Quick and Easy Fish Curry in a Hurry!!

Weekdays are kind of busy and for people who work outside home, it can get a little too tiring to get back home and cook a tasty hot meal.  This is for one such evenings...quick and easy but very tasty and healthy.  I bet your family will love it!!

Ingredients:

• Fish - 2 pounds (I used Salmon) - Cut into bite size pieces
• Coconut Oil - 1 table spoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Curry leaves - 6-8
• Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Dry red chillies - 4-5
• Coconut milk - 1 cup
• Water - 2 cups
• Salt - 1 table spoon (adjust per taste)
• Red chili powder - 1 tea spoon (adjust per taste)
• Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
• Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon
• Sambar powder - 1 tea spoon (adjust chili powder if your sambar powder has chili added to it)
• Jeera / Cumin powder - 1 tea spoon

Method:

To a pan on medium heat, add Coconut oil.  Once it is hot, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, add curry leaves, dry red chillies and methi.  Now, add the coconut milk and water.  Add all other spices and let it come to a boil.  Now add the fish pieces and cook till the fish is well done.  This will require about 8-12 minutes depending on which fish you are using.  Generally, fish does not need too much time to cook.  Serve hot with rice, roti, quino or just enjoy by itself!!

 

Slow cooker Garlic-Peanut Yellow Lentils / Lahsun-Moongphali Dal

Simple ingredients married together to form an explosion of flavors....yes, this is one such recipe!! 

Ingredients:

•  Toor dal - Yellow lentils - 2 cups
• Onion - one medium - Thinly sliced
• Garlic - 5-6 pods - Minced finely
• Whole Peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Cilantro - 2 table spoons - finely chopped
• Green chilies - 5-6 - roughly chopped (adjust per taste)
• Olive oil - 1 table spoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Cumin seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Salt - 1 table spoon (adjust pre taste)
• Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
• Curry leaves - 5-6 leaves

Method:

In the slow cooker, add Lentils, Onion, Garlic, Whole peanuts, Green Chilies, Salt, Turmeric and about 6 cups of water.  Turn it on low for 6-8 hours. 
Just before you are ready to eat, heat a small sauce pan on medium heat.  Add Olive oil to it.  Once the oil is heated, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds to it and let them splutter.  Now add the curry leaves and take the pan off the heat.  Add this to the dal and enjoy it with hot white rice or roti!!

Spicy Roasted Lamb Chops

There are days I really crave some red meat and Lamb chops is one of the simplest to make and cooks in a jiffy!!  This is one of the recipes which can be pre marinated and frozen ahead of time.  Very convenient for parties where you could take it out and cook them quick.  They turn out finger lickingly delicious!!  Your guests will love it and will not even guess that it took so less effort :)

 

Ingredients:

• Lamb Chops - 12 to 15 number
• Olive Oil - 1 tea spoon

For the Spice rub:

• Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
• Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon
• Cumin powder - 1 tea spoon
• Chilli powder - 1 tea spoon (adjust per taste)
• Salt - 1 tea spoon (adjust per taste)
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tea spoon
• Garlic paste - 1/2 tea spoon
• Methi/Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tea spoon
• Lemon juice - 1 table spoon

Method:

If the Lamb chops are in a block, cut it into thinner slices (one bone per piece as shown in the picture above).  In a bowl, mix the ingredients for spice rub really well.  Smear and rub gently this spice rub onto the Lamb chops.  Cover and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
To a pan on high heat, add the Olive oil.  Now place the marinated Lamb Chops flat on the pan.  Sear them on both sides for 1 minute each.  Now lower the heat to medium and cook the lamb chops until completely cooked.  This will take about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Serve with some Onions and Lemons!! 

 

 

Simple Tomato and Onion Curry topped with Poached/Fried Egg

Simplest things are the best!!  We all go back to what we grew up when we need comfort.  One such recipe for me is this simple onion tomato curry topped with sunny side up egg.  Not many people like the half boiled or cooked egg.  But, it is one of my favourites :)  You can cook the egg fully if that is what you like and serve it with rice or roti...yummy....

