Shrimp pepper manchurian

 

 

 

 

1. 1/2 lb Shrimp :peeled and de veined
2. 1/2 tsp Paprika powder
3. 1/4 tsp pepper powder
4. 1/2 tsp Lemon juice
5. Salt
6. 1/2 tbsp Rice powder
7. 1 Red onion chopped
8. 1/2 Green bell pepper chopped
9. 2-3 Green chilly/jalapeno chopped
10. 2-3 pods of garlic chopped
11. 1/2″ ginger chopped
12. Salt
13. Sugar
14. 1 tbsp soya sauce
15. 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour(only for gravy can be avoided for a semi dry reicipe)

 

Method:

1.MArinate the shrimp with items 2-6 and set aside for 30mts.Shallow fry for 4-5mts(ie half done).

2.In a pan fry onion,green chilly,garlic,ginger,bell pepper with salt to taste ,and add about 1/2 tsp sugar and soya sauce.

3 to this add the fried shrimp and mix well,add 1/4 tsp if need be

 

4.For gravy make a mix of all purpose flour and water and pour it over the above and adjust the salt accordingly.

 

 

Lobster-Kerala style

I bought 2,1.25 lb Fresh Lobster Steamed at the store.Cleaning it was fairly simple-Dp all the above steps in a plate,as we clean the steamed lobster the juice of the lobster is going to fall and can be used to make the gravy of the dish.Also keep another plate near by to throw the things that we are going to discard.Collect the juices dropping from the lobster dont throw it away

1. Remove the claws first and other appendages sticking out.
2. Use Scissors to separate the head from the body.
3. Clean up the head portion ie from the hollow end of the head if u spray water the dirty-n edible matters will come out,cut the eye-snout part of the head and throw it away.Keep the Casket shaped part of the head.Clean out the other end of this portion too.
4. For the body-Turn it around so the White shell is facing upwards and tail away from  you.Cut the triangle shaped shell sticking out in a row on the right side.Also cut the small appendages attached to that side of the body.
5. Now place  one edge of the the scissors between the white and red Shell away from the flesh and cut the entire length of the body without touching the rest of the body.Do the same to the other long edge.
6. now you should be able to easily lift the white shell and relieve the complete lobster body(flesh) from the shell.
7. Cut the 2 parts of the Claws so its easy to mix around.

Making the dish:

1. 2 -1 1/4 Lobster Cleaned as mentioned
2. 2 chopped onion
3. 1 chopped tomato
4. 4-5 crushed garlic
5. 1 inch crushed ginger(more if the ginger is thinner type,mine was really large)
6. 2 tsp chilly powder
7. 1tbsp  tbsp cilantro powder
8. 1 chopped green chillies(more if you like more spicy)
9. salt to taste
10. oil
11. 1/2 turmeric powder
12. 1 tsp Pepper powder

Method:

1. Prepare the lobster as mentioned and keep aside.I cut the body flesh into 4 equal parts for ease of serving.
2. In a pan add 2 tbsp oil and fry on medium flame chopped onion ,,crushed garlic and ginger  and green chilies till onion are translucent.
3. To this add chilly powder,pepper powder ,turmeric powder ,cilantro powder ,salt and fry well.
4. To this add Salt ,and water from the lobster and cook on low to low medium flame.
5. Add tomatoes and cook for a couple of mts.
6. In this keep all the lobster pieces except for the flesh from the body and cook on medium -low flame under cover for nearly 10mts or till the onion are properly cooked(add water only if necessary).This dish is semi dry.
7. Add the Body flesh in the end ,as it tends to get really chewy when cooked longer.-cook for 5mts on medium flame
8. Add chopped cilantro and mix well and cook for 1-2mts.
9. Serve hot with rice/roti.

 

Shrimp on a stick

 

 

Something I saw my mother make:

Things you need:

1. 20 Raw Peeled Shrimp
2. 20-40 toothpick
3. 1 tsp Ginger paste
4. 1 tsp Garlic paste
5. 1/2 tsp Chilly powder Spicy
6. 1 tsp Paprika powder(non spicky)
7. 1.5 tbsp Rice flour
8. Salt to taste
9. oil for frying.

