[Aroy]

I normally dislike taking the shell off while eating prawns. Can we use your recipe after shelling the prawns, or does it require prawns with shells?

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I normally dislike taking the shell off while eating prawns. Can we use your recipe after shelling the prawns, or does it require prawns with shells?

Yes. You can make it by removing the shells and following the same recipe. It may require even lesser cooking time, depending on the size of the prawns, when you grill it without the shells.

And as you rightly said, it could be a little messy while eating the prawns grilled with the shells on. Cleaning also takes considerably more time when you want to leave the shells on.

You can follow the same recipe with lobsters too, after splitting the lobster along its length into two pieces. Whlie grilling lobsters, it is better to leave the shells on since it requires more cooking time.

Originally Posted by Shivank

@ Biju

Man, that's not fair. I am salivating here and you are having prawns? Yes, who on earth does not love grilled prawns?

I cannot for the life of me cook anything else other than noodles! And now it's 00:36 in my watch; no maggi packets and entry banned to the kitchen (I am in a PG and salivating like a dog). Tell me what do I do now? Your prawns man...Not fair really!

Thanks and sorry for having caused you this trouble. Just try cooking some simple recipes and you may surprise yourself and would be posting here soon, making us to salivate.

Cooking is really an enjoyable experience, when you do not have to do it three times a day.

[pjbiju]

This is another Kerala fish dish. The traditional Fish Pollichathu (or Karimeen Pollichathu) is made by wrapping the fish and masala in banana leaves and then cooking them over a slow fire in an earthen pot.

This is a different version that is easy to make and tastes really good.



Ingredients

• Fish Fillets - 250 gm or a single large fish fillet or a medium sized whole fish like a white pomfret, pearlspot (karimeen) etc.
• Button Onions/Sambhar Onions (ഉള്ളി)/Shallots - 1 cup, thinly sliced along their length
• Ginger - 1" piece, sliced into thin strips
• Garlic - 10 cloves, sliced thin, lengthwise
• Green Chilly - 1, slit lengthwise and cut into 2" long pieces
• Salt as per need
• Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder - ¼ tsp
• Toddy Vinegar/Coconut Vinegar - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
• Kashmiri Chilly Powder - 2 tsp (or 7-8 whole dry Kashmiri Red Chillies)
• Tomato - One medium sized, cut into thin rounds
• Sugar - a pinch
• Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Method

• Marinate the fish with a little bit of salt for about 15 minutes.
• If you are using whole dry Kashmiri Red Chillies, deseed them and then soak them in vinegar for a couple of hours. Then grind the chillies into a fine paste using about 1 tbsp of vinegar. If you are using Kashmiri Chilly Powder, mix the chilly powder and the vinegar into a paste and set that aside for half an hour.
• Take an earthen pan and heat the coconut oil on low flame
• Add the chilly powder paste and cook it on very low flame for about 5-6 minutes.
• Add the turmeric powder, shallots, ginger and the garlic.
• Sauté until the shallots are very slightly brown
• Add the green chillies, curry leaves, tomato and salt and cook for 2 more minutes
• Now move the whole mixture to the sides of the pan and then keep the fish pieces/whole fish at the centre of the pan
• Cover it with the cooked masala
• Sprinkle the sugar over it
• Pour a little more vinegar over the fish
• Cook for about 10 minutes and this yummy dish is ready.

This can be served as a starter dish or along with rice.



-Biju

Coming up shortly, a few vegetarian dishes.

[pjbiju]

Veg tava masala is a semi dry vegetarian dish with some unusual spices that makes it unique in taste. This is different from the "live tava veg" cooked over a large flat griddle where different vegetables are cooked and heaped up around the pan and then mixed together with some masala powders before being served.

You can use a variety of vegetables to make this dish or make it using a single vegetable like mushroom. I made it using carrots, mushroom and capsicums.



