NON – VEGETARIAN | Saute Fry N Bake

Asian style grilled fish

Preparation Time : 15 minutes + marination time of 2 hours or 24 hours

Cooking Time : 5-10 minutes in the grill or 15-20 minutes in the oven

Serving : 5-6 members

Description

Asian style fish grill . A fish grill which is an all in one combination dish with spicy , sweet , sour and salty blend together . At home we grill mutton and chicken a lot but never fish . As all are fussy about fish . Once when I grilled fish , was over loaded with complaints saying that the grilled fish smelled fishy . So from then on just stooped grilling fish . But now a days once in a while I do grill and cheat saying its pan roasted . This Asian style grill was done at home for lunch when my friend meera aboo thambys hubby dropped in for lunch . He being a health fanatic , had to make a menu where food must taste as good as it looks and should be healthy to . so i ended up with a menu of soup , salads and grills . This menu was a big hit , What more do you want when a guest is pleased and happy with what you have cooked .

Ingredients

Fish -1/2 kg ( any type of fish , I have used sheer fish )

To Garnish : Handful of thinly sliced onions and wedges of fresh lime

Ingredients Marination sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
Light soya sauce	4 tablespoons
Oyster sauce	1 tablespoon
Fish sauce	1/4 teaspoon be very careful using fish sauce as it is very salty . The soya sauce we are using also has a lot of salt .. So beware
brown sugar	1 teaspoon
cloves garlic, minced	4
lime juice	1 tablespoon
chilli flakes	to taste
Salt	to taste

Method

Stir all marinate sauce ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Place fish fillets in a flat-bottomed bowl and pour half the sauce over. Turn the fillets in the sauce. (Reserve the rest of the sauce for later.)
Allow fish to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours in advance (just cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to cook).
Heat the grill . Lightly brush the grill with a little cooking oil, then grill the fish for 5-10 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily and the inner flesh is no longer translucent.
Heat up remaining sauce and use as a dip, glaze, or to spoon over the fish as you eat it. Note that this sauce is very strong-tasting, so you only need a little bit at a time. If you find it too strong, you can dilute it slightly with a splash of water and some fresh lime juice. If you find it too sour, add a little more sugar.
Can bake in the oven as well by Placing marinated fish in a covered baking dish along with the marinade. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree celsius for 15-20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily and the inner flesh is no longer translucent.serve hot with sliced onions , lemon wedges and marinate sauce .
If your fish slices are too thin you can spread tin foil or banana leaves over the barbecue – again, oil the surface where the fish will be cooking to make turning easier.

Meen puttu

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 12-15 minutes

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Fish puttu or Meen puttu as known to the world . This is an authentic dish very own to the chettiar community of Tamil Nadu .there is another Meen puttu from Kerala , where they make rice flour puttu with fish filling along with grated coconut and steam . I used to get confused a lot about these two same named dishes . The culinary secrets from the home kitchens of various communities from across the country really thrills me . I have heard a lot about this tamil nadu meen puttu dish but never tried it out thinking it might smell fishy as we have to shred the fish . I did take note of this recipe from madhur Jeffrey’s flavours of India programme from the telly . On a shopping sphere to chennai for my daughters engagement , landed up in viruthunagar restaurant in T. Nagar for lunch .every one ordered what ever they wanted . My girls father – in – law ordered Meen puttu . Me being obsessed with food , have a habit of tasting every dish on the table . Gave it a try and it was an absolute winner . From then on Meen puttu has become a staple at home . This recipe is the authentic one but at times I do swap peeled , grated raw green mangoes instead of lime juice , which tastes equally good . Never ever under estimate any thing until and unless you have given it a try .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Fish bones and skin removed	1/4 kg ( shark , tuna or sheer fish )
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Water	enough to boil the fish

Method

Cook cleaned fish with the above mentioned ingredients .
Sherd the fish and set aside .

