Prawn Kuzhambu / Kulambu.

Prawn kuzhambu is a yummy mouthwatering recipe. Just by its looks almost all the non-veg lover mouth will start to water....hahha.......Because we use tamarind , few may love, but few may not. But here is the recipe just for you.........................

Ingredients :

Raw Prawn - 300 grms ( Cleaned)
Big Onion - 2 ( Very Finely chopped)
Tomatoes - 1 ( Big ) ( Finely chopped)
Garlic - Peeled ( Do not chop , because we need to add it directly )
Ginger and garlic paste - 3 tsp
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Tamarind - small lemon size ( Use this to mix with water and make a nice tamarind water.. for about 2 - 3 tumblers)
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil - To fry.

Preparation :

* First take a pan, add oil and heat it.
* Then add the finely chopped onions and whole garlic and fry till golden brown.
* Now add the Tomatoes and fry very well.
* Then add the ginger and garlic paste and fry till the raw smells goes.
* Then add the tamarind water and addchilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt .
* Add some water and cook it for 25 - 30 mins.
* Then finally add the prawn and cook for another 10 mins.
* Add garam masala and switch off the stove.

Prawn kuzhambu is ready , garnish and serve.

( This will always taste the best on the next day. So if you really want the special taste, then try to cook it a day before and feast on the next day.....Sure it will taste good.....)

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Chicken Jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi is one of the common dish found on the menu's of many restaurants. This is a colourful and incredibly dish. And here is the recipe just for you........

Ingredients :

Chicken - 300 grms ( Boneless - washed and chopped into small pieces)
Oil - To fry
Cummin Seeds - 2 tsp
Garlic cloves - 3 (Finely chopped)
Ginger - small piece ( Finely chopped)
Onion - 1 ( Chopped Finely)
Green Chillies - 1 ( Chop length wise)
Ginger and Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green Capsicum Pepper - 1/2 ( Chopped coarsely )
Red Capsicum Pepper - 1/2 ( Chopped coarsely)
Coriander Leaves - hand full ( Chopped)
Tomatoes - 2 ( Chopped finely)
Salt - To taste
red chilly powder - 1 tsp ( To according to taste)
Turmeric powser - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Preparation :

* Take a pan, add oil and heat it. Now add the cumin seed and fry for some times.
* Then add the finely chopped ginger and garlic pieces and fry till golden brown.

* Now add the chopped chicken pieces and fry for few mins. The chicken will turn white and fry till it is nearly cooked.

* Now transfer the chicken to some bowl.
* Now in the same pan, heat oil , and add the Chilly powder and turmeric powder and fry for 1-2 mins.
* Then add onions and green chilly and fry for 5 more mins.
* Now add the caspsicum pepper ( Red and Green ) and fry till they become soft.

* Add the chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves and fry till the tomatoes are cooked.
* Now transfer the chicken to the pan and stir-fry.

* Add some water if needed and add salt.

* Cook till the chicken is cooked fully.

hmmm.......the yummy chicken Jalfrezi is ready. Granish and serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice over the top.

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Vegetable Biryani

Hmm, Vegetable Biryani, is one of the most tasty and yummy dish. Biryani is always a dish which will taste great , but at the same time, great care as to be taken while cooking the rice. When it comes to vegetable briyani, the colourful carrot, beans, potatoes and peas gives a great look for the biryani.

Ingredients :

Carrot - 2 (chopped)
Beans - 1/4 kg ( Chopped)
Potato - 3-5 ( chopped)
Green Peas - hand full (frozen) ( If it is fresh, then you got to soak it and pressure cook or steam cook it until it is soft)

Onion - 2 (chopped finely)

Tomato - 3-4 chopped

Green chilly - 2 (chopped length wise)

Ginger & Garlic Paste - 3 tsp

Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Daniya(Coriander) Powder - 3 tsp

Salt - To taste

Coconut Milk - 1:1 ( ie: for one cup rice , use one cup coconut milk and one cup water)( If cooking as dum briyani, then use 3/4 cup of coconut milk and 3/4 cup of water)

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Basmathi Rice - 2 Tumbler

Cardamons - 3 * Cloves - 3

Bay leaves - 2

Cinnamon Stick - 2 pieces

Oil - 6-7 spoons * Ghee - 2 spoons

Mint leaves - little (cleaned and chopped)

