Meen Kuzhambhu / Fish Kuzhambhu

In Tamil fish is 'Meen' and 'Kuz(l)hambu' is a tamarind based gravy which is spicy and tangy, more like the pulusu in Telugu. Meen kuzhambhu is the most common recipe in the southern part of India and is the most favorite recipe for fish. Growing up whenever Amma cooks fish its always been this kuzhambhu accompanied by a spicy fish fry.The menu never changed and we never got bored with this dish :). 
After venturing into a totally different style of cooking after marriage (Tanjore based) which was quite difficult for me adapt I was quite releaved to see that there was no change in this particular kuzhambhu made by my MIL :) . So this is the common recipe used in most of the household, with very slight changes, sometimes with coconut or without coconut. I personally prefer the no coconut version which is slightly more tangy than the other. My mother regularly adds 2 or 3 whole slit brinjals or some pieces of mangoes (when in season) which also enhances the taste greatly.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg of any white fish( catfish, tilapia, trout..)
11/2 tsp chilli powder 
3 tsp coriander powder 
1 lemon sized ball tamarind
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced.
1/2 cup shallots/onion chopped
1/2 cup chopped tomato


Tempering:
2 tsp of Karu vadagam/kuzhambhu vadagam *
               (or)
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp methi seeds/vendhayam
few curry leaves


Method:
Soak the tamarind in warm water and squeeze the thick pulp out of that (approx 2 cups).
If using Tamarind paste , mix 1tblsp of the paste to two cups of water. 
Wash the fish pieces with little bit of salt and keep aside.
In a kadai or sauce pan add 3 tblsp of gingelly/sesame oil.
When the oil is hot add the tempering ingredients, then add sliced garlic and chopped onion and fry till translucent.
Now add the chopped tomato, turmeric and salt.
Fry till the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp and the oil seperates out.
Now add the chilli powder and coriander powder and fry for 2 mins. Now add the thick tamarind juice stir and close with a lid.
Let it boil in medium heat for about 10 mins. 
Add the fish pieces one by one gently. Close with a lid and simmer for 10 mins. Do not over cook the fish as it will become mushy. 
Switch off the stove and let the kuzhambhu sit for atleast an hour before serving.

Notes/Variations:

• I have used sesame oil which needs an acquired taste, you can also use any other type of oil except olive oil.
• Vegetables like Brinjal or mango can be added while frying the onions to bring out an extra flavour.
• 1/4 cup of  ground coconut paste can also be added as a yummy variation.
• The amount of onion should be very little as given in the recipe,more onion will give a mildly sweet taste to the kuzhambhu.
• If the kuzhambhu is little thin or watery - fry 1/4 cup of chopped onion. Grind to a paste and add along with the tamarind juice.
• * Vadagam is a homemade combination of different spices like fennel, methi, garlic onion , mustardd etc., bind using castor oil and sundried till its completly dry. This vadagam is regularly used for tempering especially for the tamarind based gravies.

This 

Simple Garlic Bread - My Way

Whenever I make soup of any kind, I tend to make garlic bread. Usually I add the butter - garlic mixture to the sliced bread and broil in the oven for about 5-6 minutes. But for the past few years I have been making it in a different way and love the bread made this way to bits and pieces. It makes the bread soaked up with the garlic flavor, without making them too crusty. I came across this method of baking garlic bread when browsing through one of the cookbooks from the library. I don't remember the name of the book but this tip got struck in my head forever :) 

Ingredients:

1 medium french baquette (I used a multi grain bread)

8 cloves of garlic chopped finely

2 tblsp butter

3 tblsp olive oil.

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper as per taste

Method.

Preheat the oven 350F

Chop the garlic finely.I used a garlic press from Ikea, such a nice kitchen accessory.

Mix  it up with butter, olive oil, oregano salt and pepper.Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Slice the bagutte in to thin slices 3/4 the way (not into separate pieces).

Fill up the slits with garlic mixture.  Brush the remaining mixture on top of the bread.

Wrap it up tightly with aluminium foil

Bake in the 325F  oven for 20 minutes.

Note :  You can also decrease the amount of butter and increase the olive oil, that works great too.

Home made garlic bread  is always the best as you can control the amount of salt as well as butter as per our need.

For more crispier slices grill it in the broiler for a minute or two.

 

Banana Peppers/ Milagai Bhajji

Bhaji is a classic South Indian snack that is totally irresistible. My Mom makes this whenever we have guests and she makes it so perfect without any grease, even if you press it down with a news paper (oh , thats what we do to take the grease out of the bhaji...no power towels :)). Over the period of time I have learned that its the consistency of the batter that matters. It needs to be thick enough to coat the vegetable you are using, something like the idly batter. My all time favorite bhaji is with plantains(raw banana)..nothing can beat that, but today its gonna be  with banana peppers which is my hubby's favorite.