Other ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Coconut oil	5 tablespoon
Cinnamon	1 inch piece
Fennel seeds	1-4 teaspoon
Small onion	1 1/2 cup crushed
Ginger	1/4 inch piece grated
Garlic	4 flakes crushed
Green chillies	8 or more crushed ( I use 12 as I like my food really hot )
Curry leaves	few
Coconut grated	1/ 2 cup
Lime juice	1/2 lime or more to taste
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Salt	to taste

To proceed

Heat oil in a kadai . Add cinnamon , fennel seeds and curry leaves . Once they crackle add small onions , green chillies , ginger and garlic .
Sauté to brown .Add the shredded fish adding salt to taste . Lower the flame and sauté for 8 minutes covered , until all the flavours are infused together .
Top with the grated coconut , lime juice and stir well .Taste and adjust . Garnish with chopped coriander leaves . Serve hot as a side dish .

Cornflakes crusted fish fry

Preparation Time : 15 minutes + half an hour marination time

Cooking Time : 5-6 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Corn flakes fish. A recipe icame across in food satellite tv channai where chef harpel singn demonstrated this recipe. This dish makes a welcome change from the usual fish fries . This recipe is for keeps . I make another similar dish with cornflakes and chicken (recipe already posted in the name of cornflakes chicken ) a few days after I took note of this recipe , I took part in a cooking competition where we had to cook dishes made out of fish. This was one among the four dishes l cooked for the competition . It was great fun at the competition , I felt like a collage girl (not been to collage though :-))) ) this picture wad also taken at the competition . One suggestion , in case you want to save this fish fry for the next day , I recon not to use curd as the curd tends to give a very old curd small to the fish . A fool proof dish to make kids eat fish saying its chicken . Best served as a lazy sunday brunch in front of the telly with a choice of dips . Seduce yourself and all others with this impressive , captive appetiser .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Bone less fish	1/4 kg cut into thin board slices
Chilli powder	1/2 teaspoon full
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Curd	1 tablespoon
Salt	to taste
Curry leaves	5 chopped
Mustard seeds	1/4 teaspoon
Green chillies	1 big chopped into tiny bits
Oil	1 teaspoon + to deep fry
Cornflakes	3 heaped cups
Corn flour	1 1/2 tablespoon
Maida	1 1/2 tablespoon

Method

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil . add mustard seeds , green chillies and curry leaves . once they splutter . cool . Marinate cleaned fish in curd ,
chilli powder , salt , turmeric powder and the spluttered ingredients . Toss well and set aside for half an hour . Make a batter with cornflour , maida and salt to taste of thick consistency like bajji batter .
Dip each slice of marinated fish in this batter and press towards the cornflakes placed on tray . Do the same turning the fish over . Follow and do the same to all the remaining fish pieces .
( I follow till this point and refrigerate the cornflakes coated fish pieces and fry when ever required ) heat oil to deep fry . Lower the flame to medium heat and deep fry 6 pieces at a time for one minute on each side of the fish To golden brown . Make sure not to burn the cornflakes .
Drain and serve hot with any dip of your choice . I love it with garlic mayonnaise . incase you want to fry the fish next day , substitute curd with lime juice

Pistachio chicken curry

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 5 members

Description

Pistachio chicken curry .pistachio being my favourite nut and it’s light pale green colour is also one among my favourite colours . What more do you need to love this curry that’s a lightly flavoured rich curry that hits you on the right spot . Pistachios always bring me nostalgic memories of me eating these salty nuts in my boarding school as a kid . I would always eat the nuts inside first and save the shells to be had later to just suck the salt on each shell and a sour taste that follows after that . crazy little me !!! I have such wired moments with food that always brings a board smile on my face . Coming back to the dish . This recipe was shared by my fellow home chef sherin Rizwan in a foodie group ” home chefs guild ” in face book . Her post was viral and for nearly a month we had at least two try’s by so many of us in the guild including me . Un – complicated strait forward recipe that requires less effort but with mind blowing results . A perfect cook ahead recipe to entertain guests . I served this lip snaking curry with garlic butter naan and it was devoured with no complains vanishing from the table in minutes . Make sure to have this dish once in six months or so , as it’s to rich and heavy to be had in regular basis . Umm fatty rich things are always
Yummy to the tummy but to be had with a portion control . Wonder why , why , why ????

