Shrimp-Drumstick Curry/ Chemmeen-Muringakka Chaaru

This is a curry which doesn't have a singular name and rather has a list of ingredients as its identity. It is a summery dish made special by the availabilty of bits and pieces of local flavours. A piece of unripe mango, some drumsticks, some jackfruit seeds leftover from an overindulgence of jackfruit eating, and some shrimps to give it the semblance of a fish curry. Everything thats found in my parent's house during the humid summer, and everything I buy from the freezer section here in an effort to recreate the monsoon magic.

Cooking time:15 mins but preparation time is another 5 mins.
You will need:
Shrimp-1/4 kg or 1/2 lb, cleaned and sliced into a suitable size.
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder-2tbsp
Aniseed powder-1/2 tsp
Green Mango- 1/2. cut into big slices.
Drumsticks- 2 long ones, cut into 3 inch pieces.
Jackfruit seeds- 10-15 nos, without skin.
Onion- 1 medium size one chopped finely
Green chillies - 5 nos sliced
Garlic cloves - 3 cloves
Ginger-1/2" piece
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
For seasoning:
Oil-2 tbsp
Fenugreek- 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 nos
Small onions/shallots- 4 nos chopped

Preparation Method
1. Wash the shrimps and lightly toss it with salt and rinse again. Drain well onto paper towels or slotted drainer.
2.Crush the ginger and garlic together.
3. Grind coconut and aniseed together with very little water and keep aside. The consistency of the paste should be smooth and not too watery.
4. Heat the oil lightly and add onions. Saute it till it turns transparent and then add the green chillies, ginger, garlic.
5. Fry for a minute and then add the mango, drumsticks, jackfruit seeds and 1 cup water. Add the spices. When the mango is cooked, add the shrimps and salt.
6. When it boils, lower the heat and add the coconut paste mixed with 1/4 cup water. Check for salt and add if needed. Simmer on low heat for another 4-5 mins.
7. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Season with fenugrrek seeds, curry leaves and shallots.Fry for
a minute till the shallots turn light brown and pour over the curry.
Serve with rice.

Chicken 65

Chicken 65 is an odd name for a dish. I still haven't figured out what the 65 stands for...Is the chicken used in the recipe, only 65 days old? Is the recipe a culmination of 65 ingredients? Is the cost of the dish 65 Rupees in India? Or maybe it took 65 tries to make the recipe perfect.... I could go on. If anybody comes across the origin of the term, enlighten us.This is my mother in law's version of the recipe.

Cooking time:35 mins and preparation time is another 15 mins.
You'll need:
Chicken -1 kg/2lbs.. Could be one chicken cut up into pieces.
Small green chillies -4 crushed
Juice of two lemons
Yogurt - 3/4 cup
Ginger - 1 1/2 tbsp
Garlic - 1 1/2 tbsp
Tomato- 2 tbsp paste (1 small one)
If you don't have tomato paste, just boil a tomato for 5 mins, remove skin and add to the other ingredients for grinding.

Spices:
Paprika or any tandoori masala- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder -2 tsp or more

For seasoning:
Curry leaves - one sprig chopped
Coriander leaves- one handful cleaned and chopped.
Green chillies- 5 slit vertically.
Any oil for frying

Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces.
2. Grind the spices and the other ingredients into a fine paste without adding water.Mix the chicken and the marinade thoroughly and keep aside for at least 3-4 hrs.
3. Cook the chicken with its marinade( no additional water) in a saute pan for 7 mins till all the water is absorbed and the chicken looks dry. This will cook the chicken and reduce frying time.
4. Heat 1/2 cup oil (approx.) and lower the heat while adding the marinated chicken. Fry on medium heat for about 7-10 mins.The chicken has to brown evenly.
5. Drain with a slooted spoon onto a paper towel to remove the excess grease.
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or sauce pan and fry the curry and coriander leaves and green chillies in slow heat for a minute. Drain and garnish on top of the chicken.

Links

Some links that help me in with tips, recipes, inspiration on a dull day and information on a dumb day. These are not blogs, they are all commercial websites.

Diverse Recipes
BBC Food Recipes
Epicurious Recipes
Food Network
Jamie Oliver Recipes
FoodieView
Gourmet Sleuth
Serious Eats

Baking Links
Joy of Baking
Bake or Break
Dessert First
A Whisk and A Spoon

Indian sites
Pachakam
Taste of India
Bawarchi

Tamarind chutney/ Puliyinchi

Puliyinchi is a sweet and sour chutney which goes well with everything. It drives away the banalities of simple daily food with its finger licking properties. The ginger in it is good for digestion. Back in the college days, this was a mom made staple in many dorm rooms, to help get through the hostel's boring food.