Method:

1. Wash and drain the shrimp of excess water.
2. Stick the  shrimp with Toothpick so it stands straight,if the shrimp is longer than a single Toothpick,stick with one from the other end.
3. Marinate the shrimp on toothpick,with salt,Ginger garlic paste,salt,chilly and paprika powder.
4. Set aside for 20mts.
5. Sprinkle Rice flour .
6. On a girdle,dribble few drops of oil and place the shrimp.
7. On medium heat fry the shrimp say about 1 mt on each side,for upto 4-5mts in all,till the shrimp is cooked on all sides.
8. Your Shrimp on ready to serve

 

Preparing /Cleaning Raw mussels

There are 2 ways to use mussels in cooking each with its own pros and cons:

• One is a lengthy procedure(mentioned below),and is used when one plans to make a dish right away out of raw mussels.Pros:most of the dirt and waste in the mussels are removed before the cooking process,Cons:takes a long time,dangerous as knife work is involved and some juices may be lost while washing,and most importantly can be done when dish is prepared rt away,
• Second procedure is much simple,involves washing the mussels under water and steaming,so they open up and needs to be simply pulled out from the shell to make a dish.Pros:Less cumbersome ,short process,most useful when preparing large quantities and for stocking.Cons:the Waste and dirt inside is cooked along with the mussels,therefore the juices will contain the same(most will be found as sediment at the bottom of the steaming vessel,)not the most tasty way to prepare for tuffing)

The steps below are for above mentioned lengthy procedure.Most cooks in North Malabar follow this procedure as they believe this keeps the juices intact and makes the dish more tastier/sweeter.Given this procedure is not a very easy one to do,but once learned it seems like a better solutions.Earlier days,people had to buy the mussels and do the whole procedure at home,but of late the fish mongers so the tasks themselves before they sell.

First wash the mussels under running cold water,do not keep fresh mussels out too long,as it looses its fibre content along with the water as it dries out.

1. Hold single mussel in the palm of your hand so that the wedge between to the 2 halves are visible.Most often the 2 edges will be tightly shut,or if they are fresh  they may be fully to slightly open like below.
2. Incise the knife in the wedge between the 2 halves,slightly be careful so as to not get into the palm.
3. Turn the knife down keeping the tip ever so lightly between the wedges,so that the edge of the knife can get into the wedge when the tip of the knife leaves its place and creates a gap.
4. Push the knife further down slowly,so it reaches the middle of the mussles.
5. When u move the knife further,you will find that you will be cutting into the part thats holding the 2 halves.and the mussels will open up completely.
6.  There are 2 things that needs to be cleaned in mussels ,one is the tuft of fiber that holds gives anchor to the mussels when they grow,which can be cut at its base with a knife.
7. And another is a less digestable ,I am told is some kind of nervous system or digestive system ,not sure,if this is removed any number of mussels can be eaten without worrying about upsetting the stomach.Though in the pic below its not very visible,I shown the method to remove that(ie by slightly pushing the tip of the thumb into the outer edge of the left half of the mussel)
   
8. For Frying the mussels,you can use the tip of the knife or the shell of mussels edges to loosen the edges that hold the mussel to its shell ,and pther pts where it is holding the mussel to the shell.Wash them lightly under water.(will update this process the next time).
9. For stuffing.wash the open cleaned mussels lightly under running water .Note:the whole process of cleaning the mussels should be done after the stuffing is ready ,so that the mussels can be filled in as soon as they are cleaned ,as mentioned,the mussels loose their ‘muscle’ when left out open.

 

Arrikaddukka/Stuffed mussels

 

Delicacy of the North Malabar region,this item is most prominent on the road side T shops ,during all times of the day.Most commonly during the RAMDAN months.”Arri” refers to the Rice mixture stuffing,and “kaddukka” refers to mussels in Malayalam.

