JHINGA VINDALOO

We absolutely love anything Vindaloo! I've tried Pork Vindaloo, Chicken Vindaloo and now, Jhinga Vindaloo. All of them are loved by us,equally!Jhinga is the Hindi word for Shrimp / Prawns and I love the how rustic it sounds. It makes the dish feel so exotic and delicious,just how it turned out to be. I am a big Shrimp lover but I don't like it when it's served cold.Same is the case with other seafood. I like seafood to be spicy,juicy,fiery hot and full of flavour.

Whenever I hear the word Vindaloo, it reminds me of Goa. Amma used to make Pork Vindaloo very often at home so we never order it at any restaurant. A few years back when I visited Goa, Tia, my cousin, took me to one of her favourite restaurants there. I don't remember what I ordered but I know Tia ordered a vindaloo. I was really excited to try it out but somehow it wasn't to my liking. It was just not how Amma made it.

That experience made me realize that every household makes it different. So does the restaurants.It's just not the same anywhere.There might be one or two common ingredients but other than that, nothing is common.The most common ingredient is white vinegar. So, when I decided to try this recipe out, I was visualising it in my mind how the end result would be. This Jhinga Vindaloo is orangish-yellow and the curry has a kick from the vingear and spices used in it and I really loved it! Love all of Mr. Raghavan Iyer's recipes from 660 Curries!

JHINGA VINDALOO
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coriander seeds,ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds,ground
10 raw cashewnuts, ground
1 teaspoon cayenne / red chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup white vinegar, warmed in the microwave for 15 seconds
1 pound shrimp,cleaned & peeled but with tails on
2 tablespoons canola oil
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Method: Mix together all the ingredients from coriander seeds through vingear to make a thin paste. Pour this over the shrimp and toss well. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.
In a wide pan, heat the oil on medium high and add the shrimp in one layer. Let it sear for 1 minute on each side. Pour the remaining marinade over and reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3-5 mins or until the sauce is almost absorbed. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Ian loved the curry and was asking for 'Chemmen', a new word that is. He is a sport when it comes to food, I think he is more like Jobin that way. I am a little reserved. I always have a list of things that I would never eat :)
This curry is so good and perfect for weeknight dinner.If you do try this out, don't forget to come back and tell me how you liked it!
 

RAWALPINDI CHOLE

I've always loved Channa. Even as a kid,I would eat boiled channa and be content.It did get me into a lot of gastric trouble but my love for Channa never died.Be it the black Channa or the white.I've already shared some recipes with you using Channa : Kabuli Channa Biriyani & Channa Masala .Most of the Malayali Hindu's would know about the Parassinikadavu Muthappan and some of you must have heard about him atleast through a lot of Malayalam movies.Parassinikadavu is like a 45 minute drive from my home in Kannur.When Muthappan comes to any house to give his blessings ,there is a prasadam of salted boiled black channa. Our neighbours would invite us over for the ceremony and that's one thing I look forward to eating on that day.

When I moved to Bangalore for my studies and lived in a hostel,they used to serve a savoury snack with Channa called Sundal along with our tea .Our hostel 'Akka's' were super mean when it came to that one snack.They would give us about 10-15 pieces which was not even like a mouthful for hungry college goers.If they were to serve rice, they would get the largest possible spoon from that dark kitchen and serve us using that .But,not for a Sundal,which was one of the best tasting dishes that ever came out of that dark kitchen. I miss it.

Rawalpindi Chole also known as Pindi Chole.This recipe is a half written one in my 2006 recipe diary that I carry with me wherever I go. It's a dark blue diary whose pages are all torn now. Thanks to my little boy who loves doing anything to help me in the kitchen. I can see a foodie,unlike his Amma,growing up at lightening speed. I sometimes wonder how that little person can have such a refined taste for food. He absolutely loves Quinoa in any form but Couscous, not so much. I mean,he really likes to try everything and gives an opinion too,in his language. Babies are fascinating,in every single way.I always knew I'd enjoy having one of my own but never thought I'd enjoy him so so much! Such a bundle of joy...and drama they are!

Since I couldn't write anything beyond that ingredient list for this recipe back in 2006,I thought I'd might as well search for the whole thing and I found one at Sanjay's website.I like his recipes and thought of trying this one out since it looked delicious. This is a very quick one and of course if you can make the homemade fried onions & Chole Masala,it's going to be awesome! Trust me on that, since I did make it the way he mentioned with some minor changes to it .

RAWALPINDI CHOLE

Ingredients
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 tea bag
Salt

Pindi Chole Masala
1/4 teaspoon ajwain
1/4 teaspoon shahi jeera
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 inch piece cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 cloves
3 cardamom
1 tablespoon anardana
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup oil
1 large onion,sliced thinly
1 large tomato,chopped *
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/8 teaspoon asafotida
1/4 teaspoon black salt
1 teaspoon Kasuri Methi
1/2 bunch cilantro,chopped
Tamarind pulp,to taste
Salt

Method:Soak the dried chickpeas in water for 8 hours or overnight and pressure cook it with 2 1/2 cups of water, one tea bag and some salt for 3 whistles. Discard the tea bag.Drain the chickpeas and reserve the cooking liquid.
In a medium saute pan, dry roast the spices mentioned under the pindi chole masala and grind it to a fine powder when cooled.Set aside.
In a large saute pan, heat the oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Add tomatoes,ginger garlic paste and mix well for a minute or two until the tomatoes get mushy.Add chili powder,half of the pindi chole masala, asafotida,black salt & salt. Mix well. Add the chickpeas and mix well so that they are well coated with the masala.Add about a cup of the cooking liquid and let it simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the tamarind, kasuri methi & cilantro. Mix well and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. By now,the chickpeas would have absorbed all almost all of the liquid and is coated with the deep dark masala, which is exactly how you want it to be.Garnish with cilantro.

