Spicy prawns curry

Ingredients

Prawns – 250 g, wash , clean and de-veined
Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
Salt – ½ teaspoon
Onion – 2, finely sliced
Chilli powder – 1 ½ teaspoon
Pepper powder – ½ teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 1 spring ( dark green colour )
Ginger – 1 – inch piece, thinly sliced
Garlic – 8, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Water – ¼ cup (50 ml)
Cooking oil – 2 teaspoon

Method

Wash , clean and devein the prawns and marinate with turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside for one hour.

Mix chilli powder, pepper powder and coriander powder with 1 tablespoon water. Keep aside.

In a frying pan , heat cooking oil. Add finely sliced onions and fry till golden colour. Add curry leaves, ginger, garlic , chilli powder, pepper powder and coriander powder mix. Saute well for five minutes.

Add prawns , water and salt to taste. Cover with a lid. Cook for 8 minutes or till done. Spicy prawns curry goes well with rice, Chapati and appam .

Serving suggestion

If you want a less spicy curry ……You can add a cup of coconut milk while serving. But do not bring to boil. ( 50 m (1/4 cup)l thick coconut milk for 250 g prawns ).

Glycemic Index ( GI )

It’s a new tool that helps design healthy diets

Not all carbohydrate foods are created equally. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on the blood glucose levels. Glycemic Index is a scale that ranks the carbohydrate- rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels as compared to glucose.

A GI of 55 or less ranks as low, a GI of 56 to 69 is medium and a GI of 70 or more ranks as high. Use the chart below to help you make a healthy choice.

LOW GI FOODS

Skimmed milk
Plain Yogurt
Apple / plum / orange / grapes / strawberries
Sweet potato
Carrots
Oat bran bread
Oats
Lentils / kidney or baked beans / Chana dal / Chick peas
Semolina
Tomatoes / cucumber / broccoli / cabbage / leeks / spinach / mushrooms / sweet potato
Water, tea, tomato juice, apple juice, carrot juice
Eggs, all types of fish and poultry, nuts , dairy products, seeds

MEDIUM GI FOODS

Banana
Beets
Pineapple
Raisins
Popcorn
White rice
White bread
Brown rice
Wheat flour
Whole wheat bread
Ice cream

HIGH GI FOODS

Dates
Honey
Watermelon
Popcorn
Dried dates
French fries
Ice cream
Refined sugar ( sucrose )

Why use this tool ?

Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced. And this means you will feel fuller for longer between meals. It also keeps heart disease and type 2 diabetes at bay. Simply put this is an exciting way to pick foods to lose weight, live longer and feel great.

Kickstart your day with an energy drink. Here’s the recipe.

1 cup milk
1 teaspoon honey
4 almonds mashed / shredded
1 ripe banana

Method

Blend it all in a mixer with lots of ice and drink. For more energy, opt for soy milk. You can also add fruits such as apple, pear, grapes and a dash of cocoa.

Melam Masala Vegetable Curry

Vegetable Masala

Recipe :

Peel carrots and potatoes and cut them to small cubes. Cut beans and cauliflower to half inch pieces. Cook carrots, potatoes, beans, cauliflower and peas together with very little water. Heat ghee in a pan, add onions and fry to light brown. Add ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and fry lightly. Add tomatoes and vegetable masala mixed with little water and saute well. Add cooked vegetables and saute for another two minutes. Add cream / coconut paste / milk and salt to taste and mix well. Bring to boil and remove from fire. Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves. Vegetable curry goes well with Chapati / Pulao / Idiyappam and Parotta.

Find out here more recipes, Melam products.... and enjoy the '' real '' Kerala Taste !!!!

Melam Masala Chicken Curry

Melam Chicken Masala Chicken Curry

Method

Heat oil and saute onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Then add masala powder mixed with little water and fry well. Add chicken pieces, tomatoes, salt and water if needed. Cover and cook till done and gravy fairly thick. Serve hot with garnished coriander leaves if needed.

Discover here more Melam products and recipes....

