Netholi Fry / Podimeen Fry/ Anchovies Fry

This fries is something that i discovered by pure accident. I admit its not a very presentable dish when guests are in but it more than makes it up in the taste. This happened when i tried to fry the netholi in a manchatti. It kind of stuck to the bottom and I had to spoon it out, shredding the netholi in the process. I just threw in a lot of curry leaves and served it right away. Trust me you wil simply love this with plain rice and moru curry. 

You Need :

• Netholi- 1 kg, cleaned
• Masala for marination
• Red Chilly Powder - 4 tsp
• Corainder Powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
• Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - To Taste
• Asafoetida -  1/2 tsp
• Onions - 1 no, chopped, to garnish
• Oil - To shallow fry

Method of Preparation

• Mix all the masala with a bit of water and marinate the fish for about 1 hour.
• Heat oil in a shallow manchatti.
• Fry the fish in batches, adding lot of curry leaves.
• Never mind if the fish sticks to the bottom. Use a wooden spatula to keep stirring the fish around.
• Once it becomes nice and crispy , transfer the batch to a plate covered with tissue paper. This will help absorb the excess oil.
• Once all the batches are done , garnish with the chopped onions and serve hot.

Kerala Prawn Biriyani / Chemeen Biriyani

This is devised by combining 2 of my previous recipes. I just made them separately and mixed them together. And it turned out perfect surprising even me :)

Method of Preparation

• Prepare Prawn Roast as mentioned here.

• Prepare Aromatic Pulav as mentioned here minus the chicken.

• Mix them both together. Tasty Prawn Biriyani is ready.
• Serve hot with raita.

Wish You All A Very Happy And Prosperous 2014................!!!

Cooking Matta Rice in Rice Cooker

A couple of my working friends have asked me how to cook matta rice in a rice cooker. So here is an easy and zero-hassle way to prepare the rice. The important thing here is to get the measurement of rice and water correct. This is my tried and tested way to get the rice cooked just right - not too dry nor too soft.

Note : My cup measures 160 ml and came along with my rice cooker.

Method of Preparation

• Take 3 cups of rice, wash and drain.
• Add this rice into the rice cooker and add double the cup of water. So here we need to add 6 cups of water.
• Add the desired amount of salt and switch on (Cooking Mode).
• My rice cooker has 2 modes - Cooking and Keep Warm.
• When the water dries up, the cooker goes into Keep Warm  mode.
• Open the rice cooker, stir the rice and add as many cups of water as the rice. So now we add 3 cups of water.
• Switch to Cooking Mode.
• When the cooker goes into Keep Warm mode, take it off the plug.
• Let it stand for about 5 minutes.
• Open and your rice is perfectly cooked.
• In case its too dry for you, add one more cup of water and cook.
• Tip : You can use any measuring cup. Just take care to use the same cup for measuring both rice and water.

Carrot Beans Thoran with Egg

This thoran is a brilliant way to get kids eat veggies. The egg adds just that touch. This is mostly how I get my daughter P to each veggies along with rice.

You Need :

• Beans  - 2 handful, chopped
• Carrot - 1 no, chopped
• Egg - 1 nos
• Onion - 2 nos , finely chopped
• Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To Taste
• Water - 1 cup (160 ml)
• Oil - 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp

Method of Preparation

• Wash and chop the beans and carrot into fine cubes.
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and splutter mustard and cumin seeds.
• Add chopped onions, beans , carrot , salt and curry leaves.
• Mix well and add 1 cup of water.
• Cook covered for about 6-7 minutes. Then cook uncovered until it becomes dry.
• Switch off flame.
• Meanwhile in a separate pan, heat oil and scrable the egg, by adding salt.
• Switch off the flame and mix the eggs with the carrot-beans mixture.
• Serve hot. This is a good accompainment for rice.