CHICKEN CURRY

• 1 kg chicken
• 2 onions sliced
• ½ coconut ground
• 1 teaspoon ground garlic
• 1 teaspoon jeera powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 2 green chillies ( ground with the coconut )
• 4-5 red chillies
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice or 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil
• 700ml water

Method:

• Clean, cut, wash the chicken.
• Mix with salt and turmeric and keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan.
• Add the ground garlic and onions.
• Add the ground coconut, jeera powder and coriander powder.
• Add the chicken and fry till the chicken is brownedon all sides.
• Add the water mix well, cover and cook till the chicken is done.
• Uncover cook till the gravy is slightly thick.

Serves 4 persons

FISH FRY AND FISH CURRY ( MEEN MASALA CURRY AND MEEN BARTHAD )

• 1kg.Fresh fish, sliced into thicker pieces for curry and thinner slices for frying.

Mix fish with the following :

• 1 Teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Teaspoon chilly powder
• 1 Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
• 1 Teaspoon lime juice or kachampuli

Step 2: Ingredients:

• 1 Teaspoon jeera
• ¼ Teaspoon methi whole
• 1 Teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/4 Teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3-4 Tablespoon Coconut scrapped
• Roast all the ingredients except coconut. Then grind all the ingredients together.

Keep aside

Step 3: Ingredients:

• 1 Teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
• 1 big onion sliced
• 2 green chillies sliced
• 2 Tablespoon coriander leaves chopped
• 1 Tablespoon tamarind pulp or chopped tomatoes
• 1 Teaspoon limejuice / kachampuli
• 2 Tablespoon cooking oil

METHOD: FISH FRY

• For frying the fish, the step 2 items, except the coconut to be roasted and ground.
• Mix to the fish and roll onto rice flour and shallow fry in oil on both sides till reddish brown .
• Serve with lemon wedges and cucumber.

METHOD: FISH CURRY

• Now for the fish curry, keep a deep pan on heat.
• Add the cooking oil, season with mustard seeds, ginger and garlic paste, add the onion slices and then the green chillies.
• Saute till onions turn transparent.
• Then add the ground masala and sauté till an aroma arises.
• Now add the chopped tomatoes if so desired and toss for a minute.
• Add 1-1 ½ cup of water to the masala over medium heat, mix well and let it come to first boil.

Lower the flame.

• Add the thick tamarind pulp and let boil again.
• Then slowly add the fish pieces for curry, keep side the remaining water in plate.
• Then hold the pan on both sides with a thick cloth and gently toss the fish so that the it mixes with the gravy without breaking up.
• Cover and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Again do the same procedure of mixing gently cover and cook for another 4 minutes,
  uncover and taste for salt and sourness if desired.
• Open and cook for another 2 minutes and put off the flame.
• Cover and let be without removing lid for 5-7 minutes.
• Pour on to serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a split green chilly.
• Serves well with hot steam rice

RICE ROTIS (OTTI)

• 250gms raw rice
• 750ml water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 250gms rice flour

Method:

• Cook rice in the water with salt.
• Spread the cooked rice on a kneading plate or thali.
• Knead the rice with the rice flour, adding little at a time.
• Make into dough.
• Roll on a little flour to prevent sticking.
• Make small balls and flatten in a chapatti press between two plastic sheets wiped with a little oil to prevent sticking.
• Remove the roti, put it on a hot tawa for about a minute.
• Turn the roti over and keep for little longer.
• Turn it over again, remove and place the roti on direct heat/flame.
• The roti will puff out well. Careful not to burn.

Approximately 12-14 rotis
Rice rotis go well with all curries, especially bamboo shoot curry.

THALAYA PUTTU ( PLATE IDLY –COORG STYLE )

• ½ K.g. Rice
• ½ cup cooked rice (soft)
• 250 gm.urud dhal
• ¼ Teaspoon methi seeds
• 1Tablespoon sugar
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash and soak rice, urud dhal, methi for 5-hrs.
• Do not throw away the soaked water but use it during the grinding process.
• Add the cooked rice to the grinding and make a fine paste.
• Stir well. Add the sugar, cover and keep in warm place overnight.
• Next morning stir again and add 2 Teaspoon salt .
• Also ¼ Teaspoon cooking soda blended well with little hot milk and add to the ground paste.
• Mix it well and pour out into greased thalis and keep for steaming in the rice cooker /
  SHAKALA ( a very south Indian copper/steel or aluminumrice cooker similar to the Chinese variety ).
• Keep to steam for 35-40 minutes or till knife leaves clean.
• The cooker ought to be warmed up before keeping the puttu for steaming.
• If cooker is not available then use cooker like for idlys.
• The plates will have to be kept one on top of each other with the help of sticks placed criss-cross on the plates.
• Can make 3-5 plates depending on thickness.