Ingredients:

• Onion - One - peeled and chopped roughly
• Tomato - 2 - chopped into small pieces
• Green Chilies - 5-6 - Slit or cut thin
• Olive oil / any other oil of your choice - 1 table spoon
• Mustard - 1 tea spoon
• Curry Leaves - 5-8 leaves
• Cumin/Jeera - 1 tea spoon
• Turmeric - 1 tea spoon
• Salt - 1 table spoon (add per taste)
• water - 1 cup (add more if you like thinner consistency)
• Cilantro - 2 tablespoons - finely chopped
• Egg - 3-4 - you can poach it or fry it per your preference

Method:

To a pan on medium heat, add Olive oil.  Once the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds.  Let it splutter.  Then add cumin seeds and curry leaves.  Add onion and saute till translucent.  Add Tomatoes and other ingredients except eggs and cilantro.  Let cook closed for 10-15 minutes till the tomatoes are soft and well blended with other ingredients.  Take off heat and top it with poached or fried eggs and cilantro.  You can eat this by itself for breakfast or with rice, roti or nan.

Pepper Mutton/Lamb - Pressure cooker and Crock pot/Slow cooker methods

This is one of my daughter's favourite food.  Even though it is spicy, she cleans out her plate :)
Very simple to make...quick and easy too.  You can also use a Crock pot/Slow cooker to make this. 

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil - 1 table spoon
• Curry leaves - 8-10
• Onion - 1/2 cup chopped thin and long
• Whole red chilies - 5-8
• Salt - 1 table spoon
• Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon
• Yogurt - 2 table spoons
• Mutton/Lamb - 2 pounds cut into pieces

For the spice Mix : Dry roast and grind all the below ingredients using a spice grinder.

• Black pepper - 1 tea spoon
• Elaichi - 1 pod
• Fennel seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Cumin/Jeera seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon

Method Pressure Cooker:

To the cooker on medium heat, add the coconut oil. Once the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Then add the curry leaves and let them splutter. Add the onions and saute them till translucent. Add the whole red chillies. Then simmer the flame to the lowest. Add the spice mix you just ground in the spice grinder (If the flame is not simmered, the spice mix might burn). Then add the Mutton/Lamb pieces, Yogurt, Salt and Turmeric. Mix well and cook closed. Add 1 cup water to start off cooking.  Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for about 10-15 minutes (3-4 whistles).  Serve this yummy fingerlicking goodness with some hot White Fragrant Ghee Rice, Roti, Chapati or Naan.

Method Crock pot/Slow cooker:

Add all the ingredients into the slow cooker.  Add 3 cups of water and cook it on high for 6-8 hrs.

Peppered Raw Jackfruit side-dish (Meeri wale phanas)

My husband is a vegetarian.  Everytime I make peppered sukkha mutton, he loves the smell of it but, cannot eat.  I always try and make the same masala with something vegetarian so that he can enjoy it.  In this preparation, I used raw Jackfruit and it went very well with the peppered masala I had made for the mutton and he loved it!!

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil - 1 table spoon
• Curry leaves - 8-10
• Onion - 1/2 cup chopped thin and long
• Whole red chilies - 5-8
• Salt - 1 table spoon
• Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon
• Raw jackfruit - 2 cups shredded (I used the canned ones)

For the spice Mix : Dry roast and gring all the below ingredients using a spice grinder.

• Black pepper - 1 tea spoon
• Elaichi - 1 pod
• Fennel seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Cumin/Jeera seeds - 1 tea spoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon

Method:

To a pan on medium heat, add the coconut oil.  Once the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.  Then add the curry leaves and let them splutter.  Add the onions and saute them till translucent.  Add the whole red chillies.  Then simmer the flame to the lowest.  Add the spice mix you just ground in the spice grinder (If the flame is not simmered, the spice mix might burn).  Then add the shredded Raw Jackfruit, Salt and Turmeric.  Mix well and cook closed.  Add water if needed.  As the Jackfruit out of a can is already cooked, it does not take long for all the spicy goodness to penatrate the jackfruit.  Turn the flame off.  Serve it hot with Roti, Chapati, Nan or rice.