Anchovy fish yellow curry (Nethili meen manjal aviyal)

Anchovy and sardine are highly recommended by the physicians for their low fat content and also to improve our good cholesterol. People with heart problems are suggested to consume these variety of fish without frying. If you want to cherish the real taste of anchovy or any small fish then go for a gravy / kulambu rather than frying. That's my suggestion:) This is a kind of curry prepared in my father's hometown too. We can notice the lack of tamarind / tomato in this curry with a very little coconut oil. This nethili meen kulambu comes under a pathiya meen kulambu variety . It will be suggested not to use tamarind or tomato while under Tamil-medication. I got this manjal aviyal recipe from my great grand mother. So I hope it is a very authentic one. She used to tell that, they never had an opportunity to use abundant oil or powdered masalas. So they had to grind the turmeric freshly along with the masala which imparts a very attractive yellow color to this curry and hence the name 'nethili meen manjal aviyal' or simply 'manjal oothina meen kuzhambu'. Here is my most favorite anchovy fish curry for you all.

Recipe source: This recipe is given to my amma by our RathinaGandhimathi ammal achi of Arumuganeri. She is amma's father's mom (achi). I got it from amma.  Achi's Manchal oothina meen kulambu. She used to prefer fish curry this way better.
  Ingredients: Anchovy fish - 1 lb (1/2 kg) unripe mango - 1 cup (chopped). (If not available add 2 tomatoes chopped finely) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp coriander powder - 1 tbsp coconut oil - 1 tsp fennel (sombu) - 1/2 tsp curry leaves - 2 sprig green chillies - 3 (slit) salt - 1 tsp (add to taste) To grind: Coconut (shredded) - 1/2 cup Shallot - 6 cumin - 1/2 tsp black pepper - 1 tsp green chilly - 5 (increase as per taste) Method: Wash and clean the anchovies to remove any sand or impurities. Then remove or retain the head as per taste. (If you are frying them, then the head will taste great, for this curry we can remove them). Cut and remove the tail. Slit gently in the boneless side to remove the (greenish) digestive tract. Wash once again. Grind coconut, shallot, green chillies, black pepper, cumin together to a fine paste. Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Fry the fennel seeds to red. Now add the curry leaves along with chopped mango and fry for a few seconds. (If you can't get mango then add 2 chopped tomatoes) Add 2 cups of water , turmeric powder , coriander powder, salt, ground masala and bring them to a boil. Now add the cleaned nethili meen (anchovy fish) and stir only one time before it gets cooked. Spread a few slit green chillies and curry leaves over it. Reduce flame and cook covered. DO NOT stir in between. Just shake the vessel gently to mix the masala with the fish. Take off heat in 15 minutes. Nethili meen aviyal is ready! Serving suggestions: Serve over hot rice or along with any bread. Serves 4.

Its award time....

Hi friends!

Nithu Bala of Nithu's kitchen and Aparna of Ladies special adukkala have showed their love towards Viki's kitchen by sharing a yummy award with me. Thanks dears. This means a lot to me.



Now as per my recent decision , I am narrating what I admire the most in their blogs.

Ladies Special Adukkala runs from singapore and I absolutely love her non veg dishes very much. Tried her ghee rice along with spicy Chemmeen and its a great success here. Yet to try her Singapore crab. What a temptation ..huh!

You have a great collection Aparna. Eager to see more exciting recipe like this:)

Nithu's collection is very authentic and perfectly guides us through easy steps. Tried her Urid dhal bonda and it disappeared from the plate even before it reached the dinning table. Thanks dear. Your bonda fetched me a lot of appreciation:)
I am flattered by her Ashoka halwa . I should try it real soon. The bread gulab jamun comes handy whenever we need a quick sweet to welcome the guests.

Great job done Nithu! Wanna see more easy and quick recipes like this dear.

Happy blogging and wish you all a great week ahead!

Kalkandu saatham

Kalkandu saatham is a dessert prepared with rice (pacharisi / unboiled raw) and rock candy. It is generally served as prasadam in many Hindu Temples along with puliyotharai and vadai. Moreover in TamilNadu, during the baby shower function (Vazhai kappu), the mother-to be's parents or brothers have to prepare 'n' number of Chithrannam / kalantha saatham / kalavai saatham (rice variety in different tastes like lemon rice , tamarind rice etc) and among them the kalkandu saatham will capture the attention of all.
Knowing this recipe will come handy if we need to make any dessert in a wink.



Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 3/4 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Kalkandu (tamil) / sugar candy - 3/4 cup
Saffron - few strands
Cardamom - 2 pods
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cashew - 10
raisin - 10
Nutmeg (Jathikkai in Tamil) - a pinch (or)
pachai katpuram (edible camphor) - a pinch
(I added mutmeg powder, because I had that only. But adding edible camphor is the correct version)
Water - 2 cups

Method:
Wash and drain the rice. Cook the rice with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of milk till it gets mushy.

Mash it finely while hot.

Powder the kalkandu coarsely (no need to crush the small diamond kalkandu as it will dissolve in heat)and add it to the rice along with nutmeg , saffron and powdered cardamom.

Heat the ghee in a small wok. Fry the cashew and raisins and pour on the rice.
Mix well.

Kalkandu saatham is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as dessert.
Mostly they serve a tbsp of this sweet along with the other variety rice during festivals.

Note:
The candy should be dissolved completely.

Nandu kulambu

Crab meat can be called the exotic choice for a sea food lover. TamilNadu style crab kulambu is prepared with a hot spicy pepper curry as base. I got these unusual small size crabs (Indian crab) in an Asian market near my house and immediately grabbed some:)

Interesting info on Crab:

*Buy crab around full moon, as it is believed that the crab becomes more succulent with moon and meatless during new moon (amavasai) . Click to see more info.
* If you don't know to clean the crab, then ask your friends or elders.
*Prefer small size crabs over the long legged one for Indian curries.Eg., One kilogram should yield 4-5 small crabs.
*Crab curry helps us to get rid of body aches, cold, sinus, calcium loss etc.
*Just like 'Japanese's sushi' , some villagers in Tamilnadu drink the extract from raw crab (crushed along with shell and strained) along with ginger and brandy to relieve body aches and to get more strong. I don't know the exact procedure, so consult a professional Indian medicine practitioner before trying.
*Eating crab is an art and you may need some care / skill to remove the shells.
*The crab meat has some character to increase body heat. So it is safer to have it during cold / rainy season.

Here is some memory behind this crab curry in my family.

This is my Father-in-law's favorite too and I prepared it to get his appreciation. you can read more here:)

While in Madras , we used to invite Xav's younger brother M to join us for some weekends. Even though M is his brother he resembles much of my dad's family in the preference for non-veg dishes. I have a strong craving for crab at that time and hubby totally hates it(but loves to buy them for me). Anyway I felt very lazy to prepare them for me alone . So could not enjoy my fancy crab meat for a very long time till I knew thambi's (M) taste for crab. From then on most of our weekends would start with a heavy sea food flavor which will make the whole street hungry:)Can you imagine our plates filled with crab or non-veg as main course and rice as side dish and hubby sitting near me admiring my crab eating style...LOL:)
One day when they were talking of his marriage and preferences , we were kidding him about his first question to his future wife. He told us that he would ask her if she can make Nandu (crab) curry and we we all laughed like anything. Some years passed we moved out of India but still he kept his promise by popping this question when he met the right girl. Luckily my co-sister is also an ardent fan of sea food .Anyway he kept his childish promise but we feel very guilty as we couldn't attend his wedding because of hubby's work nature. I ask myself , can I stand this guilt if I attend my own brothers marriage? Time only can answer this.
Even now when I make this curry , myself and hubby start talking of him.

Uncooked Nandu:

Nandu kulambu:

Ingredients:

Crab (Nandu in Tamil)- 1 kg
Sesame oil (any cooking oil ) - 2 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Turmeric - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
fennel seed - 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

To grind:

Shallot Onion (nattu vengayam) - 10 (50 gms)
Tomato - 3 (150 to 200 gms)
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin seed - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1tbsp

Saute the onion in a tsp of oil . keep aside. Then saute the tomato, till it wilts and grind everything to a fine paste.

Method

Wash and clean the crab. Remove the front shell that covers the digestive system and remove the digestive tract, but keep the meat inside. Wash again and clean it.
Don't remove the legs. If they are very long , then gently break them into half.


Heat oil in a wok or mud pot. Add fennel seeds and let them get red.
Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.

Now put the crab along with the powders, salt, masala paste , curry leaf and 1 cup of water.

Cook covered for 15 - 20 minutes. Add water or 1/2 cup coconut milk if we need to dilute it. Otherwise serve as a thick curry.

As soon as we start smelling the pleasant crab curry smell, switch off.

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with white rice.
Keep some curd as side , as we may need it to quench the heat of pepper:)

Kashmiri Pulav

Kashmiri pulav is a very colorful rice dish served as main course along with some spicy gravy. This pulao can be the best choice for the people who cannot take the Indian hot cuisine. We can add the fruits according to our imagination.

For the very first time I tasted this Kashmiri pulao along with gobi manchurian gravy in Hotel Kamatlingapur, Bangalore.

I got the recipe from a library-book ( the author name ??? ) in Madras. It is always a great one in my house along with Butter chicken.

Kashmiri pulao:



Ingredients:


Main ingredients:
Basmati rice - 1 cup
warm milk - 1 tbsp
saffron - a few strands
salt - to taste

To make the flavored water to cook rice:
Mint leaf - 4 stems
cardamom - 2
nutmeg - very tiny piece
cloves - 2
cinnamon - 2 inch
water - 3 cups

To temper:
onion - 1 cup (sliced lengthwise)
Bay leaf - 2
green chilly - 2 (chopped)

Ghee - 1 tbsp

cashew - 5
almond -5 (slivered)
Raisins - 10

To garnish:
Tuti frooti - 10 pieces
Pomegranate - 1/4 cup
pineapple - 1/4 cup (chopped)
Tangarine / orange - 3 slices
black grapes - 5

Method:

Wash the rice and soak it in water for 1/2 an hour.

Boil 3 cups of water in a vessel along with mint leaves , cinnamon , cloves, cardamom. As soon as it starts boiling, switch off and let it remain closed for 30 minutes. Strain and discard the spices. (I used them while grinding the masala for butter chicken).

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, fry the chopped onion , green chillies and take it out. Keep aside.
Fry the cashews, raisins, almonds and keep aside.

Add another tsp of ghee and fry the (soaked and drained) rice for few minutes.

Now pour the prepared flavored water to the rice. Add salt (1/8 tsp) and cook until the rice is done (not mushy).
Using a colander / strainer remove the excess water.

Soak the saffron in milk for 1 hour, and add this milk to the rice.

Garnish with fried onion, green chilly, nuts, raisins.

Keep it warm.

Mix the chopped fruits before serving .

Kashmiri pulao is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Kashmiri pulao can be served as a main course dish along with some paratha / naan and a very spicy gravy.
The above said quantity can be enough for 2 people.
Chicken tikka masala or butter chicken are best combo for Kashmir pulav.

Pineapple kesari

Very long back I had this pineapple kesari in a wedding breakfast and fallen in love with this immediately. I have heard that this is more famous in Kerala, where we get abundant fruits.
Mostly I prepare Xav's favorites only, but for a change he asked me to make this for me. So I prepared this for Christmas breakfast along with Idly, vada and sambar. Surprisingly he too liked it very much for the first time:) Hereafter I can have this kesari more frequently...hi...hi.

Just like many other recipes, this also remained idle in my draft until now. Here is the most delicious version of Kesari for you.



Ingredients:
Ravai / rava / semolina / sooji - 1 cup
Pineapple - 1 1/2 cup (chopped)
(I used fresh pineapple. But we can use the canned ones too)
water - 2 cups
sugar - 2 cups
(Add more sugar at the end if desired)
cashewnuts - 10
raisins - 15
ghee - 5 tbsp
yellow food color - 1/8 tsp
Cardamom - 4

Method:
1.Take a thick wok / pan , which has a proper tight lid.
Heat a tbsp of ghee and fry the broken cashews , raisins one by one and keep aside. Powder the cardamom and discard the skin, keep aside. (I put the skin in to the tea).

2.In the same pan add another tbsp ghee and roast the rava till we get a nice aroma.
Transfer it to a dry plate.

3.Coarsely grind the pineapple in a blender. Keep aside.

4.In the pan add water , sugar and let it come to a boil.
Then add the yellow food color and mix well.
As the water starts bubbling , reduce the flame.

5.Now add the rava in a wide spread manner .Add it slowly without stirring . Then immediately put the crushed pineapple and stir well. Close it with a lid and reduce the flame to minimum.

6.After the rava gets cooked , add the remaining ghee, fried nuts, cardamom, raisins.

7.Keep on stirring till the kesari leaves the sides of the pan.

Pineapple kesari is ready!

Note:
The pineapple kesari should not be dry , but somewhat sticky.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as dessert along with breakfast or evening tea with spicy snacks.

Awards .....

My sweet blogger friend , Siddhi of Cooked Dil Se has presented me these lovely awards.





I like her flair to learn and present the International cuisines.Her Mushroom Lasagna from scratch is very amazing. Never thought of making my own lasagna sheet before. Hats off dear!
Moreover her Indian cuisines are much authentic and mouthwatering . Recently I came across her Repost for RCI-Mumbai and was stunned by her vast collection. Now I am planning to buy some grocery to try her Mumbai recipes. That's the power of inspiration. Right!

I feel so honored to get these 'Beautiful blogger' and 'Happiness' awards from her. Thanks Siddhi . Keep up the good work dear!