Friday, September 24, 2010

Inji Tengai Thair Pachadi -Ginger,Coconut and Yoghurt Dip

INJI TENGAI THAIR PACHADI

Inji Tengai Thair Pachadi (ginger and coconut pachadi) can be termed as a double dish because it can also be used as a chutney depending on the requirement. One spoon of this pachadi with one spoon of hot steaming rice at the begining of a meal ensures good appetite. It goes very well as a side dish with pongal, pulav, dosas and adais.



INGREDIENTS



Fresh coconut gratings - 1 cup
Peeled and chopped fresh ginger - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Fresh thick curds - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 pinch
Oil - 1 tsp
Freshly chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp


METHOD



1. Add little water and smoothly grind coconut gratings, ginger and salt into a thick paste.
2. Blend the paste into the curds.
3. Heat oil and add mustard seeds.
4. When the mustard seeds splutter add the seasoning to the pachadi.
5. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.



Enjoy the cool Inji thair pachadi and its appetising aroma.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Shrimp and Green Onion on Grilled Italian Bread



One of my favorite seafood is Shrimp. It's easy to cook and very tasty. I came up with this recipe, as I got this freshly baked bread and could not wait to taste it ...especially when grilled and combined with shrimp. 
The day before, I tried the same recipe with mushrooms....It was as good as the shrimp (sorry could not wait until I could capture the picture in my camera :-)). I am mentioning this to satisfy the veggie lovers. :-)
I would like to share some nutrition aspects of shrimp.  Shrimp is high in calcium, iodine and protein and low in food energy. A shrimp-based meal is also significant source of cholesterol. Shrimp consumption, however, is considered healthy for the circulatory system because the lack of significant levels of saturated fat in shrimp means that the high cholesterol content in shrimp actually improves the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol and lowers triglycerides.
Ingredients:
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6 slices of Calabrese bread/Focaccia bread/ciabatta Baguette
Note: Use can use any kind of Italian bread too which has bit hard and crunchy outside and soft inside. 
20 Shrimp – divined and cleaned and cut into small pieces
1 bunch Green onions – chopped
¼ tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Ginger powder
1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
Salt to taste
pinch of Sugar (optional)
1 tsp White pepper powder
1 tsp Red pepper flakes
2 green Chilies chopped finely
1 small Onion chopped finely
1 tsp Olive oil
1tbsp Butter

Method:
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1. In a pan add olive oil and when it’s medium hot add 1 tbsp butter, when the butter melts add the onions and sauté it until it turns transparent.
2. Add the chopped green onion stems and shrimp, garlic powder, ginger powder, hoisin sauce has salt in it, pinch of sugar, white pepper powder, red chili flakes and chopped green chilies sauté all these for about 5 mins or until the shrimp is cooked on a medium high heat. sauce, salt it needed as the
3. Mean while take the bread slices and brush both the sides with Olive oil.
4. Heat a grilling pan and place the slices in a slanting position so that u can get nice grill marks on the bread. 5. To get nice flat crispy bread and nice grill marks u can place a flat pan on top of the bread slices and press down a bit and hold for a min.
6. Remove the slices on to a plate.
7. Check the shrimp and finally garnish with chopped green onions.

8. Take spoon full of the shrimp and place on the bread and eat it when it is warm.

Note: I tried the same recipe with chopped mini Bella Mushrooms instead of shrimp. It was as good as the shrimp. This would be a good alternative for veggie lovers. (Sorry could not capture it in my camera).

Chicken Fry/Varuval (SHOJ)



Varuval mean fry. It can be anything from veg to non-veg. In india varuval is favorite dish to go with dal/sambar or any mixed rice recipes. varuval is mainly done with veg or non-veg coated with masala and slowly sauteed to fry until it becomes crispy with no water. 
This recipe was made by Shoj. It was a Friday evening and was raining outside and I was in no mood to cook, but wanted to eat something spicy and hot. So Shoj decided to cook for me today. 
It was a wonderful dish to go with chapati/roti and I was enjoying it so much that I ended up eating more than I should :-). 
We ran out of curry leaves which is the only missing ingredient as per Shoj...but for me, the recipe was so good that I didn't think about it at all.

Ingredients:
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2 Chicken breasts with bone cut into small bite size pieces
1 pcs of cinnamon stick
2 Cardamoms
1 pcs of Star anise
4 dry Red chilies
1 tbsp of black Soy sauce
10 Curry leaves
1/2 cup of Water (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tsp Pepper powder

To make paste in mixer:
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2 medium size Onions
5 cloves of Garlic
2" of Ginger
Curry paste:
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1 tsp water
2 tbsp of Curry powder
2 tsp of Chili powder
2 tsp of Turmeric powder

Method:
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1. Heat oil in pan add cinnamon stick, cardamoms, star anise, dry red chilies and curry leaves, fry it for about a 5 secs.
2. Add the ground paste and sauté until golden brown.
3. Add the curry paste and fry for a min.
4. Add chicken and sauté it until the masala is coated well.
5. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce and water (optional) (because I used defrosted chicken which had enough water to cook on its own).
6. Cover with lid and cook in medium low flame for about 20 mins or until chicken is cooked and dry without any water.

7. Serve hot with chapati/roti and sliced onions (favorite part for Shoj,especially when eating chicken and chapati).