 

To make nearly 15 Arrikadukka

1. 15 mussels Washed and shell cleaned of Rock and other particles-pried open and then lightly run under water.
2. 1.5 cup rice.
3. 3/4 cup coconut grating
4. 3 green chillies
5. 1/2 ” ginger
6. 1/2 tsp prinjeeragam
7. 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
8. salt to taste.
9. 1 tsp chilly powder
10. 3/4 tsp rice powder
11. salt for coating
12. oil for frying
13. 1/4 onion chopped

Method:

1. Prepare mussels as mentioned above(people also do this using precooked mussels ,with a little different taste-since during cooking the juices of the seafood comes out and is lost).
2. Grind together Rice and coconut into coarse paste with very less water.
3. Just when about done add,green chillies,ginger,perinjeerakam and coriander seeds and grind for a few secs.
4. To this add salt and chopped onions and mix well.
5. Take a handful of the ground mixture and insert into the cavity between the 2 halves of the mussels.Close the 2 halves and remove the excess mixture.
6. prepare rest of the mussels in similar manner.
7. Steam it for 15-20mts.
8. Let it cool,the mussels would have stuck to the mixture and the mixture would be cooked.
9. Remove the stuffed mussels from its shell.
10. Make a mixture of chilly powder,salt and rice powder with 1/4 cup water.
11. Dip the mussels in the chilly water,to coat it evenly.
12. Shallow fry it on a girdle with little oil,till the mussels are fried.
13. Arrikadukka is ready to serve.

 

Neeli thalele/Crispy fried mussels

 

“Soronto“-Means carving in konkani and that is what I feel when I see mussels.From where I come,seafood is in abundance and people eat it for almost all meals of the day,also having had the influence of 2 types of cooking in our day to day food,there was no dearth for a new taste every day.

Mussels,is a sweet shell fish and I have grown up eating all sorts of dishes made out of it,inclusive of Mussels biryani,dry,fry,curry,stuffed,pickle .Now ,mussels is one of the tricky seafoods as it can spoil very quickly and can have adverse effect on stomach if not eaten properly.I would love to write a whole article on my blog one of these days on the best way to clean ,cook and eat mussels ,as I have heard from my dear Dad.

Crispy fried mussels ,I have shown in the photo above,is of mussels that  have NOT been precooked,and have been removed raw by prying open the mussels and scooping out the mussel flesh from its shell.This is an art in itself and comes with practice,but since this does not involve cooking with shell,the food is clean and not loose the essence of the seafood either.

1. 10 mussels
2. 1/2 tsp chilly powder-hot
3. 1/2 tsp paprila powder
4. 1/4 tsp astefotida
5. salt to taste
6. Rice powder for frying
7. oil

Method:

1. Marinate mussels in hot chillypowder,paprika power,salt and astefotida.
2. Keep for 30mts,any fleshy  mussel once removed from its shell starts loosing its flesh in the form of water,thus making the marinate watery.Hence make sure there is almost close to no water before adding the ingredients.
3. Remove marinated mussels one by one and spread on a bed a rice powder.
4. gently move ur fingers on the mussels so as to spread it to ts original shape(like 2 ears hinged in the center).
5. turn the mussels on its other side and coat rice powder evenly on both sides.Do this to each mussel.
6. In a wok full of hot oil,deep fry the mussels for nearly 3-4mts depending on the size of the mussel
7. Drain and serve hot.

 

Shrimp/Prawn Malai Curry

Amongst so many recipes my mom has tried and bested,the Prawn malai curry has a very special place.One of those dishes ,which is a must every time I head back home,this dish is a little misleading in its name.

“Malai” means cream  from all forms of milk in Indian Languages,but in most places it is used in conjuction with Cows milk cream in Indian dishes,there fore the word malai here is a misnomer.why ??Instead of using cows milk to get the cream effect,this dish uses Coconut Milk.When cooked with  fresh coconut milk ,it splits to give the cream(broken milk) kind of texture which is a very significant part of this curry.

We often eat this with ghee rice and it is more of a sweet and spicy dish and goes is not much of  a companion for the bread.Its very rich because of its content and well not a diet dish!!

