Kottayam style Fish Curry

Kottayam style Fish Curry

(Kudampuliyittu vacha naadan meen curry. Recipe from Vanitha Paachakam June2001)

A very delicious and spicy fish curry. Best with rice / kappa / appam…

Serves: 3 – 4

Ingredients

For the paste:

2 teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder

1/4 teaspoon uluva podi (methi powder / fenugreek powder)

6 garlic cloves, chopped

6 shallots (small onion / chuvannulli), chopped

In an iron kadai / pan, lightly dry roast red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder (except methi powder) on a low heat for 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer dry roasted ingredients, methi powder, chopped garlic and shallots into a small mixer bowl and make a smooth paste.

Other ingredients

4 – 5 kudampuli (soak kudampuli in ¼ cup (50 ml) warm water for one hour).

12 curry leaves

500 g fish pieces

1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

75 ml water (less than ½ cup)

30 ml coconut oil (2 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoon)

Method

In a meen chutty or earthen pot, arrange 6 curry leaves and 2 soaked kudampuli. Gently arrange fish pieces, salt to taste, chopped ginger and spice paste over it. Add 75 ml water - less than 1/2 cup (3/4 th level of the fish pieces and other ingredients) remaining curry leaves and kudampuli. Gently stir all the ingredients. Cover with a tight lid and cook on a medium to low heat for 8 - 10 minutes until fish pieces cooked / gravy thickens. Finally, sprinkle coconut oil (pacha velichenna) and serve with rice / appam / kappa … Consume this curry after 2 - 3 hours. Then it will absorb all the flavours.

Carrot curd Rice

Carrot Curd Rice / Thayir saadam / Yogurt Rice

( A speciality from Tamil Nadu )

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 cup (100 g) silky raw rice , washed or leftover 2 cups cooked and cooled rice

2 medium size carrots, grated

2 green chillies , chopped fine

1 cm ginger , julienned

1 teaspoon (5 g) salt

3 cups (600 ml) fresh, thick curd (standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity)

For seasoning:

2 teaspoon (10 g) ghee

1/2 teaspoon (2 g) mustard seeds

1 teaspoon ( 5 g ) urad dal

1 teaspoon ( 5g ) chana dal

1 spring curry leaves

Method

Cook rice and set aside for cooling.

To the fresh curd add grated carrot, chopped green chillies, ginger and salt. Mix cooked and cooled rice with fresh thick curd and turn over gently.

Heat ghee in a ladle and season with mustard seeds. When they splutter add urad dal, chana dal and curry leaves. Fry on a low heat for 2 minutes and pour over the curd rice.

Stir till well mixed and serve with mango / lime pickle and pappadam / appalam / Potato chips.

Chukku Kaapi or Dry Ginger Coffee

Chukku Kaapi or Dry Ginger Coffee

Best coffee / kaapi for winter and rainy season !!!

Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients

1 cup (200 ml) water

1 ½ teaspoon thick melted and sieved jaggery

¼ level teaspoon pepper powder

¼ level teaspoon cardamom powder

½ teaspoon dried ginger powder (chukka podi)

¼ level teaspoon instant coffee powder

Method

In a sauce pan / pot, boil all the ingredients (except coffee powder). Finally, mix with instant coffee powder and drink hot. Chukku kaapi is good for cough and cold.

Ambur Biryani

Ambur Biryani

Ambur Biryani is very popular in Tamil Nadu. Recipe from today’s Hindu News paper (27/05/2012).

After strictly following the recipe, I got a suggestion to make. This will enhance the flavour and taste of Biryani.

Before cooking 1 kg mutton pieces, marinate the pieces with 2 tablespoons ginger - garlic paste, 2 tablespoon thick curd, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon red chilli powder at least for an hour.

HOW IT’S MADE

Ingredients

1 kg rice

1 kg mutton

Refined oil 300 ml

Garlic 100 gm – ground

Ginger 100 gm – ground

Chilli powder 30 gm

Clove

Cinnamon

Onion 100 gm

Tomato 100 gm

Curd 100 gm

Mint and coriander leaves

Lime – 2 nos

Salt

Method

Heat oil in a vessel. Sprinkle curd. Add to it clove, cinnamon and elachi. Sauté the garlic paste first and then the ground ginger. Both garlic and ginger are never ground together.

The mutton is now added, along with salt, to the other ingredients in the vessel. Onion goes in next and then the tomato. Everything is stirred together for just about a minute.

Add coriander and mint leaves to the mixture along with the remaining curd. Add a litre and a half of water andkeep the vessel closed under low fire.

Meanwhileparboil rice, filter the water and keep the rice aside.

When the mutton is cooked, add the rice to it. Close the vessel tight and put out the fire.

(Recipe given byC. Jamal Basha, the biryani master of Rahamaniya)

Homestyle method of final dum

In a heavy - bottomed vessel or biryani pot, spread a layer o f mutton masala (including gravy) and half portion of cooked rice. Make 2 layers with cooked rice and mutton masala.

Gently put a wet towel over it.

Cover with a tight lid. Seal with maida dough on the edges of the lid. Heat a heavy - bottomed iron kadai. Keep biryani pot over it. Cook on a low heat for 35 - 40 minutes. You can find a color change on the maida seal. Open the seal carefully. Decorate with chopped coriander and mint leaves. Serve with hot with Raita and spicy brinjal curry / boiled egg.