MEEN VEVICHATHU / KERALA STYLE RED FISH CURRY

Kerala style fish curry could be made in millions of ways because each household has a recipe of their own! How diverse can we get ? :) This recipe is the way Amma makes Fish Curry at home so it has the Alleppy- Kottayam- Changanaserry style in it and it is DEELICIOUS! I cannot emphasize enough on that because I haven't had many fish curry's which tastes as good as hers.

Now that was the red colour fish curry made with Kokum/Kudampuli. The place I grew up,Kannur, has another take over fish curry. It's yellow in colour and is made with Sambar puli/Tamarind and also has ground coconut in it. Trust me, I can drink that curry and I have done so! It is so tasty but I have never tried my hand at it which I will, very soon! Janu chechy, our maid at home for the last almost 30 years makes the best Kannur Meen Curry/Fish Curry. She is really old and I don't think she can see clearly anymore but when she makes the fish curry, it is just WOW! I also love her 'Pacchadi' and had written it down in my diary as Janu chechy's Pacchadi :-)

This particular red colour fish curry, which I will refer to as Meen Curry now on is not that easy to master. I think the main problem comes in balancing the 'puli'/tanginess with salt. My first attempt at it was in 10th standard and I produced a decent curry. I don't even remeber how it tasted because along with that curry I had made 33 others too. It was for a competition at the District level from school that I had participated in. We had to cook as many dishes as possible in 3 hours using a Kerosene stove and nutritious ingredients. There was no way that we could use a pressure cooker to speed up the process.It had to be a balanced meal and we had to cook breakfast items, lunch items, 4'o clock tea snacks and dinner items, in 3 hours! I managed to make the most number of dishes (34) which included varitey of Puttu,Fish curries,Sambar,Banana Fritters etc. I don't even remember the list as it was 10 years ago!

My recent attempt at it for the first time after wedding was a half flop, according to me. I really didn't like the colour of the curry, it was orangish and not the maroon red I wished for. Jobin and his mom said the curry tasted fine but I just couldn't accept that I couldn't cook a basic Meen curry properly! The second time, I paid more attention to it plus Amma's tip of 'sauteeing the masala more' helped tons! I got the beautiful colour and taste since then! So I thought it's time for me to share the recipe and confidence with you all, especially for you guys who are struggling to make a decent Meen curry :-) I know that struggle because I just got over it :-)

MEEN VEVICHATHU
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:
1.5kg fish (I used King Fish/Neimeen/Aikoora. You can use any fish of your choice)
1 small onion, chopped (If you have access to 'chumannulli'/Shallots use that, maybe 4-5 nos.)
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds/Uluva
2 sprigs of curry leaves
11/2 tbsp red chili powder (I use a mix of Kashmiri and Hot chili powder,Kashmiri gives colour to the curry)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp fenugreek powder
4 pieces of Kokum soaked in 1 c warm water (for 10 mins)
1/4 c Coconut Oil (you can substitute it with vegetable/canola oil)
1 c water (optional) for the gravy

Method:
Clean the fish thoroughly using salt and vingear and let it drain.
Heat oil and when it is hot add the fenugreek seeds . Let it change colour lightly.
Add the onions, ground paste ,curry leaves and saute till you get a nice aroma (1-2 mins)
Add in the powders and mix well and saute for 5-6 mins till the colour changes to a nice maroon.
Add in the 1 cup water and kokum +water and let it come to a boil.
Add the fish and swirl the pan lightly so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Let it cook till the fish is done. Taste test it.
If you feel it's tangy (a little) , it's okay. Once the fish absorbs it in, it will be perfect.
If you feel it's a lot tangy, remove the kokum pieces from the curry . You can discard them.
This curry tastes better the next day .
Don't refrigerate the curry. Before you go to sleep, re-heat it and leave it to cool.
Next day morning, re-heat the curry again. This way, the gravy might reduce and will end up sticking to the fish pieces, which is heavenly! But if you want gravy, add some water when you boil the curry.

I never refrigerate the curry, I just re-heat it twice everyday till it is over :-)

Verdict: I am person who can live on Meen curry and rice alone and when I asked Jobin if he liked it the same way, he said 'No'! Infact he really doesn't like fish curry at all! I was devastated (exaggerated, I know!)

But remember that half-flop Meen curry I was talking about? He said he liked that curry and I was like,' This one? I made a real sad curry and you like that??'. Now things have changed and he is a convert,if I may say so :-) He likes Meen Curry now maybe not as much as Dal and Ladiesfinger fry!