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 lb Shrimp-Shelled,deviened,cleaned
2. 1 Can Coconut milk
3. 1.5 large onion-Finely chopped
4. 2 Large tomato finely chopped
5. 1 tbsp Ginger paste
6. 1tbsp Garlic paste
7. 1/4 tsp Very spicy chilly powder(you can use one you have based on the pungency).
8. 1/2 tsp sugar.
9. 1 tbsp Cilantro leaf
10. Oil for frying
11. Salt for taste.
12. Pressure cooker(optional).

Method:

1. Wash and marinate the shrimp for 30mts with salt,chilly powder and turmeric powder.
2. In a pressure cooker put some oil and fry the chopped onion for 4-5mts,lightly.
3. To this add the ginger and garlic paste,and fry for a couple of mts.
4. Add Chilly powder,fry for 4-5mts.
5. Add the tomatoes,and fry till they are partially cooked(3-4mts)
6. Add the shrimp,and salt and mix lightly,till they are partially cooked
7. Add the thick coconut milk and bring to a boil.
8. (if using fresh coconut milk one can add a little bit a thin coconut milk at this juncture).Add 1 cup of water.
9. Add the sugar,close the pressure cooker with lid  with weights and let it cook on medium for one whistle.
10. Wait for the pressure to go off.
11. Open.At this point you should see the milk broken into nice soft clusters(mostly when using fresh coconut milk),the absence/presence of these are no indication of the taste of the dish ;-).
12. Check for taste.Adjust the thickness of the gravy to your liking &tenderness of prawns-(I prefer to cook the prawns a little more so I adjust the gravy consistency and let it cook for 5-10mts based on size of the prawns).
13. Garnish with fresh cut cilantro.
14. Serve hot :).

 

Neeli Hinga udda/Mussels in Coconut gravy with coconut oil and astefotida seasoning

Another of simple Konkani curries to go with rice.Normally my mom  prefers to use Tender green Mango slices during its season for the sour taste,and when not in season one goes with tamarind instead.The Green Mango gives this dish a very nice Mango Aroma with goes nice with the sweet smelling mussels.

 

Ingredients:

1. Mussles 30-40 cooked,cleaned and shelled.
2. 1 cup coconut grating
3. 4-5 dried fried read chillies
4. Tamarind(I used about 2 small moth ball sized-it turned out  a little sour the way I like it).
5. 1 tsp coconut oil for seasoning
6. 1/2 tsp hing/astefotida for seasoning

Method:

1. Prepare the mussels the way it works for you.In my home it is washed,then pried open ,scooped out of shell and then cooked with salt.Frozen ,I get always pre cooked so all I need is to pry open the shell and remove the mussels from Shell.Most often  we can find a tuft of fiber lodged at the inner center of the mussles,this needs to be removed as it is indigestible.I save the water from the microwaved contents of the frozen mussels,but throw away the sediments.
2. Grind together the coconut,chilly and tamarind with 1/2 cup water into a smooth paste.
3. Bring to a boil the mussels and its ,water add the ground paste and bring to a quick boil.
4. Add salt to taste,hing and mix well.
5. Bring to a slow boil and switch off the stove.
6. Dribble coconut oil and let the curry settle.
7. Serve with rice.

 

Mussels Biryani

Serves:2 increase the quantity to suit ur requirement

In my teens mussels would not be available through out the year,it was very seasonal and would be available some other periods of the year but wont be as dense or sweet,these were the ones that were actually wild caught and were the tastiest ones i have eaten my entire life.Unlike how it is eaten in rest of the world,the north malabar way of cleaning and eating mussles is what I consider the best way to eat this intricate sea food.

