BOTTLE GOURD AND PRAWN CURRY

 

 

A very satisfying curry made in every Mangalorian household. This curry gives the usual boring bottle gourd a very tasty turn, with the addition of  fresh prawns. To intensify the taste, substitute to dried prawns, but beware the dried seafood is very over-powering. And if you are a vegetarian, just cook the curry without the seafood and it will still taste awesome.

 

In Tulu, literally-

Bottle Gourd (Thure), Prawn (Yeti) Curry (Kajippu)

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd 1 medium size (peeled, seeds removed and cut into medium chunks)

Fresh prawns 1 cup (peeled, de-veined and clean)

 

Spice paste-

Fresh coconut 1/2 cup

Dry whole chillies 4-5 (I use Kashmir chillies)

Whole coriander/Dhania 1 tbspn

Cumin/Jeera 1 tspn

Fenugreek seeds/Methi dana 1 tspn

Turmeric/Haldi 1/2 tspn

Garlic 2 cloves

Whole pepper/kali mirch 1/2 tspn

 

Coconut oil 1 tbspn (can use any other oil as you like)

Curry leaves a handful

Onion 1 (chopped finely)

Salt to taste

 

 

 

 

 

 

Method:

 

1) Before starting, there are two methods to cook the bottle gourd-

 a) Either you pressure cook the bottle gourd with sufficient water first until done and keep aside for later use.

 b) Or you add the bottle gourd to the cooked spice and cook as you go.

 

(Both results are similar, I personally prefer step 2 and find it easier to cook everything together)

 

2)Take all the spice paste ingredients and grind it to a fine paste, using water as required. Keep aside.

 

3) Take a pan, add oil, when hot add the curry leaves. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent.

 

4) When the onions are cooked add the spice paste and saute until the oil separates.

 

5) Now you can add the bottle gourd either cooked or raw. If raw, let it cook for 10-15 mins until done.

 

6)Lastly add the prawns and let the curry simmer for 4-5 mins.

 

7) Turn the gas off, put the lid on and wait until 5 mins before serving. This helps the prawns to fully cook in the hot curry, without making it chewy.

 

8) Serve with red rice or simply with steam rice.

 

 

 

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Belgian Dark Chocolate Cake with Tia Maria Ganache

 

 

 

 

 

Indulge in this very moist and gooey cake. It is very simple yet very rich when covered with ganache. I added  Tia-Maria liqueur in the ganache to give a zing to the chocolate cake. You can subsitute to any other liqueur as you like- Frangelico/Kahlua/Kirsch/Grand Marnier or even Rum. Omit the liqueur to make it child-friendly.

 

I used Callebaut's finest Belgian Chocolate with 53.8% cocoa solids. It has a very fine and well balanced bitter cocoa taste and goes very well in this recipe.

 

 

 

Ingredients:
Cake-
Unsalted butter 250gm
Caster Sugar 250gm
Self raising flour 245gm
Unsweetened cocoa powder 40gm
Eggs 2 (lightly beaten)
Dark chocolate 200gm (chopped)
Tia Maria 100ml
Instant coffee granules 1 tbsp

Ganache-
Cream 90ml
Dark Belgium Chocolate 180gm
Tia Maria 2 tbspn

 

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. Grease and line a tin. Keep aside.

 

2) Dissolve the coffee granules in 125ml of hot water.

 

3) Take a pan add the chocolate, butter and the half of the liqueur in it. Also add the prepared coffee and stir over low heat until the chocolate melts.

 

4) Meanwhile, sift the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl.

 

5) Add the chocolate mixture to the flour along with the eggs. Whisk lightly until mixed thoroughly.

 

6) Pour the batter in the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until cooked.

 

7) Once the cake is ready and out of the oven, pour the remaining liqueur and leave to cool in the tin for another 15 mins.

 

8) Turn out on a wire rack to cool.

 

 

Ganache-

1) Boil the cream in a saucepan.

 

2) As it reaches first boil, remove from heat and add the chocolate.

 

3) Stir to make a smooth ganache, until all the chocolate has melted.

 

4) Keep aside to cool.

 

 

 

When the cake is cool completely, cut it into half carefully. Spread a layer of ganache and sandwich the cake. Cover the cake with the remaining ganache and leave to set. Decorate as you like- with fresh flowers as I did or with cachous/chocolate shavings/fresh berries.

ENJOY.

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ANZAC BISCUITS

 

 

Anzac biscuit.... does not need an introduction to any Australian or New Zealander. Read about the historical significance here.

The Aussies are very particular to call it a biscuit and not a cookie.... I don't know why, if you know it, please enlighten me. These biscuits are slight chewy in texture due to the golden syrup. You can substitute it with treacle or glucose syrup, however the outcome will be a bit different. Also, I used less than 1/2 a cup of sugar as mentioned in the recipe, only because I like it less sweet. These biscuits have a very good shelf life, only if it is not finished within minutes.

 

 

 



Ingredients:

Self-raising flour 1/2 cup

Rolled oats 3/4 cup

Sugar 1/2 cup

Dessicated coconut 1/2 cup

Boiling water 1-2 tbspn

Butter 55gm

Golden syrup 1 tbspn

Soda bi-carbonate 1/2 tspn

 

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

 

2) Sift the flour and mix with oats, coconut, sugar and salt. Keep aside.

 

3) Take a pan, combine boiling water with the butter and golden syrup..mix.

 

4) Bring to a rapid boil and add the soda bi-carb.

