure cooker pan. When it melts, add bay leaf and pounded cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.
3. Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté till raw smell disappears.
4. Add tomatoes and sauté till they turn mushy.
5. Add chicken legs and sauté for a min. Add all the veggies and combine.
6. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and salt.
7. Add a cup or two of water and close the lid.
8. Cook on high flame for 2 whistles.
9. Reduce flame and cook for 2 more whistles.

Note:

1. You may use any vegetable of your choice.
2. Try to use chicken pieces with bones. As the stew is cooked for about 4 whistles the juices from bones will be incorporated in the stew which is very good for health. And also the bones become soft and children can easily chew it.

Chilly Chicken

One of the widely spread Indo-Chinese dishes and liked by most! I am lost for words today and hence let's straight away dive into the recipe. This is inspired from Chaitrali's 'I-m-not-a-Chef'.

Ingredients

Boneless chicken - 1 cup (cut into bitesize pieces)

For marination:

Egg - 1

Cornflour - 1/4 tbsp

Dark soya sauce - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - to taste

Salt - to taste

For the sauce:

Garlic - 8-10 cloves, finely chopped

Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped or diced

Capsicum - 1 medium sized, finely chopped or diced

Red chilli sauce - 1/2 tbsp

Green chilli sauce - 1/2 tbsp

Soya sauce - 1 tsp

Cornflour - 1 tsp

Chicken / Vegetable Stock - 1/2 cup (I used Maggi Cube dissolved in 1/2 cup water)

Green chillies - 2-3, finely chopped (as per spice tolerance, increase or decrease)

Salt and sugar as required.

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with egg, pepper powder, salt, soya sauce and keep aside for 15 mins.

2. Deep fry in oil till golden brown and keep aside.

3. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and saute for a while.

4. Then add green chillies and continue to saute.

5. Add onions and capsicum and continue to saute. Add all green chilli sauce, red chilli sauce and soya sauce and combine.

6. Add the fried chicken pieces and toss well. Add chicken stock.

7. Mix a tsp of cornflour in a little water and add.

8. Add salt and sugar and combine.

Note:

If you are serving this for a getogether, keep the fried chicken pieces and the sauce ready. Combine just before serving.

When Raju stuffed Shrimps down his belly - Shrimps stuffed Mackerel Fry

I love surprises especially when I’m not at the receiving end. Frankly speaking, I’m glad Abbas seldom throws me surprises. Reason?

1. His tummy tickles itself till he blurts out to me.

2. He wouldn’t want the surprise to turn out as a shock!

Even today, the child in me gets excited at the sight of ‘Jack popping out of boxes’. What if the Jack hides in my food… The idea struck me as I was planning to make Mackerel Doddak. I had a few shrimps lying in my freezer and the quantity was too meager to make a stand alone dish out of ‘em. That’s how this idea was born. I initially wanted to bake the stuffed fish but later ended up shallow frying on a griddle by coating them in rice powder. The fish fry was good but I loved the shrimp masala more…

Ingredients:

For Shrimp masala:

Shrimps – ¾ cup, deshelled, deveined and cleaned

Salt to taste

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp

For the masala:

Grated coconut – ½ cup

Red chillies – 5-6 (increase or decrease as per spice tolerance)

Tamarind – 1 small marble sized ball

For the fish fry:

Mackerel / Bangda / Raju – 8 nos

Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Juice of half lemon

Rice powder – to coat

Oil – for frying

Method:

1. Grind the ingredients called for masala with little water if necessary. Mix with salt and shrimps. Saute this masala in coconut oil for 3-4 mins till it is dry and can be stuffed inside fish.
2. Make a huge slit in mackerel sideways and clean it well. Also, make some light slits all over the body.
3. Marinate with Red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice.
4. Stuff the shrimp masala and keep in refrigerator for atleast 10-15 mins.
5. Roll the fish in rice powder and shallow fry on a tawa by covering for some time Flip the fish so that both sides are well cooked. I used coconut oil to fry.
6. Serve with lemon wedges and chillies.

Chicken Vindaloo

I have quite a handsome number of items in my “Non-exhaustive To-do” list at any given point of time. How I wish there were more than 24 hours a day or perhaps only 6 hours at work and a mandatory holiday on Wednesdays. No, I don’t wish for weekends to be longer than 2 days. Coz I’m terrified at the thought of spending more than 2 days at home at a stretch. A Monday is always looked forward to as the Sun sets on Sunday. It marks the beginning of a new week and anticipation for Friday’s arrival.

