One more prawns recipe. I guess I’ve posted more prawns recipes here than fish recipes . After all who can resist prawns right ?? Some people might say prawns increase your cholesterol, but once in a while its ok to indulge in such simple pleasures of life, isn’t it, what say ;)??

Anyways,didn’t I tell you in my previous post, about the royal pampering back home :)?? Yes, this comes from my Mom in law’s kitchen. We, Jose n myself, just loved it. I was multitasking at lunch time on the  day this was made… stocking up the prawns in my plate,  covering it from eagle eyes (read Jose ;) ) and enjoying each bite of it…

Hope you will also enjoy it as we did :)

Here is the recipe:

1. Tiger prawns – 10
2. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
3. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
   Pepper powder – 1tsp
   Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
4. Oil – 1tsp
5. Lemon juice – 1 tsp
6. Curry leaves – chopped
7. Oil – for frying
   Salt

Combine all the ingredients and make a paste. Marinate the prawns with this paste and keep aside for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry it for 5-7 minutes. If you fry it for long, the prawns will become hard.

Notes: You can put the prawns on a skewer/tooth pick and fry, if you wish. Using coconut oil will enhance the flavor.

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Hey,

Am back in Bahrain :) Hope you are doing great!!

We reached Bahrain a few weeks ago. I was a bit lazy that’s why you didn’t see any new post here ;). Anyways, we had a good time back home. Thank you for your wishes and also for dropping in and trying out the recipes, thanks again :) Hope I’ve replied to all your queries, if in case I’ve missed out any, please do buzz me again.

My usual cooking is not yet in full swing  (I dont find making thorans and mezhukkuperattis all that exciting ;) ), after having been pampered royally at home I am not yet in the mood of cooking. However the baking is picking up speed :).

Now this post is there in my drafts for a long long time…This is the first ever cupcake/muffins I’ve tried. I dont know why I didn’t post it till now. As I always say, better late than never :). This is a very basic recipe, the usual simple & easy stuff.

Here is the recipe:

1. Butter – 125 gm (room temp)
   Powdered sugar – 125 gm
2. Eggs – 2 (room temp)
3. All purpose flour (maida) – 125 gm
   Baking powder – 1 1/4 tsp
4. Milk – 2 tbsp (optional)
5. Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp

Preheat oven to 180 C, 10 minutes before baking. Sift together flour & baking powder. Beat well the butter & sugar till its creamy & light in colour. Add eggs, sifted flour and vanilla essence. Beat it for 2-3 minutes till all the ingredients are combined well. If the batter tends to be very thick, add milk and mix well. Spoon the batter to greased muffin tin/paper cups. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Let it cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Notes: You can store it at room temp for 3-4 days. You will get 12 standard size muffins with the above qty.

Recipe source: Vanitha Magazine

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Hi

Hope things are great with you. As I’ve mentioned in the previous post, I am in Kerala now, enjoying my vacation. Usually when we are here, we will be busy traveling, shopping etc etc. However this time we’ve decided to take a break from the usual holiday stuff and decided to be at home for a change :) The climate is also good, its raining at times and I love it :) Being at home had one more advantage. I was able to watch Ria’s cookery show on TV and dear it was simply great!!

Now its time to share something with you. My interview came in a Bahrain Lifestyle magazine called “Woman this month” :). The magazine people wanted to interview a woman who is passionate about something. What should I say…I just happened to be at the right place at the right time :) I’ve flaunted it already in the orkut and facebook ;) and after posting it here I will stop or at least try to reduce the flaunting ;). That’s a first time experience for me and I am all excited, so its ok to showoff right ;)?? Also all this happened because of this small space called MariasMenu and this space is here because of you, so a big THANK YOU :)

Thanks to Simi & Sarina for the interview :) So this is the interview (click on the image to read the interview) :

Ok, time to go to the recipe. Btw, this is not from my drafts. This recipe comes straight from my mom in law’s kitchen. I know there are umpteen number of chilli gobi recipes and I thought I will share with you our version too :) Hope you’ll like it.

