Crumb fried prawns
Crumb Fried Prawns
15 prawns, shelled and de-veined (Simply adjust the number of prawns based on the number of people you need to serve)
Salt, to taste
Juice of about 1/4 of a sour lime (A dash of apple cider vinegar can be used instead of the lime or a combination of the two. The apple cider vinegar adds a nice flavor to any sea food.)
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. chilly powder
A bowl of bread crumbs, to coat
1-2 tbsp. oil, for frying
Sprinkle the salt, lime juice, turmeric powder and chilly powder over the cleaned prawns. Toss the prawns well in this marinade.Set aside for atleast 15 minutes. (If you are in a hurry then minutes will do, but if it sits in the marinade a little longer, the prawns are well flavored.)
After resting the prawns in the marinade, dredge the prawns in the bread crumbs, making sure that each prawn is well coated with the bread crumbs.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the prawns on a medium flame, adding more oil if needed.
Watch the pan closely and don’t allow the prawns to burn. Drain the prawns well and serve with a wedge of lime. (The lime wedge is optional.) All the little crumb pieces that fall away are really delicious too. I never throw them away. I simply add them to the serving plate.
Remember, all the measures of the ingredients need to be adjusted to taste. So have fun and let me know how it goes!
Floral Fondant Anniversary Cakes
Everything was made from scratch. The base was a rich, dark fruit cake, covered with a layer of homemade marzipan and homemade fondant. The flowers were made of fondant.
I was free to use any colors I wanted. So for the first cake, I opted for some bright spring – summer colors.
Here’s a view of the side of the cake –
For the second cake, I went with pink. One can never go wrong with pink.
Here’s what the sides looked like –
These cakes are linked to –
Rook No.17
Thrilling Thursdays @ Paisley Passions
Crazy for Cakes @ Now Serving
Pancakes for breakfast!!!
I love that with such minimal prep work and a small amount of time over the stove, you can treat yourself to some gorgeous fluffy pancakes. If you have a home-made fruit syrup to go with it, you’re in luck (I can’t wait to try it with some berries.). If not, the humble jar of honey does wonders for these pancakes.What I also like about this recipe, is that it uses a tiny bit of sugar, so its practically healthy. Whip these up for your Valentine today and rest assured they’ll love it, and love you all the more for it.
Happy Valentine’s Day Everybody!
Pancakes
(Makes 12-15)
225g all purpose flour
2 heaped tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
2 eggs
300 ml. milk
1 tbsp. melted butter
Whisk all the ingredients except the butter to form the batter. Make sure there are no lumps.
Add the melted butter and stir well to incorporate into the batter.
Lightly drizzle a griddle with oil and dollop ladle-fulls of the batter onto the pan. Once you see little bubbles popping all over the surface, flip it over and cook the other side as well.
Serve warm with honey, maple syrup, fruit syrup or anything else you fancy.
This recipe is linked to –
What’s Cooking Thursday
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
My Meatless Monday @ My Sweet and Savory
Meatless Monday @ Midnight Maniac
Mouthwatering Mondays @ A Southern Fairytale
Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try @ At Home with Haley
and
Breakfast Club – Guest Hosted by Krithi’s Kitchen
Bombay Street Food Special #1 – Batata Vada (Deep Fried Potato Dumplings)
Here’s a peek at what it looks like –
And here’s what the inside looks like –
Batata Vada
(Makes 7-8 pieces depending on the size of the potatoes used and the size of the vadas.)
2 potatoes, boiled and mashed roughly (You don’t want the potato mash to be creamy, leave it just a little lumpy)
A pinch of turmeric powder
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
A pinch of mustard seeds
2-3 curry leaves, roughly torn into 2-3 pieces each
1 green chilly, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp. chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup besan (chick pea / garbanzo bean flour)
A pinch of red chilly powder (optional)
Water
Oil for deep frying
Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste to the mashed potato and mix well.
