[null]

My mom coats the cauliflower florets with a batter of riceflour+redchillipowder+salt+water (very lightly - not like a thick layer on it), and lets it fry/cook on a hot pan with a few drops of oil(approx 1 tsp) with a covered lid. It comes out pretty well. Nice to eat as a side snack with afternoon lunch (typically rice).

[bblost]

Got the fillets of a fresh tuna. Rubbed it with a little olive oil, pepper powder and garlic. No salt or anything apart from the above ingredients.
Heated a little oil in a grill pan and cooked the fish. For the first few minutes cooked it covered at medium flame and then uncovered for a little while.

The vegetables were just as simple. Heated some mustard oil. Added cauliflower and carrots. Then after cooking it covered for a few minutes added blanched spinach. Some salt and let it cook uncovered till the water dried out.



Lunch:


The leftover vegetables and fish made a great burger and sandwich for dinner.
Just added some gherkins, olives , cheese and chilly sauce.

[bblost]

There is a new fish shop at Punjagutta in Hyderabad.

Its beside the very famous mutton shop. I picked up a couple of lovely fresh Black Pomfrets at Rs 400 a kilo. These were small fishes and each weighed approximately 250 gms.

Rubbed some salt, grated garlic, garam masala powder, pepper powder and mustard oil on the fish.
Grilled it along with some cut onions, capsicum, mushrooms and sweet potato.

This went very well with some steamed cauliflowers and beans.

[Gannu_1]

Yesterday being the last weekend of 2013, we decided to do some cooking for lunch. Simple dishes though. Steam cooked rice, Pomfret fish curry, Kerala pappadam (papad) and some gajar-ka-halwa (carrot halwa). This was an impulsive decision and happened as we were sipping our morning tea. 4 guys, a bachelor-pad kitchen and no previous experience of cooking - amazing!

Pomfret fish curry:



The fish curry was pretty simple. My sister helped me with the recipe part. Finely chopped onions (small onions - the ones we use in sambar curry as a whole), few red chilies, sliced tomatoes, curry leaves and garlic cloves are sautéed in coconut oil in a kadai along with coriander powder, chili powder, a pinch of turmeric and salt. She insisted on using coconut oil to get that specific Kerala-style fish gravy taste. When the mixture is simmered for 7-10 minutes, 2-3 cups of water is added and stirred. Fish pieces are added to this mixture along with kodam-puli (tamarind). Coconut milk is added towards the end to thicken the gravy. Since we did not have a mixer, we bought a packet of coconut powder and mixed 2 tablespoon-full to warm water. Lumps may form which have to be broken. Simmer the gravy for 10-15 minutes, a piece of fish is broken (to check if it has cooked well) and tasted (to check the salt and chilly levels). It takes less than an hour for cooking and way less when compared to cooking a chicken gravy going by our previous experience. We used 1 kg fish - 4 pieces of Pomfret roughly measuring about a palm’s size. (Btw white pomfrets are retailing here for Rs. 400/kg).

Gajar-ka-halwa:



Mom helped me out with this one. We bought 2 kg of fresh carrots, peeled/scraped the outer skin and shredded them to fine pieces. We used a pressure cooker instead of a kadai - both are just fine. Grated carrot pieces and 750 ml milk were added to the cooker and cooked for 6-7 whistles. The cooker was filled almost to the brim (a big mistake we realized later!) and as a result, milk started oozing out of the whistle every time it blew off. We then drained some milk (almost a whole glassful!) out of the mixture and then the whistles were proper - steam instead of milk. The quantity of milk is crucial in making this dish - just enough to soak the finely grated carrot. In the meantime, ghee is heated on a kadai, chopped cashew pieces, almonds and raisins are added and sautéed. The mixture from the cooker is then transferred to the kadai and sugar (3-4 tablespoon-full) is added. Stir the mixture for 5-10 minutes in simmered heat. Add raisins and cashews for garnishing. Served hot!

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

(Btw white pomfrets are retailing here for Rs. 400/kg).

These retail for around Rs 700 in Hyderabad.

The recipe is so similar to the one we do at home. Except that we don't use coconut oil or grated coconut. I will try it out next time but my wife does not like coconuts as much as I do. Will have to sneak them in.

The small onions are called Shallots. They need quite a bit of patience and time. But they impart that special taste which makes it totally worth it.

Next time get some fried Mathi (Sardines) and your meal is complete.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by bblost

Next time get some fried Mathi (Sardines) and your meal is complete.

The simplest fried fish that I feel is the tastiest.
Wash and cut the fish rub some salt , turmeric powder, chili powder .
Optional - a few drops of vinegar.
Optional - sprinkle some curry leaves on the pan as you fry them, they add a mild flavor to the fish.

Shallow fry on a pan.

The only deterrent here is the super strong aroma. (yes I call it an aroma not a smell ) .

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the aroma down especially when you live in apartments ?

[shankar.balan]

Simple camp style carp or trout fry.

First catch your fish...
Make sharp latitudinal slits on the beast using sharp knife and being careful not to cut yourself.
Rub salt + Red Chilly powder + turmeric on the entire body of the fish.
Heat oil in a normal frying pan/ skillet until the oil is burning smoking hot.