Here is the recipe:

1. Cauliflower florets – 2 cups
   For Marination
2. Plain flour (maida) – 3 tbsp
   Cornflour – 2tbsp
   Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
   Salt
   Oil – 1 tsp
   Water
3. Sesame seeds – 1 tsp (optional)
   Onion – 1 big, chopped
   Ginger – 1 tbsp, chopped
   Garlic – 1 1/2 tbsp, sliced
   Green chilly – 1-2
4. Soya sauce – 1 – 1/2 tbsp
   Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp
   Red chilly sauce – 1 1/2 tbsp
5. Pepper powder – 1 tsp
   Vinegar – 1tsp
   Sugar – 1 tsp
6. Salt
7. Oil

Boil cauliflower florets in salted water for 3-5 minutes and drain the water completely. Make a thick batter with the marination ingredients. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter & shallow fry it till the florets become golden brown. Keep it aside.

In the same oil, add sesame seeds, ginger &garlic, green chilly & onion. Cook till the onion becomes soft. Add all the sauces, pepper powder, vinegar, sugar and salt. Mix well. Add the fried cauliflower & combine well. Make sure that the florets are well coated with the sauces. Garnish with spring onion, coriander leaves etc; Serve hot.

Notes: You can use red chilly paste instead of red chilly sauce. To make red chilly paste, add 1 tsp of vinegar to 2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder. Please note that if you are using red chilly paste, don’t add vinegar separately.

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Eid Mubarak!! Hope you had a great time with your family and friends.

Its been sometime right? I was a bit busy with some stuff and now am off to India for a month’s holiday. Thought I will keep you posted about it.

I am very happy to share with you that Nivedita of Nivedita’s Kitchen passed  me the Honest scrap award.  Also Priya of House of Spices passed me a bunch of awards. Thanks a ton to both of you for sharing the awards with me :)

Here is the dal makhani recipe which I promised long time back, hope you’ll enjoy this. I’ve some recipes in drafts, will try to post it if I get time :).  I will not be checking my mails frequently, but will try my best to reply at the earliest.

1. Whole black beans (urad saboot) – 1 cup
   Split gram dal (channe ki dal) – 2 tbsp
   Red kidney beans (rajmah) – 2 tbsp
2. Ghee/oil – 1 tbsp
3. Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
4. Whole red chilly – 2
5. Ginger – 1″ piece
   Garlic- 4 flakes (optional)
6. Tomatoes – 4, pureed in a grinder
7. Kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves) – 1 tbsp
8. Ghee/oil – 3 tbsp
9. Coriander powder – 2 tsp
   Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
10. Butter – 2 tbsp
11. Fresh cream – 1/4 cup
    Milk – 14 cup

Clean, wash dals. Soak both dals and rajmah together for 6 hours or overnight. Grind ginger & garlic together to a paste. Discard water from the dals and add 6 cups of fresh water. Pressure cook the dals and rajmah with 1 tbsp ghee, salt, half of the ginger garlic paste and whole red chillies. After the first whistle keep on low flame for 40 minutes. Remove from fire. After the pressure drops, mash the hot dal a little. Keep aside.

Heat ghee. Add tomato puree. Cook until thick and dry. Add the remaining ginger garlic paste, garam masala and coriander powder. Cook until ghee separates. Add kasoori methi. Cook further for 1-2 minutes. Add this tomato mixture to the boiled dal.

Add butter, simmer on low flame for 20-25 mins, stirring & mashing the dal occasionally. Combine cream & milk & beat it well. Add beaten cream mixed with milk. Mix very well. Simmer for 15-20 mins more to get the right color & smoothness. Remove from fire serve hot.

Notes: The above qty serves 6-8 people. I didn’t use channe ki dal. I used whipping cream instead of fresh cream. This can be stored for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Recipe source: Punjabi Khanna by Nita Mehta

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One more pickle recipe from my mom in law. She usually make it with fish, but she said prawns can also be made in the same way. If I say I love this pickle, it will be an understatement, because I can literally live on this pickle. Since I always get parcels from mummy, I’ve never tried to make it my own. But last week I was left with empty bottles and after being pampered with home made pickles I didn’t feel like buying ready made ones. Since I was making it for the first time I was a bit apprehensive, but to my luck it came out well without much hiccups :)

Hope you too will like it and this is more easy compared to the lemon pickle recipe. For me, the only time consuming part was the cleaning of prawns.