In a small pan, prepare the tempering or tadka. Heat the vegetable oil and add the mustard seeds. When it sputters, on a low to medium flame add the curry leaves, green chilly and saute a little till all the flavors are released, taking care to not burn the spices.
Add the potato mix to this and stir the oil and spices have mixed with the mashed potato, for a few seconds.
Take it off the pan and into a bowl. Add the chopped coriander leaves and using your hand mix it well. Check for salt and spice and adjust accordingly. Don’t under salt the potato mix.
Shape into balls and keep aside.
For the batter –
In a bowl, mix the chick pea flour, with a pinch of turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt to taste. Add a little water to form a batter. Make sure there are no lumps and the batter is nice and smooth.
The batter should have a pouring consistency but shouldn’t be too thin. It should be thick enough to form a nice layer around the vadas.
If it is too thick, add a little water to thin it out. If it is too thin and watery, simply add some more chick pea flour.
To make the vadas –
Heat the oil for deep frying. The oil should be hot but not smoking. One way to tell if your oil is hot enough is to carefully insert a drop of the batter into the oil. If it bubbles and rises to the top immediately, the oil is ready.
Dip the prepared balls in the batter and make sure that the batter coats the potato mix well. I think it easiest to use your hands for this.
Carefully insert the batter dipped vadas into the oil and let them fry on a medium flame till they are a nice golden brown. Turn them while they fry to ensure it cooks evenly on all sides. Don’t use high heat as the outside will burn without warming the insides through.
Drain off the excess oil and place on some kitchen paper to get rid of any oil on it.
Serve hot with some tomato sauce.
And oh, please don’t discard any of the pieces of excess batter that have broken away while frying the vadas. They are nice and crunchy. Simply drain them too while you’re extracting the vadas from the oil. My brother fights all of us for these scraps 🙂
Enjoy!!!
This recipe is linked to –
Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try @ At Home With Haley
My Meatless Monday @ My Sweet and Savory
Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What’s For Dinner Mom?
Meatless Monday @ Midnight Maniac
Mouthwatering Mondays @ A Southern Fairytale
Rook No.17
Bombay Street Food Special !!!
For quite some time now, I’ve wanted to master these tasty little treats (that I find impossible to resist) in my very own kitchen. Just a few days ago I decided to take the plunge. I was so happy with the results of my first trial that I’ve have now decided that I am going to make this wonderful and exciting foodie journey through all the street food delights that Bombay has to offer and I’m going to document this journey right here on this blog. I will try to explain all the local terms, preparations and names in simple English so that many more of you wonderful readers can try these recipes out.
So come join me, as we stumble upon some tasty treats that I know a lot of you will enjoy.
Date Rolls
Date Rolls
(Make 35-40 depending on the size)
200g all purpose flour
100g butter
60g fine sugar
200g dates, cut into strips
200g walnuts, sliced (optional)
1 egg
Yolk of an egg for glazing
Beat the butter till fluffy.
Add the sugar and beat till fluffy again.
Add 1 well beaten egg and beat till incorporated with the sugar and butter.
Fold in the flour and mix till well blended. Knead lightly till it forms a dough. If the dough is too soft, refrigerate for around 10-15 minutes before rolling it out.
Roll it out to a rectangular piece to a 1/4″ thickness. Cut into 1 1/2 – 2″ squares.
Put 2 strips of date and walnut (if you’re using walnuts) on each roll and roll it up. Apply a little water to seal the edges.
Place on a well greased baking tray leaving about an inch of space between any 2 pieces.
Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each roll with egg yolk for a glazed look.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 160ºC.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
This recipe has been linked to Sweets for a Saturday @ Sweets as Sugar Cookies, hosted by the lovely Lisa.
You should spend some time browsing her blog. She makes some lovely treats.
Also, don’t forget to check the others have submitted this week.
