Daily Archives: December 7, 2016

Crab casserole

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 40 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description

I never knew what a casserole was until one day my best buddy sulu shared her chicken casserole recipe. From then, I have been trying out new casserole recipes frequently. This crab casserole recipe also was a try when I had to come up with ten innovative crab recipes for the tamil magazine aval kitchen to be published in their November -2016 issue. I wanted to bake crab meat with its shell as one innovative dish and came up with this crab casserole recipe. Had my doubts about the shell braking which baking. Touch wood, nothing of that sort happened. It turned out even better than I visualized it. When shared in my Facebook wall it was one among the most liked post too. Sharing recipes with you all is sure a gamble. As the most excited recipe I think would be welcomed by you all gets unnoticed and recipes that might be in my notes for years which I think will be of no use tingle the spark in you all. No matter what, I love this platform of sharing recipes with you all. To more recipe sharing, recipe trial and errors, more food related stories and more food images from me with love as always to my sauté, fry n bake family for ever and ever.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Crab	1 kg
Onion	3 sliced
Green chillies	1 chopped
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon
Tomato	2 blanched , skinned and chopped
Salt + pepper	to taste
Capsicum	1 chopped

Method

Clean the crab. Reserve the cover of the crab shells. Drop into boiling water. Drain and keep aside.
Boil cleaned crab pieces with salt and pepper to done. Separate the flesh from the bones. Reserve the left over crab cooked water / stock.
Boil onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, salt, pepper and capsicum with left over water from boiled crab.
Add crab flesh and tomatoes. Set aside to cool completely.

White sauce ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Butter	1 1/2 tablespoon
Maida	3 tablespoons
Milk	2 cups
Mustard paste	1/4 teaspoon
Salt + pepper	to taste

Method for white sauce

Melt butter in a wide sauce pan. In low flame, add the flour to the melted butter little by little stirring continuously through out making sure no lumps are formed or gets burnt.
Remove the pan from heat, add milk and mix well vigorously making sure no lumps are formed.
Once it’s mixed well, place over low heat and keep stirring to get a creamy, lump free white sauce.
Add mustard paste, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and Cool completely.

How to proceed

Ingredients	Quantity
Butter	1/2 teaspoon to grease
Eggs	3
Salt + pepper powder	to taste
Cheese	1 cup or more grated
Red / yellow / green capsicum	1 cut into strips to decorate

Grease the inside of the crab shells with butter. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Mix the cooled onion and crab, tomato mixture along with white sauce. Mix well .
Beat 3 eggs with salt + pepper to taste. Add to the crab white sauce mixture and pour into the greased crab shells.
Add grated cheese over the top. Decorate with capsicum strips.
Bake in the pre heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese on top melts to get a golden crust and starts bubbling from bottom to top.
Remove from oven cool a bit and serve warm or hot as it is.

Prawn pakoda

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 3 minutes for each batch deep fried
Serves : 6 members

Description

Any thing made with prawns is welcomed whole heartedly by my boy and myself. Hubby dear likes it but is a bit hesitant to indulge in. My boy and myself make full use of this as an advantage. At a family gathering not knowing what to do for starters. The idea of prawn pakora popped up in my mind. I made it with a little change to the chicken pakora I make usually. Tried one test batch ahead and it was spot on. Make sure to add small size prawns as it gives more taste with one bite having many tiny succulent prawns in them. Served it and was a super duper hit with no left overs. I served it with tomato sauce but no one touched the sauce. They preferred having it as it is with no dip. Happens most of the time at home. We and our crazy taste buds. This recipe is being added to our regulars at home. You all too, give a try and I assure you it will be added to your regulars at home too..

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Prawns	1/4 kg cleaned
Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon
Salt	to taste

Method for Prawn

Marinate cleaned prawns with all the above ingredients for half an hour.

Other ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Big onions	5 sliced
Curry leaves	few chopped
Green chillies	3 chopped
Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon or to taste
Ginger	1/4 inch piece grated
Chick pea flour / besan / kadala maavu	1 cup
Rice flour	100 grams
Hot oil	5 tablespoons
Salt	to taste
Soda salt	1/4 teaspoon
Cashew nuts	2 tablespoons cut to bits
Oil	to deep fry

Method for Prawn Pakoda

Mix all the ingredients together mentioned above except for oil to deep fry along with the marinated prawn.
Mix well with out adding water and set aside for ten minutes. The onions will let out enough moister to the batter to get a sticky thick mass. The hot oil added helps to give a crisp pakoda.
Heat oil to deep fry. Drop one tablespoon of batter into to the hot oil in batches. Deep fry to crisp and golden in colour.
Drain and serve hot as it is with no dips.

