Fish Varai
300 gm firm white fish (good and tasty one is young white shark (sura mein))
200 gms coconut
2 medium onions, chopped finely
1-2 red chillies, chopped finely
1" ginger, chopped finely
2 bunch of curry leaves, chopped finely
Jeera
salt
2 dried red chilli, torn into pieces
1' ts tumeric powder
2-3 ts chilli powder
1 ts pepper powder
oil
Method
Boil the fish in salted water. Test if it is cooked. Drain and allow it cool.
Remove all the bones of the fish. In a bowl, crumble/flake the fish finely. Check for fine bones and remove. Add coconut. Add tumeric, chilli and pepper powder to the crumbled fish. Mix all evenly. Taste for seasoning. Add more if you like
In a non stick wok, add oil, fry onions, chillies, and ginger until soft and then add jeera and curry leaves. Fry until lightly brown. Then add in fish mixture. You have to keep stirring non stop. The fish is cooked when you see that it is browned (not burnt) and dry form. The crumbled fish should not be sticking together.
Remove from the wok and serve deco. Goes very well with white rice or bread.
Note: Those of you, who are veggies, switch it to Valakai (unriped banana). If you boil it, just chop them up. If not, grate the banana and do as above. Remember, this will take longer to cook, as the banana produces water. So you have to keep stirring and until dry fry.
Caryn this dish is specially for you,since you love international cuisine
Thai Basil Fried Rice
Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked cold rice (long grain)
cup carrot cut into sticks
cup sliced beans
50 grms prawns shelled and deveined ( optional)
1 tbs garlic minced
2 fresh red chillies finely chopped
a cup of green and yellow capsicum cut into inch square
1 onion cut into inch square
2 tbs light soya sauce or fish sauce ( more or less to taste)
1 tsp white pepper
2 pinches of sugar
1 hand ful sweet basil leaves, torn by hand
2 tbs oil
Method:
Heat a wok with oil and add the garlic.
Now add the onion, and the cut chillies.
Add the prawns, white pepper, sugar and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
Now add the carrots and beans, and the soy sauce.
Stir for a minute and add the rice.
Toss the rice and veggies well, so that the rice grains are properly coated with oil. Taste the rice for salt. Add more sauce if nedded.
Now you add the basil leaves and stir the rice for a minute.
You will get a nice aroma of the basil.
Take off the heat and serve.
Note: You can omit the prawns and fish sauce and make it
Into a vegetarian dish.
You can add any vege of your choice.
Thai Basil Fried Rice
Sue Akka this recipe is for you. Its a signature dish from my aunt's hotel in India.
SPICY FISH MASALA
Ingredients
3 slices of fish ( pomfret, salmon, or spanish mackerel, or any of your choice )
3 tbs coconut scrapings
1 tsp aniseed
3or 4 tsp of chilli powder,or more to taste
2 tsp thick tamarind juice, or more to taste
tsp tumeric powder
tomato chopped into tiny pieces
salt to taste
2 – 3 tbs oil or more
Method
Grind the coconut scrapings and aniseed to a fine paste. Remove the paste, add in the chilli powder,tumeric powder, thick tamarind paste, salt, and the chopped tiny pieces of tomatoes and mix well to form a paste.
Clean and wipe the fish slices. Apply the masala all over the fish, so that the masala is well evenly coated through out. Keep them aside for an hour or so.
Put a non stick pan on fire. ( It's important , so that we get neat finished fish slices )
Add the oil , then add the fish slices on the pan and cook on slow fire. Let it brown nicely before turning on the other side. This not a deep fried fish, but we have to use oil a little bit more for the masala and the fish to be cooked..So add oil accordingly
Note: After cooking ,you can put the fish pieces on a hot tosai kal to get a very dark brown finish, without burning the masala.
This spicy masala fish will be very tasty to eat with steaming rice.
SAFFRON PUMPKIN
INGREDIENTS
3 metric cups cubed pumpkin
1/2 metic cup shelled/deveined prawns (optional)
1/2 metic cup thick coconut milk from 1/4 coconut.
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
2 red chillis - slit and cut each into 4 pieces
1/2 tsp cumin (jeeragam)
1 tsp each - ground ginger/garlic
5 sliced shallots
ghee /oil - use amount accordingly
salt to taste
METHOD:
1. Heat ghee/oil in a wok - fry mustard seeds, then add shallots, cumin, ginger/garlic pastes & curry leaves.
2. Stir in the diced pumpkins, shelled prawns and salt.
3. Add turmeric powder and coconut milk.
4. Cook the pumpkin till tender and then add chillis.
Cook for about 7 minutes.
5. Serve hot with rice or chappatis.
MUTTON CURRY
Ingredients:
Mutton - 1/2 kg, washed and cut into medium size pieces
Potatoes - 3 medium size, peeled and cubed
Onions - 2 medium size, finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Garlic - 4 pips
Red chilli powder - 2 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 tbs
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - 1-1/2 teaspoons
Coriander leaves - a small bunch, finely chopped
Coconut - 1 cup, grated
Khus-khus - 2 teaspoons
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Cinnamon - 1 inch long stick
Cloves - 3
Warm water - 5 cups
Method: Grind the coconut and khus-khus together to a smooth paste and keep aside. Grind the ginger and the garlic to a smooth paste and keep aside.
Heat a flat-bottomed vessel and pour the ghee. When smoking hot, add the cloves and cinnamon stick together and follow with half of the chopped onions. When the edges of the onions turn brown here and there, add the mutton pieces. Stir from bottom once. When the water which shows out of the mutton pieces evaporates, add the, salt, turmeric powder, ginger, and garlic paste. Also the chillie and coriander powder. Fry well for 5 minutes. Now add 3 cups of warm water to cover the mutton just completely and also the remaining chopped onions. Cover with a lid and allow to boil over moderate heat for the first 30 minutes and then simmer over reduced heat till the mutton is tender. Add potato pieces to the tender mutton at this stage. If needed, add 2 cups of warm water with potato. When the potatoes are boiled tender, add the coconut and the khus-khus paste diluting it with a cup of water. Let the sauce simmer gently till you get the required consistency you like . Add the chopped coriander leaves to the sauce a minute before removing from the fire.
Edited by Kavitha Ravi - 16 years ago