Ingredients Set 1

• Mixed vegetables (capsicum, carrots, mushrooms, cauliflower) cut into bite sized pieces - 400 gm
• Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp
• Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi) - 2 tbsp (this is available off the shelf by different brands)
• Chaat Masala - 1 tsp

Ingredients Set 2

• Carom Seeds (ഐമോദകം)/ajwain - ½ tsp
• Cumin Seeds - ½ tsp
• Onion - 1 cup coarsley chopped
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Green Chillies - 2, finely chopped
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Tomato Puree - ½ cup (Blanch the tomatoes, remove the skin and then chop them up finely or liquidize in a blender)
• Caraway Seeds (Shahi Jeera/Karinjeerakam/black jeera) - A pinch
• Fresh cream - 3 tbsp
• Garam Masala (Everest brand) - 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil - 6 tbsp
• Salt as per taste
• Coriander leaves - chopped for garnishing

Method

• Wash and dry the vegetables
• Dry roast the dried fenugreek leaves for a few seconds and then powder it using the hands
• Marinate the vegetables with the ingredients in Set 1 and salt for 1 hour
• Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of oil. Sauté the vegetables till the vegetables are almost cooked. You should add the vegetables according to the time required to cook them. So add vegetables that require the most cooking time in the beginning. You can also pre-cook vegetables like carrots, beans etc. by blanching them and then drying them before marinating them.
• Remove vegetables from the pan and set aside
• Add the remaining oil to the pan and then add the carom seeds and cumin seeds (lower the heat before adding these)
• After they splutter add the onions and sauté the onions till they turn slightly brown
• Add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies, coriander powder and salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes
• Add the tomato puree and the black cumin seeds (caraway seeds). Cook till the oil seperates from the masala
• Add the vegetables and mix it well with the masala
• Add the fresh cream and sprinkle the garam masala and then mix everything well. Add a little of the chopped coriander leaves and cook for one minute and then remove from the fire.
• Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

This goes well with roti/chappati/naan etc.

One more picture


-Enjoy your cooking
-Biju

[madmax_84]

WOW !! Men can Cook.
Of all the things marriage taught me, one thing is for sure is cooking. Well I am mostly into north Indian.

I'll post some of my recipes. Will keep you folks posted.

[creative420]

Oh I do love cooking. I'm in a live-in relationship for the past 2 years and I guess the ratio of me and her cooking stands at about 70:30. I'm a sindhi, and I love cooking Sindhi food. Guess over a few weeks I'll click some snaps and share a few recipes with you all. Happy cooking!

[pjbiju]

Now this grilled fish fillet was made using the first marinade described in post No. 554.



Serve with lemon butter sauce described in the above recipe.

[Dinesh_Malhotra]

I love to cook, more of l`m like a junk food cooker...
my fiancee knows about it. so most our evenings, if and when I am at home, you can find me in kitchen trying out various mixes of Maggi, egg and breads

haven't tried the brutal stuff yet (read chicken) lol

[traveloholic]

Been off the Kitchen for a long time due to Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri, where I stay away from Non-Vegetarian food. As the fasting season ended yesterday, I was back to doing what I love doing the most, partake in a new type of adventure called as "Gastronomical Adventure"

With no proper plan in place or a particular recipe, I was hurtling down the slope with everything I had in hand to produce a good dish to satiate and tantalize the taste buds of my family members. A thought crept into my mind, to make a Chicken Appetizer and Cheese Pasta.

What did I treat my family with?
Braised Honey Chicken and Double Cheese Veg Pasta

Braised Honey Chicken Recipe


Ingredients
500 Gms Boneless Chicken (sliced into strips akin French Fries)
100 Gms Butter
4 Tablespoons Honey
1 Tablespoon Red Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon White Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chilly Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Capsico/Tabasco Sauce
1 Tablespoon Chili Flakes
2 Tablespoon Sesame
1 Teaspoon Seasoning
Salt to taste
5 Cups water

Method
Boil 5 cups of water over medium flame. Once the water reaches the boiling temperature, simmer the flame and add chicken to the boiling water. Boil the chicken over simmering flame for 3-4 minutes. Remove the boiling chicken from the water and keep them aside in a dish. Remove the extra water in the chicken by gently squeezing the chicken pieces. Take care not to squeeze with all your might. Be gentle towards the chicken.

Put you chicken in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of butter to it. Now add all your ingredients to the chicken in the bowl.
Add Red Chili Powder, White Pepper, Chilly Vinegar, Capsico/Tabasco Sauce, Chili Flakes and Salt to the chicken and mix well with the chicken. Once everything has been mixed and spread evenly over the chicken, add 2 tablespoons of honey and mix again.

