Crab Curry Recipe: Mangalore Style : Yummy!!!!

Crab Curry has been one of our favorite foods for ages. I remember having a crab curry lunch stretching for over an hour during childhood. It’s good that Esha too likes crab. Whenever we wanted to prepare crab curry, I would call India for the recipe to make sure that the preparation doesn’t go wrong at any point.  Now that Ani (who was my crab curry partner in the US ) checked about the recipe … thought it would be high time for it to go on the BayKon blog.  

The ingredients below are based on the ingredients available in USA …… crabs(Dungeness and not the huge Alaskan) …… the sizes available in India are much smaller (and no doubt much tastier) …. Please adjust the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients:

• Crabs: 2
• Onions: 2/3 (chopped)
• Ginger (about an inch long)
• Red Chilies: 8-10 (fried)
• Green chilies: 2 (optional)
• Turmeric Powder (a couple of pinches)
• Grated Coconut (about a cup)
• Tamarind (a pinch)
• Coconut oil : 2 tea spoons
• Salt : To Taste

Preparation:

• Grind coconut, chilies and tamarind into a fine paste.
• Clean the crabs and rinse them well.
• Take a vessel big enough to hold the crabs (with a wide base) and add turmeric powder, onions, ginger, crabs, ground masala and salt.
• If you need your crab curry "hotter", add a couple of sliced green chilies.
• Cook with medium heat for about 15-20 min. (do try out a piece to make sure it is cooked … do not overcook the crab)
• Stir the ingredients occasionally.
• Add coconut oil and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.
• Enjoy the yummy tasty crab curry … with ample time in hand (it tastes better when you eat it longer ;) )

Sanjeevakkas' Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• Chicken : 1.5 pound
• Yogurt : 1 cup
• Methi (Fenugreek) : 1 pinch (about 10 pieces)
• Coriander Seeds : Half table spoon
• Jeera : 1 pinch (about 4 pieces)
• Cinnamon : 1 stick
• Clove : 4 nos
• Red Chillies : 10-12
• Grated Coconut : Half cup
• Onions : 1 + 1 nos
• Tomatoes : 2 nos
• Garlic : 5 pods + 2 Pods
• Khus Khus : 1 table spoon
• Ginger : 1 piece
• Black Pepper : 10-12 nos
• Haldi : 1 pinch
• Coriander Leaves
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

• Marinate chicken in yoghurt and salt for about 20 minutes.
• Make puree of the 2 tomatoes and keep aside.
• Fry pinch of methi (Fenugreek) , coriander seeds, jeera, cinnamon and cloves along with red chillies and keep aside.
• Fry the grated coconut along with ONE sliced onion, garlic pod and khus khus and keep aside
• Grind the ingredients fried above along with ginger and pepper into fine paste.
• Take a kadai fry 2 garlic chopped and ONE onion chopped till brown.
• Put pinch of haldi powder and then put the ground masala and fry them.
• Then put the tamatoe puree and fry for a minute.
• Put chicken and fry for a minute
• Pour 2 cups of water and get a boil.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Shahi Paneer

Ingredients:
150 gms. paneer (cottge cheese)
2 tbsp ghee or butter
1 onion chopped
1/2" piece ginger chopped fine
2 green chillies chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine
1 cardamoms crushed
1/4 cup beaten curd
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala
salt to taste
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. tomato sauce

To garnish:
2 tbsp. grated paneer
1 tbsp. chopped coriander

Method:
Chop the paneer into 2" fingers.Heat half the ghee.
Add onion,ginger, green chilli and cardamom. Fry for 3-4 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook for 7-8 minutes, covered.



Add curd and cook for 5 minutes.Add 1/2 cup water and cool.Blend in a mixie till smooth.

Heat remaining ghee, add gravy and other ingredients except milk and paneer.

Boil to get a very thick gravy.

Just before serving, heat gravy, add milk and paneer fingers and boil for 3-4 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander and grated paneer.

