Chilli Crab: A Singaporean Dish

Ingredients

Mud Crabs- 2 large (cut into small pieces)

Onions- 2 (roughly chopped)

Chillies- 3-4

Garlic Flakes- 4-5 (finely chopped)

Ginger- 1tbsp (finely chopped)

Spring Onions- 1 cup (finely chopped)

Black Pepper- 1tsp

Tomato Puree- 1 cup

Sugar- 1tsp2

Vegetable Oil- 4-5tbsp

Salt- To taste

Coriander- 1 cup (finely chopped)

Procedure For The Chilli Crab

Grind the onions and chillies together in a blender.

Now take a frying pan over a gas oven and add oil to it.

Put the garlic and ginger into the pan. Stir over a low flame for 1-2 minutes.

Add the spring onions, black pepper and some salt to the same pan. Saute well over a low flame for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the crab pieces to the pan and let it fry over a medium flame for 4-5 minutes.

Pour in the onion-chili mixture, tomato puree and the sugar into it. Mix the ingredients well.

Now add a cup of water and bring the whole mixture to simmer over a low flame for 8-10 minutes.

When the sauce becomes thick turn off the gas oven.

Your crab recipe is now ready.

Muri Ghonto: Bengali Fish Delicacy

Ingredients:

Head of Ruhu fish- 500 gms

Rice- ½ cup

Bay Leaf- 1

Cumin seeds- 1tsp

Green chillies- 4 (slit)\

Onion- 1 (chopped)

Potato- 1 (cut into small pieces)

Ginger- 1 inch (minced)

Garlic pods- 4 (minced)

Red chilli powder- 1tsp

Turmeric- ½tsp

Cumin powder- 1tsp

Pepper corns- 4

Cardamom pods- 2

Cinnamon sticks- 1 inch

Cloves- 4

Mustard oil- 4tbsp

Ghee or clarified butter- 1tbsp

Salt- as per taste

Procedure

Fry the rice in ghee for 3-4 minutes on a low flame and keep it aside.

Soak the whole spices pepper corns, cardamom, cinnamon sticks and cloves in water.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Break the head of the fish into small parts and deep fry it in the oil.

Fry the fish head thoroughly for 5 minutes until it turns crisp and red. Strain out the fried fish head and keep it aside.

Season the left over oil with the bay leaf and cumin seeds. Throw in the slit green chilies into it.

Saute the onions in the pan until they turn golden. Then add potatoes to the pan and deep fry till they turn golden.

Now add ginger and garlic to the pan and cook on simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Now mix the powdered spices namely red chilli, cumin and turmeric in a half a cup of water. Add this to the pan and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Now add the muro or fried fish head to the pan along with the fried rice. Mix it well and cook on low flame for another 2 minutes.

Pour 1 cup of water into the pan. Add salt; cover and cook on low flame for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile crush the soaked whole spice by hand or in the blender.

When the stipulated time is over, turn off the flame. Season the dish with ghee and the crushed masala.

Muri ghonto can be served with dal and hot steamed rice. This dish cannot be enjoyed with roties.

Jeera Rasam Recipe

Ingredients: 

1/2 tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)
3 cups of water
1 tsp Jaggery
tsp Pepper
¼ cup coriander leaves (chopped)
1 red chilli
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp oil

Jeera Rasam Preparation:

In a vessel, heat the oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies, pepper, and fry well. To it, add 3 cups of water and bring it to boil.

Add jaggery and salt according to taste. Garnish with Chopped Coriander. Tasty jeera rasam is ready. 

Enjoy the delicious jeera rasam hot with plain rice and ghee.

Momos: Yummy Low Calorie Recipe

Ingredients For The Momos (Dumplings):

Flour (maida)- 4-5 cups

Baking Powder- ½tsp

Onions- 9-10 (finely chopped)

Cabbage- 1 (finely chopped)

Carrots- 7-8 (finely chopped)

Butter- 2-3tbsp

Ginger Paste- 1 ½ -2tbsp

Ajinomoto- 1-2tsp

Salt- To taste

For The Sauce:

Tomatoes- 4-5

Garlic Flakes- 4-5

Green Chillies- 3-4

Coriander- ½ cup

Salt- To taste

Procedure For The Momos (Dumplings):

First mix the flour with some water, baking powder and salt to form a stiff dough. Keep this aside.

Now take the onions, cabbage and carrots in a bowl and add the 1tbsp butter and some salt to it.

Place in on a gas oven for boiling on a high flame.

Strain off all the water from the vegetables after they are boiled

Now add 1tbsp of butter and the ajinomoto into it and mix well. Keep it aside.

Take the dough and make small balls. Roll each ball into small and thin round shapes.

Take the mixture of vegetables and use it to fill each ball of dough.