This cycle came to a halt when I was carrying and my doc strictly enforced maternity leave on me about a month and a half before my due date. I was supposed to be on complete bed rest coz any more stress didn’t mean good to my twins. I was frustrated to the core with nothing to do… I started this blog to pen down my experience of this new found journey called ‘Motherhood’. I also would watch TV and note down recipes that fascinated me. Here is one of them. I don’t remember who or which programme it was. I have prepared this 3-4 times now and it turns out good, although the pics are not that appealing.

Ingredients:

Chicken – ¼ kg

Onion – 1 cup, sliced

Ginger paste – ½ tsp

Garlic paste – ½ tsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Coriander seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp

Vinegar – 1 tsp

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – 3-4 strands

Oil

Salt

Method:

1.      Grind together ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, red chillies, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds to a smooth paste. Apply this paste and salt to chicken and keep aside.

2.      Heat oil and fry onions on a low heat till the onions turn dark and crispy. Take them out on a clean kitchen towel to remove all the extra oil. Grind to a paste along with vinegar.

3.      This is the dark paste that gives the color to the dish. Add this to the chicken and leave aside for 30 mins.

4.      Heat a little oil in thick bottomed pan/ Add the chicken with the marinade. Cook till chicken is tender and gravy is thickened.

5.      Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with Indian bread.

Geeta Baliga | Amchi Food | Vison Doddak - Baked Sear Fish

This dish is a renowned dish of Geeta Pachhi's and the picture says it all!

Ingredients:

Sear / mackarel fish - 4-5 big pieces wash and ,apply little salt and keep aside

Coconut gratings - 1 cup
Red chilli powder - 4 tbsp (according to ur spice taste can add more or less)

Tamarind - marble size ball
Salt to taste
Teppal / Sichuan pepper - 1 tbsp, deseeded

Method: 
1. Grind coconut, red chilli powder,tamarind and salt into a paste adding little water (should not b watery)

2. While removing,  add the tepal  and grind for a few minutes till the teppals are crushed a little bit.

3. Apply this masala over the fish on both the sides. (If using mackarel, stuff the masala inside the fish)
4. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil or banana leaves applying little coconut oil on it.

5. Spread the stuffed fish layer by layer on this foil or banana leaves. Cover the fish again with foil or banana leaves.
6. Keep this in the oven at 450 degrees first and slowly reduce the heat as and how the fish gets cooked and the masala turns light brown in color.
7. Baking time will be one hour or more.

Note:

Some people may not be knowing teppal or sichuan pepper. In that case, instead of teppal, after the masala is done add the chopped onion + chopped ginger + chopped garlic +chopped green chillies (add less chilli powder to the masala ) to get the flavour for the masala and apply this masala over the fish and bake it.

Geeta Baliga | Minced Meat Ball Curry

Here's another delicacy from Geeta Pachhi...

For the Meat Balls:

Mutton Kheema - 1 pound (wash thorughly, drain the water and grind till it is blended may b for 2 to 3 minutes (some people do not grind it)

Chopped onion - 1 tbsp

Chopped ginger - 1 tbsp

Chopped garlic - 1/2 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves - 6 tbsp

Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Putani powder - 1 tbsp

Beaten egg - 1 (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil - 1/2 cup

Add these ingredients to the kheema and mix it thoroughly till small balls can be done. Make small balls and keep aside. Heat oil and fry the balls on low fire till it done. The balls should not be over fried. When the color of the balls in heated oil changes, they should b removed from oil and kept aside.

For the Masala

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Cloves - 7 to 8

Cinnamon - 1" piece 

Green cardamom - 3

Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp

Cumin - 1 tsp

Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp

Black pepper corns - 3-4 

Onion - 1 large sized chopped in to big pieces 

Red chilli powder - 2 tbsp or as per spice tolerance    

1. Heat little oil and add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, black pepper corns and stir for a minute.

2. Add the coconut gratings and chopped onion to it and stir on the fire for some time (about 2 to 3  minutes)

3. Add chilli powder, grind all together to a paste 

For the curry

Onion - 1 small, finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp

Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, chopped

Salt to taste

1. Once all the meat balls are fried, in the same oil add chopped onion, ginger garlic paste and stir till it is light  brown in color and then add the chopped tomatoes and stir till it  becomes mushy. 

2. Add ground masala and stir till it leaves oil.

3. Add water, salt and simmer and add the cooked kheema balls and simmer for 2 , 3 minutes .

4. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

5. Serve with Jolad rotis (Jowar rotis) or chapatis.

Geeta Baliga | Amchi Food | Sear Fish curry

Another mouth watering sea food delicacy from Geeta Pachhi. Let's straight away dive into the recipe without further ado...