Scrambled Cottage Cheese – Paneer Bhurji
Scrambled Cottage Cheese – Paneer Bhurji
(Serves 4)
250g Cottage Cheese / Paneer
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped (Adjust the amount of spice to your liking)
1 small tomato, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
2-3 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. oil
Heat the oil in a pan.
Saute the onions and green chilly till onions turn soft and are lightly colored.
Add the turmeric powder and stir well.
Add the tomato and let it cook off for a minute or so.
Now crumble the cottage cheese into the pan and stir well to mix with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook uncovered for a few minutes till the liquid has dried up.
Lastly, add the coriander leaves and stir well.
Serve with hot chapatis or bread.
This recipe has been linked to –
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent @ Ceo a’s draiocht
Fun With Food Friday @ Paisley Passions
Whats Cooking Thursday @ Feeding Four
Gaajar ka Halwa
Gaajar ka Halwa
(Makes about 14-16 servings)
1 kg carrots, grated
1 (400g) tin condensed milk (I used Milkmaid)
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter
2 tbsp. sugar (please adjust this to suit your taste)
Seeds of about 15 green cardamom pods, pounded to a fine powder
A few almonds, slivered
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the ghee.
Add the grated carrots and stir well. Let the carrots sweat a little.
Add the milk and let it cook off for a couple of minutes on a medium flame.
Add the condensed milk. Stir well. After a few minutes add sugar to taste. Stir well.
Leave it uncovered on a medium flame, stirring occasionally till all the liquid evaporates. You may need to turn the heat down towards the end of the cooking process.
When its almost done, add the powdered cardamom seeds and slivered almonds. Mix well and take of the heat.
Garnish with a few slivered almonds and serve.
Once it has cooled completely, you can refrigerate the rest.
Note: When adding the powdered cardamom and slivered almonds, you can also throw in a few raisins and/or some chopped pistachios if you want.
This recipe has been linked to
Sweets for a Saturday #1 hosted by Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies
Please spend some time and check out what the others have brought to the table this week.
Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice
Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice
(Serves 3-4)
For the Rice –
1 cup basmati rice
1-2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 cardamom pods
6 peppercorns
1″ cinnamon
1-2 tbsp. Ghee or clarified butter
Salt, to taste
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped (This will be used while assembling the meal.)
Heat the ghee in a vessel and add the whole spices.
When the ghee had released the aroma of the spices, add the washed rice. Stir gently just until the rice is coated with the ghee.
Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste and stir a little. Make sure you don’t stir it too much as the grains of rice will breakdown.
Cover and bring to a boil on medium heat. On low heat cook till all the water has been absorbed. Make sure you don’t stir the rice during the cooking process.
Once all the water has been absorbed, use a fork and loosen the grains of rice and make sure that all the water has evaporated. Keep covered.
For the Prawn Chilly Fry –
250 gms. fresh prawns, shelled and de-veined
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 curry leaves
1 large tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 green chillies, cut into 1/2″ pieces (Please adjust this to taste. We like our food spicy.)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
3/4 tsp. red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
A dash of lime juice
2-3 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Marinade the prawns with a little salt and a dash of lime juice and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add the curry leaves and when they release their flavor, add the onions and green chilly. Saute till the onions are light golden brown.
Add the turmeric powder and chilly powder. Stir well.
Once its mixed well, add the tomato and stir well.
When the ingredients in the pan have been sauteed well and you see the oil starting to separate, add the prawns and cook on medium heat. Still well and cook uncovered till the prawns are done.
Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and stir till combined.
To Assemble –
Layer about half the rice on the serving platter on in individual plates.
Spoon the prawn chilly fry over it.
Add another layer of the remaining rice.
Sprinkle generously with the chopped coriander leaves. Don’t be shy while topping the rice with coriander leaves. Its a generous sprinkling of the coriander leaves that brings the elements of this dish together and makes it one finger-licking meal.
Serve hot.
Enjoy!
This recipe is linked to –
Fun with Food Friday
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Herbs and Flowers in my Platter” – Coriander leaves/Cilantro