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Chicken	1/2 kg
Onion	2 big sliced
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Green chillies	8 or more
Pistachio	1/2 cup blanched and peeled + 1 tablespoon chopped to garnish
Oil	2 tablespoon
Coriander powder	2 tablespoon
White pepper powder	1/2 teaspoon
Curd	1/2 cup beaten
Salt	to taste
Fresh Cream	1/2 cup
Garam masala powder	2 pinches

Method

Cook sliced onions in little water . Cool completely and grind to a smooth paste and set aside .
Grind blanched and peeled pistachio’s with green chillies to a smooth paste and set aside .
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan . Add onion paste and sauté for a minute but not to brown .
Top with ginger and garlic paste and sauté further for another minute . Add pistachio , green chilli paste , coriander powder , white pepper powder , salt and chicken . Sauté until the colour of the chicken changes .
Lower the heat adding one cup of water and cook until chicken is tender .
Once chicken is cooked and tender , add beaten curd . Mix well and simmer for a minute .
Add fresh cream finally and keep over low heat for a minute letting all the flavours infuse together .
Garnish with chopped pistachio and a sprinkle of garam masala powder on top . Serve hot with naans , rotis or pulaos .

Oats biriyani kanji

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 -30 minutes

Serving : 4-5 members

Description

Oats is one thing that every one at home hate’s as it’s slippery texture and no taste puts us all off away from it . But it’s so very healthy and I try my best to find a cheats way to some how line our tummies for breakfast at least once in a week . My experiments works at times and when it does not , it’s had by me ( the bin tummy at home :-)) ) one morning , there was something new on the dining table for breakfast . Not knowing what it was or who sent it over . Opened the lid to see a semi thick soupy consistency , pale yellow coloured with bits of vegetables and chicken inside that had an inviting aroma . Found out it was sent over by my mother – in – law . I tasted a spoon first to see what it was and it was a savoury soup made with oats . Served to hubby dear not letting him know it was made with oats . He finished the entire bowl and asked for a second helping . Surprised me then let him know that it’s made with oats . With raised eye brows he was like it’s the magic of my mother’s hand’s that’s done justice here . Of course, it is her magic as she is my mentor and first teacher in my culinary journey . Made sure to get the recipe from her and it was just the usual biriyani masala mixed with cooked oats and coconut milk . What a genius way to add more taste to the boring bland oats . Well , any thing that’s cooked like biriyani is a sure fire hit and will be talked about always . Now this dish is added to my regular menu at home and during fasting ( rozza ) time I make this once in four days to be had while we break our fast as it’s healthy and better than having the rice kanji we make usually . Happy , healthy , tasty cooking to all .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
onion	2 sliced
tomato	1 chopped
green chillies	2slit
Carrot	1 big chopped
Green peas	1/4 cup
Beans	5 chopped
Cabbage shredded	1/2 cup
Minced chicken / meat	1/4 cup
coriander leaves	1 tablespoon chopped
mint leaves	1 tablespoon , lime juice - a squeeze
ginger garlic paste	1/8 tea spoon
curd	1 teaspoon
ghee	10 gm
cinnamon	1 inch pieces
cloves	2
cardamom	1
turmeric powder	turmeric powder
chilli powder	1/8 teaspoon
salt	to taste
coconut milk	1 /2 cup
Instant Oats	1 1/4 cup

Method

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker , add cinnamon , cloves and cardamom . Top with sliced onions and fry till golden brown in colour .
Add ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp . Top with chopped carrot , cabbage , beans , green peas , minced chicken , tomato , green chillies , mint leaves , coriander leaves , curd , turmeric powder , chilli powder and salt to taste .
Mix well and sauté for another 10 minutes till all the juices are oozed out . Add 1 cup of water , mix well . Pressure cook for one whistle or until chicken and vegetables are cooked and tender .
Add coconut milk , lime juice add to the cooked chicken mince , vegetable mixture and set aside removing from heat .
Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to boil . Add the instant oats and keep stirring until the oats are cooked through .
Add the oats to the chicken mince and vegetable gravy . Mix well . Taste and adjust seasoning .
Garnish with more fresh chopped coriander leaves and serve hot .