Keeping slightly away, slide the fish in - one by one...so as not to scald yourself inadvertently.
Fry for no more than a minute and a half at most so that it is not over cooked but the flesh falls off when attacked with a fork.
Squeeze half a lemon over each fish when it is on the serving dish.
Plate 'em and eat 'em.

Note: best enjoyed at camp in the open air sitting outside a tent, by a lake or slow flowing river in a cold climate!

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by bblost

Next time get some fried Mathi (Sardines) and your meal is complete.

Mathi is my all-time favourite back at home! Cheap (not aware of the present pricing but back when I was a kid, it used to go for Rs. 20 a kg!), tastes awesome and is rich in nutrients. I doubt if we get sardines here in Surat. I need to check.

The only issue with frying fishes is this:

Originally Posted by Fillmore

the super strong aroma

Aroma for us fish lovers but stinks for the rest!

We stay in an apartment surrounded by vegetarians and Jain folks. Thus, we prefer not to fry fish; instead make it in a curry form so the aroma that emanates doesn’t spread outside.

[lambuhere1]

Seperating Egg Yolk From White

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAp8pEaWB1Y

[DCEite]

Any good Chicken soupe recipies out here? Without the Corn starch ofcourse !

[bblost]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Any good Chicken soupe recipies out here? Without the Corn starch ofcourse !

A very simple recipe I learnt from my mom.

Take a couple of pieces of chicken. Add a couple of pods of garlic and pepper. Some salt to taste.

Add any herbs you want. Love a good dash of coriander.

Pressure cook with a good amount of water in it.

Once done, remove chicken.
Drink that water like a clear soup.

Remove the bones from the chicken and blend it in a mixie along with the garlic, pepper etc.

They make very tasty sandwich fillings.
Or you can pan toast this paste like a soft kofta.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Any good Chicken soupe recipies out here? Without the Corn starch ofcourse !

* Take out the major cuts from the chicken (breast, thighs, drumsticks, etc.) and chop up the carcass into medium sized pieces

* Put 1 stalk of celery (chopped into large pieces), 1 leek (again, chooped into large pieces) [Celery, leek and parsley are available quite commonly at most supermarket vegetable sections nowadays], 1 carrot chopped into smallish pieces, 1" piece of ginger sliced thinly, 1" piece of cinnamon, some peppercorns and a couple of pods of garlic into 1.5l of water, and pressure cook for 15-20 minutes (6 whistles then sim)

* Filter out the liquid - this gives basic chicken stock. Pick the cooked meat from the chicken pieces with a fork and shred / chop

* Get the stock on boil and add 1/2 cup milk - this will take out the suspended solids into a foam that can be discarded. The resultant clear consomme is an excellent Clear Chicken Soup (Chicken Soup for the soul)

* You can add some of the vegetables back to the soup, along with shredded meat. Add a few fresh basic leaves and dried oregano - and you get an Italian chicken soup

* Add some chopped coriander and lemon zest to the clear soup - and it transforms into a delicious Chinese soup (Lemon Coriander Chicken soup)

Originally Posted by bblost

... Remove the bones from the chicken and blend it in a mixie along with the garlic, pepper etc. ...

The plural 'bones' v/s singular 'blend it' was a clue, otherwise I initially thought "blend the bones in a mixie"!

[DCEite]

Thanks Bblost and Deralte.
Interesting recipies, will try them out.

And yeah even i thought for a moment its sandwich with chicken bones as filling

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Gajar-ka-halwa:

Mom helped me out with this one. We bought 2 kg of fresh carrots, peeled/scraped the outer skin and shredded them to fine pieces. We used a pressure cooker instead of a kadai - both are just fine. Grated carrot pieces and 750 ml milk were added to the cooker and cooked for 6-7 whistles. The cooker was filled almost to the brim (a big mistake we realized later!) and as a result, milk started oozing out of the whistle every time it blew off. We then drained some milk (almost a whole glassful!) out of the mixture and then the whistles were proper - steam instead of milk. The quantity of milk is crucial in making this dish - just enough to soak the finely grated carrot. In the meantime, ghee is heated on a kadai, chopped cashew pieces, almonds and raisins are added and sautéed. The mixture from the cooker is then transferred to the kadai and sugar (3-4 tablespoon-full) is added. Stir the mixture for 5-10 minutes in simmered heat. Add raisins and cashews for garnishing. Served hot!

A simpler yet tasty method is to saute the grated carrots and 3-4 cardamom in ghee in a Kadai (i use very small quantity - about 3 tsp per 500 gm of carrot), add sugar (for me its 9-12 tsp per 500 gm carrot acording to how sweet you like) some condensed milk/milk powder (as per availability), stir, add dry fruits as per your liking (you can fry them in a bit of ghee), then add about 50gm Khowa (per 500 gm carrot), stir well for a few minutes and your gajar halwa is ready.
For me the boiling with milk was always a tricky part - too much of milk and the hawla becomes too watery.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by archat68

For me the boiling with milk was always a tricky part - too much of milk and the hawla becomes too watery.

Even if you add too much of milk you can always reduce that at a low heat and along with the Khova it will become really tasty. I just put the carrots fry them in Ghee, add the sugared milk along with Khova and reduce all the ingredients. It takes a long time though but end result is tasty.