Prawn pollichathu (cooked with spices in banana leaf)- A guest post for Manju's Eating Delights

 

Manju of Manju's Eating Delights and I don't go a long way back, but it feels like I've known her forever. I only recently started following her blog posts and I must say I'm hooked. We are facebook friends and needless to say, you invariably end up being a part of each others food journey, and even life. She's a pro at cake decorating (seriously, check out this Carousel Cake she made for a birthday) and is a friendly and cheerful person. I hope that some day I get to meet her in person and maybe even taste a dish or two made by her. While she's busy setting up her new home, I'm taking over her page today to share a lil something I made. 

I am not too much of a seafood fan, or should I say, I WAS not a seafood fan, because these days I do indulge in a seafood of choice once in a while, which is mostly fish that is masala-fied so much it hardly tastes like fish. I know its sacrilegious to even say that, but sadly that's what works. Prawns are a different story altogether. I have never had an aversion to it, well, my husband would roll his eyes at this. But I can usually handle any prawn prep, except when its just boiled, like in a prawn cocktail. Ok fine, you can say I'm a fussy eater and a pseudo foodie :)

 

Coming to the prawn pollichathu recipe, its an absolutely delicious prep and a crowd pleaser. Don't be put off by the crazy list of ingredients, its really not that difficult at all. Banana leaves impart that special taste to the whole prep, but I understand that its not readily available everywhere. I myself usually just use aluminium foil in its place, but this time I wanted to give banana leaves a try and had to go all the way to the Indian store to get myself a batch. I cleaned and froze a couple of them in a zip lock bag for future use.

Hope you enjoy this mallu dish, and thanks to manju for having me over at her space. Check out the recipe here

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Kuzhi paniyaram

That's one more thing crossed off the "to make" list. I kept whining about not having an unniappam/aebleskiver pan for so long, my mum sent hers through my sister-in-law last year. For some strange reason I thought I couldn't use it on my flat glass hob and packed it up to send it back. But an over packed suitcase meant she had to leave some stuff behind and this pan was the first thing to be thrown out of the suitcase because my mum really couldn't care less about unniappams and she said she dint really want it back. So it was stashed away in a corner and forgotten....

...till a few weeks back when Vineetha sent me some yummy unniappam from her Vishu celebrations and I decided it was high time I fixed my unniappam pan issue. I mean I was having unniappam after some 2 or 3 years and it brought back all those memories and cravings for the same. Took the pan out and decided to give it a go (before Ro got back home from work, or else he would find some fault with it). As usual the necessary ingredients- jaggery and bananas- weren't in stock, but since the pan was out I HAD to make something in it. 

The dosa batter (store bought) came to my rescue and since kuzhi paniyarams were a close second on the list, I got down to business. The pan worked and the paniyarams came out great. I was so excited at the outcome I couldn't wait to show Ro when he got back home. Of course he couldn't understand why I was getting hyper about the "idli's," after he bit into one. Thank god for whatsapp, I sent my sister-in-law (yes the one who brought me the pan) a pic and she was as excited as me, cos I introduced her to paniyarams at a South Indian restaurant here in London.

I served these with coconut chutney and it was the perfect tea time snack. The pan was put to good use shortly after where I made tiny vada's using the MTR vada mix. Like a fellow blogger friend said, it would be great as a starter with drinks and such.

Idli/ dosa batter- 2 cups

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves- 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 6 to 8, finely chopped
Ginger- 1 tsp, finely grated (optional)

Green chillies- 2, finely chopped

Shallots- 1/4 cup

Asafoetida- a pinch (optional)

Grated coconut- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- to fry

In a large bowl mix the batter with baking soda and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and splutter mustard seeds followed by curry leaves.

Tip in the ginger, green chillies and shallots and asafoetida and sauté till the onions wilt and turn light brown.

Add the grated coconut, stir for a couple more minutes and take it off the heat. Keep aside to cool.

Into the batter throw in coriander leaves and cooked mix and stir well to combine. Do a taste test and add more salt if required.

