KEEMA PAO: This Bombay-special filling savoury dish is easy to make for the whole family for a monsoon evening stuck at home.
Ingredients:
For pressure cooking mutton keema:
- Minced Mutton /keema: 500g
- Cloves: 2
- Cinnamon sticks: 1-inch
- Oil: 1tsp
- Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
- Bay leaf: 1
- Salt: 1/2 tsp
For gravy:
- Matar /green peas: 3/4 cup
- Fresh methi leaves /fenugreek leaves: 1/2 cup
- Oil: 4 tsp
- Onions medium size: 2
- Ginger piece: 2 inches
- Garlic cloves medium size: 15
- Coriander leaves: 1 cup
- Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
- Big tomatoes: 2
- Red chilli powder: 1tsp
- Coriander powder: 1.5tbsp
- Fresh coconut grated: 1/2 cup
- Cloves: 5
- Cinnamon sticks: 1/2inch
- Poppy seeds: 1/2tsp
- Cashews: 8 to 10
- Water: 1 to 2 cups
- Salt to taste
- Lemon juice: 1/2tsp
Method:
1) Wash and clean mutton, drain water completely and set aside.
2) In a pressure cooker, heat 1tsp oil, add bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon sticks.
3)Add washed mutton and mix well.Add turmeric powder, salt and pressure cook for a whistle; allow pressure to release on its own.
4) Soak 1/2tbsp of poppy seeds/ khus khus and 10 cashews in 1/2 cup of warm water for 30 minutes.
5) In a mixer jar, add onions, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and turmeric; make a fine paste to get a green coriander spice mix.
6) Take tomatoes, red chilli powder and coriander powder and blend it in mixer to get red tomato spice mix.
7) Then take a non-stick pan, heat 1tsp of oil and fry coconut, cinnamon and cloves for 5 minutes on a medium flame. Allow it to cool.
8) In a mixer jar, add fried coconut, cinnamon, cloves, soaked almonds and khus khus, blend it into a very smooth and fine paste using water to get a white coconut spice mix.
9) In a deep kadai, heat 4tbsp oil and add the green coriander mix. Fry well till aroma and oil starts releasing from the edges.
10) Add methi leaves and fry well.
11) Add cooked keema, mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
12) Now add blanched green peas, mix well and continue to cook for 5 minutes
13) Add red tomato spice mix , mix well and continue to cook for 8 to10 minutes till oil starts to release from the edges.
14) Now add the white coconut spice mix and mix well. Add about 1.5 to 2 cups of the jar-rinsed water and salt. Close the lid and continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat.
15) Open the lid, cook on high heat for 4 to 8 minutes to get the required thick gravy.
16) Garnish with lemon juice and coriander leaves, mix well and serve with Maska Pao.
WESTERN GHAT GRILLED PRAWNS: If you are strict about not indulging in fries, this grilled non-veg snack is sure to lift up your spirit on a gloomy monsoon day.
Ingredients:
- Prawns: 250g
- Shallots: 5
- Coconut, grated: 1/2 cup
- Ginger-garlic paste: 1tbsp
- Red dry chillies: 4
- Chilli powder: 2tsp
- Coriander powder: 2tsp
- Turmeric powder: 1tsp
- Curry powder: 1tsp
- Salt to taste
Method:
1) Clean and de-vein prawns (can retain head).
2) Marinate with ginger-garlic paste.
3) Heat very little oil in pan and fry coconut, dry chillies, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, and curry powder till it turns light brown.
4) Grind the paste and marinate the prawns in it.
5) Add little salt and keep aside for 1 hour.
6) Heat oil in pan and grill the marinated prawns. Serve hot with mint chutney on the side.
MEEN MOILEE: A traditional Kerala-style coconut milk-based fish curry, perfect for relishing with steamed rice on a monsoon afternoon.
Ingredients:
- Fish slice: 250g
- Oil: 2tbsp
- Water: 1/2 cup
- Salt to taste
- Onion, sliced: 1/2 cup
- Ginger, sliced: 1/2tsp
- Garlic, sliced: 1/2tsp
- Green chillies: 6, split at one end
- Peppercorn (crushed): 1/2tsp
- Kokum: 2 tbsp
- Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp
- Coconut milk: 1/2 cup
Method:
1) Heat oil in a kadai and saute sliced onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli and peppercorns without letting it change colour.
2) Now add the fish slices, salt, sufficient water, Kokum and turmeric powder.
3) Cover and cook slowly till the fish is done.
4) When the gravy thickens, add coconut milk and simmer on mild heat without curdling.
5) Remove from the stove and serve hot along with steamed rice/ appam.
KORI KEMPU: Crispy snacks and monsoon always go hand in hand. This Mangalore street-style snack is just the right recipe for a monsoon evening adda at home with friends.
Ingredients:
- Chicken thigh: 600g
- Garlic paste: 2tsp
- Ginger paste: 2tsp
- Oil: 1/3 cup
- Salt: 1.5tsp
- Gram flour: 100g
- Rice flour: 50g
For Dry Spice:
- Chilli powder: 1tsp
- Coriander powder: 1tsp
- Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder: 1/2tsp
- Star anise powder: 1/2tsp
- Dry coconut: 1tsp
- Dry curry powder: 1tsp
- Cinnamon stick: 2cm
- Cloves: 5
- Green cardamom: 3
- Curry leaves: 4 to 5 sticks
Method:
1) In a pan dry roast all the dry spices and make a coarse powder, then mix it with the other dry spices and make a spice mix.
2) Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste and add the dry spice mix.
3) Take a bowl to make a batter of gram flour and rice flour with water and add salt to taste.
4) Dip the marinated chicken pieces in the batter and deep-fry it.
5) Serve hot the crispy fried chicken with mint chutney on the side.
Pictures courtesy: PPT