Ingredients:

Sear / King fish - 1/2 k.g (6 to 7 small pieces)

Grated coconut - 1 cup 

Chilli powder -2 tbspn * 

Green chillies - 3, slit

Onion - 1, chopped 

Ginger - 1" piece, chopped
Salt to taste

Tamarind  - 1 small marble size ball
Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash fish thoroughly in water 

2. Apply  some of the chopped onion, chopped ginger and salt to the fish pieces.

3. Grind coconut with chillipowder and tamarind to a fine paste.

4. Remove from the grinder and add rest of the chopped onion and ginger to it and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add water according to ur consistency and salt to taste.
6. Add fish pieces in the gravy and simmer for a few secs . 
7. Add coconut oil top after removing from flame.

Note:
1. Instead of tamarind, add 2-3  Kokum (Garcinia Indica) while simmering the masala.
2. Chilli powder is mentioned as 2 tbsp as Byadgie (less spicy) chilli powder is used here. If using a spicy chilli powder, 1 tbsp would be sufficient.
3. Fish curry can be made with Teppal (Sichuan Pepper) also. In that case, onion and ginger must be omitted. Instead 12 to 13 Teppals should be added when you are about to remove the masala paste from the grinder. Simmer this Teppal masala fro some time with sufficient water and then add fish. cook till the fish is cooked. Drizzle coconut oil on top after removing from flame. 

A Guest Post from an Evergreen Inspiring Lady!!!

I'm very elated to have the first guest post of my blog. I just asked her once if she could pass on a recipe of hers to post on my blog? She was so liberal to let me choose any dish from her collection of pics posted in FB. I chose the Amchi Crab Curry without any second thoughts. Her enthusiasm and passion in life is an ideal example for us to look up to. I have only met her once in person but in touch with her through FB. I'm very grateful to you Pachhi for being so kind in sending the recipe and also letting me publish your clicks of the dish. Hope to have more from you in this space.

Introducing 'The Evergreen Inspiring Lady' - Geeta Baliga:

Over to you Pachhi -

Hello, my name is Geeta Baliga. Seema Kamath invited me to blog about my special recipes. First, let me tell you about myself. I was born in Chennai and grew up in Calicut, Kerala. I was the 12th  of 12 children of my parents Vinayak and Sushila Kini. I got married at the age of 21 to Mr. Mohan Baliga and moved to Hubli. I have 2 daughters and a son. I was an entrepreneur and ran a very successful pre-school called Rose Bud in Hubli for 35 years. Now all my children are gown up and settled in North America. I now have 5 adorable grand children, the oldest being 19 and youngest 7. I have now moved to the US to stay closer to my family. My passion for cooking was inspired by my mother-in-law, Rukmini Baliga, who made fantastic and authentic Konkani food. Konkani cuisine is known for great fish curries and other seasonal delicacies like "Kadgi Chako" and "Keerla Sukhe"etc etc My husband's family was also large (10 children) and we constantly had family visiting us for whom I helped cook barrels of curries, chakkulis and ubbatis, phenories, shevai, thile undo, halvas etc. While in Hubli I had friends from all parts of India - Panjabi, Marasthrian, Sauzi and Lingayat (Hubli locals), from whom I learnt to make other types of cuisines. Over time my reputation grew as the best cook in the family and circle of friends, particularly for seafood.

So, here is my first recipe... Crab Curry. Enjoy.


Ingredients:
Medium size crabs - 6, if they r too big cut it into half
One half of full big coconut - grated
Green chillies - 6, slit
Red chilli powder - 2-3 tbsps
Tamarind - a small ball
Ginger - 2" piece, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - a pinch


For seasoning:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
or
Onion - 1 medium sized, chopped


Method:
1. Grind coconut with tamarind and red chilli powder in to smooth paste. Keep aside.
2. Wash the crabs 4 to 5 times. Remove the yellow stuffs from its shell while washing.
3. Cook crabs adding little water with chopped onions, chopped ginger, slit green chillies and salt.
4. Add the masala paste and simmer. Don't add too much water to avoid becoming too much watery.
5. Then season with mustard seeds and curry leaves or season it with chopped onion. That's all.

Prawn Biriyani

My Amma made two versions of Prawn biriyani - Red and Green. As soon as Annu (dad) would get fresh prawns, we would vote for Green or Red. Irrespective of the colour, both tasted heavenly. I don't remember the recipe for Green version but Red is the easiest with minimal ingredients and simple cooking procedure. This recipe was my Dad's sister's whom we too call Akka. If I remember right, she had sent this recipe to Sanjeev Kapoor's cookery contest and won a reward. Beenakka, thanks for this wonderful recipe!

