Fried Fish (with spice paste)

A tasty fried fish, goes well with rice in Indian cuisine !!

Serves: 2 - 4

Ingredients

4 good quality fish pieces

200 ml oil (to deep fry)

1 st marinade:

1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

2 nd marinade:

2 1/2  teaspoon red chilli powder

½ teaspoon pepper powder

6 shallots (chuvannulli, / sambar onion)

6 garlic cloves

1/2 - inch piece ginger

1/2 teaspoon thick tamarind paste

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Make a thick paste above ingredients in a small mixer bowl. Do not add water when making paste. It should be thick in consistency.

Method

Wash and clean fish (until water is clear and without dirt). Drain out water completely. Wipe each fish piece carefully with a soft kitchen towel.

In a wide bowl, mix lemon juice and salt together. Marinate this mix evenly on both the sides of the fish. Cover and keep aside for half an hour.

Apply 2 nd marinade evenly on both the sides of each fish pieces. Cover and keep aside for one hour.

Heat kadai or frying pan on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and pour 200 ml oil. Heat oil for 2 minutes. Arrange fish and deep  fry till golden brown on both the sides.

Gently remove fried fish from the frying pan with a flat spatula. Drain on paper towels to absorb extra oil. Serve with rice / side dishes ....Decorate with lemon wedges, onion rings and tomato wedges .. (optional).

Idiyappam with Kerala Egg Roast

Idiyappam (String hoppers / Nool puttu / Puttu mayam / Sevai) is a delicious steamed dish in South Indian cuisine. It's also popular in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Idiyappam goes well with stew / korma / non veg gravy dishes.

Serves : 2
Makes : 8 - 10 nos

Here's the recipe of homemade rice flour

Ingredients

1 cup  raw rice flour (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity), sieve flour

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ghee / oil

1 1/2 teaspoon extra oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup grated coconut ( optional )

Method

In a bowl,  boil water with salt and ghee / oil. When the water starts boiling, add  the rice flour and mix well with a thick ladle until well combined with hot water / water fully absorbed. Switch off the gas flame. Cover and keep aside to cool for 10 - 12  minutes.

Transfer this rice flour mix to another wide bowl / basin. Add a teaspoon of oil to the mix and knead to a soft dough. Divide it into lemon sized balls.

Lightly grease the idiyappam mould and put 2 lemon sized portions of the rice dough.

Press/ extrude out the dough (resembling the noodles ) - while moving the mould in a small circle to form a small mount of noodles - onto each of the greased idiyappam stand / idli steamer and sprinkle grated coconut ( optional ).

Steam for about 10 - 12 minutes in a steamer / pressure cooker ( without weight ) / National/ Panasonic rice  cooker or till done. Serve with egg roast / stew / korma or chicken curry.

Thick Egg roast

Ingredients

2 tablespoon oil

2 onions, thinly sliced (2 big size or 3 or 4 small size)

6 cloves garlic, chopped and crushed

1/2 - inch piece ginger, chopped and crushed

1 well ripe tomato, chopped (1 big size or 2 small size)

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

6 curry leaves

1/4 teaspoon clove powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder

1 ½  teaspoon coriander powder

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

2 boiled eggs

Method

Dilute red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder in 2 tablespoon water (spice mix).

Heat oil in a pan or karahi on a medium heat. Add sliced onion and fry till golden color.

Add ginger – garlic paste and fry for 1 – 2 minutes until raw smell disappears.

Add chopped tomatoes and fry for  5 – 7 minutes until well combined and thickens.

Add diluted spice mix and stir well on a low heat for 1 – 2 minutes until the water dries up and well combined with other ingredients.

Add curry leaves and stir well.

Add salt to taste, cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, nut meg powder and 1/4 cup water (up to the level of onions). Mix all the ingredients well. 

Cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat for 10 - 12 minutes until done and water dries up / fragrant. At this stage add boiled eggs. Stir well. Cover again with lid and cook on a low heat for another 10 minutes. This egg roast is thick in consistency. It;s best with Idiyappam / Brown bread / as a side dish with chapati / pulao / ghee rice or plain rice.

How to prepare Kanji / Pejje in Pressure Cooker?

Kanji / Pejje is a famous , all time favourite porridge of Kerala. It’s made from Brown rice , contains carbohydrates which gives instant energy . Kanji goes well with Chammanthi / Cherupayar/ pickle / pappadam ( chuttapappadam / roasted is better/ ) and a dash of Ghee. 1 serving bowl kanji with 1/4 teaspoon salt is also very tasty (or uppitta kanjivellam).

Kanji's good infants also. For infants, one can make Kanji with milk and sugar. Easy for digestion and no side effects. A variation of this is called Paal – Kanji ( Paal- Milk ) in which the base is water , but a cup of milk is added and brought to boil. With sugar added to taste, this Paal Kani is liked / good for kids as well as senior citizens. Kanji is Paejje in Konkani cuisine. 

Serves: 3 - 4

Ingredients

1 cup / 200 ml Kerala brown rice (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) Please same measuring cup to measure rice and water

Water – 5 cups

Method

Wash and clean rice. Add 1 cup Kerala brown rice and 5 cups water in the pressure cooker and soak for half an hour (if we soak rice for half an hour, then it will cook very fast). Pressure Cook for 30 minutes (reduce the heat from high after 6 quick whistles and cook on a medium heat for 25 minutes) until done / soft. Do not open the pressure cooker lid immediately. Allow the cooker to cool naturally. Remove pressure cooker lid. 

Stir well. Cover with another normal lid and cook on a medium heat for another 15 minutes. 

Serve with Chammanthi (Tambeli) / Potato fry / Chawli humman / Cherupayar thoran / pickle / pappadam . Hot Kanji is very good for winter and rainy days.