SHRIMP FRIED RICE

Today being Christmas, festive mood is in the air and during the festive season people all over the globe can think of only two things......family and food!

When my father was posted in the port town of Paradip -- a major sea port of the country, I had the privilege of studying in.a convent school.  During the Christmas season, we were asked to help our Sisters in decorating the school with Bells, ChristmasTree etc . We also used to take part in carol singing . We were invited to attend the mass on the Christmas eve . It was real fun . Some of my friends were Christians and this acted as a cherry on the icing for me. We friends used to have a great time together in spite of the fact that we belonged to different religions . Unity in diversity. :D

The Sisters used to make so many delicacies like plum cake , idli  ( fermented with coconut water,  fried rice , chicken vindaloo, chocolate cake , fish fry--- to name a few. The Sisters  mostly belonged to Mangalore, a place in Karnataka. Their food had therefore the flavour of Mangalore cuisine . By now it is over two decades that I completed my school. Still during Christmas, I remember my days at Paradip. Fond memories they were ......

I  made shrimp fried rice today for lunch , which I would like to dedicate to my School Sisters. Wish you  Sisters a Merry Christmas !!

Now coming to my recipe for the day ....its a very simple yet tasty wholesome meal .It is shrimp fried rice....

Ingredients -

Shrimps -1 cup ( cleaned and marinated with salt pepper and haldi powder

Steamed rice -2 cups

Onion -finely chopped

Mint leaves - A few

Ginger -1 teaspoon  (Chopped )

Green chillies - 2 ( Grated )

Garlic -2 pods  (Chopped )

Salt - To taste

Haldi powder(turmeric ) -1 teaspoon

Oil - 3 tablespoon

Method -

Heat oil in a wok. Add onion and garlic and saute till the raw smell vanishes .Add ginger , green chillies and shrimps .Add salt to taste and haldi powder. Mix well and cover the wok with the lid .Let the shrimp fry in its own juice .After two minutes,  you need to check whether the shrimps are done or not. When the shrimp is done,  add the steamed rice .Mix well, add mint leaves. Mix well. Serve hot with raita.

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MIXED VEGETABLES IN COCONUT GRAVY

While watching  a daily soap in the evening, I was cutting some vegetables without deciding on the curry I would cook for dinner. I think I was more into the daily soap :). 
I had vegetables like brinjal, beans, capsicum, bell peppers, carrot and peas .

Daily soap over, I started teaching both my children. The elder one found a chapter in Social Studies difficult. He is more fond of subjects like maths, science, computers .The long and lengthy answers required lot of writing and he finds that tough. Anyways, somehow he understood the chapter and was confident enough for the test exam,  the next day .  

I chanced to look at the clock. It was 6.30 in the evening. It was time to take my younger son for his drawing class ."It was so nice to work rather than become a homemaker," I thought. There was little time to sit and relax. And I rushed with him to the drawing class. Sat there through the class as he won't let me return home without him.

Back home, it was already 7.30 and no time to cook anything fancy ! I had to cook something quick  and tasty . For a moment I even was annoyed with the Queen of daily soaps Ms.Ekta Kapoor..Had she not started this daily soap; I would have been through a well organised cooking by now. 

I took out my pressure cooker and said " boss , now  you alone can help me !" :) I was really thankful to the french physicist Denis Papin who invented pressure cooker in 1679, in an attempt to reduce the cooking time of food. His airtight cooker used steam pressure to raise the water's boiling point, thereby resulting in a much quicker cooking .

I decided on having mixed vegetables with coconut gravy.
Here goes the process of making this easy recipe.
The required ingredients are as follows -

Brinjals - One Cup

Carrot- One cup

Beans -One cup

Capsicum - Half cup

Red bell pepper half cup

Onion- one large (sliced )

Tomato -Two ( Chopped )

Coconut milk - Two hundred ml

Salt -To taste

Turmeric  powder- one tea spoon

Oil -Two table spoon

For the paste  -

Coriander seeds- One tea spoon

poppy seeds -Two tea spoon

Red chilli - 4/5

Peanuts -One tea spoon

Ginger and garlic paste -Two tea spoon

Grated coconut -One table spoon

Jeera -One tea spoon

Method-

• Heat one table spoon  oil in a pan. Add all the ingredients of the paste masala and fry for one to  two minutes. The nice aroma from the mixture would signal the optimal frying. Grind the mixture with a little water to a fine paste .Keep aside .
• In the pressure cooker  heat one table spoon of oil. Add onion, saute for a minute.  Add the paste which you have kept aside. Mix the masala and saute for a few seconds . Add all the vegetables, salt to taste and haldi powder and give a gentle mix  .
• Cover the lid and let the vegetables cook for a while in the juices secreted from the vegetables . You should make sure that the vegetables are coated with the paste properly. After the vegetables are half done , add the chopped tomatoes .Mix well .
• Add two hundred ml of coconut milk and mix well . Close the lid of the pressure cooker .Switch off the stove after you get two whistles . Keep it aside and open the lid only after the pressure becomes normal..
• Serve hot with steamed white rice.

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VEGETABLE KEBAB

"When did you start blogging ?" "When did you start cooking?" These were some of the questions put to me when my new friends had come over for tea to my place last week.....These questions set me walking, down the memory lane ...."I and kitchen"???? ....a sharp contrast-- during that point of time ! I started working soon after college . I had little time for the kitchen any day. Thereby my transition from an HR professional to a food blogger took a long long time --- nearly a decade .:D

After shifting to Hyderabad, I have joined a power yoga class . The class is a very intense one . :( The yoga teacher ensures  we are absolutely drained out after each session........we all make faces but we all know, he does it for our good . :)

Again let me come back to my friends....thanks to the yoga class, I have been able to make some good friends ...:) I had invited some of my friends for tea. It was time to decide the menu for the party. I settled for a few items including vegetables kebab. Kebab making is a tedious task . Takes nearly an hour to make the kebabs.  Another 15 minutes to shallow fry them ....:)  Made up my mind and kebabs were done for my friends.
Now time to share the recipe with the readers :)..


Ingredients -
Mixed vegetables -1cup ( Grated )
Cashew nuts -7-8( Crushed )
Raisins -7 -8 (Chopped )
Salt -To taste
Chilli powder - To taste
Garam masala -1 tea spoon
Maida -1 table spoon
Breadcrumbs -1cup
Oil -To shallow fry and to make the mixture
Onion and capsicum - Chopped for garnishing


Method -

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok . Add the chopped cashew nuts and raisins . Fry for a few seconds, you need to see that they don't burn. Add the grated vegetables and saute for a minute. Add seasonings, garam masala , chilli powder .Mix well and cover it with a lid .Let it cook in a slow flame till the vegetables are cooked .You need to mix in between so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the wok. After the vegetables are done, add maida or plain flour and mix well. Keep the mixture aside , let it cool down completely.
Take breadcrumbs in a plate,  form  ball-size mixture in your palm. Press them lightly to make flat shaped,  like tikkis. Refrigerate for an hour .Take the formed tikkis out of the refrigerator. Take 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan,  slide the tikkis slowly into the oil , fry on both sides . Let each one
become brown on both sides. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or any sauce of your choice . Enjoy !!!