Notes

Vegetarians can omit the chicken used for a vegetarian version .
At times when I make the vegetarian version , I add two beaten egg whites finally to the kanji .
Pour the beaten egg whites slowly as stirring the kanji continuously to get thin treads of cooked egg whites like in sweet corn soup .
It adds more taste and it’s filled with the goodness of proteins in the morning for breakfast .

Surprise lasagna gravy

Preparation Time : 50 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 8-10 members

Description

Surprise lasagne gravy . A recipe I came up with for a cooking competition held at my place Where we had to cook with fish , crab or prawn being the main ingredient . I was Participating in a competition nearly after decades . I think my last competition should have been in 1988 in school . Can’t tell you the excitement and nervousness that filled my soul from the time I started to prepare for the competition till the results were announced . First it started with breaking my head as to what dishes I should cook for the competition . I finalised with a cornflakes crusted fish fry , prawn pie , prawn Konkani style fry . but 2 dishes were deep fried and 1 baked . I wanted to serve a main course dish . How much ever I kindled my mind , I just could think of fish curry , chilli fish , fish gravy …. The regular usual things . The other 3 dishes I finalised are cooked regularly at home , was confident but still wanted to come up with an innovative dish . I was making lasagne for dinner . As layering the lasagne having this competition in mind , my mind just went into what about a fish lasagne but again another baked dish . I just stuck to the concept of lasagne in my mind but wanted it with a surprise twist . Layers like lasagne , what do I use …. Cheese slice bingo … Oops but my prawn pie is a cheesy dish . Umm no way , pls something else ….. My mind and eyes wondered all around . Saw a cabbage in my kitchen counter . Use cabbage leaves instead of lasagne sheets … Wolla and fish mince for filling . But a main course and not baked . So I decided to steam the layered cabbage and serve it along with a tomato tangy based gravy . Started my experiment and it worked pitch perfect the 3 rd time . The first time my cabbage and filling didn’t stick and came out as dry layers not as I wanted , corrected it by adding an egg to the filling . Second time I steamed the cabbage bundle it was hard , so I had to correct it by blanching it in salted water . Third , my tomato gravy lacked flavour so corrected it by adding bones to it to add more flavour . Four , the cabbage bundle didn’t have flavour of the gravy , so after blanching I poked it all around with a fork and then added it to the gravy . After all these corrections , tadaa , my surprise lasagne gravy was perfect . My hard work paid off and I won the competition . My surprise lasagne gravy and prawn pie were the high light of the competition . I have been wanting to post this recipe from the time I tried it . As the process and writing the recipe needs a lot of time , just kept postponing . So today is the day to reveal the secret of my surprise lasagne gravy .

Ingredients for blanching cabbage leaves

Ingredients	Quantity
Cabbage whole leafs	10
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste

Method to blanch cabbage leaves

Take a large whole cabbage .
Remove the cord of the cabbage from below carefully making sure you do not disturb the upper layers of the cabbage .
Immerse the cabbage , cord removed side down in water mixed with turmeric powder and salt to taste .
Let it boil for 8 to 10 minutes . Strain and reserve the water .
Carefully take apart 10 leaves making sure you do not tear the leaves .
Set aside .can use the left over cabbage for any other purpose in cooking

Ingredients for the filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless Fish or Chicken mince	1/4 kg
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Onion chopped	1 big
Green chillies	2 chopped
Coriander leaves chopped	1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Lime	a squeeze
Egg	1
Salt	to taste

Method for filling

Marinate the fish or chicken mince with all the above ingredients together and set aside for 15 minutes .

How to proceed

Place four blanched cabbage leaves on top of a muslin cloth in the shape of a flower .
Place one blanched cabbage leaf over the flower shape . Top with filling mixture .
Pat the mixture making sure the blanched cabbage leaf is fully covered with the filling and is levelled .
Repeat the same with three more blanched leaves and filling mixture .
Now close the four flower shaped placed blanched cabbage leaves to form a covering to seal the layered stuffing . ( it will look like a normal cabbage ) .
Now tie the muslin cloth together firmly to close the filled cabbage lasagne . Boil this tied cabbage bundle in the reserved turmeric salted water for 10 minutes .
Remove and reserve the water . Cool completely . In tie the muslin cloth . Poke the cabbage lasagne with a fork all around and set aside .