Heat the paniyaram pan and add a few drops of oil into each of the holes.

Once the oil is hot, add a tbsp of batter into each of the holes.

Cook on medium heat till the edges start turning brown.

At this point flip them using a fork or a skewer and let the other side cook equally. Drain on paper towels.

Add more oil into the holes and repeat till all of the batter is used up.

Notes: The batter I get from the store is very thick and so I dilute it with a bit of water.

The baking soda helps in achieving nice soft idlis and such and so by practise I always mix it in my batter. The paniyarams puffed up nicely with that addition.
Of course, you can make the same without a paniyaram pan, just that you wont get the perfect rounds. I have tried the same here is the recipe. Tasted just the same.

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Baked chicken taquitos and guava margarita

I love love love Mexican food. Sadly though London doesn't have that many Mexican restaurants and I think its worked to Ro's advantage because, given a choice, I would only pick a Mexican restaurant when we dine out. So when I'm left wanting Mexican food, I have these Mexican themed days at home where its all margaritas and quesadillas and stuff.

Last week I went into one of those "moods" and instead of doing the usual quesadillas (which I also did make) and tortilla wraps, I decided to try some new dishes. On the menu was the 7-layer dip which Id been eyeing ever since my cousin sent me a pic of her version but last minute movie plans were obviously more important than the dip and so I ditched that idea. Instead I made taquitos which, if you have the filling and everything ready a day before, is such a breeze to put together. They can be made days in advance and frozen and baked just before serving. 

 

The original taquitos are deep fried, but that was definitely not an option for me. So I had to look for a baked version and these didn't disappoint. They are quite versatile and can be filled with anything you want, maybe even something sweet. 

No Mexican meal is complete without some margaritas and that's exactly what I paired these with. You get these massive margarita bottles in Costco and its become my absolute favourite. I keep trying different flavours with that as the base and all of it have turned out great. This time i made guava margaritas and added some jalapeños to it for that extra kick. I also rimmed the glass with smoked maldon sea salt which strangely tasted great with the spicy margarita.

Baked chicken taquitos (recipe adapted from here, makes 12)

Chicken- 2 cups, cooked and shredded

Cream cheese- 3oz, softened

Salsa- 1/4 cup

Lime juice- 1 /2 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Onion granules- 1/2 tsp (can use powder as well)

Garlic- 3 cloves, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp

Spring onions- 2, finely chopped

Mexican spicy cheddar cheese- 1 cup (replace with cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese)

Flour tortillas- 12, small

Salt- to sprinkle

Oil- to brush

Pre heat the oven to 220C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the tortillas, salt and oil. 

Warm the tortillas for about 20 seconds, 3 at a time, in the microwave and keep ready.

Spoon in 2 table spoons of the filling on to one end of the tortilla and roll it up as tightly as possible. Don't over fill the tortillas or they will ooze out once in the oven.

Place on the baking tray, seam side down. and without touching each other.

Repeat till all the filling is used up.

Brush the tops of the rolled up taquitos with cooking oil and sprinkle salt on them.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till the taquitos are crisp and golden brown.

Notes: I cooked chicken breast with salt and pepper in a saucepan and then shredded them using a fork

Original recipe called for parsley. I cant stand the herb so I used coriander leaves instead.

The cheese I used was spicy so my filling was a bit spicy (which we loved).

Guava margarita (makes 4)

Lime juice- 1/2 cup

Tequila- 1 cup

Triple sec- 3 tbsp

Simple syrup- 4 tbsp (boil equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan till you get a syrup)

Guava juice- 1 cup (I used Rubecon brand)

Ice cubes- as required
Pickled jalapenos- 2 to 3 rounds

Lime wedge- for rimming the glass

Maldon sea salt- for glass (optional)

Get a plate with the sea salt ready.

Rub the lime wedge around the rim of the margarita glasses and dip them into the salt. Chuck them into the refrigerator while you get the drink ready.
In a cocktail shaker or blender combine the remaining ingredients.
Pour into the prepared glasses and serve cold.