Coriander leaves - little (cleaned and chopped)

Preparation :
* Take a heavy bottomed vessel or even pressure cooked will be good.
* Heat the vessel, add Ghee and oil to it. Now add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamans and bay leaves.
* Then add the chopped onion and fry till golden brown.
* Add green chilly and fry for some times.
* Now add the chopped tomato and fry well ( tomato has to be fried very well)

* Then add the Ginger and Garlic Paste and fry well.
* Now add the vegetables ( Carrot, beans, potatoes) and stir well.
* Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, Dhaniya powder, little of chopped mint and coriander leaves and stir well.
* Now add water in 1: 2 ratio (i.e – if two tumbler rice, add 2 tumbler of water and two tumbler of coconut milk)
* Let the water boil. When it is boiling well add the basmathi rice and salt. Stir well.* Keep the lid closed. ( while cooking in electric cooker the job is done, and we have to wait for the rice to be cooked)
NOTE :
If you are doing in pressure cooker , then don’t put the wait for the lid.* Open now-and-then, and keep stiring.* When rice is semi- cooked add the garam masala and rest of the mint and coriander leaves andclose the lid.* When the rice is cooked, close the lid and put on the wait and switch off the stove immediately. ( If you are cooking in some other heavy bottomed vessel, keep the vessel closed with suitablelid and keep another vessel filled with cold water over the plate. )
Wow.......the yummy vegetable biryani is ready. Garnish and serve with raita.......

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Prawn Curry

Hmmmm......Spicy prawn curry is almost very one's fav.......and here is the recipe......

Ingredients :

Prawn - 500 grms ( Washed and peeled ) ( i use the Raw forzen prawn in UK)
Onion - 1 ( Bigger size) Chopped
Tomatoes - 1 1/2 to 2 ( Chopped)
Green Chilly - 1
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Ginger and Garlic paste - 5 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Soya sauce - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - To garnish
Red food colouring - 2 drops
Oil - To fry

Preparation :

* Take a pan, add oil and heat it.
* Then add the onions and fry it till golden brown.
* Then add the green chilly and fry it. Now add the chopped tomatoes and fry it.

* Make it cool , and grind it to paste ( May be not too fine ) by adding necessary water.

* Now take a pan, add oil add the ginger and garlic paste and fry it till the raw smell disappears. then add grinded paste and fry it.
* Now add the chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt and fry and cook for few mins.
* Then add the prawn, soya sauce, food colouring and cook till the gravy come bit dry. ( In Uk the prawn takes much longer to be cooker comparing to India, so cook accordingly)
* Finally add the garam masala.

Wow......the spicy and tasty prawn curry is ready.......Garnish and serve hot.

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Being a judge for cooking contest.

hi friends,

Its me Mrs. Lavanya Sivavijayakumar. It has always been a very exciting time since i started this blog. Your encouragment and hits to my site really made me so happy, and made me to purchase my own domin name. With the new domine name as http://www.spice-india.com/, the site also got a new look and feel from 14th April 2009. Hope you all like this new looks and feel of your http://www.spice-india.com/.

With all these news, i would like share another good news, which really made me much more excited.

Yes...........here is the news.........

I am asked to be a judge for a cooking contest held at http://www.naarisakhi.com/. My co-judges were Rinku Bhattacharya who teaches Indian Cooking out of her homebased cooking school in Westchester County, NY. and Medini Pradhan creator of CuisineCuisine food page.

The contest is for the members of the site. The main ingredient is Spinach/Palak. There are totally eight participants ( Malpie, Niti sharma, Sunkan, Pannu, Shailunaipal,Anand Chitra, Dr Jyothi Gupta and Tulsi).

The results are to be announced by the end of this month...........

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the participants taking part in the cooking contest.......( All the very best.....).

Soon, will let you know the winner................cheersssss

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, here are the results :

Winners were selected based on points received from Judges.

Winners are

Desi Spice tarts - By Sundari Kannan

Spinach Cauliflower Duet by Malspie

Congratulations Dear Sunkan and Mals.