Ingredients for the gravy

Ingredients
Fish or chicken bones	few ( if using fish filling use fish bones , if using chicken mince for filling use chicken bones
Tomato	1/4 kg ground
Onion	1/4 kg sliced , sautéed in 1 teaspoon oil and ground to a paste
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Onion	1 chopped
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Oil	4 tablespoon
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Cumin powder	1 /2 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1 teaspoon
Pepper powder	1/4 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Coriander leaves	chopped 1 tablespoon

Method for the gravy

Heat oil in a non stick kadai . Add cumin seeds and chopped onion . Fry to translucent . Add ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp .
Top wit the fish / chicken bones and sauté for 3 minutes . Remove the bones and set aside . Add ground tomatoes and fry till oil separates .
Top fried ground onion paste and fry for another 3 minutes in medium heat . Tie the fish / chicken bones in a muslin cloth and put it into the tomato onion gravy .
Add chilli powder , cumin powder , coriander powder , pepper powder, salt and garam masala powder . Mix well .
Add 2 cups of reserved blanched water to get a thick saucy consistency gravy . Bring to boil in medium heat for 8 minutes until all the flavours infuse together and oil separates .
Reduce the flame and immerse the blanched cabbage lasagne bundle carefully . Pour the gravy all over and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes letting some juices of the gravy to get into the cabbage lasagne .
Remove from heat and set aside . Just before serving slice the cabbage lasagne into 8 or more slices . Remove the bone bundle from the gravy .
Heat the gravy , pour over the sliced cabbage lasagne and serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves . Best served with chapathi’s , boiled rice , pulao , roti ….

Chicken cheese baked casserole

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 6 – 8 members

Description

The habit of getting a recipe as soon as I like some thing that I have had any where from restaurants , road side food stalls to homes has resulted in giving me an opportunity in sharing this wonderful lip smacking one pot dish . As a newly wedded bride my daughter Anisha and our family were invited to one of our relatives home for a grand feast . This chicken cheese baked casserole dish was also on display on the table . I served myself a very tiny piece just to have a taste and the first mouth full just hit the right spot .. Bang on . Had some more guessing what ingredients were there in the dish but it’s always better to know the right recipe rather than to assume and cook . So I asked abitha Akka ( the host ) for the recipe and saved it in my mind . Once home , saved the recipe from my mind to my hand written cook book and it was lost from my memory there after . Having an important guest at home for lunch wanted to come up with some thing different , as usual was going through my hand written recipe book and this recipe got my attention . Well this recipe has been put to sleep for a long while so it’s high time I gave it a try and went ahead by adding few veggies like broccoli and mushrooms . This dish was the most talked about stand out dish on the table that afternoon . My mission accomplished but I am yet to host a feast in return to abitha Akkas daughter anjum who’s married and has a kid as well .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Chicken boneless	1/4 kg boiled with salt and pepper and shredded ( reserve the left over water / stock )
Onion	5 sliced
Green chillies	3 chopped
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon
Tomato	2 blanched , skinned and chopped
Salt + pepper	to taste
Capsicum	1 chopped

Method

Boil onions , green chillies , ginger garlic paste , salt , pepper and capsicum with left over water from boiled chicken .
Add boiled shredded chicken 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 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 .

Ingredients to proceed

Ingredients	Quantity
Butter	to grease
Eggs	3
Salt + pepper powder	to taste
Red / yellow / green capsicum	1 cut into rounds to decorate

Method

Grease an oven proof casserole dish with butter . Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius .
Mix the cooled onion and chicken , tomato mixture along with white sauce . Mix well . Beat 3 eggs with salt + pepper to taste .
Add to the chicken white sauce mixture and pour into the greased casserole dish . Add grated cheese over the top . Decorate with capsicum rings .
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 .

