Fish Curry using Raw Mango/ Pacha Manga itta Meen Curry

My mom used to prepare different varieties of fish curry like with coconut, with coconut milk, mulakitta meen curry, adding vinegar and so on. Each one has its unique flavors. In all these, I love this raw mango one. The tanginess of mangoes combines with the fish pieces, which is well blended with ground coconut paste and  served along with steaming hot rice, is a lip smacking dish. Am I  overexcited here ??… :)

Any variety of fish can be used for this. Adding coconut oil gives an additional flavor to the dish.

Try this amazing dish and let me know…

Ingredients:

1. Fish Pieces- 1 kg
2. Shallots (sliced)- ¼ Cup
3. Green Chillies- 3- 4 nos
4. Raw Mango pieces- ½ mango cut into big slices
5. Ginger- a inch piece
6. Garlic- 5- 6 cloves
7. Grated Coconut- ½ Cup
8. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp
9. Coriander Powder- ½ tsp
10. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
11. Salt- to taste
12. Curry Leaves- few
13. Oil- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Grind the grated coconut along with red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder till it forms a paste.
2. Heat oil in an earthenware pot / a kadai. Add the sliced shallots, green chillies, crushed ginger and garlic. Stir and add the curry leaves.
3. Add the sliced mango pieces and toss it well. In this add the coconut paste and little water. Stir well and close with a lid.
4. When the gravy starts boiling add the fish pieces and cook it covered for another 15 minutes until the gravy thickens and switch off the flame.
5. Delicious fish curry is ready to serve.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Aval (Rice Flakes) Payasam for Onam

Wishing all my friends a very Happy Onam !!!

This time for onam I prepared this aval payasam for the first time. The previous day I saw this in TV and I found it to be easy and looked delicious, so thought of trying and with the help of my MIL, I  prepared this.

This is a traditional dessert of Kerala. Payasam is an integral part of onam sadhya. Be it palada pradhaman/ parippu pradhaman/ paal payasam, all of the payasams are served along with sadhya. Hope you all had a nice and happy onam.

Ingredients:

1. Aval/ Rice Flakes- 1 cup
2. Ghee- 2 tbsp
3. Jaggery- ¼ Cup
4. Coconut milk (thick milk)- ½ Cup
5. Coconut Milk (thin milk)- 2 Cups
6. Cardamom Powder- 1tsp
7. Cumin Powder- 1tsp
8. Sliced Coconut Pieces- 2 tbsp
9. Cashews- few

Method:

1. Melt the jaggery with little water over low heat and strain the impurities when it becomes cool. Meanwhile roast the cardamom powder and cumin powder and keep this aside.
2. Take the first and second milk from the coconut using little water and keep it aside.
3. Heat a vessel, add ghee and fry the rice flakes till the raw smell disappears.
4. Add the jaggery, thin coconut milk and stir well till the payasam thickens. In this add the roasted cardamom powder and cumin powder.
5. At last add the thick coconut milk and stir well. Do not boil. Remove from flame.
6. Fry the coconut pieces and cashews in ghee and add this to the payasam. Serve and enjoy
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Naranga Achar/ Lime Pickle- Onam Sadhya Recipes

Onam is around the corner and I can see onam sadhya recipes are flooding in all the blogs. I thought this is the perfect recipe which I can  post during this onam time. Pickle is one of the main side dish among onam sadhya.

I am sure if you go to any of your friends house you will find any kind of  pickle for sure.This is a must have item in almost all the houses. My husband is a big fan of lime pickle. Along with biryani or ghee rice, this pickle is a must.
When the store bought pickle got over,I had some 10- 15 lemons which my friend sent me from her home town. In my previous post, I have a lemon pickle recipe which I usually make but I wanted something new and so I searched through the blogs and got this yummy recipe. From the original recipe I have made some changes by adding green chillies and by increasing the quantity of ingredients.