Peerkangai Tuvaiyal

Peerkangai which is known as Ridge Gourd, has never been on my shopping list, till i tasted it. It was all started when Mrs Kiran Kumar invited us for dinner . After having a long chat, we decided to start our dinner. When we started to serve ourself, i saw a bowl , with chutney. Did not know what it was. So i decided not to take it, and was happily enjoying my rest of my yummy food. Suddenly kiran saw and asked me, wheather , i tasted her peerkangai ( Ridge Gourd) chutney ( Tuvaiyal). I said no, and she immediately served me, and asked me to taste. When i tasted it for the first time, i really fell in love with the taste. ( Love at first taste...Lol ).

Then from then on, i never forget to add peerkangai to my shopping list.
The recipe is here................

Ingredients :

Peerkangai ( Ridge Gourd ) - 1 (wash, clean and Peel off the skin and chop it into small pieces)
Garlic - 2 pieces ( peeled )
Green Chilly - 3-4( Can you red chillies too instead of green chilly)
Curry Leaves - 1/2 hand ful
Coriander Leaves - 1/2 handful
Tamarind - small piece
Tomato - 1/2 tomato
Urid Dhal - 1 tsp
Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Oil - To fry

Preparation :

* Take a pan, add 3 - 4 spoon oil and heat it.
* Add the Mustard seeds, Urid dhal, and Cumin seed and fry it.
* Then add the Green chilly and fry it. Then add the tomatoes and fry for few mins.


* Then add the Peerkangai, garlic, curry leaves, coriander leaves and fry for some times.


* Add the Tamarind and fry for 5 mins.


* Allow it to cool, add salt and grint it into fine paste.
hmmm..........the peerikangai tuvaiyal is ready to taste............

Click here for printable version of this recipe

Long beans curry

Hi friends, today i am going to post the long beans curry recipe. This is a simple and yummy side dish. I learnt this recipe from one of my friend named Mrs Chitra Senthil. She was my neighbour in Birmingham and later became good friends. It all started when one afternoon i went to her house, and in a causual chat when i asked what did she prepare for lunch, she said, she made long beans curry. Long beans curry???

..which i have never tasted it till that date. I was wondering how long beans will look like ???( I was newly married and did not know even 1 % of cooking ). Then she explained and also offered a spoon full to taste. Hoooo my word, i loved the taste........I then asked her the recipe, and from then on when ever i go for Indian Grocessory stories, i never forget to buy this long beans......Well, here is the recipe..........

Ingredients :

Long Beans - 500 grms ( or one bunch)( Washed, cleaned and chopped)
Caraway ( Soombu) - 1/2 spoon
garlic - 6 ( Crushed)
Channa Dhal - 50 grms
Green chilly - 3 ( Or according to spice you need)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to fry

Preparation :

* Take a pan, add some oil and heat it.
* Add the Soombu and crushed gralic and fry it.


* Then add the chopped beans and fry well.


* Make sure you fry it in medium or low flame. Do not add water. You have to keep frying it in the oil, until it is cooked well.
* Then beans will get cooked and could see them shrink in volume.


* Now add the turmeric powder and salt.
* In the mean while, pressure cook the channa dhal.
* Now cool the channa dhal, and grind it, by adding the green chilly.
* Now add the mixture to the beans and mix well.


* Intially they all stick to gether, but keep frying it until , they come separate.
Thats it, the simple and yummy long beans curry is ready. Serve hot

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Sponge Cake

Hi friends, Well........tommorow is Easter......So i would like to wish you all a Happy Easter. Hope every one are having a nice time there. Today i am going to post the recipe of Sponge Cake. This is easy to make, and a good start for people who bake a cake for the first time. It makes a very good tea time snack. And kids will love it. So here is the recipe of the Sponge cake.......

Ingredients :
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1cup
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Buttermilk - 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Lemon zest (optional) - 1 tsp
Eggs - 2

Preparation :

* Preheat oven to 350F or 175 Celsuis. Grease a (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/20) inch loaf pan with butter.

*First cream the butter and sugar in the bowl using an electric mixer for 4 to 6 minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy.

*Add one egg, beat for few minutes then followed by the next.
*You may add the lemon juice, zest (if any), vanilla and buttermilk to this and mix for few seconds.
*Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and keep aside.
*Now add flour and fold, do not beat too much (just use low speed to combine everything).

*Pour the batter in the loaf pan, smooth the top .

*Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a bamboo skewer comes out clean (toothpicks don't work for loaf pans).
Cool the cake completely and decorate as you wish.( Decoration is optional)

Slice and Serve as an evening snack with a cup of tea.

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