MURGH METHI MALAI

There are certain things only another food blogger can understand. Anybody I  come across with a recipe can inspire  me :) The story behind this curry is a perfect example for that. I am very active on Facebook so is Bindu chechy. We met over FB although she is not a food blogger we get along really well. I think we have a conversation or two on a daily basis.It was during one such conversation that she happened to mention about her Methi Malai Chicken and I shot her a message instantly asking her for the recipe. I so bless that day!

'...you'll need one chicken all cleaned up & cut into pieces.Make this in a pressure cooker as it yields a smooth gravy.Pour enough oil in the cooker & fry two chopped medium onions well after adding a pinch of salt to it,add about 3 big spoons of ginger,garlic,green chillies paste & continue frying. To this add about 3 cups of washed & drained methi leaves(fresh) & saute till wilted.Add the washed chicken & all the dry masala,coriander,jeera,garam masala & turmeric powder & fry for a few minutes.Add four big spoons of whipped yoghurt & cook for a couple of mins.Add little water if required & pressure cook till done.Open the cooker as soon as the pressure goes down & add a small can of malai(cream-I use nestle) & stir nicely.Serve hot.It's really yummy.Since there's no red chilli powder added make sure to use enough green chillies to suit your taste. Let me know once you make it.Just warm it gently after adding the cream to incorporate & you can add tomatoes cut into chunks also as you close the cooker to cook the chicken! The final product should be a tangy,flavourful one with gravy'...said she.

For me, to make a curry or something, I just need a 'frame'of recipe and I can build upon it I waited to get hold of some nice fresh Methi/Fenugreek leaves to make this curry. Yesterday when we went grocery shopping, I bought a bunch of good looking methi and the fate of that chicken we just bought was sealed. Murgh Methi Malai  & Poori (unleavened deep fried Indian bread) it was!

This is the first time I am cooking with Fenugreek leaves. I have heard how bitter they can be, so I took  a precaution by soaking the leaves in some salt water for 10 mins. I have mentioned it in the recipe also, just in case people just rush through this part :) You need not use the pressure cooker, you can use a regular pan as well. Pressure cooking makes things a bit quicker, that's all :)

MURGH METHI MALAI
Recipe inspired from Bindu

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut up into 18-20 pieces, washed.
2 large red onions, finely sliced
3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
12 green chillies, ground to a rough paste
1 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 bunch fresh methi/fenugreek leaves*
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
5 tbsp plain yoghurt, whisked well
4 tbsp heavy cream/Amul cream
Salt to taste
Oil- 3 tbsp

*Water- 1/2 cup

Method:
*Soak the fenugreek leaves in some water + salt  for 10 mins. Squeeze out the leaves and then wash again. This takes away all the bitter taste from the leaves.
*Wash the chicken well. If you are draining it, you will have to add the mentioned water. If not, the chicken will leave enough water for the gravy.I usually don't drain the water from the chicken. This curry should be creamy and not watery, so please keep that in mind when you add water.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the sliced onions plus some salt and saute till they become soft.
Add the gingergarlic paste and green chillies and saute for almost a minute.
Add the powders and mix well. Add in the leaves and give it a good mix till they wilt.
Add in the chopped tomatoes and mix. If you want, you can mush up the tomato pieces with the back of your spoon.
Add in the well whisked yoghurt and mix quickly so that it doesn't spilt.
Add in the chicken pieces and brown the pieces. Cover and cook for 1 whistle.
Let the pressure go down on it's own. Open the lid and add in the cream.
Check for salt and serve hot with rice/chapathi/parata/poori/bread...or eat it plain! :)

Verdict:  We both lost track of how many Poori's we ate because of this wonderful wonderful curry! It is really a very very delicious creamy curry. Try it for yourself and see! :-)

PORK VINDALOO

S

o it's officially Fall /Autumn here. We have been having heavy rains and very very wild windy days. I sometimes feel that I might get blown away with it whenever I stand on our balcony. These things have made my 'photography' session very difficult. I somehow find time in between my cooking to take some pictures and when I come out it is so windy that everything flies away...

I juggle between holding the placemat/napkin,my reflector,camera and myself in place. And in between my hair had to fly in the wind and fall all over my face! Stupid thing! :-P Today it was real bad after which I emailed Jobin saying ' I might end up in hospital with a back pain if you don't do anything about it!' . Poor thing! What can he possibly do :-) That's okay, I just took my irritation out on him :-D

When he gets back home and see that I made 'Vindaloo', he will be very happy :-) This dish makes both of us very happy and can eat a full bowl of it.