Now twist the edges to seal the filling inside the dough.

After they are ready put them in a pressure cooker for steaming for at least 15-20 minutes on simmer.

Serve this vegetarian momo hot.

Kakarakaya Karam

Ingredients:

1/4 kg bitter gourd, peel, slice into rounds

1/4 tsp turmeric pwd

1 onion, finely sliced

1 tsp grated jaggery (optional)

1 1/4 tbsps oil

salt to taste

For seasoning/poppu/tadka:

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal/minappa pappu/split gram dal

1 tsp senaga pappu/channa dal/bengal gram

10-12 curry leaves

Make a coarse pwd:

 4 garlic cloves

2 dry red chillies, de-seed

Method of preparation:

1 Add turmeric and salt to the peeled bittergourd slices. Leave aside for 15 mts. Gently squeeze the liquid off the slices.
2 Heat oil in a cooking vessel, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Add urad dal and channa dal and toss till the dals turn red and then add the curry leaves, stir fry for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions and fry for 3-4 mts till they turn transparent.
3 Add the sliced bittergourd slices and saute. Constantly stir fry on medium heat ensuring they don’t burn or stick to the pan. Keep frying till they well roasted and this could take about 22-25 mts.
5 Add the ground red chilli-garlic mixture, jaggery and adjust salt. Combine and saute for another 3-4 mts. Serve hot with white rice.

Prawn Kebab

Ingredients

Prawns- 8-10

Ginger garlic paste- 3-4tsp

Curd- 2 cups

Cream- 2 cups

Gram flour- 3tsp

Lemon juice- 3tsp

Salt

Butter- 2tsp

Cumin seeds- 1tsp

White pepper- 1tsp

Clove, powdered- 2

Directions

Wash and clean the prawns properly. Shed them for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk the curd and cream to make a smooth paste.

Add the powdered clove, gram flour and white pepper powder in the curd paste. Mix well.

Now, add the prawns and salt to the paste and mix gently. Cover the bowl with a silver foil. Refrigerate the mix for approx 2 hours.

Take it out of the refridgerator and leave for 30 minutes to bring it to room temperature.

Meanwhile, heat tandoor. Cook the prawn in tandoor for 30 minutes. When the prawns turn golden brown, coat the pieces with butter. Cook it in the oven for 10 minutes.

Prawn kebabs are ready to eat. You can have it with chilli sauce.

Points to remember:

The shells should be firm. Never buy broken shell prawns. They can be unhygienic. 

Buy medium sized raw prawns that are firm. Smaller prawns are sweet and are easy to cook too! 

Avoid storing prawns in refrigerator for more than 2 days. It is best to buy and cook on the same day. 

Keep the prawns in the shell unless you cook them. This keeps the prawn pieces fresh.

If you have bought frozen prawns, store in the freezer till you use them. Defrost before cooking to enjoy the flavour and taste of fresh prawns.

Pickled Eggplant

Ingredients For Marinade:

Ginger garlic paste- 2tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1tsp

Red chilli powder- 1 tsp

Chaat masala- 1 tsp

Oil- 1tbsp

Salt- as per taste

Ingredients For Gravy 

Eggplant or brinjal- 10 (small)

Cumin seeds- 1tsp

Mustard seeds- 1tsp

Onion seeds (kalongi)- 1/2tsp

Fenugreek seeds (methi)- 1/2tsp

Fennel seeds (saunf)- 1/2tsp

Asfoetida (hing)- 1/2tsp

Onions- 2 (sliced)

Tomato- 1 (chopped)

Red chilli powder- 1tsp

Cumin powder- 1tsp

Garam Masala powder- 1/2tsp

Dry mango powder (amchoor)- 1tsp

Curd- 1/2 cup

Fresh cream- 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup (chopped)

Procedure

Make small incisions into the eggplant and marinate it with all the marinade ingredients for ten minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the eggplant in it till it becomes crisp.

Strain the deep fried eggplants and keep aside. Season the remaining oil with fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, onion seeds, fenugreek seeds and asfoetida.

Saute the onions in the oil till they turn golden. Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt on it.

Cook on low flame till the tomatoes melt into a pulp (about 3-4 minutes).

Now add all the powdered spices like red chilli, turmeric, cumin, garam masala and dry mango powder. Fry the spices for 1-2 minutes.

Then stir in the curd. Cook for 1-2 minutes on low flame. If the gravy looks very dry, you can add little more curd or a few spoons of water.

Now add the fried eggplants to the gravy, garnish with coriander leaves and cover with a lid.

Cook for 3-4 minutes so that the eggplant absorbs the spices. Now, put the pan off flame.

Add some fresh cream from the top and serve Achari Baingan with hot rotis.