 

5) Add this liquid to the prepared dry ingredients and mix well.

 

6) Place spoonfuls of mixture on lined trays and flatten with a fork.

 

7) Leave room between the cookies for spreading.

 

8) Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden-brown.

 

9) Remove from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool.

 

10) Once cool, store in a airtight container.

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe is adapted from the book 'Country Women's Association' - Classics

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Puran-poli

 

 

This puran-poli is the Gujarati version and believed to be the easiest of all the other poli recipes.

You can adjust the sweetness as per your taste. My recipe calls for jaggery, but it can be substituted with white sugar/castor sugar/brown sugar/raw sugar/palm sugar/sugar-free.

Do not omit ghee from the recipe since the polis taste heavenly with ghee only. Any other fat will not give same results.

Enjoy hot puran polis anytime of the day.

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DAHIWALI MURGH WITH SAFFRON RICE

 

 

This recipe is very easy and have many variations. Instead of chicken use lamb/goat/beef or even turnips (shalgam) and button mushrooms for a vegetarian version. The yogurt used in this recipe has to be a bit sour and that's how the recipe becomes unique.

Dahiwali Murgh literally meaning chicken in yogurt gravy, can be enjoyed with rice, chapatis, naan or roti.

Saffron rice - I slightly saute saffron strands in a warm wok until fragrant. Then slightly pound it with a pinch of salt and add it to the rice to cook with a tspn of ghee (clarified butter). This saffron rice is a great accompaniment with any stew/curry/gravy.

 

 

Ingredients:

Chicken 1kg (skinless and cut into desired pieces)

Chaat potatoes 4-5 (skin-on)

Onion 2 (chopped finely)

Greek Yogurt 1/2 cup

Cinnamon/Dalchini 1 inch

Green Cardamom/Elaichi 2

Clove/Laung 3-4

Caraway seeds/Shahjeera 1 tspn

Chilly/Mirch powder 1 tspn

Cumin/Jeera powder 1tbspn

Garam masala 1 tbspn (I used Everest brand)

Salt to taste

Ghee/oil 1tbspn

Coriander to garnish

 

Marination:

Ginger and garlic paste 2tbspn

Lemon juice 2 tbspn

Yogurt 1/2 cup

Salt

 

 

 

Method:

1)Marinate the chicken and keep aside for 2 hours.

2)Take a wok/kadhai and add ghee/oil to it. When hot add Clove/Laung, Caraway seeds/Shahjeera, Cinnamon/Dalchini  and Green Cardamom/Elaichi .

3)When fragrant add the onions and saute until golden brown in colour.

4)Add all the dry spices, saute for a minute. Lastly add the yogurt and mix thoroughly. Saute.

5) When the oil starts to ooze out of the spices add the marinated chicken and the chaat potatoes.

6) Mix properly and let it cook on low heat until done.

7) Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.


Note:
This dish can even be cooked in a pressure cooker or slow cooker due to time constraint.

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Murgh Makhani / Butter Chicken

 

Ingredients:

Chicken marination-

Boneless Chicken 500 gms (preferably thigh fillets)

Greek Yogurt 1 cup (simply hung the curd in a muslin cloth and get rid of the whey)

Chilli powder 1 tspn

Cumin/Jeera powder 1 tbspn

Garam masala powder 1 tbspn

Tandoori color 1/2 tspn (I use beetroot powder for color)

Salt to taste

Lemon juice 2 tbspn

 

Gravy-

Onions 2 (finely diced)

Tomato puree 1 cup

Tomato paste 1 tbspn

Vinegar 1 tbspn

Sugar 1 tbspn

Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves 1 tbspn

Saunf/Fennel seeds 1 tbspn

Chilli powder 1 tspn

Haldi/Tumeric powder 1 tspn

Garam masala powder 1 tbspn

Tej pata/Bay leaf 2

Shahjeera/Caraway seeds 1 tspn

Ghee/Clarified butter 1 tbspn

Oil 1 tspn

Cream 1 tbspn

Kaju/Cashew paste 2-3 tbspn (take 2 tbspn of cashew, soak in warm milk and grind into a thick paste, keep aside)

 

 

Method:
1) Dice the chicken in cubes. Marinate in the ingredients and leave aside for 2-3 hours. Cook the chicken in a griddle/tava or in a oven/tandoor. Cover and keep aside.

2)Meanwhile prepare the gravy. Take a pan with a tspn of oil. Add the chopped onions until golden. Remove from fire, cool and grind it to a fine paste.

3) Grind separately all the dry spices except bay leaves and shahjeera and leave aside.

4)Take a pan add ghee. Add shahjeera and bay leaves to it, saute on a low flame. Add the onion paste and saute for a minute.

5)Add all the dry spices and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and puree, mix thoroughly.

6) When the sauce starts to simmer add the sugar, vinegar and salt.

7)Add the tandoori chicken in the sauce with the cashew paste. Mix thorougly.

8)Finish the dish with a drizzle of the cream, saute and turn the fire off.

9)Serve the dish with hot breads like naan, parantha, rumali roti or rice/pilaf.

10)Just before serving drizzle a tspn of cream and fresh chopped coriander/cilantro.


Variation-

• For vegetarion version skip the chicken and use paneer or tofu.
• The dry spices can be grinded and kept in a airtight container for future use.

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Flavored Olive Oil

Garlic and Thyme Olive Oil

Rosemary Olive Oil

 

 

 

 

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