Vindaloo is a dish originally from Goa. The term Vindaloo derives from the Portuguese dish ' Carne de Vinha d' Alhos ' which is a dish of meat, usually pork, with wine and garlic. The dish evolved into the vindaloo curry dish when it recieved the Goan treatment of adding plentiful amounts of traditional spice and using malt vingear instead of red wine. ( Source: Wikipedia)

One of my reader's Maya, requested for this recipe a few weeks ago. This one is for you Maya! So just in case you have some request, do not hesitate to contact me.

PORK VINDALOO
Recipe source: Amma




Ingredients:
Pork- 2 lbs/1 kg approx. cut into 1" cubes (try with medium fat pork and not fatless)
Onions- 2, medium
Red Chili powder-1 tbsp
Coriander powder-1 tbsp
Vindaloo Masala * recipe given below
Oil-1/4 cup
Salt to taste

*Vindaloo masala:
Cardamom-5 no.
Cloves-5 no.
Cinnamon- 5 x 1" sticks
Fennel seeds/Saunf/Perumjeerakam- 1tsp
Black Peppercorns-1 tsp
Mustard seeds-2 tbsp
Ginger- 2" piece
Garlic- 8 cloves
Vinegar-1/4 cup

Method:

• Soak the vindaloo masala in vinegar and leave aside for 1 hour.
• Grind it to a coarse paste . Do not add water or anyother liquid, vinegar will help in grinding.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker( heavy bottomed vessel). 
• When the oil is hot, add in the ground Vindaloo Masala.
• Saute the masala till you get a very nice aroma ( take it in, it smells very good!).This masala has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan, so scrape the pan occasionally.
• Add in the onions and saute till they are softened.
• Add in the powders and salt and mix well for 2 mins.
• Add in the meat, mix well, close the lid and cook under pressure for 2 whistles.
• Once the pressure has dropped down and the steam has completely come off, open the cooker. You will see that there is some gravy/sauce in it.
• You need to reduce the gravy till the oil starts to separate.Make sure you stir it well, every now and then.When you taste test, if you feel there is a need for more vinegar, add it. But always start with ONLY 1/4 cup.
• We like it  dry, so that the masala is very well coated on the pieces.

Verdict:
Whenever Amma made this curry at home, I used to feel that it takes years to perfect this dish. But I was wrong...It is definitely an easy one to perfect! Just follow the recipe as is and you just cannot go wrong! Serve it to anyone and be ready to be floored with compliments.

Serve it along with Naan, Batura,Poori, Chapathi,Basmathi Rice, Ghee rice...or even just with some plain rice and curd.

THE ART OF CURRY MAKING

I made this curry for our dinner last night. I didn't have any idea as to what to make. I knew I wanted something with an onion- tomato puree based, but what veggies should I add in it?
I was talking with Jobin's mom over the phone while I was sauteeing the masala. And the conversation went like this:

Mummy: So, what are you cooking today?
Me: Curry, but I don't know what curry to make though I am sauteeing the masala now.
Mummy: Don't you have chicken or something at home?
Me: I do, but we had chicken curry 2 days ago :-(
Mummy: Make an egg curry then!
Me: Jobin had eggs for brekky already...so no more egg dosage ( though I'd love to! )
Mummy: (smiles)
Me: Sigh! Will do something.

Whenever I am in confusion, I open my kitchen cabinet where I keep my veggies,dal etc and stare at it (sometimes play with my hair too), trying to make a decision. And I instantly found my answer! POTATOES! How could I forget about it?? They are our fave and used to be my saviour at all my ' I don't know what to make' situation. I have no idea how I could forget about it ! Maybe because it's a long weekend and I am super excited about our trip to Wisconsin! :)

'IT ALMOST TASTES LIKE AN ALOO MAKHANI' CURRY
My own recipe and I am so proud of it :-)



Ingredients:
Potatoes- 2,large peeled and cubed
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Green chillies- 4, slit
Dry red chillies- 2
Red onion- 1, large (If you are in India or elsewhere, please use 2 large onions. We get coconut-sized onions here :D )
Tomatoes- 2 large ( If you are in India or elsewhere, please use 3 medium sized tomatoes.)
Water- 1/2 cup + 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste
Oil- 3 tsp
Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves- 1 tbsp

Method: ( I cooked the curry on medium heat since it involved puree and I didn't want my kitchen to be splattered red and pink!)