Ingredients:
Banana peppers 4 
1 cup Besan flour/Kadalai maavu
1/4 cup Rice flour
1/4 tsp hing powder/asoefotida
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt as required
2 tblsp Idli /dosa batter  (or) 1/4 tsp sodium bicarbonate.


Method:
Cut the banana peppers into thin long strips. Remove the seeds.
Heat the oil in deep sauce pan.
Make a thick batter by adding 1 and 1/2 cup water and all the powders together. 
Whisk it well to form a smooth batter.
Dip the peppers in the batter and fry in the oil till golden brown.
Serve it with Coconut chutney or with your favorite dipping sauce.

Note: If the batter is thin or watery, it absorbs more oil, so add more besan flour to make it thick.

Vennai Puttu For ICC January.

Iam participating in Indian Cooking challenge after a long time , so glad I did. Srivalli chose this months recipe as Vennai Puttu, a delicacy from Tamilnadu with the suggestion from Priya. So we had two recipes from Priya and Nirmala. 'Vennai' in tamil means Butter, so I guess the name of this dish resonates the texture of this sweet as it is melt in the mouth buttery, but as for the word puttu goes I have no clue :).

I have very vague memories of my grandmother making this for breakfast during summer vacation. She used to prepare the rice batter by personally grinding the rice with a massive hand stone grinder (Aatukal in tamil), make the porridge in the night and allow it to cool in individual cups or sometimes she puts them in empty coconut shells. Then in the morning we all would have our own pudding bowls, topped with extra ghee and freshly grated coconut.

I never knew the recipe till now, as my mother never made it but as soon as Srivalli announced this as the challenge all these memories came flashing through my mind.

I followed the exact measurements as per Nirmala. This sweet is meant to be mildly sweet 
as it is sometimes taken with fresh shredded coconut, so I did'nt add any extra jaggery. I also used some moulds to make it interesting for my kid.

Ingredients

1 cup raw rice 

2 cups water

1/2 cup jaggery

1/2 tsp cardomom powder

1/4 cup channa dhal

1/4 cup broken cashews

ghee as required

Method:

Soak the rice overnight or for minimum of 3 hours.

 Soak the channa dhal for 1 hour and cook in hot water for 20 mins.It should hold it shape and not mushy.

Melt the jaggery in about 1/4 cup of water.Filter and keep aside.

Grind the rice  to a smooth paste like Idli batter.

In a thick bottomed vessel boil the water. Keep the heat in medium.

 Add the rice flour batter to the boiling water, keep stirring continuously to avoid lumps.

Once the rice flour is cooked and turns thicker add the melted jaggery and mix well to combine.I have to warn you its get kind of messy at this stage :)

 Keep stiring till the mixture leaves the side of the pan. At this stage add the cooked channa dhal, fried cashews and 2 tsps of ghee.

 Mix well and the pour to the greased plate or moulds

Allow it to cool or set for 2 - 3 hours.

Then gently scrape the sides of the plate with a blunt knife and turn over. Serve with freshly grated coconut on top.

Notes:

Stiring is very important and its better to use a non stick pan. But its okay to have very small lumps of rice flour tastes like palkozhukattai (kind of ).
I added the coconut to the bottom of the greased mould before adding the sweet, so that when inverting it comes out beautifully on the top.

Strawberry 'n Cream Jello Hearts

A very simple and delicious dessert for Valentine's Day.

Ingredients:

1 packet of strawberry jello (30 gms)

1/3 cup boiling water

1/3 cup or 5 oz can of Evaporated milk

Any white chocolate chunks - I used 4 mini toblerone squares

Method:

Add 1/3 cup of boiling water to the jello mix. Stir well to combine.

Combine the evaporated milk and the chocolate chunks in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 mins.

Stir well to combine. Add this to the Jello mixture.

Pour into the desired moulds or Ice cube trays.

Refrigerate for 30 mins or until set.

Note:

Condensed milk can also be used instead of evaporated milk, but it turns out a little more sweet.

Sending this post to all the following events out there
"Valentine Fest - Served with Love  st Sizzling Tastebuds

Cooking  Concepts - Dish for loved ones  at  Srav's
"Sweet Luv "  event at Zesty Palette
Just for fun  - event at Shoba's Good Food

Check out my other heart shaped valentine treat  Shortbread cookies with chocolate dipping

Happy Valentines's Day  :)