You will need:
Green chillies - 8-10 chopped finely.
Ginger- 2" peice chopped finely.
Red chillies(Kollamulaku) - 2 nos
Tamarind(Puli) paste - 4" ball of tamarind soaked to yield 2 cups tamarind water.
Red chilli powder -1/4 tsp
Jaggery/Brown sugar/Gud-3 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds(Uluva) - 1 tsp
Salt- to taste
For seasoning:
Oil-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 nos

Preparation Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds.Add red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a while.
2. Add green chillies and ginger and fry on low flame, till they turn brown.
3. Add tamarind paste, chilli powder, gud and salt and bring to boil. Let it simmer till the mixture thickens. Check for sourness, sweetness and spice. Add more of chilli powder or gud or salt if needed to customise to your taste. Add more water if it becomes too thick.
4. Heat up a pan. Roast fenugreek seeds, till they turn brown. Grind it to a fine powder.
5. Add it to the mixture. Cook on a low flame, till the gravy thickens. Remove from flame.
This stays well in a sealed jar for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.

Fish curry with mango/ Meen chaaru

Given the variety of fish avaialable in Kerala and the different combinations possible with spices, mango, tamarind, kokum, young pepper, yogurt, coconut, coconut milk, I could write a book with just fish recipes. Everybody has their favourite fish curry: mom's curry, mother in law's curry, aunt's, grandmothers.....
This is umma's fish curry, yellow in color, rich with coconut and liberally spiced. Have it with parboiled rice, a thoran and fish fry.

Cooking time:15 mins but preparation time is another 5 mins.
You will need:
Fish-1/2 kg or 1 lb, cleaned and sliced into a suitable size.
Pomfret/Tilapia/ King Fish (cut into smaller pieces)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Green Mango- 1/2. cut into big slices.
Green chillies - 5 nos sliced
Garlic cloves - 3 nos made into a paste
Ginger-1/2" piece crushed
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
For seasoning:
Oil-1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 10 nos
Small onions/shallots- 4 nos

Preparation Method
1. Wash the fish and lightly toss it with lemon juice and rinse again. Drain well onto paper towels or slotted drainer.
2. Grind coconut and turmeric together with 1/4 cup water and keep aside. The consistency of the paste should be smooth and not too watery.
3. Cook the mango with red chilli powder, green chillies, ginger, garlic, salt and water on low heat.
4. Add the fish and let it cook for 3 mins. When it boils, lower the heat and add the coconut paste, Shake the vessel gently to allow them to mix thoroughly. Use the spoon sparingly after the fish is cooked to avoid breaking up the fish.
5. Check for salt and add if needed. Simmer on low heat for another 4-5 mins.
6. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Lower the flame. Add the ingredients for
seasoning in the order of mustard seeds, curry leaves and shallots.Fry for
a minute till the shallots turn translucent and pour on top of the curry.
Serve with rice.

Snake gourd- lentil side dish / Padavalanga Parippu Kootu

Padavalanga or snake gourd is a long dark green vegetable, quite bland on its own but adapts well with different lentils and curries. It goes well in vegetable stew, as a thoran, and as a curry too. As a kid, I was not too fond of it. But last year, I grew it in my vegetable garden and when I tried different recipes with, I could appreciate the versatality of the gourd. This is a side dish which goes well with a rice based menu.

Cooking time:25 mins but preparation time is another 5 mins.
You will need:
Bengal gram /dal(Kadalaparippu) - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Snake gourd(Padavalanga) - one
Salt - to taste
Cumin seeds(Jeerakam) - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 4 nos
Small onions/shallots- 3 nos
Garlic pods - 3 nos
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

For seasoning:
Oil-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 nos
Small onions/shallots- 3 nos

Preparation Method

1. Soak Bengal gram for 15 mins. Wash and scrape the skin lightly.Cut the
vegetable into small pieces.
2. Cook it with the oil, turmeric powder and salt and water. Check every few
minutes to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom. The oil prevents
the lentils from excessive frothing. It takes about 20 mins for the lentil to be
fully cooked.( It is fully cooked when the grams stand apart, yet crumble
when you apply pressure.)
3. Simultaneously, cook the gourd with salt, green chillies and turmeric and
enough water to cover it.
4. Dry roast cumin seeds, small onions, garlic and coconut,on slow heat till
it turns light brown. Grind them without adding water.
5. When the snake gourd and lentil are cooked, mix them thoroughly.
6. Add the above paste into the vegetable mixture and cook for another 3
mins.Check for salt and add if needed.
7. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Lower the flame. Add the ingredients for
seasoning in the order of mustard seeds, curry leaves and shallots.Fry for
a minute till the shallots turn translucent and add to the snake gourd dish.
Serve with rice.