Heat 5 Tablespoons of Butter in a Non-Stick Pan. Once the butter melts, add your chicken pieces to the butter and let them cook for some time. Once the side turns golden brown, turn the piece to the other side and let it cook on the other side too.

Now, add 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and seasoning to the golden brown chicken and mix well. Let it stand on the flames for another 2 minutes in order to give the honey enough time to hold on to the chicken pieces and form a thin crust of burnt honey. This does taste good.

Remove from flame and serve hot.


Double Cheese Veg Pasta


Ingredients
4 Cups Macaroni
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese
2 Tablespoons Classic Creamy Cheese
2 Tablespoons Classic Garlic Cheese
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Flour
3 Tablespoons White Pepper Powder
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic juice
Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 cups sliced Bell Peppers
1 Tablespoon Chili Flakes
1 Tablespoon Olives
Onions

Method
Boil 4 Cups of Macaroni in water for some time. Remove from flames and strain out all the water. Set aside the boiled macaroni for some time.

Boil 4 cups of water over simmering flame and add all the 5 different varieties of cheese to the boiling water. Let the cheese melt in water. The water turns milky white. Now add 1/2 cup milk and 1 Tablespoon flour to the boiling cheese water. Make sure that the flour does not form lumps. In order to ensure that there are no floury lumps, add the milk to flour in a small bowl and mix well. Once the mix is ready, add it to the boiling cheese water. The flour ensures that the sauce gets a thicker consistency.

Once the water starts to boil again, add White Pepper Powder, Black Pepper Powder, Garlic Juice and Salt. Let it simmer over the flame for some time.

Add the pre-boiled Macaroni to the boiling sauce and let it cook for sometime. The sauce should not harden up and should be liquid. In case, it is noticed that the sauce is turning out hard, add 1/2 Cup water to the pasta. Also ensure that this is cooking over low flame.

In the meantime, heat 2 Tablespoons of Butter in a Non-Stick Pan. Once the butter is heated, add the sliced bell peppers, chilli flakes, olives, onions and let it sauté for some time.

Add the sauted vegetables to the pasta and serve hot.

PS: To be consumes as soon as possible, as pasta hardens up very quick when exposed to air.

[octane78]

Lovely Nikhil would definetly try out the recepies .

[pjbiju]

Here's a quick and simple stuffed button mushrooms recipe.



Ingredients

• 1 pkt of button mushrooms (200 gm) - choose a packet with slightly larger mushrooms
• 1 Medium onion finely chopped
• 1 green chilly finely chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves
• 2-3 mint leaves finely chopped
• Half a tsp of Oil
• Salt as per taste
• A pinch of coriander powder
• A pinch of garam masala (Everest brand or similar)

For the marinade

• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp heavy cream (you can use thick fresh curd, without water - should not be sour)
• Salt as per taste
• A pinch of red chilly powder
• A pinch of garam masala

Mix all of the above to form the marinade

Method

• Wash the mushrooms thoroughly and then gently remove the stalks. This will leave the button mushroom intact with a scooped out portion in the middle.
• Marinate the mushrooms in the marinade mixture for about 10-15 minutes
• Chop up the mushroom stalks
• Take a pan and heat the oil
• Add the garlic and sauté for half a minute
• Add the chopped onions and sauté till the onions are translucent
• Add the chopped mushroom stalks, green chilly and the masala powders
• Add the chopped coriander and mint leaves.
• Remove from the stove once the mushrooms are cooked.
• Carefully fill the button mushrooms with the above mixture
• Grill the button mushrooms till they are cooked through. I used a double sided sandwhich grill

Serve hot as an appetizer.

Tip: Vary the masalas and the filling to create different flavours. Experiment and enjoy. I made this about an hour back after coming back from office today.

[SILVERWOOD]

Shami Kabab- Prepared this last night for dinner and was delicious.

