Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Malabar mutton curry/ Varutharacha mutton curry


We don’t buy Mutton/ lamb at home often, even when we buy it’s usually for biriyani so if you check my blog I don’t have much mutton recipes, but during this holiday time we have been entertaining a lot and I  have been cooking with mutton too. For my last party I promised my friends Keralan food so when I bought mutton, the first thing which came to my mind was this varutharacha mutton curry which my amma used to make a lot. To be honest I was never a fan of varutharacha curry back then so I rarely made it myself.

My hubby did ask me whether I am sure I want to experiment  as this is not something I cook often, usually when he say something like that I lose my confidence and give up on that dish and go for my tried and tested recipes but this time I was determined. I am glad that I didn't listen to him  as this curry turned out  super delicious. My friends loved  it too !

In this recipe I have added a leaf ( ramba leaf ) which was very new to me until my friend who is from Srilanka introduced this to me, something which they add a lot in Srilankan cooking usually to flavour rice. It’s readily available in Indian/Asian groceries here.You can read more about the leaf here. It's an optional ingredient so please don't bother if you don't have it. 


Recipe source – Amma and my own

Ingredients
Mutton/Lamb – 1 kilo
To marinate
Chilli powder -1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
salt
Ginger garlic paste – 1  tbs

Onion - 6 medium
Tomato -3 small
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbs


To roast
Grated coconut/ ചിരണ്ടിയ തേങ്ങ – 1 ½ cup
Shallot/ചെറിയ ഉള്ളി – handful
Coriander seeds/ മല്ലി – 2 tbs
 Cinnamon /പട്ട– 1 stick
Cloves/ഗ്രാമ്പു– 4-5
Cardamom/ഏലക്ക -5
Star anise/തകോളം
Fennel/പെരുംജീരകം – 1 tbsp
Peppercorns/കുരുമുളക് – 1 tsp
Whole Red chilli/ വറ്റല്മുളക് – 3
Curry leaves/കറിവേപ്പില – 5-6 sprigs
Poppy seeds/cuscous/കസ്കുസ് – 1 tbs
Ramba leaf/ രംഭ ഇല /  ( optional) – 1 small piece

Coriander leaves/ മല്ലി ഇല
To temper
Coconut pieces/തേങ്ങാ കൊത്തു1 tbs
Shallots/ ചെറിയ ഉള്ളി  -4 thinly sliced

Curry leaves/ കറിവേപ്പില– few

 Method
  • Marinate the mutton with red chilli, turmeric, salt and 1 tbs ginger garlic paste for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • In a pan add some coconut oil and add the whole garam masala (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, fennel,star anise) and when nice aroma comes out add grated coconut, coriander seeds, whole red chillies, curry leaves and roast for few minutes. When it start to turn change colour, add poppy seeds and carry on roasting until golden brown. DONOT roast beyond this point.


  • Once it’s cool grind it adding very little water into a smooth paste and keep it aside.
  • In a pressure add coconut oil and add chopped onion and saute until light brown.
  • Add in the rest of the ginger garlic paste and saute until raw smell goes.
  • Add chopped tomatoes, few curry leaves and cook for few minutes.
  • Add in the marinated mutton, 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 4 -5 whistles or until mutton is cooked.
  • Once the pressure releases open the pressure cooker and add the ground masala paste, curry leaves, ramba leaf and boil everything for 5-10 minutes. 
  • In a small pan add coconut oil and fry the sliced shallots, coconut pieces separately until brown, throw in some curry leaves along with them before you remove them fire and add it to the gravy.
  • Add chopped coriander leaves and garnish. 

Monday, January 4, 2016

Chilli fish with step by step pictures

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Good time surely flies... before I blinked my eyes two weeks of holiday just flew past! sigh..No more late nights or alarm free mornings :( but I think to appreciate and enjoy the holiday we need to earn the break or it won’t be this fun. Anyway I am glad that I got back into the mood of blogging during this break and I actually took an effort to take pictures of things I cooked. I am not sure how long that is going to last though.

