Stuffed crab (South Indian style)

Stuffed crab is one classic seafood starter and I have adapted the complete south Indian style in cooking it. I made a masala gravy with crab, later extracted the meat, mixed it along with the thick gravy and stuffed it back into the well preserved crab shell. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Crab (cleaned) - 2 large
Shallots or small onions - 15-20 nos
Tomato - 1 nos
Ginger- garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
Salt for taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Crab shells - 2 nos

Method:
Make a smooth paste of onion and tomato and keep aside. In a wok, heat oil and saute ginger-garlic paste, add the smooth onion and tomato paste and saute for 2-3 min. Add chilly powder and stir well. Add the cleaned crab claws and crab, along with salt and pepper. Cover and cook till its done (add little water for cooking). At this stage the crab will change its color to a nice orange and white combination. Cool and extract the crab meat. Put the meat back into the thick gravy and mix well. Heat if required. Stuff this in a clean crab shell and serve.

Note:
Can also dip the stuffed crab shells in egg and flour batter and then roll over breadcrumbs and deep fry them for a complete fried version.

Lemon flavoured Couscous

Couscous is one such ingredient which I would always stock up in my kitchen simply because it can be a rescue meal or be a part of fantastic salad or simply because its healthy and filling. It appears like semolina (Rawa/ sooji ) it belongs to the pasta family and it comes in small, medium and large sizes (the size of the grain can differ). It is commonly seen in Moroccan, middle eastern, west African and Italian cuisine. I always love to prepare couscous with many mixed seafood ( like prawns, fish, squid etc.) or meat. But, this one is a completely veg version with mixed veggies and lemon flavour. Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients:
Couscous - 100 grams
Onion (white) - 1 nos
Carrot - 1 small
Beans (chopped) - 1/4 cup
Capsicum - 1 small
Baked beans - 1 small tin
Fresh parsley (chopped) - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt for taste
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Water for cooking

Method:
Cook couscous using a steamer along with 1/4 tsp olive oil and keep this aside. In a wok add remaining olive oil and stir fry finely sliced onions, carrot (cut into thin strips), capsicum (diced), beans, baked beans and stir well. Add salt for taste, lemon juice and stir again. Finally add chopped parsley and turn off the flame. Mix the cooked couscous and serve hot.

Note:
Add some skinned almonds, pine nuts etc. for variation.

Vangi bath/ Brinjal rice/Eggplant rice/ Riz Aubergiene

Vangi bath is a speciality of karnataka. This is also served at breakfast time at many darshinis or food joints in karnataka. It is usually some thick gravy (also known as gojju in Kannada) made with brinjal, then mixed along with white rice. Some people prefer to cook the gravy and rice together. It has many varieties and versions. I usually love to prepare the gojju , then mix it with the rice. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp
Channa dal - 1tbsp
Groundnuts - 2 tbsp
Cashew nut - 6-7 nos
Dry red chillies - 2 nos
Onion - 2 nos
Brinjal - 1 kilo
Carrots - 1 nos
Beans - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Dry coconut or kopra - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1 tsp
Tamarind juice - 1 tbsp
Cooked rice - 1 kilo
Oil for cooking
Salt for taste

For the vangi bath powder:
Dry red chillies - 8-10 nos
Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
Cloves - 6 nos
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Bengal gram - 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seed - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - one pinch
Curry leaves of 2 sprigs
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
Fry all the ingredients for the vangi bath masala in 1 tbsp ghee, cool and powder them. Cut all veggies lengthwise (brinjal can be diced into cubes). Shallow fry these veggies in oil along with turmeric powder. In a wok, heat oil, fry mustard seed, channa dal, groundnuts, cashew nuts and red chillies. Add onion and fry till golden. Add chilly powder, shallow fried veggies like carrot, beans, brinjal and vangibath powder, mix well. Add fried dry coconut or kopra, jaggery and tamarind juice, salt for taste and simmer to make a thick gravy or gojju. Mix with cooked rice and serve with boondi or raitha etc.

Note:
The vangibath powder can be prepared in large quantity and can be stored in airtight containers for later use. Can use readymade vangibath mix powder if it is available.

Spaghetti noodles (Indian twist)

Spaghetti noodles is one easy and tasty recipe. I would love to have this noodle pasta anytime. I served the noodles with spicy tomato sauce which was so flavourful. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Spaghetti noodles - 100 grams
Onion - 1 nos
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Veg stock cube - 1 small
Bay leaves - 1 nos
Dried oregano - 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Paprika (sweet) powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Carrots - 1 nos
Capsicum - 1 large
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Salt for taste

Method:
Cook spaghetti noodles in hot boiling water for 8 min or till its done. Strain water using a colander and keep this noodle pasta aside. In a stew pot, heat oil and stir fry finely sliced onions, garlic paste for 1-2 min. Add chilly powder and give it a stir. Add all the remaining ingredients like tomato paste, tomato puree, paprika powder, garam masala, dried oregano and veg stock cube (can add some water if required). simmer for 10 min. Now add the carrots (cut into thin strips) and capsicum (diced) and stir well. Finally add salt for taste and turn off the flame. The tomato flavoured sauce is ready. Pour this sauce over cooked spaghetti noodles and serve hot.

Note:
I prefer the veggies to be crunchy, hence I hardly cook them. If soft veggies are preferred, cook for a little longer after adding carrots and capsicum.