Yummy Rawa Idlis!

Having lived in Mumbai, I had never tasted Rawa Idlis which is a very popular breakfast/snack item in Bangalore. It was only in the canteen at my workplace in Bangalore that I got to taste Rawa idlis for the first time. I must admit that I did not really love it the first time I had it. After marriage, we started preparing Rawa idlis quite regularly and now I love eating them. The credit goes to my hubby:)

You can prepare Rawa Idlis from the instant packs (MTR or Priya brand) and they come out very well. But ever since we've started preparing them from scratch ourselves, we've never bought the instant packs again. Here's the recipe for yummy Rawa idlis...

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups fine rawa (sooji/semolina).


2. 4 cups yogurt


3. 2 tsp chana dal


4. 1 tsp mustard seeds


5. 4-5 Curry leaves


6. 2" piece of ginger finely chopped


7. 1-2 finely chopped green chillies


8. lots of of finely chopped cilantro


9. 1/4 cup cashew halves


10. 1/2 tsp baking soda


11. 1 cup freshly grated carrot


12. salt to taste


13. 2 tsps oil or ghee

Method:

1. Take oil/ghee in a vessel.


2. Add the mustard seeds and once they start spluttering add chana dal, curry leaves, chopped ginger, chillies and cashew halves.


3. Now add the rawa and roast on low to medium heat for around 10-15 minutes until the rawa starts smelling good and isn't raw anymore.


4. Now add the baking soda and salt and roast for 5 more minutes.


5. Turn off the gas and empty this mixture into a deep bowl.


6. Add yogurt to the roasted rawa mixture.


7. Mix it thoroughly with a whisk.


8. If the mixture is too thick, you may add little water till you get a batter-like consistency.


9. Now add the cilantro and mix well.


10. Grease the idli moulds with oil/ghee.


11. Put some grated carrot into each mould.


12. Now pour the idli batter into the moulds and steam for 15-20 minutes.


13. Serve hot with plain chutney!

Chutney recipe:

1. Grind 1/2 cup grated coconut, 1"piece of ginger, 1-2 green chillies and pinch of asafoetida into a fine paste.


2. This chutney need not be seasoned and tastes excellent with the idlis.

Chicken Biryani

Biryani is a dish made from a mixture of spices, basmati rice, vegetables/meat and yogurt. Its a very simple and a straight forward recipe but a little time consuming. Its one of our most favorite dishes :). I tried making it as simple as possible, and it tasted heavenly. To read more about Biryani, refer to this link.


Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 1 lbs(preferably thigh fillets)
2. Basmati Rice - 2 cups
3. Cinnamon - 2 inches
4. Cloves - 4 to 5
5. Green cardamom - 2 to 3
6. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
7. Bay leaves - 1 or 2
8. Onions - 3 medium sized ( 1 julienned and fried till browned , 2 finely chopped)
9. Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsps
10. Green chillies - 6 (slit)
11. Yogurt - 3 tbsps
12. Tomatoes - 3 medium sized (finely chopped)
13. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
14. Coriander powder - 2 tsps
15. Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
16. Cumin powder - 2 tsps
17. Mint leaves - 1 bunch (keep aside few leaves for garnishing)
18. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch (keep aside few leaves for garnishing)
19. Few saffron strands soaked in 1 tsp milk.
20. Salt


Method:

1. Marinade the chicken with little yogurt, lemon juice, little salt and some spice powders of your choice. Marinating is optional. You can add the chicken even without marinating. Completely your choice. Then wash the rice and saute it in some ghee along with few of the whole spices and a pinch of turmeric. Then boil the rice until it is half cooked and strain the remaining water. If cooked fully, the biryani will become very soggy.

2. Once the rice is cooked, spread it on a plate and allow it to cool.

3. Then heat oil in a deep non-stick pan ( i used a dutch oven), and add the remaining whole spices along with the finely chopped onions. Keep frying till the onions turn golden brown. To this, add the ginger-garlic paste and slit green chillies and fry for 3-4 minutes. Then add (one at a time) the tomatoes, yogurt, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder and salt. Keep frying till the tomatoes turn mushy.

