side dish – Meal Haven

Tamilnadu Style Prawn Masala

A favourite sea food dish when accompanied by curd rice or rasam rice is pure bliss….It can also be served with rotis or chapathis. Some people add a pinch of garam masala powder at the end but I prefer to skip it.

Ingredients:

Deshelled and Deveined Prawns – 1/2 kg

Onions – 2 big

Potato – 1 big (optional)

Tomatoes – 2 medium

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Red chillie powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water – 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Finely chop onions, dice the potatoes and tomatoes. Keep it aside. Marinate the prawns with 1/4 tsp turmeric and a little salt and keep it aside for 10 – 15 minutes.

Heat a pan. Add oil. Add the finely chopped onions and saute till it becomes translucent. Then, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 4 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Next, add the curry leaves and the chopped tomato and saute till it becmes mushy. Add the chillie powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and saute it well, adding 2-3 tbsp of water in between. Add the potatoes, salt and saute it for a good 7 -8 minutes on low flame. When it is 3/4th cooked and all the water has been absorbed, add 1 tbsp of coriander leaves, followed by the prawns. You may add 1/4 cup of water and stir well. Keep it covered on a low flame until the prawns are cooked. This may take only about 5 -6 minutes. If the prawns are cooked for a long time, it will turn rubbery.

Remove from fire and garnish it with coriander leaves.

Capsicum Roast

Vegetarian

This easy curry is a delightful one which lets you indulge in mildly spicy yet delicious curry, perfect to serve with rice and chappathis.

Ingredients:

Capsicums – 4 medium

Onions – 2 medium

Red chillie powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/ 2 tsp

Garlic – 3 -4 cloves

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tsp

Curry leaf – 1 sprig

Fried Ground nuts – 2 tbsp

Roasted gram or pottukadala – 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Powder the roasted gram, groundnuts and garlic coarsely in the mixer. Keep it aside.

Chop onions lengthwise and dice the capsicums.

Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera and when it starts to splutter, add curry leaves and onions and saute for 5 to 6 minutes until the onions turn golden brown. Next add the capsicum and saute. Add the red chillie powder and turmeric powder and saute. Close the lid and let it cook, stirring in between so that it does not burn. You may just sprinkle a liitle water in between, if it is too dry. When it is half cooked, add the gram dal and garlic powder and close and cook until the raw smell goes away. Keep stirring in between.

Serve with a sprinkle of coarsely ground peanuts/groundnuts.

Watermelon Rind Kootu/Lentils with Watermelon Rind

Vegetarian

There are many dishes which you can make with watermelon rind, ie, poriyals/thorans or yogurt based curry (morekozhumbu/kalans) but this one is my favourite. The ingredients in this dish marry well and work in harmony to make this dish a nutritious and a tasty one.

The same recipe can also be made with squash, ridge gourd, cabbage, snake gourd or white pumpkin.

Ingredients:

Moong Dal (small yellow lentils) OR Chana dal (bengal gram dal) – 1/2 cup

Watermelon Rinds chopped – 1 1/4 cups (see note below)

Water – 1 cup + 1 cup

Green chillies – 2

Onion – 1 small chopped

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp

Jeera/cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Red chillies – 2

Saunf /aniseed – 1/4 tsp

Shredded or Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup + 1/2 tsp for garnishing

Salt to taste

For seasoning:

Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Udad dal – 1/4 tsp

Red chillies – 2

Curry leaf – 1 sprig

Oil – 1 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Note : Wash and cut the watermelon rind without the green outerpart, into small pieces. Remove all the red portions inside and the outer green skin and chop only the white portion inside.

Grind jeera, saunf, red chillies and 1/4 cup grated coconut coarsely, in a mixer and keep it aside.

Boil the watermelon rind in 1 cup of water alongwith 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, slit green chillies, chopped onions and salt. Close the lid and let it cook. Once cooked, keep it aside.

In another vessel, wash the yellow moong dal and cook it in a kadai or pan with salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Cook it with 1 cup of water and keep it aside. Once cooked, add the cooked watermelon rind and mix it well. Add the ground coconut and boil it once and put off the flame.

Season it with the ingredients mentioned under ‘seasoning’ and mix it well. Garnish with grated coconut and serve with rice or chapathis.

Simple Tomato Dal with Tamarind

Vegetarian

Ingredients:

Tur dal – 1/2 cup

Medium onion – 1/2 chopped

Green chillies slit – 2

Tomatoes – 3 ripe

Garlic – 4 -5 pods

Tamarind – 1 small ball mixed in water

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt – As needed

Seasoning:

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Whole red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – a sprig

Crushed pepper – 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

Cook with tur dal, onion, slit green chillies, ripe tomatoes, garlic pods, turmeric powder. After it is cooked, mash tomatoes well. Add salt, tamarind juice (depending on your preference for sourness) and boil well for 5 mins.

Put off the fire and add the items listed under “seasoning” and chopped coriander. Cover the lid immediately so that the flavours are retained inside.

Mutton Chana Dal curry

Non-Vegetarian, Uncategorized

Ingredients:

Mutton – 1/2 kg

Chana Dal – 1/2 cup

Curds – 1/2 cup

Onion – 1 medium size

Tomato – 1medium size

Chill powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp

Mint leaves/Pudina – 7 to 8 (optional)

Coriander leaves – 4 to 5 stalks

Bay leaf -2

Cloves -3

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Cardamom – 2

Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp

Coconut Paste (if desired) – 2 tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak chana dal in water for 20 minutes.

Marinate the mutton with curds, 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste. 1/4 tsp chillie powder, 1/4 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Let it marinate in the fridge for 30 mins.

Meanwhile, in a pan, heat oil and add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and flash fry for 20 seconds. Then add onions and sauté. Add mint leaves and half the coriander leaves. Add ginger garlic paste and fry on slow fire till raw smell goes away. Then, add finely chopped tomatoes and sauté till tomato becomes a pulp/paste. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and the coriander powder. Sauté well and add marinated meat and sauté well. Add soaked chana dhal and 2 cups water and cook in pressure cooker for 1 whistle. After a whistle, lower the flame and cook for 10 mins and put it off. Let the pressure cooker cool, then open the cooker and see whether meat and chana dhal is cooked. (If not cooked, keep for some more time). Check the gravy for a semi thick consistency. Add garam masala powder. If too watery, boil for more time and remove from fire. For slight variation in taste, you can add 2 tsp ground coconut paste (if desired). Garnish with coriander leaves.