Ingredients:

Adapted from Pranis Kitchen

1. Lime- 10- 12 nos
2. Garlic Pods- a hand ful
3. Curry Leaves- few
4. Red Chillies- 4 nos
5. Asafoetida- ½ tsp
6. Green Chillies- 3 nos
7. Red Chilli Powder- 5- 6 tbsps (I used kashmiri chilli powder)
8. Sesame Oil- ¼ Cup
9. Mustard Seeds- 2 tbsp
10. Salt- as required
11. Vinegar- 2 tbsp
12. Water- required to cook the lime

Method:

1. Boil water and cook the lime in the boiling water till it becomes soft and tender. When it becomes cool take the lime pieces separately and wipe well with a cloth.
2. Cut the lime into 4 pieces and keep the pieces in an airtight container for 4-5 days. In this add salt as required. Shake the bottle everyday.
3. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, red chillies and green chillies and stir well.
4. Add the garlic pods and saute well. When it becomes light brown colour switch off the flame.
5. Add the red chilli powder, asafoetida and salt. Mix well.
6. When it cools, add the soaked lime pieces, mix and meanwhile adjust salt accordingly.
7. Heat vinegar and let it cool completely.
8. When we are about to transfer the pickle in a clean glass bottle add vinegar and mix well.
9. Transfer this in a glass bottle and store it air tight. Make sure that the oil floats above the pickle so that it will keep fresh for many days without getting spoiled.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Vegetable Pulao- A one pot meal...

After my husband is gone to office, I was just relaxing one day and my cousin called and told that she will be visiting me. I was thinking of eating the leftover food for lunch and as she called me, I quickly thought of making something which is less time consuming. I was going through the veggies in the refrigerator, I got carrots and beans and I decided to make this easy peasy veg pulao as this doesn't require a side dish. :)

There are different methods to make a pulao but this is my version of making this easy and simple dish. In this pulao, we can also add green peas, potatoes, capsicum and so on. I added whole spices as when the rice gets cooked the flavors will be well blended. With very little effort, we can make a delicious pulao. I am comfortable with cooking rice in pressure cooker, my mom will be doing it separately but I cannot. For making biryani, I prepare rice in a pressure cooker. It comes out fluffy and non sticky.

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice- 2 Cups
2. Water- 2 ½ Cups
3. Carrots- 3 nos
4. Beans- a bunch
5. Cloves- 4-5 nos
6. Cinnamon- 1 stick
7. Cardamom- 4 nos
8. Ghee- 1 tbsp
9. Oil- 1 tbsp
10. Onions- 1 no
11. Cashew- few

Method:

1. Fry the sliced onions and cashew nuts separately till golden brown and keep it aside.
2. In a pressure cooker add ghee and oil. When hot add the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.
3. Meanwhile cut the carrots and beans into long strips and keep it aside.
4. Add the carrots and beans in the above and stir for a minute. In this add the washed and drained basmati rice, water and salt. Mix and close the cooker.
5. After 3 whistles switch off the flame. When cooker gets cooled open and transfer the rice in a serving bowl.
6. Sprinkle the fried onions and cashews over the pulao and enjoy a scrumptious meal.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Simple and Easy Guava Juice

Guavas are rich in vitamins, minerals and many antioxidants. This is a versatile fruit with only 60 calories per fresh guava, the fruit makes an easy, interesting, non fattening dessert. Nutritional content of this juice helps you gain a healthy immune system.

I usually like to eat not-so-ripe guavas, but as 3-4 guavas turned yellow in colour I decided to make this juice and just threw the ingredients in the blender and a simple and delicious drink was ready within minutes…

We can add a dash of honey instead of sugar if required….

Ingredients:

1. Guava- 2 nos
2. Sugar- 3-4 tbsp
3. Water- 1 glass

Method:

1. Cut the guava into small pieces and add the sugar and water in a blender and blend well,
2. Sieve it through a strainer and discard the seeds. Enjoy this amazingly refreshing drink along with ice cubes or as it is.