BAMBOO SHOOT TIPS FRY

• ¼ kg bamboo shoots
• 3 tablespoon cooking oil
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 2-3 whole red chillies
• 8-10 flakes garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ghee

Method:

• Heat oil in shallow pan.
• Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves, chopped garlic and red chillies.
• Add onions and fry with the roasted ground masala.
• Put in the bamboo tips and toss well for 1-2 minutes.
• Turn off the flame add the ghee, cover and keep.
• Serve hot.

ALBAI (RICE HALWA)

Ingredients:

• 2 coconuts (only whites grated)
• 1 cup white rice
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
• sugar to taste

Method:

• Soak rice for 8 hours and grind fine.
• Separately grind the coconut and sieve the coconut milk.
• Mix 2 cups of water with the ground rice and sieve it.
• The sieved rice is mixed with the coconut milk.
• Add sugar and cardamom powder.
• Keep stirring on medium flame with wooden ladle constantly.
• Keep adding water little at a time.
• The mixture has to cook on slow flame (typically how it is done for any halwa).
• This process should take between 30-45 minutes.
• Test the halwa by dropping a small piece into a cup of water.
• If the halwa holds firm and does not dissipate, then pourthe mixture into a greased plate.
• Let it cool, cut into pieces for serving.

BAMBOO SHOOT CURRY

Ingredients:

• ½ Kg bamboo shoot sliced
• 2 tablespoon rice flour
• 2 onions sliced
• 6-8 garlic flakes cut up
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon jeera powder
• 2-3 tablespoon ground coconut
• 2 red chillies
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seed
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 2-3 tablespoon cooking oil

Method:

• Heat oil in deep pan.
• Put mustard seeds and curry leaves to splutter in hot oil.
• Add garlic and red chillies.
• Add onions and keep frying.
• Put the rice powder and mix with the rest of the masala in oil.
• Fry the masala for a little longer on medium heat before adding the bamboo shoots.
• Add the ground coconut and mix well.
• Add 1-2 glasses of water, mix and cover for few minutes.
• Remove the cover and cook for little longer, till gravy is slightly thick. Check for salt and pungency.

KULEPUTTU ( STEAMED JACKFRUIT CAKE)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pulp of jackfruit or banana (very ripe fruit)
• 1 cup broken rice rava (Bansi variety)
• 2 cups jaggery liquidized
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder p.s(cup measure to remain constant in size)
• 50-80gms coconut cut up into small bits
• ¼ teaspoon cooking soda
• banana Leaves cut into 6′x 6′ pieces

Method:

• Wash the rice rava.
• Run the pulp through a sieve.
• Mix the rice rava and soda with the pulp and keep aside for 1 hour.
• Later mix this well with jaggery, salt and cardamom.
• Pass the banana leaves over a flame for a few seconds on both
• sidesto make it more pliable.
• Onto each leaf pour 4 Tablespoons of the rava mixture and garnish with coconut bits.
• Fold the banana leaf over the mixture and fasten with toothpicks.
• Like wise with the remaining pieces of banana leaf.
• Pile up the folded leaf strips filled with rava mixture in a shallow vessel and steam for 30-40 minutes.
• Serve with the banana leaf.
• Apply a little ghee before eating.

KADMBUTTU (STEAMED RICE DUMPLINGS)

Ingredients:

• 250gms fine rice rava
• 750ml water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar

Method:

• Wash rice rava and mix with the measured water.
• Put this into a deep vessel and cook on medium flame.
• Add salt and water, stir with a wooden spoon.
• Continue to stir all the time till the mixture resembles a soft dough, making sure not to burn the dough.
• Turn off the flame and cover for 5 minutes.
• Spoon out a little of the dough on a plate.
• In a small bowl of water add 2 drops of oil.
• Dip finger into this mixture and rub onto both palms.
• Take approximately 1 tablespoon of the hot dough and roll into a smooth round ball.
• Do the same with the rest of the dough.
• Place the Kadambuttus in a vessel and cover with muslin cloth and steam for 20-25 minutes.

Makes approximately 20-25 Kadmbuttus.

Kadmbuttus go well with Pandhi Curry

Coorg Mango Curry

• ½ kg jungle mangoes (small and slightly ripened)

Masala 1: Roast to a dark colour the following ingredients andgrind fine:

• 1 tablespoon jeera powder
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Masala 2:

• 2 tablespoon cooking oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 4-5 garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoon jaggery syrup

Method:

• Skin the mango keep the skin in another bowl and add 200ml water.
• Squeeze the skin of all the juices, keep liquid, throw out the skin. Set aside.
• The whole mango with seed, salt and chilli powder, put into a vessel and cook on low flame.
• Take a small shallow frying pan and heat the oil.
• Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves and garlic.
• Add the sliced onions and the ground masala, stir fry.
• Add this to the mangoes in the vessel.
• Now increase the flame to medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, adding the jaggery syrup.
• Mix well and serve.

Mango curry goes well with white rice