SKATE (KITE) OR VAGOLEM, MANGALOREAN FISH CURRY

Ingredients

700 grams Skate or Kite fish, skin removed cut into small pieces (with Bone)

1 sliced onion

5 cloves chopped garlic

1 inch ginger chopped

15 pepper corns

6 green chillies slit

1 tsp Mustard Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Cumin Powder

3 tsps of Kashmiri Chilli Powder

200 ml of coconut milk

(1/2 tsp )salt and (2 tblsp) vinegar to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tsp garam masala

Seasoning:

4 tablspoons of oil

4 crushed garlic

Method:

Add two tsp of salt to skate pieces and scrub lightly all over. Wash and keep aside.

Heat a pan and add three tablespoon oil. When hot add the chopped onions and fry 5 minutes. Add ginger, garlic and black pepper, mix well fry for a minute. Add the powders, salt, vinegar, sugar and half cup water. Mix well and bring to boil. Add the coconut milk and bring to boil. Add the fish pieces, stir and close the lid. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Around 3 minutes into the cooking add the green chillies and garam masala and cook for the remaining two minutes.

Seasoning: Heat the oil in a pan and when add the crushed garlic and when garlic becomes brown add the seasoning to the fish curry and close the lid. After fish minutes, open and stir it gently. Skate fish curry is ready.

PORK COCONUT CURRY

Ingredients

600 gms Lean Pork cut into small cubes

Add 1/2 tsp of Salt, 1 tsp of Cumin Powder, 1/2 turmeric Powder, 1 tsp of Coriander Powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder. Marinate the meat for 5 minutes

In a deep pan add 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the marinated pork pieces in batches for 6 minutes till slightly brown and remove.

Add to the same pan 1 tblsp oil and fry 1 chopped red onion for two minutes. Add 4 chopped garlic, 1 inch chopped ginger. Fry for 30 seconds. Add the fried pork pieces and fry. Add 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 400 ml coconut milk. Let it cook on slow flame for 25 minutes. Add 1/2 of pepper powder, juice of 1 lime and mix well and garnish with coriander leaves.

LAMB OR GOAT Or Beef RENDANG

Ingredients

750 gms of Goat or Lamb cut into small pieces

3/4 Cup Desiccated Coconut, Brown it slightly and grind with little water to make a paste

Make a Paste:

2 medium Onions(chopped), 8 cloves garlic, 2 inch ginger, 6 red chillies, 1 lemongrass. Make paste and keep aside

Pound one lemongrass stick in a mortar and pestle

Method:

In a pressure pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add 8 cloves, 1 stick cinnamon, 4 green cardamon, 3 star anise, Add the ground paste and on medium flame fry till the rawness goes. Add lamb or goat pieces, pounded lemongrass, mix well and fry for a minute. Add tamarind paste, 1 cup Coconut Milk and 1/2 cup masala water and cook on slow flame for 15 minutes.

Cut 6 kafir leaves into strips, 15 curry leaves cut into strips. Add this to the gravy, along with 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 1 tsp salt, 1 tblsp palm sugar. Mix well. Add coconut paste. Mix well and cook for two minutes. Close the pressure pan and cook for 12 whistles (depending on the meat used). Open and cook without the lid till the water dries up. The curry will turn brown. Stir occasionally. Keep frying till it becomes more brown. Take off the flame and sprinkle with a bunch of chopped coriander leaves. If you prepare this a day in advance, it tastes better.

BRINJAL AND PRAWN CURRY

Ingredients

300 gms Brinjal cut into small cubes

200 gms Prawns, cleaned, washed and marinated with turmeric and salt

1 medium Onion chopped fine

1 green chilli chopped fine

3 cloves garlic chopped fine

1 inch ginger chopped fine

1 bunch coriander leaves chopped

1 tomato chopped

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, coriander powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

Method:

Place a deep pan on stove and add 1 tablespoon oil. When it is hot add the chopped onion and fry for a minute. Add ginger, garlic and green chilli and fry for 3 minutes. When mixture has turned slightly brown add the spices, salt and chopped tomato. Mix well and fry for 3 to 5 minutes, adding little water when it becomes dry.

Add the brinjal cubes and coriander leaves, mix well and fry for a minute. Add two cups of water, cover and let it cook for 5 minutes. Add the marinated prawns and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, mix, check for salt and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Brinjal and Prawn Curry is ready

CURRY LEAVES CHUTNEY

Ingredients

A heaped cup of Curry Leaves (washed well)

3/4 Cup Scraped Coconut or Desiccated Coconut

3 Tblsp of Chana Dhal or Dalia

2 Green Chillies

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Oil

Tempering (Optional)

2 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Urid Dhal

1/2 Mustard Seeds

few curry leaves

Method:

Heat Oil in a pan. Fry the washed curry leaves until crisp. Keep aside to cool completely.

