Drumstick-Tomato Curry

The joy of vegetarian cooking is variety. A lot more combo’s can be made using vegetables. Same routine vegetable recipes are boring at times, but a simple addition of one or more vegetable, results in new recipes. There are many ways of cooking even simple potato fry, recipes vary from family to family even religion to religion or you can say state to state when it comes to India. Vegetarian cooking plays an important role in most of the Indian kitchens. Before marriage it only used to be mom’s way of recipes, but after marriage it is mom-in-law way and sometimes sis-in-law too. Hence varieties of recipes coming out from each and every vegetable. Sometimes new and sometimes slightly different from what I came across at my mom’s place.

One such recipe is drumstick-tomato curry. My mom makes simple drumstick curry or drumstick-mutton curry, but at my mom-in-laws place drumstick is used in making a lot more recipes and it is used in combo with many other vegetables and sometimes dal(s) too. Once such recipe which is simple and yum is drumstick-tomato curry. When the creamy drumstick, neatly peeled and cut into same size pieces are cooked in spicy and tangy tomato gravy with aromatic tempering, the outcome is delectable. Drumstick-tomato recipe is perfectly paired with plain hot steamed white rice.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Drumsticks, peeled and cut into 3” inch long even pieces
• 2 Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 1 Onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp Red chilli powder
• ¼ Turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil

TEMPERING/TADKA:

• ½ tbsp Mustard seeds
• ½ tbsp Jeera seeds
• ½ tbsp Chana dal
• 6-9 fresh Curry leaves
• 1 dry Red chilli

PREPERATION:

• In a heavy bottom cooking vessel, add oil and when oil gets heated up add one by one ingredient’s listed under tempering.
• When curry leaves start to change color add onions and fry till translucent. Now add chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and fry till tomatoes are completely cooked.
• Now add drumstick pieces and little water (just enough to cook drumsticks). Cook covered on a low flame till drumstick pieces are soft and tender.
• Serve with plain hot steamed rice.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

Prawn(s) Biryani

According to me Prawn(s) Biryani is one of the simple, aromatic and flavourful compared to chicken or mutton biryani’s. The only time consuming part is cleaning and deveining of prawns. A perfect marination and correct blend of spices are the key steps involved in making any biryani. Biryani is such a recipe that it can be mastered only by making it more number of times. I love to make biryani often as it is perfect one pot meal and I feel it easy to make at times.

My Mom-in-law always grinds fresh ginger-garlic paste and pluck fresh mint and coriander leaves whenever is she going to make biryani. She says the fresh the flavour of the herbs and spices the aromatic and delectable the biryani is. The making procedure of biryani may wary from my mom to mom-in-law but the end result is redolent and delectable. Prawns need less time for marination and cooking, so I feel prawn biryani to one of the simple among other types of non-veg biryani’s. As I said it is perfect one pot meal, but if you are in good mood or cooking for guest then delectable dalcha and dahi ki chutney are the perfect side dishes that enhance the flavour of biryani and pampers your taste buds with royalty. Try and indulge!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups Basmati Rice
• ½ Kg Prawns, deviened, scrubbed with sea salt and washed *
• 1 big Onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
• 3 tbsp Curd
• 2 tbsp Red chilli powder
• ½ tbsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala **
• 3-4 Cardamoms
• 5-6 Cloves
• 2 2'inch Cinnomon sticks
• 1 star Anise
• 3 tbsp fresh Lemon juice
• handful fresh Coriander leaves, chopped
• handful fresh Mint leaves
• 2 tbsp lukewarm Milk
• ½ tbsp Kesar/Saffron
• ½ cup Ghee/clarified butter
• Salt

PREPERATION:

MARINATION:

• In a bowl mix prawns, salt *, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, pinch of garam masala and curd. Add few coriander and mint leaves. Mix well and leave for atleast one hour in the fridge.

MEAN TIME :

• In the mean time wash and soak basmati rice. In a small bowl mix lukewarm milk and kesar. Set aside.
• In a heavy bottom cooking vessel or kadai add ghee and to this add 2 cardamom, 3 cloves and 1 2'inch stick cinnamon.
• Let the spices release the aroma. To this add sliced onions and fry till nice golden brown. Once the onions are crisp and nice brown turn off the heat, strain out onions and ghee separately.

COOKING PRAWNS:

• In the same vessel or kadai, add the marinated prawns, 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp fried onions. Cook covered till all the water evaporates and prawns turn soft and tender. Set aside.

COOKING RICE:

• In a heavy bottom cooking vessel (used for cooking rice) add 10-12 cups of water (if more also no problem, as we will drain off the water), salt *, ginger-garlic paste, 3 cardamom's, 3 cloves and 2 sticks of cinnamon. Bring water to boil. When the water starts to boil add soaked basmati rice and cook till rice is just done.
• Drain and collect the water using a sieve in a cooking vessel. Drain well and set aside.

LAYERING:

• Now in a heavy bottom cooking vessel add little ghee (the one which we fried onions) and on this add half of cooked basmati rice. On this add cooked prawns, ghee, garam masala, kesar (soaked in lukewarm milk), deep fried onions, 1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh coriander and mint leaves.
• Cover it up with another layer of basmati rice. If you have more cooked prawns then layer them on rice and so on.
• Now add remaining ghee, kesar, fried onions, garam masala, 2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh coriander and mint leaves. Cook on a low flame by covering with a lid by keeping the strained water on top of the lid***.

FINAL STEP:

• Cook for nearly 15-20 minutes. Turn off the flame and leave the vessel on the stove for another half an hour.
• I bet when you remove the lid the aroma that surrounds your kitchen will be mesmerizing.
• Garish with fresh coriander and mint leaves. Serve hot with dalcha and dahi ki chutney.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

NOTE:

* As we are scrubbing the prawns with salt, adjust salt in marination and in rice.

**Ground 6 cardamom, 6 cloves and 2 2'inch sticks of cinnamon to fine powder. Use as required and store the remaining in a ziplock bag or dry air-tight container.

UPDATED: This recipe is going to participate in Royal Feast Biryani event by Revaof Kaarasaaram. Reva is hosting this event in celebration of her blog's second anniversary. Happy Bloganniversary.....

TIPS:

• Fry onion on a low flame to avoid burning of them. Nice golden color of onions not only look appealing but also enhances the flavour of biryani.
• If you wish add some lightly fried cashews and raisins.
• Keeping strained water vessel on top of the lid provides weight and helps in locking the aroma.
• If possible seal lid and vessel by allumiun foil.
• How to devein prawns? Check the pictorial here.

Egg Fried Rice With Mixed Vegetables

Past few days were busy and hectic. I hardly found time to stop and relax. Sometimes things at home keep us more busier than we think off. My last visit to native was little hectic as we got trapped by the worst flood's hitting Andhra in years. When we started to return from there the scene I saw on the either sides of the roads was very terrible. People with no shelter, no food, no clothes, no money and no medication even the same with animals. Water is fully contaminated and dreadful diseases on full swing. I don't know how long it may take for the people to come up with all that shock and start a fresh new life. Relief operations are going on...but...to regain hope and strength and to start a new beginning is a act of braveness.

Coming back to today's recipe vegetables studded egg friend rice is a wholesome and salubrious one pot meal. You either pack this for lunch or relish it as a brunch on one of those really lazy weekends. Just by adding handful of parboiled veggies, a simple egg fried rice is given a new look and new taste. Try this colorful and delectable veggies studded egg friend rice for a change.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups Rice, cooked and cooled
• 1 cup fresh mixed Veggies *, parboiled
• 1 Onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 Tomato, deseeded and chopped
• 2 Eggs beaten
• 1/2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp Red Chilli powder
• 1/4 Turmeric powder
• 2 Cardamom's
• 2 Cloves
• 1 2'inch piece of Cinnamon stick
• 2-3 springs of fresh Coriander leaves
• 6-9 fresh Mint leaves
• 3-4 tbsp of fresh chopped Spring onions
• Salt
• Oil

PREPERATION:

• In a heavy bottom coking vessel add oil, to this add cardamom's, cloves and cinnamon stick. When the spices start to leave the aroma add onions, once the onions are soft add chopped tomato pieces, red chilli powder, salt, turmeric and ginger-garlic paste.
• Fry till tomatoes are soft. Now add beaten egg mixture. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Using a spoon scramble until dry. Now add parboiled veggies and cook covered for another 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
• Now add cooked and cooled rice, mint leaves, coriander leaves and half of freshly chopped spring onions.
• Mix well and cook covered till all the flavours blend together.
• Garnish with remaining spring onions and serve hot with your choice of pickle or tomato sauce or tangy tomato chutney.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

NOTE : * For mixed vegetables, I used carrots, potato, peas, sweet corn and french beans.

SPECIAL ATTENTION: Nearly a month back I was thinking of a Food Photography blog, a place which talks and shares different ascepts of food photography. Just help me out by dropping down what you would like to know about food photography. Basing on this queries my rough idea of starting a food photography blog may nurture.

This food photography blog also concentrates on blogging ascepts. So rush in your queries on blogging and food photography.

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