Ragi Rotti and Mangalorean style chicken curry/kori gasi/ ghashi

Healthy Ragi rotti with a delectable mangalorean kori gasi/ ghashi .This dish is spiced up with a unique and aromatic roasted spices, the coconut milk  gives a slight sweetness and the slow cooked chicken that just melts in your mouth, is out of this world.  Trust me when I say you will hum in joy once you make and taste this chicken curry.

 

Ingredients For kori gasi/ chicken curry

For the masala paste:

1. 1 tsp coconut oil
2. 3 tsp coriander
3.  6-7 fenugreek seeds
4. 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
5. 8 pieces of pepper corn
6. 1 tsp mustard seeds
7. 2 tsp cumin seeds
8. 10 red chillies
9. 2 cups grated coconut
10. 2 sliced onions
11. 10 cloves of garlic,crushed 
12. 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

 

For the main dish:

1. 2 Tbsp coconut oil
2. 2 sliced onions
3. 1-2 spring curry leaves
4. 2 chopped tomatoes
5. 800 gm curry-cut chicken
6. Salt to taste
7. 1 marble sized ball of tamarind,soaked in warm water. 
8. 1 cup coconut milk

1.  
   
   
   Method

•  Heat oil in pan. Add coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, pepper corn, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies and dry roast them.
• Now add grated coconut, turmeric powder, onions and garlic.Saute till the onion turn light brown.
• Then add water and grind them together to smooth paste. The masala is ready.
• Heat oil in pan. Add sliced onions, curry leaves and saute the onions till it turns light pink or translucent.
• Then add chopped tomatoes, curry cut chicken, prepared masala paste, salt, tamarind paste and coconut milk. Mix it well.
• Cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes.Kori ghashi/gasi is ready to eat.

Goan inspired Minced Meat Ball Curry

 

Goan food falls into the rich tradition of the Konkan coast, happily complicated and enriched over the years by two very different invasions: first the colonial Portuguese and then the hippies. For all that, it’s not one blended cuisine: Konkan Hindu and Goan Catholic have their distinct dishes, the former typified by the heavy use of coconut and fish, the latter by vinegar, pork and beef
Today i am here with a special goan style meat ball curry which i learnt from my friend Leena Fernandis who is from goa itself a passionate cook and a lovely human being ...<3

Try this juicy meat balls cooked in a coconut milk based Goan curry and let the magic of Goan food take over...

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

1. 1/2 kg Minced meat (mutton or beef or pork)
2. ½ Teaspoon Pepper
3. 2 tsp red chilly paste or powder 
4. 1 Teaspoon Garam masala
5. ½ Teaspoon Turmeric powder
6.  2 Green chillies chopped
7. 1 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic paste
8. ½ Teaspoon/ goan coconut vinegar or white wine Vinegar
9.  3 slices of Bread
10. 1 tablespoon maida
11. 1 egg white

For the Curry paste

1. 5-6 kashmiri red chillies 
2. 1 onion
3.  2 Tomato
4. 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste
5. ½ Teaspoon Turmeric powder 
6. 1 Teaspoon Coriander seed
7. 1 Teaspoon Cumin
8.  2 sticks  cinnamon
9. 5-6 cloves
10. 5-6 black pepper

for the main curry:

• 1 medium Onion
• 1 fresh green Chilly
• 2 cups Coconut milk
• Pinch Salt
• Fresh Coriander leaves or mint for garnish (optional)

 

Method:

For the minced  meatballs,:

•  Combine all meatball ingredients listed. Use only  egg white because otherwise the texture of the mass turns very wet and that amount is more than enough to make it stick together. Mix the whole content to a smooth paste in a blender. Keep aside and let rest for some time.

 For the masala paste:

• Heat the oil in a pan and add in cinnamon,cloves onion and stir fry until soft and translucent.Then add the diced Tomatoes and stir fry for another 2 minutes until soft, then add the red chilli , ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, coriander seeds,pepper and cumin. Stir fry for a minute,cool and grind to smooth paste.

For the main curry:

• Heat oil in a pan add onions and fry for couple of minutes till translucent.
• and then add the ground paste and season with Salt. Mix and let simmer covered for 5-7 minutes. 
•  Now add coconut milk,the Curry will have changed into a gorgeous bright orange. Now form your meatballs by pressing and turning them into round balls and place them into the curry. Let cook for 10 minutes and turn the meatballs in the curry so that they get equally cooked. Cover with a lid and simmer for another 3 minutes before removing the curry from the heat.
• Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander (which I left out this time on the pictures).