Chakundri kebab

Preparation Time : 3 hours

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 4-5 members

Description

The first book that hubby dear brought for me was the great Indian cook book by chefs Vincent Joseph and Mohamed Ahmed qureshi . A treasure trove to North Indian dishes but seldom did I refer to this book as hubby dear being a true blue South Indian just didn’t appreciate any other cuisine . my experiments in the kitchen with food and kids being in boarding school , hubby dear had no option other than being my laboratory rat for trial and error . Slowly he did start liking other cuisines and I some how pulled out the true blue South Indian in him .( Uff , what a relief it is ) once in a while , he dose mention asking me to take care of the rat ( himself ) with care . Oops coming back to the dish . This kebab recipe is from the book the great Indian cook book . I never knew that raw ground veggies were used for marination purpose until I came across this recipe . My trial was an instant hit from taste , aroma to the inviting natural colour because of the ground beetroot used . Though this book has been with me for ages ( nearly 22 years now ) never have I gone through the write up about the chefs and this time when I did noticed that this book contains recipes of dishes served at the Baluchi Indian restaurant at the holiday inn crown plaza New Delhi . This information did widen my eyes as I was awe struck with the reality that I was able to pull off a high class restaurant dish at my home kitchen .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Chicken boneless pieces	1/2 kg
Beetroot ground	3/4 cup
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Butter to bast	4 teaspoon
Cream	5 1/3 tablespoon
Garam masala powder	1 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1 teaspoon
Lemon juice	2 tablespoon
Salt	to taste
Curd	3/4 cup

Method

Mix lemon juice , beetroot pulp and salt . Rub over chicken pieces and set aside in the fridge for one hour .Whisk curd and add remaining ingredients and mix well well .
Marinate chicken pieces in this mixture and keep in a refrigerator for 2-3 hours .Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius .
Skewer the chicken pieces leaving a gap of 2 cm between each chicken piece . Keep a tray underneath to collect the drippings .
Roast in hot tandoor or oven or charcoal grill for about 10 -15 minutes .Paste with melted butter every two minutes once to get soft , melt in the mouth kebabs .
Serve hot with pineapple slices garnished with chilli powder and salt . Vegetable Salad or boiled vegetables ( I served with boiled vegetables ) .

Tandoori fish

Preparation Time : 4 hours

Cooking Time :10 to 12 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

With the healthy bug on a high at home , the kitchen is on full swing experimenting healthy recipes to bring about smiles in the dining table as usual . A hard task to crack with majority of the trials resulting in the bin and by fluke at times it gets on to the dining table . To add upon this I had to cook some thing with fish that has to be healthy , tasty and looks appealing to the eyes as well . Broke my head and then suddenly the bulb moment happened in mind that grilling is healthy . What a relief it was but to be on the safer side just stuck to a known recipe . So my age old tandoori chicken recipe that is succulent , mildly spiced , grilled and the best known dish in the entire Indian cuisine came handy but with a twist of using fish instead of chicken . Cut down all the ingredients to 1/2 the amount that I usually use for chicken and added a little bit of onion seeds to take away the fishy smell . Went ahead and the out come was lip smacking good with a seasoning help of onion seeds to bring out the unique flavours of this dish which when served was empty in seconds . This can be served as a starter as part of a large festive meal or as part of a tandoori platter mixed with other grilled meats like in leading restaurants . Was so very happy about this dish and thrilled about the fact that these sort of sumptuous dishes can easily be made in a modern home kitchen that I shared the picture with my friends and cousins . My best buddy Gazeena sulu kunahmed liked the crockery used and called me immediately to ask from where I got it . I have promised her to get her a similar serving platter set on my next visit to her place . Surprised about how much can two souls share in common :-)) as even I get weak in the knees seeing such lovely crockery and traditional kitchen wear .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless fish	1/2 kg ( sheer with out skin and bones )
Butter for basting	2 tablespoons
Chaat masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Cream	1 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger paste	1/4 teaspoon
Lemon juice	1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon or to taste
Salt	to taste

Ingredients for First marination

Ingredients	Quantity
Cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Ginger paste	1/4 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Lemon juice	1 tablespoon
Oil	1/ 4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Saffron	a pinch
Hung curd	1/2 cup
Kalongi ( onion seeds or omam in Tamil )	1/4 teaspoon

Method

Mix salt , red chilli powder , ginger garlic paste and lemon juice . Rub this paste over the cleaned fish and set aside for 30 minutes .
Whisk hung curd in a large bowl , add all the ingredients for marinade together .
Add this marinade to the fish and mix well . Set aside to marinade for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator .
Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius .
Skewer each piece of marinated fish leaving a gap of 1/4 inch between each piece . Keep a tray underneath to collect the excess drippings .
Roast for approximately for 6 -8 minutes or until cooked in the pre heated oven . Baste with butter and roast for another 3 minutes .