Riz cantonnis (mixed fried rice)

This version of mixed fried rice is such a fantastic Chinese recipe. Authentically pork, green peas is used in this recipe but, I have excluded it. This dark color is due to the use of dark soya sauce ( can use light soya sauce if light colored rice is preferred). Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients:
Cooked rice - 2 cups
Carrots - 1 nos
Beans - 50 grams
Spring onions (chopped) - 1 cup
Wood mushroom (dried) - 30 grams
Prawns - 200 grams
Chicken (boneless, skinned) - 200 grams
Egg - 1 nos
Dark soya sauce - 2 tbsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Ajinomoto or salt for taste
Oil for cooking

Method:
Chopped carrots, beans, spring onions, finely. Soak wood mushroom in hot water for 2-3 min or till its fully expanded in size and keep aside. Heat oil in a wok and stir in chopped chicken and cook till its done. Similarly stir fry prawns, egg, carrot, beans separately ( one thing at a time) ad keep this aside. Heat oil in a wok, add 1/2 cup spring onions, and all the other ingredients one by one (which is stir fried earlier). Add cooked rice, dark soya sauce, pepper and ajinomoto or salt for taste and toss well. Garnish with remaining spring onions and serve.

Note:
Wood mushrooms are Chinese mushrooms available at Asian stores, supermarkets etc. Can add other veggies like sweet corn kernels, green peas etc.

Cashew nut Chicken curry (Koli saaru/ Koli kulumbu)

Cashew nut chicken curry is one creamy and rich recipe. I usually prepare this when I expect some guests at home as its so delicious and can go really well with any biryani, pulav or even coconut rice, jeera rice etc. At home this curry is loved to be served with hot parotta. Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients:

Chicken (skinned) - 1 kilo

Brown onion paste - 4 tbsp

Cashew nut paste - 1/2 cup

Tomato paste - 2 tbsp

Ginger - garlic paste - 2 tbsp

Thick coconut milk - 1 cup

Dry red chilly (Kashmiri) paste - 2 tbsp

Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 2 nos

Salt for taste

Oil - 1/4 cup

For the marinade:

Yogurt - 1 tbsp

Chilly powder - 1 tbsp

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp

Chicken stock cube - 1 nos

Method:

Marinade chicken over night. Heat oil in a casserole, add brown onion paste, ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2 min. Add chilly paste and powder and saute for a min. Add tomato paste, coriander powder, green chillies slit lengthwise and give a good stir. Add the marinated chicken and stir again. Add thick coconut milk and cook till its almost done. Now add cashew nut paste, salt for taste and mix well. Cook till its done. Serve hot with plain rice, roti or even biryani and pulao.

Note:

For the brown onion paste: Saute finely sliced onions until they turn brown, cool and then make a paste using mixer. This can be stored in the refrigerator and can be used instead of regular onions for extra taste.

Dal adai ( parappu adai) and awards

I was bumped with so many awards from my friends Suja and Chaitrali. Suja shared the versatile blogger award. As per the rule I need to share it with 15 blogger friends and tell 7 things about me. Suja has lovely collection of traditional and authentic recipes all the way from God's own Country.... Kerala! Do visit her blog and enjoy some lip smacking recipes from her space. Chairali was very kind to share all the other awards with me. Name of Chaitrali's blog is I'm not a chef... Interestingly she is a chef who not only holds a degree in hotel management but also has a master degree from the hospitality industry. I love the way she blogs restaurant style recipes which are not just easy to follow but also tasty and yummy. Do visit her blog for a complete roller coaster foodie ride...

About me as per the rule of versatile blogger award...

1. Die hard non-veg food lover turned lacto-veggie
2. Eat- a -holic turned diet- a -holic
3. Friendly and would love my friends for life
4. Junk food eater turned, healthy food eater
5. Love and live cooking
6. Love travelling, exploring new places, food etc.
7. Simply super shop- a -holic!

I surely would feel its unfair to share it with only 15 friends ( as I also want to know about all my friends).... So, would like to share all these awards with all my friends.

Adai is native of T N . Though there are many variety of it like adai, kara adai, parappu adai etc. I always felt the dal or parappu adai is way too healthy. Here goes the recipe for Dal adai...

Ingredients:

Moong dal - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1 cup

Toor dal - 1 cup

Onion - 1 nos

Green chillies - 1 nos

Freshly chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Dry red chillies - 4 nos

Grated coconut - 4 tbsp

Hing or asafoetida - one pinch

Salt for taste

Oil for frying

Method:

Soak all the dals together for 2 hours. Grind it along with red chillies and grated coconut to a coarse paste. Add finely chopped green chillies, onions, fresh coriander leaves, hing, salt and mix well. Pour the batter on a hot tawa using a laddle spoon and just pat it. Add enough oil and fry. Turn over, add more oil and cook till its done. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Note:

Adai batter does not require fermentation and can be a instant recipe for breakfast, evening snacks etc. The dal adai version is very healthy when compared to rice adai, coconut adai, kara adai etc.

Cocktail stir fried noodles

Cocktail seafood which was a derivative of stir fried squid was such a great hit, that I wanted to use it as a main course. Nothing could have been better than this cocktail stir fried noodles. Here goes the recipe....

Ingredients:

Wheat noodles - 200grams

Cocktail seafood - 200 grams

Boneless chicken - 100 grams

Eggs - 2 nos

Carrots (chopped lengthwise) - 1 nos

Beans (chopped) - 1/4 cup

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Chicken stock cube - 1 nos

Salt for taste

Dried herbs of choice like parsley, chives, thyme etc.

Method:

Cook noodles in hot boiling water until its done, strain water using a colander and keep the noodles aside. In a wok, heat oil add eggs with constant stirring, add chicken (diced into cubes) and stir till its almost done. Add cocktail seafood, carrots and beans, chicken stock cube, and stir well for a min. Finally add some salt for taste, dried herbs etc. and toss well and serve hot.

Note:

For best results serve this sizzling hot like a sizzler with green salad.