Grind the curry leaves along with the other ingredients Cumin Seeds, Chana Dhal, Coconut, Green Chillies, Salt, Lemon Juice and little water to make a fine paste. The Curry Leaves Chutney is ready

If you want to temper the chutney.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot add the urid dhal. When slightly brown add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the curry leaves. Fry till Curry Leaves loses its rawness. Pour this mixture over the ground chutney. The Curry Leaves Chutney is ready

Rice Flour Puttu

Ingredients:

1 Cup Rice Flour ( Lightly Roasted)

Half Scraped Coconut

½ tsp salt

Water

Puttu Steamer

Bananas, Sugar, Ghee

Method:

Mix the Rice flour and salt in a tray. Sprinkle boiled water over it and then using your fingers mix the flour. Keep adding more water till you get a sandy texture of the flour. It should be moist.

Now pour some water in the bottom portion of the puttu steamer and bring to boil. In the top portion drop in some scraped coconut (half a inch) and then the puttu mixture (about two inches) and then repeat the process. At the top you add the scraped coconut. Close the lid and place on top of the bottom portion of steamer.

After about 4 to 5 minutes you will see the steam coming through the perforations on the lid. After a minute take off the stove. Open and with the handle of a spoon or ladle, push through the puttu from the bottom out through the top onto a plate.

How to eat:

Puttu can be had for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is a South Indian preparation. I have it for breakfast in the following manner:

Sprinkle a spoon of sugar on top of the puttu. 1 tsp ghee and add a cut up banana. Mix them all together by mash them up. Then eat it.

Turmeric Leaves Patholi or Steamed Sweet Rice Cakes

Ingredients:

15 Turmeric Leaves

2 cups of boiled rice or ponni rice. Washed and soaked in water overnight.

Scraped Coconut

Scraped Jaggery

½ tsp Cardamom Powder

1 pinch nutmeg powder

Salt

Method:

Grind the rice with little salt in little water to form thick batter. Make a mixture of scraped coconut and jaggery (to taste). Add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to mixture and keep aside. Apply the paste to a leaf (face of the leaf) very thinly. Leave 1 cm at the sides dry. Place a little of the mixture along the spine of the leaf. Fold the leaf and keep aside. Repeat this to all the leaves

Heat up a steamer or tondoor (with water in the bottom section). Place the rolls in the top section and steam for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Peel and enjoy the rice cakes.

Kandi (Banana Plant Stem) Chutney

 

Ingredients:

2 cups Banana Stem ( layers taken off and core cut into bits)

1 green chilli

½ Mustard seeds

¼ scraped coconut

A small ball tamarind

6 red chillies

A pinch Asafoetida or Hing

1 tsp salt

Seasoning:

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp Fenugreek seeds or methi seeds

½ tsp urid or black gram dhal

3 small red chillies

1 sprig (10) curry leaves

A pinch Asafoetida or Hing

3 tbls oil

Method

Boil the Kandi bits in little water and one tsp salt. When boiled, cool and grind along with green chilli, mustard seeds, tamarind, red chillies, coconut, asafoetida and water.

Heat a pan and add oil. Add mustard seeds, red chillies, fenugreek seeds, urid dhal, asafoetida. When urid dhal turns brown, add curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground mixture. Mix and check for salt (add if required). Cook on slow flame for 2 minutes. Remove from stove.

Kandi (Banana Plant Stem) Fugath

 

Ingredients:

2 cups Banana Stem ( layers taken off and core cut into bits)

1 green chilli

1 chopped onion

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 sprig (10) curry leaves

¼ scraped coconut

1 tblsp vegetable powder (optional)

3 tbls oil

Method

Heat vessel and add oil. When oil is hot add mustard seeds, then onion, curry leaves and green chilli. When onion turns slightly brown add the turmeric powder, banana bits, salt and water. Mix and cook on slow fire till Kandi is cooked (15 to 20 minutes). Add vegetable powder and cook for a minute. If you want to skip vegetable powder, then add coconut mix and remove the vessel from stove.

Spicy Chicken Livers Dry

 

500 gms Chicken Livers

Ingredients:

12 Dry Red Chillies

5 Seeds Garlic

1 tsp Cumin seeds

¾ tsp Turmeric Powder

Small Ball Tamarind

12  pepper corns

Two sticks cinnamon

5 cloves

All the above ingredients to be ground fine in water.

1 Onion Chopped

15 Curry Leaves

1/2 scraped Coconut

Vinegar ( 1 to 2 tbls)

Salt (1.5 tsp) to taste

Chopped coriander leaves few stalks.

Method:

Clean and Cut Chicken Livers into 2 to 3 pieces each, wash well and boil the pieces with a little salt, 1 tsp pepper powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2 tblsp vinegar and one cup water.

Grind and remove the masala and reserve the masala water.

Fry 4 tablespoons of the ground masala. Add the scraped coconut and fry till you get the fried coconut aroma. Remove the coconut.

Heat two tablespoons oil and add curry leaves and then fry the chopped onion. When brown add the ground masala and fry till dry. Add the masala water and again fry till nearly dry. Now add boiled chicken liver pieces and fry till they are coated with the masala. Now add the boiled water, vinegar, salt and allow to cook till the meat is nearly dry.

Check for salt and vinegar- add if required. Add the fried scraped coconut and mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves. Mix and remove from flame.