Nandu rasam

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description

Chettinad hotel was a must visit on our every visit to chennai as newly weds. I always used to order the non – vegetarian meals with some sides. On one such visit, their special of the day was nandu rasam. I immediately placed an order and it was spicy and flavoured with onion vadagam ( small onions mixed with urad dal and spices and sun-dried and then shallow fried ). From that first time I always wanted to give a try to the recipe. Back home no one eats crab other than my father – in – law and myself. So me wanting to try it out was being post ponded. Finally tried it out one day with my own recipe when my father – in – law was infected with a bad cold. The rasam helped my father – in – law feel really good and relived. It’s become a regular at home now to make this rasam during the cold months and when any one is suffering from a bad cold. Hoping this recipe does justice as it has in mine at all your home’s too.. Give a try, enjoy and benefit out of it as well.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Crab	1/2 kg
Tomatoes	3 big
Salt	to taste
Black pepper	1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Garlic	3 cloves
Whole coriander seeds	1 tablespoon
Curry leaves	few
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Tamarind pulp	1/4 cup
Water	4 cups

Ingredients to temper

Ingredients	Quantity
Sesame seed oil	1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Urad dal	1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves	few
Asafoetida	1/4 teaspoon
Vengaya vadagam	3 crushed

Method

Pressure cook cleaned crab with water, salt to taste and the turmeric powder for one whistle.
Crush whole pepper corns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, curry leaves and garlic cloves together. Keep aside.
Squeeze the tomatoes or blitz it in a food processor just to break down.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, vengaya vadagam and curry leaves.
Once they crackle, add asafoetida and sauté for 30 seconds. Top with crushed garlic pepper powder.
Sauté until a good aroma arises for another 30 seconds. Add the tomato purée. Mix well and sauté for 2 minutes.
Top with the tamarind pulp. Mix and Pour the cooked crab with the water.
Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Top with coriander leaves.

Black forest shots

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Serves : 8 members

Description

Short glass desserts were first introduced in Coimbatore my home town by JM English bakery in 1980’s. I used to love them being flavoured with fruits, chocolates and fresh cream. My mother never let us buy them saying it’s made from left over old cake from the bakery. Not sure if she was right I used to love them. In dedication to my nostalgic love for those short glass taste bombs I tried creating my own version. For my first try wanting to be safe, I started with the universally loved Black Forest shots. The lazy bug in me not wanting to wait for a chocolate cake to be baked in an oven took the cheats way of doing the same in a microwave. The chocolate cake ready in few minutes time. I started to assemble the shots and found I had no chocolate to grate in each later of the Black Forest shots but went ahead still as I just wanted to finish off and admire these beauties. Once I was done, the Black Forest shots looked even better than the ones in JM English bakery shelves that I used to drool upon. With utter joy I needed a big pat on my back. Shared the shots with family and friends with lot of praise with all of them saying these shots are perfect portions just right amount to satisfy your sweet cravings. Gear up all and treat your selves soon with these Black Forest shots.

Ingredients for the cake

Ingredients	Quantity
Flour	140 grams or 1 and 1/4 cups
Sugar	175 grams or 3/4 cups
Cocoa powder	3 tablespoons
Baking powder	3 teaspoons
Salt	a pinch
Eggs	2
Oil	100 ml ( I used sun flower oil ) or 1/2 cup
Hot water	100 ml or 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence	1 teaspoon

Method for Cake

Grease a microwave safe square bowl with oil. Line the bottom with a butter paper.
Mix all the dry ingredients sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together.
In another bowl whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla essence and hot water together.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well with no lumps.
Pour into the greased and lined microwave safe bowl. Tap down to remove air bubbles. Cover with a cling film.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check by inserting a skewer, if not done. Microwave on high further for another 2 minutes.
Remove from microwave and set aside for five minutes. Remove the cling film and cool completely.

Other ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Whipping cream	1 and a 1/2 cup
Tinned cherries	1 cup
Sugar	2 tablespoons
Chocolate	1/4 cup grated ( optional - I didn't use )

How to proceed

Cut the cooked chocolate cakes into rounds that will fit into a short dessert glass of 1/4 inch thickness.
whip the whipping cream to stiff peaks with the help of an electric egg beater.
Boil sugar with 4 tablespoons of water just until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
Leave a few tinned cherries as it is to Garnish on top. Remove the seeds from the remaining cherries and mix with the sugar syrup.
Place a slice of cake, top with one teaspoon of sugar syrup and cherries.
Pipe whipped cream on top. Garnish with grated chocolate. Repeat the same layers once again. Top with a whole cherrie.
Do the same to all the cake, whipped cream, sugar syrup, grated chocolates and whole cherries.
Place in the refrigerator to chill for three hours or more. Serve chilled.