4. Then add the chicken pieces and let it boil completely. Do not add water, since the chicken sheds a lot of water. Once the chicken is boiled, turn the flame to high, so that all the water evaporates and a thick gravy is formed. Add the coriander leaves and mint leaves and stir for 2 more minutes. Put this chicken curry onto another plate.

5. Now the chicken curry and the rice is to be layered. First, spread half of the boiled rice in the dutch oven. Then spread the chicken curry, and on top of it, the remaining rice.





6. Garnish this with few mint leaves, coriander leaves, fried onions and saffron.


7. Then close the lid and cook on a low flame for 10 minutes. Later, mix it carefully starting from the sides. See to it that the rice grains dont break. Hot and Spicy Chicken Biryani is ready to serve!

Pedve Ghashi (sardines curry)

Pedvo(sardines) as it is known among Konkanis is a fish high in omega-3 fatty acids and iron content. It is considered to be extremely beneficial if consumed by women during pregnancy and tastes great even otherwise. Konkanis usually prepare ghashi or deep fry this fish.

Here's the recipe for Pedve ghashi:

Ingredients:

1. Fresh or frozen sardines (9-10)
2. 3/4 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut or coconut powder
3. 7-8 roasted red chillies(Bedgi)
4. 1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
5. 1tsp coriander seeds
6. 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
7. 8-10 Szechuan pepper (Teppal) (optional)
8. 1 tsp coconut oil (optional)
9. Salt to taste

Method:

1. If using frozen fish, thaw it in cold/lukewarm water first.
2. Chop off the head and tail and clean the fish thoroughly.
3. Rub a little salt and turmeric over the fish and keep it aside.
4. Roast the coriander and fenugreek seeds together in 1/2 tsp oil till they turn slightly brown.
5. Grind the coconut powder or fresh/frozen grated cocunut, roasted red chillies, tamarind concentrate, roasted coriander and fenugreek seeds into a fine paste.
6. Empty this paste into a vessel and heat it until it starts boiling.
7. Now add the fish to this paste, add salt to taste and boil for another 5-10 minutes on a medium flame.
8. Since fish gets cooked very fast, keep checking the curry frequently taking care to see that it does not get overcooked.
9. Once the fish is fully cooked(the fish flesh should turn completely white on the inside), sprinkle some coconut oil over the curry and turn off the gas.
10. For added flavor, you can also add slightly ground Szechuan pepper (Teppal) to the curry while it boils.
11. Serve hot with rice, upkari and some plain yogurt!

Recipe for Tila Undo (Tillgull)

Come Makar Sankranthi and I remember Tila Undo. I have always loved mom's homemade tila undo but hadnt tried preparing it. This time I tried it and it did come out well.
So here's the recipe. Hope it turns out well...I must say its the most easiest undo I've made till date :)

Ingredients:
Chikki Jaggery(Sticky Jaggery) - 1/4 kg
Sesame seeds - 1/4 kg
Groundnuts(polished) - 2 tbsps/taste
Dalia - 2 tbsps/taste

1. Roast the sesame seeds in a heated pan. No oil required. As soon as they start spluttering or popping up, remove in another dish.
2. Next roast the groundnuts and dalia separately and remove them from the gas and keep along with the sesame.
3. In another vessel/pan, take 2 tbsps of water and heat the jaggery in it. I didnt know which is the chikki jaggery here so I used the regular jaggery which I had(looked like a small mount). Heat this jaggery, till the time it melts. To test if its done, take a drop of the hot jaggery and put it in a glass of water. If it hardens immediately, that means the jaggery is done, else continue heating it. If you like harder tila undos, dont add water while melting the jaggery.
4. Once jaggery is ready, turn off the gas, and add the other roasted ingredients well.
5.Grease your hands with ghee and start making small round tila undo. After some time, if the mixture starts getting harder, heat the mixture again with little ghee for 2-3 minutes and prepare undos.
Yummy Tila Undos are ready to savour!!!