Ingredients:

1 kilogram Beef
1 cup Gram Lentils
½ tsp. Cumin Seeds (Sufaid Zeera)
10 Red Chilli Pods (Saabut Lal Mirch)
4 Black Cardamoms (Bari Kaali Ilaichi)
12 Black Peppercorns (Kaali Mirch)
12 cloves of Garlic (Lehsan)
1" piece of Cinnamon Stick (Dal Cheeni)
1 small piece of Ginger Root (Adrak)
½ tsp. Coriander Seeds (Saabut Dhania)
1 tbsp. Plain Yogurt
1 Egg (beaten)
Salt (to taste)
Dalda Oil or any Cooking Oil (as needed - for frying)

Ingredients for Filling:

1 bunch of Fresh Coriander Leaves (Hara Dhania) (finely chopped)
1 small piece of Ginger Root (Adrak) (finely chopped)
1 bunch of Fresh Mint (Podina) (finely chopped)
1 large Onion (finely chopped)

Directions:

Pour 5 cups of water in a pan, add beef, washed lentils, all of the dry spices, plain yogurt, ginger, and garlic. Boil mixture on medium heat until the meat becomes tender. Remove from heat. Let it cool.Meanwhile prepare the stuffing. Mix all of the chopped ingredients, onion, ginger, coriander leaves, and mint leaves together.

Grind beef mixture in a food processor. Pour in the beaten egg and knead well.Break off 1 tablespoon of the mince paste, wet your palm and place it in the center of your palm. Shape it into a smooth ball. Indent the center with your thumb and press a little of the stuffing mixture into this. Fold the sides over carefully and reshape into a smooth half flat round shape.

Repeat this with the remaining mince. Heat a heavy based frying pan and add just enough oil to cover the surface. Add 3 to 4 kababs at a time and fry on low heat to a crisp golden color on both sides.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

Shami Kabab- Prepared this last night for dinner and was delicious.

Ingredients:

1 kilogram Beef
1 cup Gram Lentils
½ tsp. Cumin Seeds (Sufaid Zeera)
10 Red Chilli Pods (Saabut Lal Mirch)
4 Black Cardamoms (Bari Kaali Ilaichi)
12 Black Peppercorns (Kaali Mirch)
12 cloves of Garlic (Lehsan)
1" piece of Cinnamon Stick (Dal Cheeni)
1 small piece of Ginger Root (Adrak)
½ tsp. Coriander Seeds (Saabut Dhania)
1 tbsp. Plain Yogurt
1 Egg (beaten)
Salt (to taste)
Dalda Oil or any Cooking Oil (as needed - for frying)

Ingredients for Filling:

1 bunch of Fresh Coriander Leaves (Hara Dhania) (finely chopped)
1 small piece of Ginger Root (Adrak) (finely chopped)
1 bunch of Fresh Mint (Podina) (finely chopped)
1 large Onion (finely chopped)

In my mutton cocktail kebab version these are the differences
. No Eggs
. No filling
. No yogurt
. Mutton mince instead of beef
. Fat from the kidneys

Method is slightly different
. Boil the ingredients, except fat in a pressure cooker with minimal water
. Dry the the ingredients on a Kadai
. Add the fat to the dried mix
. Make a paste of the mix either on a stone or in a mixer (stone is better)
. Mix fresh herbs
. Make small balls. I use a large spoon or a small ladle we use to serve Dal. That makes the sizing uniform
. Flatten the ball and roll the sides to make them flat.
. Fry them over low heat on a flat pan.

These kebabs keep well in the refrigerator, and can be heated in a Microwave easily.

[LonelyPlanet]

The food food Chanel by Sanjeev Kapoor resembles the truman show (jim carrey movie).
Blatant advertisements of products while they cook !!

[rohan_iitr]

Yesterday we prepared steamed momos at home.

We decided to make the momos using the microwave oven. So we put the momos in the idly maker pot supplied with the microwave oven and filled the pot with water (similar to how we make idlis).

We have prepared idlis using this idly maker pot in the microwave oven and they come out real nice. So we were confident that the steamed momos would also get steam cooked in a similar manner.

But to our surprise, the momos became very dry. The crust became flaky and the filling got burnt. Can someone tell me what I did wrong ?

We preapared the next batch of momos in a pressure cooker (without whistle) using idly maker and they came out perfect restaurant style (sorry for the missing photos, will post next time).

Rohan