Shahi Methi-Matar

 

This is a wonderful recipe to impress your guests at a dinner, but that does not mean that you cannot include it in your normal weekend meals.Every region you go has their own interpretation of a popular recipe. Take methi matar malai, for example – depending on where you go, you’ll find several versions, ranging from simple onion or  cashew -based gravy to a rich and exotic Mughlai-style curry made with cashew and cream.

 

 Ingredients

1. 2 cups fresh Green peas
2. 1/2 bunch or 2 cups of fresh fenugreek/ methi leaves washed and drained and chopped finely.
3. 1/4 tsp turmeric (Haldi)
4. 2 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
5. 1 tsp Garam Masala
6. 1tsp white pepper powder
7. 1 tsp cumin seeds
8. 1/2 cup fresh cream (malai)
9. 1tsp sugar
10. 1 cup full fat milk
11. Cooking Oil
12. Salt

For the paste:

1. 10 cashewnuts
2. 1 large or 2 small onions – chopped fine
3. 1″ long piece ginger
4. 4 – 5 cloves garlic
5. 4 green cardamom
6. 4 green chilies
7. 2 tsp poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Mix some salt in chopped Fenugreek leaves and keep them aside for 10 minutes.
2. Boil green peas in 4 cups of water till soft and drain.
3. Take onions, green chilies, ginger, garlic, cashewnuts, poppy seeds and green cardamom, grind them all into a fine paste using little water. Consistency of masala should be fine.
4. After 10 minutes, squeeze the excess water out from fenugreek leaves. This helps to reduce the bitterness of fenugreek.
5. Heat 2tsp of ghee in a pan. Add fenugreek leaves and fry for a few minutes.
6. Keep the cooked fenugreek leaves aside. 
7. Same pan add 2 tbsp oil to it. Add cumin seeds, let it splutter. when cumin seeds gets roasted, add white paste, turmeric (Haldi) and salt, cook for 2 minute.
8. After White Masala gets roasted add garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves, sugar, green peas, cooked fenugreek leaves , cream, milk and salt.
9. Mix all the ingredients well and cook them for 6-7minutes.
10. Methi Matar Malai is ready to be served
11. Enjoy this delicious preparation with pooris or rotis.

Spicy Malabar style King fish fry Jo's way!

 

It's one of my favourite fish recipe. This dish was born out of sheer boredom! Actually wanted to make steamed fish using green masala but I couldn't get good banana leaves. Besides I was tired of my usual dishes. Wanted little twist, so decided try this recipe using lots of curry leaves.

An experiment that turned out to be a perfect main course and a winner at many dinners!

 Ingredients:

1. 500 grams King Fish steaks ( About 5-6 )
2. ½ cup coconut or Vegetable Oil for shallow frying

For the Masala*:

 

1. 1-2 sambar onions
2. 10 Kashmiri or Byadagi Chillies
3. 1 teaspoon black pepper corn
4. 1 small marble sized ball of tamarind
5. 15 cloves garlic
6. 2 tablespoon rice flour
7. 1 teaspoon turmeric
8. salt to taste
9. 2 spring curry leaves

For Garnish:

• Juice of a lemon
• Onion Slices
• 2 spring curry leaves

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients listed under masala* to a smooth paste in a blender adding half a cup of water. Make a really smooth paste and set aside.
• Wash and clean the king fish steaks and apply the masala* paste on the fish making sure to rub it well on both the sides well with the hands. Let it marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Heat vegetable oil in a non stick pan until really hot. Add 2 spring curry leaves and wait till it gets crisp. Take it out and drain on a paper towel.
•  When the oil is hot, gently place the fish pieces and fry for 1.5 - 2 minutes on one side. After 1.5 - 2 minutes, carefully flip the fish and cook on the other side for another 1.5 - 2 minutes or  Cook till you get a lovely golden brown color on both the sides.
• Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.Garnish with fried and crushed curry leaves and squeeze some lemon juice on the fish and serve hot with some sliced onions.

Tips:

• Place only a few pieces of fish in the pan at one time so that they are not crowded. Frying too many at one time cools the oil down too much, causing the fish to absorb more oil. Fry consistent size pieces together so they cook evenly. 
•  Fish steaks or fillets should not be thicker than 1 1/2 inches. Slice any pieces over 1 1/2 inches thick into thinner fillets. When frying, cook pieces with similar thickness together so that they cook evenly.
• You can use any fish of your choice.