Shallow Fried Ripe Plantain- Nutritious after school snack !!!

Ingredients

Ripe plantain ( Ethapazham / Nenthrampazham ) -1 ( cut into slices )
Ghee – 1 teaspoon

Method

In a non-stick frying, heat ghee . Arrange plantain slices. Shallow fry till golden brown on both the sides. Serve hot. It’s a delicious after school snack…. Nutritious too !!!

Serving tips for extra sweetness

1, Sprinkle sugar on sides of the banana slices

2, Apply jam

Visit here for Pazhampori recipe

Tips for Baking Biscuits

Procedure

Line a flat baking tray with non-stick baking paper. The tray can have a small lip (slightly raised edges), but biscuits will not brown evenly in a tray that is too deep.

Do not crowd biscuits - it's important for air to circulate for even cooking. Place biscuits in rows, lining up each row to sit behind the gaps formed by the biscuits in front.

When biscuits are baked, remove from oven and stand on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Standing time allows biscuits to firm, so they won't break.

Photos of Toddy shop in Kuttanadu Kerala & awesome sea foods

The tourism industry in and around the scenic town of Alleppey ( which includes the famous Kumarakom Lagoon and Kuttanad - the largest paddy fields in the world below sea level ); was revolutionized with the advent of House boats. Originally, these house boats were meant for transportation of goods between various towns in southern Kerala.

Alleppey ( or the more politically correct Alapuzha) is known as the Venice of the East due to its well connected (but unfortunately weed infested) water ways. Its vast expanse of greenery and the broad waterways makes it ideal for a vacation spot. Even though a house boat trip is quite expensive by Indian standards, the Western nationals find it much cheaper.

Personally I found the trip very enjoyable and refreshing - Worth the money paid. I testify that I will go again if an opportunity comes.

A typical house boat journey starts from the Punnamada jetty on the banks of Punnamada Kayal ( Back waters). Depending upon one’s need; one can hire a boat ( 1,2 or 3 bedrooms or conference halls) and also for the number of days ( one day ie 6 hrs, two days ie overnight or even for a week). Depending on the size and facility the cost also varies ( for a 6 hr trip we paid around INR.5500/ just for the 1 bed room boat and the special cuisine of 3 non-veg dishes including sea food. The boat has got a TV, double bed ( aircon) and a washroom.

Punnamada Jetty itself is a great view – as one can see unending rows of house boats of different decoration, size and capacity. The boat rides start around 11.00 am. Moving away from the crowded marina, the boat cruises leisurely to the broader back waters. The cool breeze and the greenery is really soothing. Slowly the boat wades its way to Kuttanad ( known as the rice bowl of Kerala)– the place with coconut tree lined paddy fields. One will wonder how the paddy is cultivated in the fields which are much below the water level - yes it is really wonderful. One can see the government transport boats picking up and dropping people at the boat stops at different island blocks in Kuttanad ( just like we move around in city thru city service buses); as boats are the only means of transportation to most of them.

The boat crew typically consists of a guide, boat driver ( the pilot or captain) and a chef.

A brief stop over at the toddy shop( coconut beer) is an opportunity for the adventurous to taste the heady stuff. One can alight there and taste the cuisine – typically sea food( kanava, varaal and konju) preparation – cooked to order. The friendly boat crew made things easy for us.

Enjoy these Toddy shop ( kallu shaap ) photos !!!!!

Kuttanadu R block toddy shop

Outer view

Fresh varal fish

Marinated fishes

Toddy shop kitchen--fish curry's getting ready in Meen chutty

Marinated prawns

Fish curry

Prawns fry and karimeen fry



Toddy / coconut beer ( naadan kallu )

Fish curry & kappa vevichathu

Toddy and kappa

Fsh curry, varaal fry and parava fry

Varaal fry

Parava fry

View from Toddy shop

For Houseboat booking

Contact

Damodar Tours

Rajeev # 9496230498 / 9847428893

Babychan # 9446855833 /0477-272249

Visit here for Alleppey Houseboat cruise