Era varuval / Prawn fry

This is a very simple prawn fry. We just loved it. Hope you will also like it. Here we get big variety,  frozen prawns but nothing can be compared to the small variety, fresh prawns which I ate when I am young.  Might be the above statement is true or might be its just the age that matters :). My mom used to deep fry the prawns and I still have that taste in my tongue, a bit sweet yet spicy and crispy hmmm...:).

Ingredients :

Prawns- 250 gms

Onion- 1 no

Tomato- 1 no

Garlic- 2 pods

Ginger- a 1/2 inch piece

Green chillies- 4 nos

Black pepper corns- 20 nos

Red chilli powder- 2 tspns

Coriander powder- 1 tbspn

Cuury leaves- 20 leaflets

Coconut scrappings- 1 tbspn

Cinnamon- 1 inch pice

Cloves-4 nos

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tspn (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil- 3 tbspns

Method :

Cut onions, ginger, garlic, tomato into pieces. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan. Fry onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic until they become brown. Now add tomatoes and saute well until they turn soft. Add pepper corns and coconut scrappings to the above mixture and saute for 30 seconds. Remove from fire. Allow the mixture to cool and grind them into a paste in food processor. Wash prawns and keep aside. Now heat a pan with 3 tablespoons of oil. When the oil gets heated add cloves and cinnamon. When they emit a nice aroma add the ground paste. Saute well for few second and to this add red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Add enough salt to this mixture. Fry for a few seconds and then add prawns to it. Add half-a-cup of water and allow the mixture to boil well. Simmer the mixture until all the water content is gone. Remove from fire and garnish with coriander leaves. When serving squeeze lemon juice on the dish.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : The taste is much better if you fry the onions until it turns brown. Do not cook the prawn in high heat for a long time. They become rubbery. You can add fennel seeds when grinding the masala. It enhances the flavour of the dish. Add lots of curry leaves when making any sea food, that makes a lot of difference. Happy cooking !!!

Meen kuzhambu / Fish pulusu / Fish in tamarind gravy

 

Meen kuzhambu needs no introduction. Most NV eating people simply love it. I remember Sivaji's Mudhal mariyathai movie whenever I make this tasty dish. He acted so nicely, even people who doesn't like meen kuzhambu will be tempted to try it.  Such a great actor !!! If you get a good variety fish then meen kuzhambu has no equals. In villages, people make this dish in an earthenware. Fish cooked in an eathenware has a rich native taste. Meen kuzhambu when consumed on the next day of preparation is the tastiest.

Fish is a good source of protein. Fishes are also rich in omega-3, a healthy fatty acid. Omega-3 fattyacids are heart healthy. Research has proved that they reduce triglycerides and lower blood pressure. They are also shown to reduce the risk of arrhythmias which can cause sudden death and moreover if you enjoy this super tasty gravy you will feel happy :)

Many different fishes are used in cooking. Here in Germany, we get only a few varieties. I have used salmon fish and as you can see in picture they remove the skin and bones completely for such large fishes. Indian variety fishes are the tastiest and fishes taste better with their skin and bones intact :)

Ingredients :

Fish (any fish you like and you are comfortable with )- 250 gms

Tamarind- one lime- sized ball

Onion (shallots are the best)- 1 no or 15 shallots

Tomato- 1 no

Curry leaves- lots :) some 40 leaflets or so

Garlic- 6 pods

Green-chillies- 4 nos

Coriander powder- 2 tbspns

Chilli powder- 3 tspns

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Mustard and jeera seeds- 1 tspn

Fenugreek seeds (methi)- 1/2 tspn

Oil- 4 tbspns (seasame oil is the best)

Salt to taste

Method :

Soak the tamarind in warm water and extract the juice. Cut onions and tomatoes. Slit the green chillies. Clean the fish and make pieces out of it. If you buy a fish with skin intact it is essential to remove the scales with a knife. Heat oil in a pan. When it gets heated add fenugreek,  mustard and jeera seeds and allow them to splutter. Now add the onions, green chillies, curry leaves, garlic pods and a pinch of turmeric powder. Saute well until the onions turn translucent. To this mixture add enough salt and cut tomato pieces. Saute well until the tomato pieces turn soft. Add coriander powder and chilli powder at this stage and mix well. Suate for a few seconds until the raw smell of coriander powder disappears. Now add tamarind juice and enough water to dilute the mixture and allow it to boil. Then simmer the mixture for sometime until the consistency of the gravy is good enough (not too thin, not too thick). Now at this stage add the fish pieces and simmer for another 5 minutes ar until oil seperates out. A very yummy fish pulusu will be ready. Serve with hot rice.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : A good variety fish is very important. If you press the fish with your hand the flesh should be very firm and the gill region should be nice pink in colour. If the fish doesn't meet the above criteria it will break into small pieces when you drop them in gravy. Adjust the chilli and salt level according to the sourness of the tamarind. Use shallots and seasame oil if possible. Be lenient when you use oil. Try making it in an earthenware. Use lots of curry leaves. Wait for a day before using the fish kuzhambu, it really makes a lot of difference. Happy cooking !!!

Mathi meen varuval (Sardine fry)

Sardines are named after Sardinia (an Italian island),  where large schools of these fish were once found. I saw these fresh sardines in the market. Immediately,  I started to drool on the thought of the fish fry which my mom prepares. Her fish fry recipe calls in for a special type of ground masala which is very different from tamilians preparation. I think it's a keralite way of preparation. Whenever I go for the fish market she would say " buy sardines if it is available they will be very nice for frying". The sardine fry turned out to be very tasty. Since the fishes were very small they became very crispy in no time. So here comes the recipe:

Ingredients

Sardines ( wash and clean them)

Ginger 1 inch piece

Garlic 10 small pods

Pepper- 1 tbspn

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tspn

Curry leaves- lots (some 50-60 leaflets)

Turmeric a pinch

Chilli powder- 1 tbspn

Salt to taste

Method

Clean the sardines. Grind all the items given in the ingredients column (ofcourse except sardines) into a very smooth paste. This ground masala is excellent for all types of fish fry. Try it. You will love it.  Marinate the sardines in the ground paste. Keep aside for atleast one hour. Take a shallow pan, add oil and shallow fry the fishes. I would love to have the fishes in the most crispier way. So when to stop the frying process depends on you.

Sardines contain lots of fat in them.They are very good source of omega-3 fatty acids. When you eat sardines, you  do not have to worry about the sharp bones. They are very fragile and when you fry sardines they become very crispy, so "appadiye sapidalam". In this way you get a lot of high quality calcium. Sardines are claimed to be good for cardiovascular health, memory, joints, skin and energy level but the most important reason to indulge in a plate of sardines is it's taste


. Happy cooking!!!