Ingredients:

Prawns 1 cup - deshelled, deveined and cleaned

Onions - 3 medium  sized, sliced

Salt - to taste

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Bay leaves - 2

Oil - 2 tbsps

For the masala:

Red chillies - 10-15 (or as per taste)

Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Garlic - 1 tbsp

For the rice:

Basmati rice - 3 cups
Tejpatta – 2-3 (optional)
Cloves – 3-4 (optional)
Cinnamon – 1”inch piece broken into small pieces (optional)
Cardamom – 3-4 (optional)
Black pepper – 4-5 (optional)
Jeera – 1 tsp (optional)
Red chilli – 1 (optional)
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

To prepare Rice:
1.Boil water in a vessel along with the whole garam masalas.
2. When the water starts boiling, add the rice, vinegar, salt and 1 tsp of oil.
3. Keep checking the rice until it is almost done but not fully done.
4. Strain the water away.
5. Immediately spread the rice in 2-3 plates. This prevents the rice from being sticky or stops it from cooking further.

To Prepare Prawn Masala:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and bay leaves.
2. Saute oinions on low flame till translucent or light golden brown.
3. Add the ground masala and again saute till oil startes oozing from the edges.
4. Add prawns, salt and saute till they are well cooked.

Assemling:
You may either layer the rice and prawn masala as in a Biriyani or lightly mix them taking care not to break the rice grains by mixing vigorously. Tastes best when it is left to stand for 3-4 hours. (We siblings used to fight over the leftovers next day)

Note:
1. Prawn can be replaced by fish. Use fish with least bones. Lightly boil fish pieces so that removing bones would be easier.
2. I have given the method of preparing rice as in Biriyani. You could even you plain rice but make sure you add salt while preparing rice.

Shorshe Ilish - Hilsa fish in mustard sauce

Hilsa is an integral part of a Bong's existence. Wikipedia says "In many Hindu Bengali families two Hilsa fishes (Joda Ilish) are bought on special auspicious days, like some pujas. It is considered auspicious to buy two Hilsa fishes on the day of Saraswati Puja, which takes place in the beginning of Spring and also on the day of Lakshmi Puja which takes place in autumn."

Living in Bangalore, we only look at this fish through the glass pane in Fish Stall to please our Bong satiation. Do I hear people asking 'Why???' Answer to the 'Wh' question goes - 'Coz we don't think we are capable enough of digesting something as expensive as Rs.600-700 a kilo!’ Although once we put our digestive system to stake by giving in to buying Hilsa when the ‘Daily price chart read – Hilsa: Rs. 380’ Woohoo now I’m not claiming that 380 a kilo is cheap. But then we Indians are undisputed winners in bargaining. Idea of buying any trifle thing at a negligibly lower price makes us feel victorious. The men might disagree and say I’m trying to describe feminine nature under the label ‘Indians’. Okay, we women love the bargain game and admit it openly. But I personally feel that men secretly celebrate their triumphant bargains… What say?

Abbas had once brought home Padmar Ilish during Ma’s absence. He expressed his concerns (rather grave uncertainties) about how I was gonna cook something as exquisite as ‘Shorshe Ilish’. I was green with envy coz he so wanted ‘Maaaa…..’ to be there as I had never laid my hands on ‘Bangladesh’s National Fish’. It was a ‘Do or Die’ situation for the cook in me coz her reputation was at stake. A SOS call to Kakima (Bhabi’s Ma and my on-call help w.r.t any Bong dish) got me going. I was up early morning grinding mustard (a spice I always knew was used in nothing else but tempering my very own Rasams, Sambars and Chutneys) Oh! That too mustard that was white in colour was an enlightening fact. I made Shorshe Ilish and went to work. Abbas was supposed to have lunch and leave for office that day. I got an SMS from Abbas which read – “Darun hoyeche! Shorshe Ilish. I loved it. ________’ The blank line stands for the private lines we exchange, which I don’t think appropriate for all age groups. Lolz

Well guys, after trying several versions of this dish, I stick to the following tested version which wins me accolades from Abbas each time. (It is the easiest fish curry ever)

Ingredients:

Hilsa Fish - 5-6 pieces
Mustard paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Mustard Oil - 2 tbsp (Mandatory)

For Mustard paste:
White mustard seeds - tbsp (soaked in water for 15 minutes)
Green chillies - 5-6
Salt - 1 tsp

Method:
1. Grind the ingredients called for Mustard paste with as less water as possible to get a fine paste. I make bulk of this paste and refrigerate for future use, coz less quantity of mustard seeds doesnt yield a fine paste. This paste can be stored for 15- 20 days.

2. In a pan, mix a tbsp of mustard paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt (carefully add salt coz mustard paste already has salt in it), mustard oil with a cup of water. Now place the fish pieces carefully in this mixture.

3. Cook on low flame covered with a lid for about 20 minutes or till you get a thick gravy. (Hilsa gets cooked in a jiffy.)

4. Remove the pan from flame and pour a tbsp of mustard oil on top and keep covered until served.