1. Boneless king Fish/prawns-  1 kg
2. To marinate-
   Kashmiri chilly powder – 2 teaspoon
   Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
   Salt
3. Ginger sliced – 1 tablespoon
   Garlic sliced – 1 tablespoon
   Green chilly chopped  1 teaspoon
   Curry leaves
4. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
   Kashmiri chilly powder  – 2 tablespoon
   Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
5. Salt
6. Mustard seed – 1 teaspoon
   Fenugreek seed – 1 teaspoon
7. Vinegar -  ½ – 1 cup
8. Oil
   Water – 1/2 – 3/4 cup (boiled & cooled)

Marinate the cleaned fish/prawns with number 2 ingredients and keep for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan & fry the fish/prawns. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in another pan and add mustard & fenugreek seeds. When it crackles add ginger sliced, garlic sliced and green chilly chopped & curry leaves and fry till it becomes brown. Keep it aside. Add ginger garlic paste to the same pan & fry it till it becomes brown. Add chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt. Fry the masala till its done and the oil starts appearing. Add 3-4 tbsp of water. Mix well and after a minute add fried fish/prawns, fried ginger & garlic slices & chopped green chilly & vinegar. Let it boil. If you want more gravy, add 3-4 tbsp water. Boil it for 5 more minutes. Do a taste check and ad more salt & vinegar, if required. Remove from fire & let it cool completely.

Store it in airtight container and pour the remaining fried oil over the top of the pickle.

Notes: If you’re making this recipe with fish, cut it into bite size pieces. I used sunflower oil. You can use sesame oil (nallenna), corn oil etc;  When you add vinegar, start with 1/2 cup and add more, after doing a taste check. Keep in mind that that it will take time for the flavor to settle in. This is a spicy recipe, please adjust the ingredient measurements to suit your taste.

If you are planning to keep it for a long time, its better to refrigerate it. Also if you’re living in a hot & humid climate, refrigeration is strongly recommended. Though you can start using it the day it’s made, its better to keep it for 1-2 days for the flavor to settle in. Make sure that you use only boiled & cooled water.

Check out mummy’s lemon pickle:

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Hope you are set for the Onam celebrations. As I’ve mentioned before in this space, I have made full fledged Onasadya only once, for the first Onam after our wedding. After that I haven’t made one, mainly because I didn’t have to. We were invited by some of our sweet friends for Onasadya at their place :), thanks a ton guys :).

I had some Kerala style veg dishes lying around in my drafts, so am just putting it together.  Please have a look.

We wish you and your family a very happy onam. Hope all of you celebrate Onam true to its spirit.

Here are the recipes:

Inji/Puliyinji Curry

Pavakka Kichadi

Beetroot mezhukkupuratti

Carrot & Beans Thoran

Parippu Curry

Please check out the payasam recipes too:

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1. Pavakka (bitter gourd) – 1 medium size
2. Green chilly – 3-4
3. Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
   Mustard – 1/4 tsp
4. Yogurt – 1/2 – 1 cup
5. Mustard – 1/2 tsp
   Small onion – 2-3
   Whole red chilly – 2
   Curryleaves
6. Salt
7. Coconut oil

Crush 1/4 tsp mustard seeds. Grind the coconut into a smooth paste adding a little water and add the crushed mustard seeds to this.

Cut pavakka into thin slices. Heat oil in a pan and fry the pavakka pieces till it becomes golden brown color, make sure that it doesn’t get burnt. Keep the fried pavakka aside. Add curry leaves and green chilly to the same oil and fry it for 1-2 minutes & remove from fire. Combine the fried pavakka pieces, curry leaves & green chilly & add salt to it. Add coconut paste to the pavakka pieces+curryleaves+green chilly. Add yogurt to this & mix well.

Heat oil in  a pan & splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, whole red chilly & sliced small onion. Fry it till the onion becomes golden brown and pour this over the pavakka mix.

Recipe source: Vanitha magazine

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