Crab Curry

I am back...after more than a year. This time I really hope I will post more often than I did before. Today we got crabs, which were cooked by my mom, and they were so delicious that I decided that I had to put it here. The crabs were huge and so tasty. This is a Bengali style curry and spicy. Do not grind the red chillies to avoid a spicy gravy.

Ingredients:
Crab: 2kgs
Onion: 4 medium
Potato: 3 medium
Ginger: 1 1/2 inch
Garlic: 15 flakes
Tomato: 2
Red Chilly: 4
Bay Leaves: 4
Corriander Powder: 2tsp
Cumin Powder: 2tsp
Turmeric Powder: 2tsp
Garam Masala powder: A pinch
Salt: As per taste

Method:
1. Clean the crabs well.
2. Apply salt and turmeric powder to the crabs and keep aside.
3. Soak half of the the red chilly in a bit of water so that it makes grinding easy.

Cooking

4. Chop half of the onions and all of the tomatoes. Cut the potatoes in big chunks. 

5. Grind the rest of the onion, ginger, garlic and the soaked red chilly to a fine paste.

6. Fry the potatoes in a bit of oil and keep aside.

7. Fry the crabs and keep aside.

8. In hot oil, add the bay leaves the rest of the red chillies.

9. When they splutter, add the chopped onion and saute lightly.
10. Add the potatoes and let it cook a bit.

11. Then add the paste and bhuno by sprinkling water. (To bhuno means to fry spices and/or meat over a medium to high heat.)

12. Next add the chopped tomatoes and saute a bit.

13. Then add the turmeric powder, corriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Bhuno a bit more.

14. Add water to the mixture and let it boil. Once it starts boiling, add the crabs.
15. Cover it and let it cook for at least 15 minutes.
16. When the mixture thickens, add the garam masala powder and cook for two more minutes.

Cauliflower Curry

Again I am here after a really long time. I guess this is how it is going to be for some time now. Posts after long intervals. Anyways, I was wondering what new to make with cauliflower when I happened to stumble upon this recipe on the blog Gastronome by Choice. It looked yummy, so I tried it out and found out that it tastes yummy too. Only difference was that I added a potato to the dish because i love potato with cauliflower.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets: 1

Potato: 2 diced

Onion Paste: 200 gm

Ginger-Garlic Paste: 20 gm

Cashew Paste: 100 gm

Poppy Seed Paste: 50 gm

Tomato Paste: 100 gm

Coconut, grated: 20 gm

Red Chili Powder: 10 gm

Turmeric Powder: 5 gm

Cumin Powder: 10 gm

Coriander Powder: 10 gm

Bay Leaf: 1

Salt: To Taste

Oil: as per required
Method:

1. Heat the oil. Add in the bay leaf.

2. Add in the onion paste. Saute till golden brown.

3. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a bit. Add the potatoes.

4. Add the red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder & turmeric powder.

5. Add the tomato paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Add poppy seed paste & cashew paste.

7. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

8. Add the cauliflower florets. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.

9. Add the grated coconut.

10. Add 1 cup of water. cook and bring to boil.

11. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add salt.

12. Cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from flame and serve hot.

Prawn Biryani

I am back after a long time...again. Wanted to make something that I had not eaten for a long time, so decided to make Prawn Biryani. I browsed the Internet like crazy, and finally I found the simplest recipe on YouTube. It was so easy to make. I decided to make it and since only my mom and I were here, I made only a bit. The chef in the video did not give the quantity for any of the ingredients, so neither am I.

Soak Basmati Rice for 30 mins. Marinate the prawns for some time with ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder and coriander powder.

Boil water for the rice. When the water just starts to boil, add oil, salt, shahi jeera(Black cumin seeds), cloves, cardamon, cinnamon, black pepper and a bay leaf. When the water is boiling well, add rice. The rice should be cooked till it is 85 to 90% done. Drain and keep aside.

Heat oil. Add cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, mace and cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add the prawns and fry. Add prawns bit by bit. If all the prawns together they will leave a lot of moisture, and then instead of frying, the prawns will boil and we want the prawns fried, not boiled. Fry for around 3 mins or till 50% cooked.

Remove the prawn and retain the oil in the same vessel. To this oil, add curd, and mix it well. Next add chopped green chillies, coriander leaves, mint leavers, salt, biryani masala and fried onions.

Then add the prawns and mix well once. Spread it in the dish. Add the rice on it and spread. Sprinkle coriander leaves, fried onion, garam masala powder(cloves, cinnamon, cardamon and black pepper) and saffron diluted in water.

Cover with an air tight lid and cook on low flame for around 7-10 mins.

When done, mix well and serve hot.