Kappa ittuvecha Konchum Thalayum / Tapioca Prawns Curry

Tapioca and fish curry.. slurp..No introduction is needed for this amazing combination. What if we could combine these two together in a curry? This recipe is the answer for that question..

Kappa ittuvecha Konchum Thalayum

Ingredients

1 lb head-on tiger prawns
1 lb tapioca cut into medium size cubes

15 pearl onions cut into two center wise
4 cups second extract of coconut milk
1/2 cup first extract of coconut milk
4 tbsp  chilli powder
4 tbsp coriander powder
1 pinch of turmeric powder
2 tbsp coconut oil
lots of curry leaves
salt to taste

* If you are using canned coconut milk, use 400 ml can. Keep 1/2 cup coconut milk as the first extract and mix the remaining coconut milk with water to get the consistency of second extract coconut milk to get 4 cups of it.

How to clean the prawns?

* Separate the head from prawns using a knife
* Clean the head under running water to remove all the dirt , cut off long whiskers and sharp points on it and pat dry
* Remove the shell and vein from the prawns and wash it and pat dry.

Preparation

1. In a vessel, take enough water to cover the tapioca cubes and add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste.

2. Once the tapioca pieces are completely cooked , take off the pieces from water and keep it aside.
(Make sure the tapioca is not over cooked as we will be adding these pieces in the fish curry and will be cooked for a while.)

3. Heat a mud pot a thick bottom pan, add 11/2 tbsp coconut oil .

4. Once the oil is hot enough, add the cut pearl onions and saute for 5 minutes.

5. Now add the chilli powder and coriander powder and saute for another 2 or 3 minutes in low flame.

6. Add the second extract coconut milk to this and stir well, allow it it to boil in medium flame.

7. Once it boils, add the cleaned prawns and head along with enough salt.

8. Once the prawns are half cooked , add the cooked tapioca cube also to it and allow the prawns to get cooked completely.

9. At this stage, add the first extract of coconut milk and curry leaves to it. At this stage, check for salt and add more salt if needed.

10. Wait for the curry to boil . As soon as bubbles start coming, switch off the stove and remove the pan/mud pot from stove.

Mysore Pak

As a kid, a trip to the bakery would always end up with a piece of mysore pak at least for my sweet tooth. As I grew up, this fondness increased and I always wondered if  I could make it at home. I searched many websites, tried many recipes.. Alas!! something was always missing in it.

For a diwali get together, I saw my friend S preparing it and the moment I tasted it, memories of childhood board in. Here is the recipe of it and as S said, I too believe mysore pak is all about the measurements , the heat you use and lots and lots of effort to for non stop stirring!!

Mysore Pak

Ingredients

1 cup besan
2 cups sugar
11/2 to 2 cups ghee
3/4 cup water

Preparation

* All the preparations should be done in low flame heat.
* The more you use ghee the softer and tastier the mysore pak will be.

1. In a large pan or kadai, take sugar and add water to it. Once the sugar completely dissolves, boil the sugar syrup until it reaches one string consistency .

* To check if it reached one string consistency, take a little sugar syrup and cool it. Now stretch it in between thumb and index finger. If it forms a thin string, it is the right consistency.

2. At this one string consistency stage, add the besan to the sugar syrup little by little stirring continuously. If you don't stir properly, lumps will be formed and that will spoil the mysore pak .

3. Once the besan thickens up, add ghee little by little stirring continuously. When the ghee is properly mixed, you will get the smell of ghee.

4. The mix will start bubbling and when it starts to leave the sides of the kadai, pour it into a greased tray or pan and allow it to cool.

5. After 5 minutes, cut it into desired shapes. Once it is completely cooled, remove the pieces gently.

Kallu Shappu Style Njandu Curry / Toddy Shop Style Crab Roast

The very first time I heard about the amazing food that is served in toddy shop was from my class mates in engineering. During that time, in Trivandrum, near the bypass a toddy shop was opened for families :) No no no..it is not for the toddy they are there, it is for the spicy and hot food served .

I still remember the meen thala curry I had  with kappa from that restaurant and it was out of this world!! The  toddy shop dishes are hot and spicy and simple preparations.

When I went to buy fish yesterday, saw live wild crabs there and bought some.So thought of making this really hot crab curry.  This is for all the hot and spicy food lovers out there ..Enjoy!!

Kallu Shappu Style Njandu Curry

Ingredients to roast the crab ( To serve 4 people)

To cook the crab

1.5 lb fresh crab
water enough to dip the crab pieces
salt enough to taste

To roast the crab

21/2 tbs chilli powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped ginger
3 large onions thinly sliced
1 tsp meat masala
41/2 tsp pepper powder
3 large tomatoes chopped
8 tsp coconut oil
3 green chilies slit open
salt enough to taste
15 curry leaves

Preparation


Cleaning the crab

Cut the crabs into two pieces from center and detach the legs. Then clean the pieces in running tap water for a while. Take water in a large bowl and add some salt and turmeric powder in it. Put the crabs in this water  for 10 to 15 minutes to clean it well. Take out the crab and drain it.

