Eggplant Burji (Brinjal masala)

For those eggplant lovers, this is an ideal side dish for Chapati/roti.

Ingredients:

• 2 big eggplant
• 1 red onion
• 1 tomato
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 green chillies
• 4 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• little amount of mustard,cumin seeds
• salt as per taste
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• Oil

Method:

• Finely chop brinjal add little amount of salt and tsp of ginger garlic paste n marinate for about 1/2 an hour,thn squeeze the water from brinjal and keep aside.
• Take a pan add tbsp of oil(i used olive oil) and shallow fry the eggplant till it gets crispy,u have to fry this for abt 15min in medium heat and keep aside.
• Add oil in frying pan when it is hot add mustard,cumin seeds,curry leaves,green chillies fry for a min,Add onion and fry it till it turns golden color now add tomatoes.
• (tomatoes have to be chopped finely)when it gets nicely mashed off add chili ,cumin,coriander powder add water cover it off.
• Now add the fried eggplant ,sour cream and coconut milk and little water,let it boil for 2min finally add salt to it.
• When it comes to semi gravy turn of the heat.
• Serve it hot with chapati, roti.

This is my entry for Jai Ho Brinjal event hosted by Jayz Kitchen.

Fish Curry with Coconut

This is one of our traditional way of cooking fish with grinded raw coconut and it’s often called “Pachai Thengai Curry”. Since Kaniyakumari district is located in the border of kerala (South India), you will find that most of their cooking style is similar to kerala cuisine….

Coconut and Kerala goes hand in hand and Coconuts are used extensively in the delicious cuisine of this state. Mallus eat a lot of fish and so are the kaniyakumari dist people… this is one of our fish preparation where the spices are grounded with fresh coconut & cooked with fish and seasoned with curry leaves.  If prepared in coconut oil, it gives a nice flavor and aroma..

Ingredients:

• Raw mango – 1 (large sized, sliced into pieces)
• Green chillies – 4, medium sized, slit
• Salt as per taste
• Fish – 500 gms, cut into big pieces

Grind into a smooth paste:

• Tamarind – 1 (marble sized)
• Onion- 1 , chopped
• Chilli powder – 1-2 tsp
• Coconut – 1 cupTurmeric powder – ½ tsp

For seasoning

• Aniseeds – 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves
• Oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Grind the ingredients mentioned under grinding into a smooth paste. Add the slit green chilies to it. In a pan, season oil with the seeds. Put in the cleaned curry leaves. Add the grounded mixture and allow it to boil for sometime. Add the fish pieces, salt and cook till it’s done….In 10 mts flat, this simple fish curry will be ready and you can serve it hot with rice. Raw mango/drumsticks can be added to this curry according to one’s preference..

Pudina (Mint) Chutney

Ingredients:

• Pudina (mint) – 1 bunch
• Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
• Channa dal – 1 tbsp
• Channa dalia – 2 tbsp
• Red chillies – 3
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Garlic – 3 cloves
• Tamarind extract – 1 tbsp
• Salt – a needed
• Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add channa dal, red chillies, ginger, garlic and chopped pudina and coriander leaves. I also use the upper part of the pudina and coriander stem for the chutney. After the leaves reduce in volume remove from fire and let it cool. Grind the mixture along with tamarind extract, channa dalia, salt and water as needed to make a fine paste. Heat oil in a pan, add seasoning ingredients and once the mustard seeds start to splutter pour the seasoning into the chutney. Goes very well with idli and dosa, uttappam etc.

This is my entry to CMT – Chutney event

Onion Uttappam

Ingredients

• 1 cup Dosa Batter
• 2 - tomatoes
• 4 - onions
• 5 - green chilies
• a handful of coriander leaves
• salt to taste

Method:

• Finely chop the onions lengthwise and mix them with the chopped green chilies, tomatoes, coriander leaves and salt to taste.
• Heat a non stick tava.
• Sprinkle some water and wipe it with a cloth.
• Set the flame on simmer.
• Put a small spoonful of the dosa batter on the tava and spread a little.
• Evenly distribute some of the finely chopped onion and tomato chilies mixture.
• Once the uttappam is done on one side, flip over.
• When the uttappam is almost done, apply a little butter on it and turn again.
• Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.

Ghee Rice – Neyy Choru / Bagara Khane

Ghee Rice or NeyChoru is rice fried in ghee along with aromatic spices and then cooked to perfection. It is finally seasoned with Fried onions, Cashews and Raisins.  Neyy Choru is our traditional food (from Kaniyakumari District) served on special occasions. It is usually served with spicy Chicken and Mutton gravies.

Next to Briyani, this rice has the top priority in our customs. We make this dish mostly on the weekends.  The aroma of this dish while cooking will trigger everyone’s hunger and will attract them to the table on time.