* I was out of tomatoes so I used half a small tin of tomato paste and it worked perfectly for me. 

This curry along with some good piping hot homemade roti's are the a match made in heaven! I am sure it goes well ,very well with Poori's and Batura's. Deep frying is very minimal in our house,especially breads during winter because of the poor ventilation in the kitchen. I miss my Indian kitchen whenever we cook,anything...not just deep frying. We both loved this dish and this one is going to be made over and over again. Ian didn't get to taste it because he was well fed and busy by the time we sat down to eat.

Now,are you wondering what to make for your upcoming Christmas celebrations? Let me suggest something for you,then!

THE PERFECT AMERICAN BISCUITS: Classic American breakfast item which can make you go weak in your knees. These buttery,tender biscuits are a cinch to make and the best part is that the dough can be made ahead of time!

FRIED CHICKEN KABABS : These are my most favourite kababs ever! Easy and totally delicious!Make sure you make more than what you think you will need because they are going to vanish in no time.

TARTA MAGICA : Let this magical season be made extra magical with this delicious,creamy cake. One batter gets poured into the pan and comes out in 3 layers once baked! Can it get any more magical than this?
 

INDIAN EGG CURRY / NADAN MOTTA CURRY

Some of you may have noticed that I call eggs 'Motta' instead of 'Mutta' in my mother tongue,Malayalam. We always called 'Motta' a 'Motta' at home. Initially, I was unaware of it until my school friends made fun of me whenever I said so. Anyway, I still continue calling it the same. It really doesn't matter as long whatever you make out of it turns out good!

I love pairing a motta curry with Chapathi. I can eat many many chapathi's in such instances. I am a Chapathi lover, if you didn't know that already. I can eat it 3 times a day. I also absolutely love making Chapathis at home, especially the kneading part. I equally love the portioning of the dough, rolling it out , smearing some oil, folding the dough, rolling it out into squares/ triangles/ circles depending on my mood and fancy and finally cooking it and seeing it puff up on my precious round cast iron skillet. See, I even enjoy typing out the whole Chapathi making process. I simply love it! Oh, and if you want to see that precious round cast iron skillet of mine, you can, in my 5 Minute 2 Ingredient Pizza photographs!

Now, getting on to the Motta part of the curry. This is made with hard boiled eggs. I feel the need to stress of the word 'hard' boiled eggs. It doesn't mean, the eggs are boiled until the yolks end up being rubbery, hard & chewy. I hate such eggs and always makes me want to throw up. There's a way you can make perfect hard boiled eggs.It's super simple. If you follow the steps correctly, you will always have the perfectly cooked eggs.

This curry of mine,is way too different from what Amma makes.I always fail at replicating her's here, in my kitchen. So I have to be satisfied with this version of mine, which is really good, in it's own way. One thing I hate about Motta curries when I eat out is that most people slice their onions lengthwise and don't saute it long enough that they maintain their shape and don't melt into the sauce. I like the onions and tomatoes to be diced so that they can blend into the sauce but still maintain a crunch of it's own. Yes, I'm a bit weird! Also, if you want a South Indian touch to this curry, you can garnish it with curry leaves. Or else, garnish it with cilantro!

INDIAN EGG CURRY

My own recipe

Ingredients:
4 hard boiled eggs (recipe at the end)
1/3 cup oil
2 large onions, diced
2 medium tomatoes,diced
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 cup water
1 cup thick coconut milk OR heavy cream OR whole milk
Salt to taste
1 sprig curry leaves  OR a handful chopped cilantro
Method: Heat oil in a large pan,with sides.Once the oil is hot, add the diced onions along with a pinch of salt and saute until they turn soft. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking,mushing it up occasioanlly until all the water from tomatoes have evaporated. Add the spices and cook for 2 minutes,stirring.Add water and cook until it reduces a bit.Add coconut milk/heavy cream/whole milk and let it heat through completely. Adjust seasoning.Add the boiled & sliced eggs into it. Garnish with curry leaves/cilantro and serve hot!
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How to boil eggs perfectly, everytime: Take a saucepan with tall sides and fill three quarters of it with room temperature water/ tap water. Drop in the eggs carefully.Keep the saucepan on the stove and turn on the heat. Bring it to a rolling boil and turn down the heat to medium.Set the timer for 12 minutes. Turn off the stove and take the saucepan off it. Pour out the hot water and refill the saucepan with cold tap water and let the eggs sit in it for 5 mins. Peel the eggs and use as desired.
If you don't pour out the hot water immediately after the eggs are boiled and let it sit in there for a long time, the yolks will turn greenish-gray.

Jobin wanted me to make the egg curry in a different way but when I set out to make this, I warned him that I might deviate from that route and go the way it forms in my head.And that's exactly what happened. The curry was finger licking good.It had the richness of the coconut milk, mostly because I use the tinned coconut milk.If you like your curry to be on the thin side, add more liquid as you please. I mean, any curry recipe should act as a base for you and you can always modify it to your liking! I didn't share this with Ian Vaava as I didn't want to set his mouth on fire :-) He is too tiny to handle this amount of heat!