Cooking the crab

1. Take some water in a large vessel and boil it (water enough to dip all the crab pieces).

2. Add some salt in the water.

3. Once the water starts boiling, add the cleaned crab pieces  in it. After 10 to 12 minutes, you see that the black spots on the crabs turn orange. This shows that the crabs are cooked.

4. Remove the crab from the water and keep aside. You can use this water for roasting the crabs. If you are using this water for roasting, you should be careful about the salt you add in the masala as we alreay added some salt in this water .

Roasting the crab

1. Heat 5 tsp of coconut oil in a kadai.

2. Add chopped garlic and ginger to the oil and saute until the raw smell goes.

3. Add the sliced onions and green chilies to it and saute for 5 to 6 minutes.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes to it and stir well.

5. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add enough salt, chili powder, coriander powder, meat masala and 2 tsp of coconut oil and stir well for 5 minutes.

6. Now the gravy will be somewhat thick and at this stage add the 4 tsp of pepper powder and stir well for another 2 minutes.

7. Now put the cooked crab pieces into this gravy and stir well for 2 to 3 minutes so that all the crabs get covered by the masala. (Before putting the crabs pieces to the masala, break the cooked crab shells a bit to make sure the flavors get mixed. Be careful not to break it too much).

8. At this stage, add 1/2 cup of water to this and stir well until the gravy is thick (Make sure it is not too dry).

9. Now add 1/2 tsp of pepper powder, curry leaves and 1 tsp of coconut oil and stir well  for 1 minute and turn off the stove.

The spicy crab roast is ready !!

Poori Masala

Poori masala is a very common dish in Indian households. Though poori can b served with most of the veg and nonveg dishes, the best and perfect combination for it is the potato masala which is Indian mashed potatoes.

This masala can also be used for making masal dosa.

Poori Masala

Ingredients

To make Poori (To make 10 to 12 pooris)

1 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup + as needed water
1 or 2 cups of oil enough to immerse the poori completely
Salt to taste

To make Masala (To serve 2 to 3 people )

3 large potatoes
1 big onion thinly sliced
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 tsp chopped garllic
3 or 4 green chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
a few curry leaves
1/2 cup water
salt to taste

Preparation

To make poori

1. Add the wheat flour and salt in a large bowl and mix well.

2. Add the water little by little and mix the dough to get a consistency harder than that of chappathi. Add 1 tsp of oil to the dough and mix until no flour is stick on the bowl and the dough is smooth and kneadable.

3. Cover and rest aside the dough for at least one hour. After that, knead it well once again and separate into half  lemon sized balls.

4. Take each ball of dough and roll it into palm sized circular shapes using a roll pin. (not too thick, not too thin). If the dough is sticking while rolling,  add a little oil to it.

5.  In a kadai add oil enough to deep fry the poori. Heat the oil in medium heat. Once the fumes start coming, drop each rolled poori in the oil. Press the poori gently with a ladle when the poori starts to bulge slightly. This will make the poori puff well.

6.  Once it puffs well, flip the poori over and cook the other side until golden brown spots appear.

7.  Drain them in a paper towel.


*  Do not use the dry wheat flour while rolling to prevent sticking. Use oil instead of it. If you use the flour, it may leave black traces while frying and it can discolor the pooris.

*  If you stretch the dough little more than the palm size, you may not get puffed pooris.

*  For the pooris to puff, there should be enough oil in the kadai and also the oil should be hot enough.

To make the masala

1. Boil the potatoes and peel them off .

2. Mash the potatoes roughly (It should not be smooth paste) and keep it aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Add mustard seeds, when it splutters add dry red chillies and curry leaves.

4. Add the chopped ginger and garlic, sliced onions and green chillies to that and saute well.

5. Once the onion turn light brown in color, add turmeric powder and mashed potatoes.

6. Mix well , add  water along with salt and bring to boil. You can mash the potatoes slightly with the ladle.

7. Once the gravy is thick enough,the masala  is ready to be served.

* If the gravy is too thick you can add water as needed and bring to boil.

Manchattiyil Varattiya Kozhi / Chicken Roast in Mud Pot

Whenever your loved ones give you something, it will be really special to you and you will just love it. I got this special recipe that way and I just love it. Its an easy preparation. But when it comes to taste, it is the best.

I would suggest you people to make this dish in a mud pot, in malayalam "manchatti", which somehow brings an extra flavor to the curry. Also, use coconut oil for cooking as it is an authentic kerala dish.

Manchattiyil Varattiya Kozhi 

Ingredients (To serve 2 or 3 people)

To marinate the chicken

500 gms chicken with bone

20 pearl onions minced

1 tbsp chicken masala

1 tsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt enough to taste

To make the chicken roast

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

10 cloves

3 sticks of cinnamon

6 cardamom

2 or 3 bay leaves

1 tbsp garllic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

5 or 6 green chillies minced (I used really hot chillies)

2 medium tomatoes sliced

2 tbsp coconut oil

Salt enough to taste

Preparation

1. Wash the chicken and place it in a colander to drain of all the excess water.

2. Marinate the chicken with minced onion, chicken masala, turmeric powder, coconut oil and sail. Keep it aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a manchatti (earthen pot). Add fenugreek seeds . Once its light brown in color, add fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and saute for a few seconds until it leaves an aroma. 