Recipe for authentic konkani Pathrado

We have prepared Pathrado numerous times before and everytime it tasted good, but this time it was excellent:) Probably the trick was changing one of the ingredients. Here's our recipe for authentic Konkani pathrado.

Ingredients:
1. A bunch of fresh Taro leaves (typically 10-12 for 2 rolls)
2. 3/4 cup whole moong
3. 1/4 cup sona masoori rice
4. 20-25 roasted red chillies (Bedgi)
5. 2.5 cups fresh/frozen grated coconut
6. 1 tsp tamarind concentrate
7. 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (hing)
8. Salt to taste.

Method:
1. Soak the whole moong and rice together in water for around 4-5 hours.
2. Clean the taro leaves slowly and carefully in cold water, taking care to see that they do not get torn. Chop off the stalks.
3. Grind the whole moong, rice, roasted red chillies, fresh grated coconut, tamarind concentrate and asafoetida powder into a coarse paste. Add salt to taste.
4. Once the paste is ready, assemble the taro leaves in order of their size from biggest to smallest.
5. Take the biggest leaf first and apply the paste on the reverse side of the leaf.
6. Now take the second biggest leaf, keep it on top of the first leaf (top down bottom up) and apply paste on the reverse side.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 for around 6-7 leaves, each time keeping the smaller leaf on top of the existing pile and applying the paste on the reverse side.
8. Once you have finished applying the paste on all the leaves, fold the sides of the pile of leaves and start rolling it.
9. Once you've made a roll, repeat the same procedure for the remaining leaves and make another roll.
10. Now prepare a utensil for steaming the 2 rolls.Steam the rolls on medium setting for around 20-25 minutes.
11. After 20-25 minutes, turn off the gas and check if the pathrado is done, by inserting a knife through the rolls. If the knife comes out fairly clean, the pathrado is fully done.
12. Serve hot with rice and dalithoy!

The pathrado tastes even better next day if slightly roasted:)

Mint Pulav

Ingredients:
2 to 2.5 cups Basmati rice - washed and kept aside
1 medium size onion - slit lengthwise into small pieces
1 medium size tomato - cut into small pieces
1 small bunch mint leaves - finely/coarsely chopped
1 small bunch cilantro - finely/coarsely chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2-3 small green chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4-5 bay leaves
1 inch cinnamon stick
4-5 cloves
3-4 cardamom
2 tsp cumin seeds
8-10 whole black pepper
2-3 badi elaichi
Salt to taste

Preparation Method:
1) Pour ghee/oil (preferably ghee) in a vessel.
2) Add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and badi elaichi.
3) Add chopped onion and saute for some time till the onion turns translucent brown.
4) Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for some more time.
5) Add the chopped tomato and slit green chillies, turmeric powder and saute till the tomato blends with the onion.
6) Add the chopped mint leaves and cilantro and mix thoroughly. Saute for 5 mins.
7) Add the washed rice and salt to taste, mix thoroughly, saute for 5 mins.
8) Finally add water (1: 1.5 ratio) and cover the vessel with a tight lid. Cook until rice is done (around 15-20 mins on a low/medium setting)

Credits: Smita Kamath

RECIPE: Fish Cafreal / Green Masala Fish Fry

Ingredients:
1 pound Fish (any but Tilapia tastes awesome)
1 bunch
coriander
12 green chillies
2" ginger
1 pod garlic
1" cinammon
10 cloves
12 peppercorns
1" turmeric
1/2 lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh coconut
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Grind above mentioned ingredients to a fine paste(ofcourse not the fish)
2. Marinate the fish in the ground paste(Masala) for a couple of hours (If in a hurry, can frying immediately)
3. Roll the marinated fish in rave and shallow fry until well cooked.

Recipe Credits: Sangeeta Pai