Ingredients

Biriyani rice – 2 cups
Ghee – 5 to 6 tsp
Cashew nuts – ½ cup
Clove – 4 to 5 pieces
Crushed peppercorns – 4 to 5 no.
Raisins – ¼ cup
Crushed ginger – 1 tsp
Crushed garlic – 1 tsp
Lime juice
Onions (sliced) – 2 no.
Bay leaf – 2 no.
Cardamom – 4 no.
Cinnamon – 2 sticks
Chopped coriander leaves – ¼ cup
Salt – to taste
Water – 4 cups

Ghee rice served with mutton curry and raita

Method of preparation

Wash and drain the rice and keep it aside.  Heat three teaspoons of ghee in a pan. To this, add cashew nuts and stir, till it becomes brown. Remove the cashew nuts. Repeat the procedure with raisins.

Take some more ghee and heat in a big vessel. Put cloves, followed by cinnamon, cardamom, crushed pepper, and ginger-garlic paste. Stir well. To this, add pieces of big onion and stir a bit. Now add coriander leaves and stir again. Add some split pieces of bay leaf. When everything is cooked, add water (2 cups of water for 1 cup rice) and cook till the water comes to the boiling stage. Add rice and lemon juice and Stir gently and close the vessel. Cook for five minutes or till done. You may add little saunf powder if your want.

Garnish with cashew nuts, raisins, fried onions (optional) and serve the ghee rice hot. I like it with our spicy traditional mutton curry.

Onion Chutney

Method:

Cut 3-4 onions into large pieces. Add 3 whole red peppers, 1/4 tsp salt, and tamarind (a pinch).Grind it finely. Take 3 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan and add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. When it splatters add the ground mix and fry till the raw smell is gone.

Milagai Bajji – A must on a Rainy Day!!

Milagai Bajji, I think this word itself would make one drool…Sweet memories of enjoying it in the beach (when i was young) flashes across my mind while writing this..These days we have lot of restrictions to have street food coz of  lower immunity to infections but those days, we really enjoyed them & yet stayed healthy. Amazing…

During a rainy day, it’s a must at my home. Even street vendors make  good business during rainy season.  I love to indulge in this spicy hot snack during rainy days with hot piping tea…hmmmm…it’s beyond words to express… Ok, time for some Bajji action….Try these out and possibly your own memories will come flooding back!

Deep fry in Oil

Take gram flour (Kadalai mavu) and rice flour in the ratio 2 1/2 : 1 (5 tbsp gram flour and 2 tbsp rice flour) and mix it with water to make into a loose paste.Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp asafoetida, and saffron(kesari powder) to get the desired colour. Dip the bell pepper  in the flour mixture and deep fry until it is fully cooked.

Serve it with Onion Chutney for best results and to bring some beach memories to your home…:-)

Spicy Prawns – A real treat for fish lovers

Ingredients
Prawns – 1/2 kg (cleaned)
Onions  (finely chopped)
Tomato (finely chopped)
Red chillies – 2
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tbsp
Chilli Powder – 2 tbsp
Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder – 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tbsp
Oil

Method
When the oil in the pan is hot, put mustard seeds and red chillies. When it splutters, put onions and saute it till it becomes golden brown.
Then add tomato and wait till it is cooked well and smashed in oil.
Add prawns and saute for a while. After 5 minutes add ginger garlic paste and saute continuously for 5 more minutes.
Add chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder mix well and add 1/2 glass of water and stir. Wait till the water is evaporated and the oil separates from the dish.
Decorate it with finely chopped coriander leaves.
Delicious spicy prawns is ready now and you can serve it with Plain Rice and Sambar.

Morkuzhambu

Morkuzhambu is one of those common curries served in South India, one because it needs very little basic ingredients to prepare it and so affordable for all and secondly since it is a curd based curry, it is something comfortable for the hot weather.

It is actually buttermilk curry seasoned with cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric powder and mustard seeds. It is very easy to make and hardly takes 10-15 minutes for preparation. It is extremely relishing when served along with plain hot rice. Not only that it its tasty, it is also a healthy and nutritious diet. So, if you want to eat some thing light and less spicy next time, have Mor Kuzhambu with plain rice.

Ingredients :

1 container Yoghurt (big one)
2-3 Green Chillies
1/2 cup Grated Coconut (desiccated can be used)
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp Methi seeds
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds and Coriander Leaves for seasoning

Method : 

Take the Yoghurt in a container and add little water and make it like like a uniform paste. Add methi seeds, turmeric powder, and salt and keep it aside.

Grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chilies in a blender and make a paste.

Add the paste to the yoghurt. Keep it in the stove for a little while until nice foam comes up on the surface. Switch the stove off. (if you over cook it yoghurt will get denaturated in to water) then season it with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and coriander leaves.

 You may add any vegetables like pumpkins, cucumbers or lady’s fingers or it can be cooked with veggies.