I have seen that in most of the parts of the world,the mussels are washed when they are closed under running water and steamed either with spices or simply steamed and mussels removed before preparing a dish out of the same.From where I come,cleaning Mussels itself is an art.We do not cook the mussels prior to making  a dish out of it,as we believe that the steaming makes the mussels relieve its sweet water which is then discarded as this will all contain the silt that is deposited on the shell of the mussels.The art of cleaning mussels is a lengthy process and takes time and patience.It s a job I love to do when I am back home and i love the smells of fresh mussels when they are removed from their shell.These days due to lack of time and consumers being more vigilant the fish mongers back home sell mussels that have been relieved from their shell (not the steamed method but the lengthy process) because it is sold by the Kilo unlike before when they were sold my number,when they sell by weight,the shell adds to the weight and the actual flesh density is not known leading to many customers getting cheated,thereby persuading the sellers to pry open and clean the mussels and sell the flesh.Even though this is available,I always ask my dad to get the one with the shell so I can clean it…sometime I think it is stupidity but I just love doing it!.

During the season of mussels,we try all possible combinations of it and BIRYANI is one such ,which we enjoy eating for the sheer pleasure of eating mussels.

Ingredient:

1. 30-35 small mussles
2. 1.5 cups raw rice
3. 3.5 cups water
4. 2  bay leaves
5. 3-4 cloves
6. 5-6 raisins
7. 2-3 cardamom
8. 1/2 onion finely chopped
9. 1 tomato finely chopped
10. 4 garlic pods finely chopped
11. 1 green chilly finely chopped
12. 1″ ginger finely chopped
13. 1 tsp chilly powder
14. 1 tsp garam masala powder
15. 1tbsp yogurt
16. 2-3tbsp cilantro
17. salt
18. oil
19. ghee

Method:

1. Prepare the rice and masala separately.For preparing the masala follow the steps below:
2. Clean and remove mussles from its shell
3. In a pan add some oil and fry the chopped onion till translucent,add tomato and fry till its leaves oil.Add the ginger,garlic and green chillies chopped and fry till they start leaving oil
4. To this add the powders,salt,yogurt and mix well.
5. Add Mussles and simmer for 4-5mts till the gravy thickens
6. Prepare rice separately by heating some ghee+oil in a pan,frying the spices cloves,cardamom,bayleaves till it imparts an aroma.Add raisins and when they are golden brown ,add the washed rice and fry medium heat till u get a nice aromatic rice .
7. Add 1:2(rice:water) and cook it for 10-12mts or till rice is almost done.
8. In microwavable dish place layer of rice ,then a layer of mussles masala and sprinkle cilantro,then another layer rice,masala and cilantro.Do this till u run out of rice,masala and cilantro.
9. Microwave this on HIGH for 5mts.
10. Garnish with cilantro
11. serve hot.

 

Parsi Prawn Pathia-P3

From this forum that  I am a part of I found this reference to many Parsi dishes which were an immense motivation for me to try something that was referred to as Shrimp Patio . I then referred the recipe mentioned by an author in the forum and also quite some web sites for the recipe for the same and found the common ingredients in all of those recipes to come up with my version of prawn pathia.Here it goes.

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb Washed/cleaned prawns.
2. 1 Large Onion Chopped
3. 1.5 tomatoes chopped
4. 2 Cloves of garlic.
5. 1 tsp Jaggery
6. 1 tsp Tamarind paste.
7. 1/2 tsp chilly powder.
8. 1/2 cumin powder
9. 3/4 Corriander powder.
10. 1/2 turmeric powder
11. 1/4 Garam masala powder
12. 2-3 tbsp Coriander leaves-chopped.
13. Salt
14. 1/2 tsp sugar.
15. Oil

Method:

1. Wash and de-verin the shrimp.
2. In a pan heat about 1.5 tsp of oil and fry to golden brown chopped onion and garlic.
3. When they are translucent,add all the powders except Garam masala.Fry for 3-4 mts without it burning.
4. Add tomatoes and fry till it leaves oil and the onions start going mushy.(you wont need any water as the tomatoes will provide it).
5. Make a paste of Tamarind and Jaggery and add this to the onion masala.Cook till you are satisfied with the mushy masala.
6. Add salt, sugar,Corriander leaves and garam masala and mix.
7. Now add Shrimp and mix so as to cover the prawns with the masala.Cook for 7-8mts till the shrimp is  ‘just done’.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander.
9. Serve with rice.