• Puree the onions and tomatoes together adding 1/2 cup of water.
• Heat oil, add the mustard seeds and let it pop. Add the cumin seeds and let it crackle .
• Add the green chillies and dry red chillies to it and fry for 10-15 secs.
• Add the pureed mixture and mix well . Cover with a lid and cook for 15 mins stirring every now and then.
• Add in the ginger garlic paste and mix well for a minute.
• Add in the powders,salt , mix well , cover and cook for 3-4 mins.
• Add in the potatoes, mix to coat ( by now the water must have all reduced).
• Add in the remaining 1 cup of water and cook till the potatoes are fork- tender.
• Crush the Kasoori Methi in your palm and add to the curry. Mix well.
• If you want the curry to be rich and more like the makhani gravies,use ghee instead of oil in the beginning & add 1/2 cup of cream and 2 tbsp of unsalted butter toward the end. mix well and serve hot with roti's ,naan's etc.

Verdict:
Nowadays curry making is like an art for me.Maybe I don't know what veggies should go into it, but I very clearly know how I want it to look and taste like. And when I achieve that, I am a very happy girl.

When I set forward to make this curry, I had an imagination as to how I wanted it to turn out. I wanted it to have onion-tomato puree base with a hint of spices and I even knew how it wanted to smell. And trust me, I was able to get it into reality.
This curry will make you lick your fingers clean, of course your plate too! It pairs very well with Basmathi rice or even Sona Masoori. I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with just rice and curry, so made some Chapathi's too, to go along with it.We did have a good meal!

My two cents: This is not a curry which you can cook in less than 10 mins and such.It needs time as it involves puree. You really need to cook it well otherwise it will taste raw. So give time for it cook at each step.I learnt it the hard way and I used to blame myself saying ,'my veg curries never turn out good!' But now it does and I don't want you all to learn it that hard way! :)

CHANNA MASALA... my all time fave!

CSN stores has selected me as CSN Preferred Blogger. So get ready for a lighting post at Ria's Collection & More!

For all those who came here looking for the Sweet Punch bake for the month of July, I'm sorry! I am pressed for bloggie-time these days, so I couldn't get baking much this month, not even for my own event! Sigh! I hope to get to full - swing baking in sometime! :-)

Channa Masala and I are thick pals. The bond can be traced back to my college . We used to get chapathi and channa masala for lunch on Thursdays in our college canteen. I used to wait for it every week, so that I could skip my hostel lunch that day. I sometimes used to have 2 lunches too! :) No wonder did I put on weight during my grad days! :)

This recipe comes straight from Amma's handwritten diary (the one she wrote for me). I haven't added or subtracted any ingredient because I wanted it to be authentic Amma's curry. This recipe had never failed for me...oh yeah, sometimes, when I add in that extrrra bit of tamarind  :) This might not have all the long list of ingredients we sometimes see in certain Channa Masala recipe, but, it tastes delicious!

Back in India, we used to make this curry with Batura. Well, that is another favourite bread of mine and surprisingly, it never made into my blog! :-D

CHANNA MASALA

Recipe source : Amma

Ingredients:

Boiled Channa/ Canned Garbanzo beans- 250 g (If you are boiling channa at home, reserve the liquid)

Onions- 5 medium, finely sliced

Tomato-2, medium

Red chilli powder-1 - 11/2 tbsp

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 2 tbsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste-2 tbsp

Coriander leaves, chopped- 1 cup

Tamarind- size of a lime (soaked in water) *

Oil- 1/2 cup

Salt-to taste

Method:

• Heat oil, add in the onions and saute till transparent.
• Add in the ginger garlic paste and saute for 1-2 mins.
• Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook till nice and soft.
• Lower the flame and add in the powders and mix well.
• Cook till the masala leaves oil on the sides of the pan.
• Add in 3/4 cup of chopped coriander leaves and boiled channa.
• Mix well and add in the liquid. If you need more gravy, add some water and mix well.
• Squeeze the pulp from the soaked tamarind and add it to the gravy. Let it boil.
• Once the obtain the required consistency , switch off the flame .
• Garnish the curry with the reserved 1/4 cup of coriander leaves and serve hot!

* You may have to increase or decrease the amount of tamarind depending on your taste.

Verdict: This recipe is precious! We both love it at home!