Chilly Prawns

This recipe is from a dear friend and is an easy but a very delicious one! 

Chilly Prawns

Ingrdients

1. Prawns - 450 gm

2. Chilly pdr - 3 tspn

3. Turmeric Pdr - 1/2 tspn

4. Ginger/Garlic paste - 1 tspn

5. Lemon juice - 2 tspn

6. Salt to taste
7. Onions - 2 medium sized sliced finely

8. Chopped ginger , garlic and green chillies - 2 tspn
9. Chilly flakes - 1 tspn
10. Paprika powder - 1 tspn
11. Balsamic vinegar - 2 tspn

Method

Marinate the prawns with ingredients 2-5 and leave it for one hour. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and sauté the prawn and cover and cook till done. Take out the cover and fry till brown. Fry the onion with  chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies. When the onion turns brown add chilly flakes, paprika and 2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Add the fried prawns to this mixture and stir fry it for 2 to 3 minutes. Check the salt and add if necessary. Garnish with spring onions or curry leaves.

Stir Fried Red Cow Peas / Vanpayar Ularthiyathe

This side dish goes well with Kanji or rice gruel. It is also fine with your rice meal. It is full of proteins.

Stir Fried Red Cow Peas / Vanpayar Ularthiyathe

Ingredients

1. Stir Fried Red Cow Peas / Vanpayar Ularthiyathe - 2 cups soaked in water for 1 hour
2. Small onions - 8
3. Garlic - 4 cloves
5. Red Chilly - 3
6. Curry leaves - a few
7. Mustard seeds - 1 tspn

Method

Either pressure cook the peas (with 2 cups of water)  for 2 whistles or boil until it is cooked. Crush ingredients 2-6 and set aside. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add the crushed ingredients and fry until brown. Now add the cooked peas with enough salt and fry until it is dry.

Enjoy!

Fava Beans Curry

The original recipe called for Black Eyed Beans or the White Beans but since I had only Fava Beans I used it. It turned out good except that it can be a slightly bitter but anything bitter is always good for your health! :)

Fava Beans / Black Eyed Beans Curry

Ingredients

1- Fava Beans or Black Eyed Beans - 2 cups
2- Small onions - 10
3- Coriander Powder - 1 tbspn
4- Turmeric Powder - 3/4 tspn
5- Chilly Powder - 2 tbspn (adjust as per your tolerance level)
6- Cumin and Saunf seeds - 1 tspn each
7- Asafoetida - 1 tspn
8- Big onion - 2 medium
9- Tomato - 2
10- Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup or 3 tbsnpn coconut powder
11- Cury leaves - enough
12 - Tamarind paste - 1 tbspn

Method

Soak the beans in water for 4-5 hours and pressure cook it for 10-15 minutes. Grind tomato, Onion and Saunf seeds and set aside. If you are using shredded coconut, grind the same and set aside. Heat enough oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Fry the cumin seeds along with the asafoetida. Add chopped onions and fry until browned. Fry the ground mixture of tomato/onion/saunf until oil leaves the side. Add the beans and salt and fry for a minute. Now add the powders and fry for a while. Add the turmeric paste with enough water and once it boils, add the ground coconut or coconut powder and boil until the curry has thickened to your taste.

Enjoy with rice or chappathi.

Healthy and quick breakfast with steamed Plantain

I normally make a lavish breakfast on holidays since I have enough time to do so. But last Friday since we wanted to go out for some shopping, I settled for a quick but healthy breakfast.

Plantain as you may know is a very healthy fruit and is prepared in many ways while raw and ripe. While raw it is used in stir fries and curries and when ripe it is eaten thus or made into fritters. 

Plantain is rich in carbohydrate, Potassium and Vitamin A. Eating a medium plantain provides your body with 2,017 international units of vitamin A, corresponding to 86 percent of the recommended intake for women and 67 percent of the intake for men, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. 

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrients-plantains-have-3250.html

Nutritional Value of Plantain

According to the USDA nutrient database, 100g of raw* plantain contains the following values:

116kcal

31.2g Carbohydrate

2.3g Fiber (9% RDI)

.2g Fat (neg)

.8g Protein (2% RDI)

909 IU Vitamin A (18% RDI)

10.9mg Vitamin C (18% RDI)

Thiamin (3% RDI)

.1mg Riboflavin (3% RDI)

.8mg Niacin (4% RDI)

.2mg Vitamin B6 (12% RDI)

26mcg Folate (6% RDI)

.2mg Pantothenic Acid (2% RDI)

.6mg Iron (3% RDI)

37mg Magnesium (9% RDI)

34mg Phosphoous (3% RDI)

499mg Potassium (14% RDI)

.1mg Copper (4% RDI)

1.5mcg Selenium (2% RDI)

http://theindianvegan.blogspot.com/2013/03/all-about-plantain-in-india.html

I have also heard that one plantain equals 2 eggs and is a good substitute for vegetarians.

Anyway this is a simple recipe with plantain.

Healthy and quick breakfast with steamed Plantain

Ingredients:

1. Plantains - as many as you have on hand

2. Shredded coconut   - 1 Tbspn for each plantain

3. Ghee/Butter - enough to drizzle

4. Sugar - optional

Method

Cut the ends of the plantains and also make a cut at the centre of each plantain: just enough and not entirely through. Steam them with skin on until the skin bursts through. This ensures that it is cooked right. Split the plantains and drizzle ghee or apply butter (optional). Spread the shredded coconuts and serve!