 

Notes: Like I mentioned I have pre made margarita and to 1 cup of this mix I add about 3/4 cups of guava juice, stir well and add to the glass with a couple of ice cubes. 
I don't like the crushed ice cubes, so I just add cubes directly to the glass and pour the marg over it.
Replace the guava juice with any fruit juice of choice.
Adjust sugar as per choice. I like mine a tad sweeter.
Its a bit spicy because of the jalapeños, avoid if not a fan

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Almond crinkle cookies {gluten free}

After a really long time I took my camera out to take some pics only to realise there was absolutely no motivation. But since it was a sunny day (for a change) and since I didn't have anything in my drafts to post, I decided to bake and make use of the lighting to take some pics.

I had bookmarked a recipe for almond crinkle cookies, but then the measurements seemed a bit confusing and so I ended up doing my own thing. I was 90 percent sure it wouldn't work out, but was pleasantly surprised at the end result. I made chocolate crinkle cookies a long time back and it is one of my most popular posts on the blog. They are an absolute crowd pleaser and perfect gifts- especially Christmas, because those powdered sugar tops make them look like snow mountains.

 

Anyways, we are not here to talk about the chocolate crinkles are we? The star here are the almond crinkles which are not bad at all, in fact I like them better than the choc crinkles and hot out of the oven, they are delish. I also thought they were easier to put together compared to the choc ones- the entire process was done in half an hour. Its a one-bowl, no-fuss recipe which I'm sure I'll be making again.

The pictures however, are horrible. Once I was done with baking, my mind just went blank. I just didn't know how to style them and make them look great. Even the perfect lighting couldn't inspire me. So I just chucked them all in a bowl and did the easiest possible thing...used a white background and back lighting to take boring pics. That said, I took 125 pics of the same damn thing in different angles. Transferred them on to the computer only to realise most of them were out of focus and the harsh lighting was hurting my eyes. So I had to re-do the whole setting with diffused lighting and then cleaning up the mess just made it so exhausting, I stayed away from pictures and editing and writing for two days. Hence the delay in posting the recipe after teasing you all with the picture on fb. Apologies!

Makes 20 small cookies

Egg- 1 medium

Granulated sugar- 63 grams

Lime juice- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Ground almonds- 150 gms

Fine semolina- 40 gms

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil- 1 tbsp 

Powdered sugar- to roll the cookies

Beat the egg and sugar together in a mixing bowl till pale yellow. I used my hand whisk to do this, but feel free to use a hand blender if you please.

Add the lime juice and vanilla extract to it and continue whisking till well mixed.

Throw in the ground almonds, semolina and baking powder one after the other and fold it all in using a spatula. The mix would be slightly coarse, but that's ok. Just make sure you mix it well.

Pour the vegetable oil and give a thorough mix till they all come together.

You can either chuck the bowl into the refrigerator for a couple of minutes for the dough to set which would make it easier to roll, but I didnt need to do this as the dough was of perfect consistency.

Even after you have refrigerated, if your mix still is a little too loose, just add more semolina, or if its too thick, loosen it up with a few drops of milk.

In the mean time, preheat your oven to 160C and get the baking tray ready with baking paper.

Put a couple of spoons of powdered sugar on a plate and start rolling the dough.

Wet you hands lightly and make small balls with the dough (about half tbsp per ball) and roll in icing sugar. The ball should be completely covered with icing sugar.

place them about an inch apart on the baking sheet. The cookies expand when baking and the icing sugar cracks giving it that crinkly top effect.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool for about 5 minutes after which you can (eat them non stop or) transfer on to a wire rack and cool completely before storing in air tight containers or zip lock bags.

Notes: Feel free to double the recipe for a larger batch
I used gluten free baking powder.

The cookies are not really crunchy, but more cakey in consistency (in a nice sort of way, I promise). bake them a little longer if you want them crunchy

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