Coming to today’s post, chilli fish is one of my favourite dishes. I have been making this for a long time now, especially when I have friends over but like many other recipes it never found its way to blog. It’s such a hassle free recipe with no deep frying bit but still tastes awesome.Talking about the  step by step pictures eventhough I managed to click all the steps they are not really good ones as my helper (hubby) got so impatient and ditched me after taking 1-2 pictures so I  had to click most of it with one hand  :)

Ingredients
 For marinade and frying 
Boneless fish - 500 gm
Maida/ Plain flour - 6 tbs
Cornflour - 3 tbs
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper - 1 tsp
Water - 1/4-1/2 cup
Egg -1
Oil for shallow frying 

For sauce
Onion - 3 medium (cubed )
Spring onion – 5 ( chop whites and green and keep them separate)
Capsicum/ pepper - 1
Green chillies - 2( cut diagonally )
Minced ginger – 2 tsp
Minced garlic – 2 tsp
Tomato sauce/ tomato ketchup – 5 tbs
Soya sauce - 4 tbs
Chilli garlic sauce - 2 tbs
Oyster sauce ( optional ) – 1 tbs
Salt 
Cornflour - 2 tbs
Water - 5 tbs

Method
  • In a bowl add Plain flour, cornflour, salt, pepper, ginger garlic paste, egg and water and make a batter ( thick enough to coat the the fish) 

  • Dip the fish in the batter and shallow fry them in a pan adding oil flipping the sides until they are golden brown for about 5 minutes on each side. Drain it on paper towel / kitchen tissue and keep it aside.

  • In the same pan add minced ginger, minced garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes.  
  •   Add cubed onions and chopped green chillies and sauté until onions are soft.  
  • Add spring onion whites and saute for a minute or so.
  • Add tomato sauce.  
  • Add soya sauce.
  • Add oyster sauce.   
  • Add chilly garlic sauce and cook for few minutes until oil starts to separate. 
  • Add chopped capsicum and stir for 1-2 minutes.  
  • Now add the fried fish and coat it in the sauces and cook it covered for 3- 5 minutes.   


  • Finally dissolve 2 tbs of corn flour in 5 tbs of water and pour this to the paneer and mix well. 
  • Cook for another 1-2 minute and  sprinkle the sprinkle the spring onion greens turn of the flame.            
                                        
                          



Enjoy !                                                                                                                                               

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Mirch ka salan / Green chillies curry


A New year again..fresh chapter, new hopes, new resolutions.. Let’s hope this year is going to be a great one for all of us. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year once again.

“A curry with chillies! OMG ” Is that what you are thinking ? That's what I thought  when I saw this curry in other blogs.  Our spice tolerance level is really low now, so there was no way I was going to try this until I tasted this from S’s place. She served  Hydrebadi biriyani with this salan and it was a great combination indeed so it didn’t take long before I tried it myself. I made it several times with biriyani but when we smell biriyani we are always hungry and never wait to take any pictures before we eat. Wondering how I manged this time? This time I made the curry first so I had some time while biriyani was on Dum J

I still don’t dare to use green chillies for this salan instead always use milder versions of chillies but if you think you can handle hotter green chillies go ahead and use it !

Recipe source - Vahrehvah
Ingredients           
Onion – 1
Cinnamon stick – 1 inch stick
Cloves – 2
Cardamom – 3
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Whole red chillies - 1
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbs
Tamarind paste – 1/4 tsp
Yogurt – ½ cup
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Green chillies/  milder green chillies – 100 gm
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves – finely chopped
Mint leaves- finely chopped

To roast
Sesame seeds – 1 tbs
Peanut – 1 tbs
Grated coconut/dessicated coconut – 1 tbs


Method


  • In a small pan add oil and add peanuts roast for few minutes.
  • Add sesame seeds until slightly golden
  • Finally add coconut powder and roast for a minute or so. Let it cool down and then grind it to a smooth paste adding little water.
  • Slit the chillies , remove seeds if you want and shallow fry it in little oil and keep it aside.
  • In another pan add oil and add  mustard seeds when in sputters add  whole garam masala, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds until it releases a nice aroma.
  • Add chopped onions and saute until it is brown.
  • Add ginger garlic paste and curry leaves saute for a minute or so.
  • Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and hing.
  • Pour the ground paste, tamarind paste, some water and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add beaten yogurt and cook for another 25 minutes or  until the oil separates.
  • Finally add the slit chillies, chopped coriander, mint and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes.