Salmon and Tamarind Curry

I learned about this recipe at a potluck from a South Indian guy. The flavor was amazing, and a hit at the party.

For Ervin
Salmon, steak or fillet
1 onion
2 tbsp cooking oil
Garlic, crushed or minced
2cm (about 1 inch) ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 small red chillies, sliced
1 tsp tamarind concentrate
1 tbsp tomato purée
400 ml coconut milk
200 ml water
1 tsp sugar
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves/cilantro, to garnish


1. Thaw the salmon in a microwave based on weight (I prefer thawing in cold water or fresh fish), sprinkle salt and set aside.

2. Finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the onion. Add the garlic and ginger and fry further, stirring all the time. Can add cumin seeds here. Go easy on the cumin powder then.

3. Turn the heat down low, sprinkle over the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chillies, and stir continuously until the spices give off a warm, toasted aroma - about a minute.

4. Add the tamarind, tomato puree, coconut milk, water, the remaining salt, and the sugar. Simmer the curry, uncovered, for about 10 minutes before tasting. If you feel the curry needs it, add a touch more tamarind and chilli.

5. Add the fish to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes, or until cooked. The fish should flake easily when it's ready. Garnish with coriander leaves/cilantro, and serve with steamed rice

* Can make a version w/o the coconut milk too.

*Go easy on the tamarind concentrate if you are cooking it for the first time. Add a little water to 1 tsp concentrate and whisk it well for better consistency in the gravy.

*You can try baked salmon with tamarind glaze too. Less fuss, healthier. 

Suji Upma/ Nonta Suji

Ingredients
1 cup semolina (rava/suji)
1 tbsp grated ginger (adrak)
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tbsp chopped green chillies
Curry leaves
Peanuts
Mustard seeds
salt to taste
oil for cooking

You can add green peas, diced potatoes, jalapeños too.

Method
Heat the pan and dry roast peanuts,add mustard seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, and then the semolina stirring continuously.
Add the water and make a thick consistency batter.
Add the salt and mix gently.

Yogurt drinks

Good for nausea and to aid digestion.

Spicy yogurt-mint drink
INGREDIENTS
1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
Add salt and water if using yogurt
Mint leaves
½ teaspoon jal-jeera
Ice cubes
Whole fresh mint leaves for garnish

Blend together all the ingredients except the ice cubes and whole mint leaves for the garnish until smooth in a blender.


Gulabi Lassi (Rose flavored yogurt drink)

Natural yoghurt
1 tsp rose essence or Ruh-Afza
Pink rose petals to garnish (optional)

Mix together yoghourt, water, rose essence in a blender

Aloo palak (Potato Spinach)

Ingredients

Cooking oil
Bay leaves
Pinch of cumin seeds
2 dried red chili broken
Turmeric powder, salt to taste
Crushed garlic
Cubed potatoes, microwaved or boiled, add a little salt
Fresh spinach, blanched or microwaved for 10 minutes, add a little salt
Bhaja masala-dry roasted cumin, coriander and dry red chilis

Method:

1. Blend the blanched spinach into a smooth paste.(You may also use finely chopped or frozen spinach)
2. Add the bay leaves, cumin seed, red chilis and let it splutter.
3. Add  potatoes. Sprinkle salt, turmeric, bhaja masala and fry till golden. Add chopped spinach. Simmer for a few minutes. Sprinkle some water if it gets too dry.

You can make aloo methi (potatoes with fenugreek leaves) by using chopped methi instead of spinach. Or add cubed eggplant to aloo palak to make a delicious aloo-palak-baingan. You just need to temper mustard oil with nigella seeds and dry red chilies for a quick side dish.

You may add cottage cheese (paneer) instead of potatoes for palak paneer recipe. Green chillis and onions  may also be aided as a variation. It also help to soften the cottage cheese in salt water if you can't get fresh paneer.

*Yet another way of cooking paneer is to rub salt, turmeric, red chili powder and amchur on the paneer cubes and shallow fry them first, before incorporating in the gravy.

Mocktails

Virgin Pina Colada
Crushed ice
Pineapple chunks
Vanilla ice cream
Your fav pina colada mix or pineapple juice and coconut cream
Blend.

Garnish with maraschino cherry, a pineapple chunk and a tropical flower

Thai shrimp curry with vegetables and bamboo shoots

Ingredients
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
3 red chillies or Thai chilies broken
2 teaspoons minced garlic and ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (cooked shrimp is ok)
3 tablespoons chopped Thai basil leaves
1 packet frozen vegetables- preferably with bamboo shoots in it. They give a different flavor.
Pinch of curry powder

Can add Thai fish sauce if you like.

In a large wok heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, sauté, add garlic and ginger. Add the vegetables. Stirring, add sugar, then the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened slightly. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until cooked through. Add curry powder. Serve over rice

  Link 1

Sometimes, I use chicken instead of  shrimp , and pickled bamboo shoots instead of brined ones.

Rogan Mushroom (Mushrooms in Onion Tomato Gravy)

I hold mushrooms in high regard. Not only they are rich in nutrients like some B Vitamins and essential minerals- I find them delicious. Give me a mushroom sandwich or cream of mushroom soup anytime- really.

You can add green peas to the following recipe and make a version of Khumb-matar ki sabzi (Mushroom -peas curry)

1 large onion quartered
3 medium-sized tomatoes quartered
2 green chillies
5 cloves garlic
1" piece of ginger
3 tbsps cooking oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
500 gms button mushrooms wiped clean and cut into halves
Salt to taste
4 tbsps thick unsweetened yogurt or sour cream, whisked till smooth
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish
Preparation:

Put the quartered onion, tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and garlic into a food processor and grind into a smooth paste. There is no need to add any water to this while grinding as the juices from the tomatoes will provide sufficient liquid.
Heat the cooking oil in a deep pan on medium heat, add the above mixture and all the powdered spices. Stir and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala. Stir often to prevent the masala from sticking and/ or burning.
When the masala is done , add the mushrooms and stir gently. Season with salt to taste and add half a cup of warm water. Cook till the mushrooms are soft but not pulpy/ overcooked. Stir in the yogurt or sour cream.

A bit of cashew paste and ground poppy seeds can do wonders for a gravy. I like using it in my meatballs (Kofta curry). You can use it for this recipe too.