Shrimps in a tangy sauce (Sungta Phanna Upkari)

Well, finally I am posting this recipe which has been on my list for a long long time. This is a hot favorite with the Mangaloreans and in general all konkani people. I love to eat this with pan polo (neeru dosa). Whenever I make this, I just can't help but pop a shrimp in my mouth whenever I am walking around in the kitchen. They are so irresistible. Well, you'll know once u make these :)

What you will need:
Shrimps - 15 to 20, cleaned
Onions - 2 large
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tamarind - lemon sized
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare:
Rub the shrimps with half a teaspoon of salt and keep aside. Soak the tamarind in half a cup of water. Squeeze out the tamarind to get a thick juice.
Heat oil. Add the onions and fry until they are really brown. The onions need to be really brown otherwise the taste is not the same. Now lower the flame, add the chilli powder and fry for just about a minute. Add the tamarind juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the shrimps and cook until done.

White beans in tomato gravy (Tingalavare masala)

These white beans, I do not know what the actual name in English is are called Tingalavare in Kannada and Konkani. This is one of my favorite beans after Chole (chickpeas)  and Rajma (Kidney beans). The tingalavre masala is a regular in my kitchen now. It can be eaten with rice or chapati or even poori.

What you will need:

• White beans (Tingalavare) - 1 cup
• Onions - large, chopped
• Tomatoes - 2 medium - chopped
• Green chillies - 4
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 4 strands
• Salt to taste
• Oil

How to prepare
The beans should be soaked overnight for at least 8 to 10 hours. If soaking in hot water, 2 hours should be good enough. Cook the white beans in a pressure cooker with slit green chillies. The beans should be cooked until they are really soft. So I would cook it in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles and keep it on a low flame for another 10 minutes. Slightly mash some of the cooked beans to make the sauce thicker.
Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and fry them until they turn brown. Add the turmeric powder. Now add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft. Add the cumin and coriander powder. Add the cooked beans and salt. Add some water now to get the consistency you like. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the garam masala powder and coriander leaves. Turn the heat off after a minute. Serve with rice, roti or naan.

Aloo Gobi ( Spiced Potatoes with cauliflower)

What you will need:

• Potato - 2 medium, cut into small cubes
• Cauliflower - 1 cup, cut into small florets
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 2 slit
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 4 strands, chopped
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and slit green chillies. Add turmeric powder. Now add the chopped potatoes and cauliflower. Saute for a minute and then add 1/4 cup of water. After the water comes to a boil, add the coriander powder, chilli powder and salt and mix well. Cover and cook on a medium flame until the vegetables are done. It takes around 15 to 20 minutes to cook the veggies. Keep stirring in between so that the vegetables do not stick to the bottom of the pan. If the water dries up, you can sprinkle some water. When the vegetables are tender, add chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken Biryani

What you will need:

For marinating the chicken:

• Thick Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
• Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies - 4
• Peppercorns - 1 tsp, slightly crushed
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Whole garam masala (bay leaf, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon etc)
• Salt to taste

Rest of the ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 2 cups
• Chicken - 600 gms
• Onions - 2 large, sliced and deep fried
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
• Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
• Saffron soaked in warm milk - 1 tsp
• Oil/Ghee - 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade with the chicken and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Boil 4 cups of water and add 1 tsp of oil and some salt. Add the basmati rice. When it is 75% done, turn the heat off and drain all the water.
Heat a thick bottomed pan. Pour 2 tbsp of oil. Add the chicken with the marinade. Spread half of the rice on top of the chicken. Spread some fried onions, mint and coriander leaves. Spread the rest of the rice. Add the saffron soaked, rest of the onions, mint and coriander leaves. Cover and cook on a low flame for about 40 minutes. Serve the spicy chicken biryani with raitha.

Cabbage peas rice

What you will need:

• Rice - 2 cups
• Cabbage - 1 cup
• Onions - 2 small (optional)
• Green Peas - about a handful
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 3 to 4
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

 How to prepare

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add
urad dal and green chillies. If adding onions, add them now. Add the green peas followed by cabbage and the red chilli powder. Fry for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and salt. Add 4 cups of water. Cover and cook until the rice is done. Serve with dal or some spicy non-veg curry.

Variation:
You can even add some mustard seeds and curry leaves when adding the cumin seeds.

Capsicum Rice

This is my mom's recipe. She always packs this for lunch for my dad. It can be prepared in a jiffy and tastes really good. A very good way to fix the left-over rice. Try it out...I'm sure you're going to love it!!

What you will need:

• Cooked rice - 1 cup
• Bellpepper/Capsicum - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 large, chopped
• Garlic - 1 tsp chopped
• Green chillies - 2
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Rasam powder - 1/2 tsp
• Lime juice - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds crackle, add green chillies, chopped garlic and onion. Fry until the onion turns brown. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder and mix. Now add the chopped capsicum and fry. Sprinkle a little water and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cooked rice, salt and mix everything together. Cover and cook on a low flame for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rasam powder. Turn the heat off and keep the pan covered. The rasam powder will cook when you keep it covered. Add the lime juice just before serving.

Banana bread recipe

What you will need:

• All purpose flour (Maida) - 1.5 cups
• Butter/Margarine - 1/3rd cup, melted
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Eggs - 2
• Baking soda - 1 tsp
• Large bananas - 3 mashed
• Salt - 1/4 tsp (do not add salt if you are using salted butter)
• Walnuts or macademia nuts (optional) - a handful

How to prepare
Take the melted butter in a bowl. Add the eggs and sugar and beat really well for about 5 minutes. Add the soda, salt, nuts, bananas and the flour. Mix then. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a loaf pan. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and enjoy them.

Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

What you will need:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Vegetables  - 1 cup (corn, carrots, green beans, onions, green peas, cabbage, spring onions, peppers/capsicum)
• Green Chillies - 2 to 3
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
• Oil /Butter- 1 tbsp
• Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste 

How to prepare
Boil 3 cups of water. Add 1 tsp of salt and 2 drops of oil. Add rice. Cook uncovered until the rice is done. Each grain should be separate and take care not to overcook the rice. Drain the excess water.
Heat oil in a pan, add slit green chillies and then add the vegetables with some salt. Stir fry the vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes until they are crisp and not overcooked. Move the vegetables aside in the pan to separate the oil and add the soy sauce. I like to fry the soy sauce directly in oil for a few seconds so that the strong odour goes away. Add the rice. Mix well. Cover and cook for a minute. Sprinkle pepper powder on top.
Enjoy the hot fried rice.

French Toast

 

 

What you will need:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 slices of bread
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tbsp butter

How to prepare

Combine the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract and beat well. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture.

I usually leave it for 30 seconds so that the bread absobs the mixture a little.

Heat a skillet and apply some butter. Take the bread slices out of the egg mixture, shake off the excess and place it on the hot skillet. Fry on each side until brown. Repeat this for the rest of the bread slices.

Serve with a little syrup and butter on top.

 

Akki Rotti (Rice flour rotti)

Akki rotti means rice flour in kannada. This is also known as tandla pitta rotti or tandla pitta bhakri in konkani.
Its usually eaten for breakfast in South India. The fresh coconut makes this bhakri soft in the inside and crispy on the outside. And its healthy too :)

What you will need:
Rice flour - 1 cup
1 onion - finely chopped
1 small carrot - grated (optional)
Coriander leaves - 2 to 3 strands
Fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 3 - 4 chopped
Ghee or butter for frying
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Mix all the ingredients except for the ghee or butter. Add water to make a nice paste. The coconut makes the akki rotti soft. You can add milk instead of the water. The dough should be like a paste, yet thick and not too watery.

Apply butter on a pan and spread the mixture with your hand. Do not spread the mixture too thick. Keep the pan on the stove. Cover and cook. When the first side is cooked, apply some butter on top and turn it over to cook the other side until nice and crisp.
Apply some butter on top and serve with chutney.

Murgh Do Pyaza (Chicken with onions)

What you will need:
750 gms chicken
2 Large onions - sliced
Ginger - 2" piece chopped
Garlic - 4 big pods, finely chopped
Tomato paste - 3 tbsp or 2 small finely chopped tomatoes
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Heat ghee. Add sliced ginger, garlic and sliced onions. Fry until the onions turn brown. Add the tomato paste/chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Now add the chicken pieces, salt and 1 cup of water. Cover and cook until the chicken is done. Add garam masala powder and mix. Turn the heat off.
Serve hot with naan, parantha or chapati.

Murgh Musallam

What you will need:
750 gms Chicken
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3-4 green chillies
1/2 tsp red chillies
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 small onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped or 4 tbsp tomato paste.
5-6 peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds
1" cinnamon
4-5 cloves
Almonds - 10 soaked in water
Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - 4 to 5 strands
Oil - 2 tbsp

How to prepare
Marinate the chicken with ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, chopped green chillies and salt. Remove the skin of the soaked almond and make a paste.
Heat 1/2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds and peppercorns. Add chopped onion and fry until the onions turn brown. Set aside and allow it to cool. After it cools down, grind it into a smooth paste.
Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the onion paste and saute for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes get mashed up. Add the marinated chicken and almond paste. Cover and cook until the chicken is done. Add the fresh cream and cook for one minute. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with naan, chapati or rice.