To serve

Remove the fish from the skewers , arrange on a platter . Sprinkle chat masala powder and cream ( I avoided the cream ) .
Garnish with onion rings and lemon wedges . Compliment with raitha or a fresh salad .

Chemeen adukku pathiri

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 10 members

Description

Chemeen adukku patheri . An authentic malabar meal in itself dish that I tasted at my hubby’s niece alfinas home in Cochin . Just loved it and did ask her for the recipe . She explained about how it is done but the exact measurement for the rice batter was not told . So just had to think and drool about the dish in my mind for nearly 3 long years . As I mentioned before I am a real die – hard fan and a religious follower of a food blog ” notes from a Mallu kitchen ” run by Reshma Nooh of Cochin . I was super excited to see her post the recipe of this unpredictable dish with artistic combinations of staple ingredients put together using a new technique . with no delay tried it then and there . Guess what ??? It tasted so yum .. Actually much better than what I had at alfinas place . The rice batter layer was so soft and moist with the prawn roast in between was to die for .thank you Reshma Nooh for sharing this easy to follow yummy recipe . I made this during Iftar time . It looked plain on the outside but take a bite and the prawn stuffing oozes out a delicious surprise . A perfect make – ahead dish when entertaining at home to dazzle your guests .

Ingredients for filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Button onions chopped	1 cup
Ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon
Green chillies(chopped finely)	8
Tomato (chopped fine)	1/2
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder	1 to 2 teaspoon
Fennel seeds powdered	1 teaspoon
Soya sauce	1/4 teaspoon (secret ingredient!!)
Salt	taste
Curry leaves(chopped)	a stalk
Coconut oil	as needed to saute

Method for filling

Cook 250 gm shelled and deveined prawns in 1 cup water, a pinch of turmeric and a pinch of salt. Drain.
Saute the above items without it turning dry . Add prawns last. Stirfy till u get a nice thick roast. Keep aside.
Soak 1 cup raw rice ( pachari) in water for 1-2 hours.drain and use to make batter.

Ingredients to Grind together

Ingredients	Quantity
Raw rice (pacharisi)	1 cup (Soaked in water for one hour , drain and use to grind )
Coconut milk	3 cups
Egg	1
Salt	1 teaspoon
Cooked rice	1 tablespoon (optional,makes pathiri softer)
Soda bicarb	1/2 teaspoon

Method to grind

Grind all the ingredients together except for soda bicarbonate for approximately 15 minutes . Strain and add soda bicarbonate and set aside.

How to proceed

Take a steamer, fill with water and keep to boil. Take a deep dish which will fit inside the steamer, accomodate the pathiri and filling too..
Grease well with some ghee/ coconut oil, pour 1/2 of the batter, and steam.After 5 minutes , turn heat to low, and open steamer. Do not take the dish out of the steamer.
Put the prawn filling and spread out as a thin layer. Pour one more tbsp of the batter on top of this and steam on high again.
Open again after 5 minutes of steaming. Pour the remaining batter onto this, Steam again till it is well set (10 mins).
Remove from steamer and leave to cool. Invert this dish onto a plate,Cut into pieces and serve while warm.

Tips

This pathiri can also be made without prawn filling. Just pour 1tsp ghee in between layers each tie, steam and invert onto a plate.
Cut into diamond shapes, serve hot with mutton or beef or chicken gravy. This is what I make for dinner on some days. Adukkupathiri + beef curry.
If you have any chicken curry left over,take the chicken pieces, de bone them, put them back in the curry and stirfry till all the water has dried up, and voila! you get a lovely chicken filling for making chicken adukkupathiri.