(Heat is to medium as high heat can burn the spices)

4. Add ginger paste, garllic paste and minced green chillies to it and saute for a few seconds till the raw smell fades.

5. Add sliced tomatoes and cook it till it is softened.

6. To that add the marinated chicken , mix well and cook it in low heat for 5 minutes covering the manchatti .

After that,open the lid and mix again to prevent it from getting burnt.

(Chicken will normally release enough water to keep the curry moist. If you feel the curry is getting too dry, you can add 4 to 5 table spoon of water)

7.  Again cover the manachatti with lid and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes in medium heat.  Stir occasionally  When the chicken is completely cooked, you can turn off the stove and remove the manchatti from stove top. 

Enjoy the  nadan and simple chicken roast!!

* This chicken roast goes well with chappathi, naan, pathiri etc

* I would suggest to paint the inside of  manchatti with coconut oil before you start cooking to prevent food  from sticking.

* If you are cooking it in manchatti, you should be really careful as the curry can get burnt easily.

Pavakka Kondattam / Sun dried Bittergourd Chips

Pavakka Kondattam may be a familiar dish to almost all the people and the  preparation will also be known to many. But  there are a lot of varieties to prepare them - with or without curd, with or without chilli powder, with or without boiling the bitter gourd slices ...

The travancore style preparation is the one I am explaining here. If you have some bitter gourds, yogurt, and sunlight, you are all set to make this simple kondattam.

Pavakka Kondattam / Sun dried Bittergourd Chips

Ingredients

To Prepare the sun dried bitter gourd

10 bitter gourds thinly sliced
3 or 4 tbsp yogurt
Salt enough to taste

To fry the chips

Coconut oil enough to deep fry

Preparation

1. Mix the sliced bitter gourd, curd and salt together. Make sure the curd is evenly coated in all the slices.

2. Spread them on a large and wide plate or drying mat and keep them under sun till the yogurt and bitter gourd dries up completely. It will take almost a week approximately. (Every night bring the plate inside and put them in the sun during the day)

3. You can store this sun dried bitter gourd in an airtight container (They will last upto 6 months).

4. While serving, fry them in oil until its brown in color.

* They go well with rice and porridge .

Arikkadukka / Stuffed Mussels

Hi All

Welcome to Enchanting Flavors. This blog has been made to showcase the exotic and rustic flavors of India. 

Lets start our journey with one of the famous dishes from the Malabar region of Kerala , the god's own country - Arikkadukka which is Stuffed Mussels.

Being from the south part of Kerala, I never heard about this amazing dish till I got a couple of friends from the Malabar side. When they used to talk about this dish, I used to wonder can Mussels be so tasty. The day I tasted  it,  I instantly fell in love with this dish.

Arikkadukka / Stuffed Mussels

Preparation Time : 1 hr

Ingredients (to make 15 arikkadukka )

15 medium size mussels with shell, cleaned

For making the dough

1 cup coarsely ground and roasted rice powder (I used ready made puttu podi)
1/2  cup grated coconut
10 pearl onions
6 green chillies (The green chillies I used were pretty hot. You can adjust the nos based on your taste level)
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 1/2  - 2 cups boiling water

For Sautéing 

1 medium sized Onion chopped

For Dipping and Frying

1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 clove garllic minced

Salt as required
2 or 3 curry leaves crushed to get a good smell

3 or 4 tbsp water

Coconut oil enough to deep fry the 15 stuffed mussels (in 2 or 3 batches is also fine) 

Preparations

1. Clean the outer and inner part of the mussels well with water . Slit each mussel half way down and remove the black pith in the center . Drain the water and keep them aside

2. Grind the grated coconut, pearl onions, green chillies, kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powderm cumin seeds and fennel seeds into a smooth paste.

3. Saute the chopped onions till its brown in color and keep it aside.

4. In a large vessel, mix the rice powder and salt. To this add the ground coconut paste and the sauted onions. Slowly add boiling water to this and mix it well to get a smooth dough.

5. Stuff each mussel neatly with this dough and steam them for 20 to 25 min. Once it is done, take off the steamer and place to cool .

6. Now, slowly break open the shell and remove the cooked stuffing carefully from the shell . Do take care not to break it or part the mussel from the dough. If the mussel sticks to the shell, you can remove it with a knife and can be kept with the cooked stuffing.

7. Mix the kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder, minced garllic, salt and curry leaves in a little water and make a thin batter.

8. Heat oil in a kadai. Dip each dumpling in the chilli batter ,add to the oil and fry till crispy and golden brown in color.

9. Remove and drain the excess oil and serve hot with evening tea.