tindora curry

Ingredients:
tindora: 1 pound
onion: 1 big (chopped)
chillies: 3 (chopped)
velluli kaaram: 1 tbs.
pappula podi: 1 tsp. (optional)
curry leaves: as much as you want
salt: as needed
turmeric powder: 1 tsp.

for tempering:
cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
channa dal: 1tsp.
urad dal: 1 tsp.
oil: 2 tbs.

Cut tindora into small pieces (I use the vidalia vegetable cutter).
Take a pan and once oil heats, add all the ingredients under tempering.
Now, add curry leaves and after few seconds, add onions and chillies.
Let this fry for 2 minutes. After that, add tindora.
Mix it well and let it cook for 15 minutes on low flame and keep the lid on during this time.
Now, remove the lid and  add salt and turmeric powder.
Let it cook for 5 more minutes now.
After that, add velluli kaaram, mix and turn off the stove.
You can add a litlle pappula podi here before turning off the stove if you desire.
Garnish with coriander.

pappula podi

Ingredients:
coriander seeds: 1/2 cup
peanuts: 1/2 cup
channa dal: 1/2 cup
urad dal: 1/2 cup
garlic: 6 cloves
dried coconut flakes: 2 tbs.
cumin seeds: 2 tbs.
curry leaves: 2 tbs.
mint: 2 tbs.
salt: to taste

Set a Pan on the stove. After it heats, put it on sim.
Now, add coriander seeds, peanuts, channa dal, urad dal, coconut flakes, curry leaves, mint and heat this mix on sim.
Keep stirring every now and then ... and let them all roast for about 15 minutes.
Turn off the stove and add cumin to the mix now.
After it cools down, grind the roasted ingredients into dry powder.

After it gets grinded, add salt and garlic to this and grind again.

You can add this to stir fry curries and tamarind based gravies -- it gives a nice flavor to the taste.

velluli kaaram

Garlic:                  15 big cloves
Red chilli powder: 1.5 cup

First, pulse garlic by itself without any water for about 5 seconds.
Now, add chilli powder and grind the whole thing again.
Pulse and mix every 1 mins.. for a total of 2-3 mins.

Beans curry

Indian broad beans (chikkudukaaya) (we used 2 kinds of these beans): 1/2 pound
Onion: 1 small (chopped)
Garlic: 4 cloves
Salt: to taste
tumeric: 1 tsp.
velluli kaaram: 1 tbs.

Tempering:
urad dal: 1 tbs.
channa dal: 1 tbs.
cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
curry leaves: few
oil: 2 tbs.

Peel the sides of the beans, check if there is any worm inside and chop it with a knife or you can break it into pieces with hand itself.
Boil beans with water steam. (If using pressure cooker, keep it for 2 whistles on high).

In a non-stick pan, heat oil. After it heats, put garlic. After a few seconds, put all the tempering ingredients at once. Now, put onions. Once onions come light brown, put cut beans.
After 2 minutes, put salt and turmeric.
After it sautes for some time (around 5 minutes), put velluli kaaram and turn off the stove.

Garnish with some chopped coriander.

Pulihora

Ingredients:

Tamarind: 100gms. (or 3 spoons tamarind paste)
Rice: 2 cups cooked and cooled.
chillies: 3 (whole)
ginger: 1/2 inch (chopped)
oil: 5 tablespoons.
curry leaves: 1 stalk
coriander leaves: 2 tablespoons.
turmeric: 1 1/2 tea spoon.
salt: as needed

tempering:
chillies: 2 (whole)
channa dal: 1 tablespoons
urad dal: 1 tablespoon
cumin seeds: 1/2 spoon.
mustard seeds: 1/2 spoon.
peanuts: 2tbs. (roasted)
cashew: 2tbs.
ginger: 1/2 inch (chopped)
curry leaves: 1 stalks
uppu mirapakaayalu (salted dried chillies): 3

Method:

Let tamarind soak in warm water for 1 hour.
Now squeeze/extract it well and throw the remains of the tamarind.
Now, add chillies and ginger to it and cook it on low flame.
Put the lid on, now.
The paste should become thick and reduce to half the original quantity.

Add 1 tbs. of oil and curry leaves, coriander to the cooked rice and then, let it cool.
After it cools down, add turmeric and salt and mix it.
Now, add tamarind mix.

Now, do the tempering with the ingredients under tempering.
Now, pour the tempering over the tamarind rice.

If not enough sourness at the end, add some more tamarind paste (after frying it in some oil a little bit).

Andhra fish pulusu

Ingredients:

Fish: 1.5 pound (any fish.. I tried with tilapia and salmon)
Onion: 1 big (cut lengthwise)
tomatoes: 2 chopped
chillies: 3 big/ 4 small (slit in between)
tamarind: 50gms. (soaked in warm water for 15 - 20 mins)
few curryleaves
ginger garlic paste: 1 tbs.
oil: 2tbs.

fenugreek seeds + cumin seeds - smashed in dhinchik or grinded (1 tbs.)
chilli powder: 2 tablespoons
salt: as needed
turmeric: as needed

For tempering:
cinnamon:  1 small
cardamom: 1
cloves: 4

Method:
Fry the fish using the method described in:
http://www.sharmispassions.com/2012/09/masala-fish-fry-fish-recipes.html

In a wide vessel, put oil.
Once oil becomes hot, put tempering items.
Once it splutters, put onion, tomato and chillies. (keep this on medium flame)
Let it fry for 3 minutes.
Now put salt, turmeric and chilli powder.
Let it cook for 1 more minute and put ginger garlic paste.
After that, put the tamarind juice in that.
Let the tamarind juice come to a boil. After it comes to boil, keep it for 5 more minutes.
Now, put the fenugreek and cumin seed powder.
Mix it well once and put the fried fish pieces.
Let them cook for 10 mins with the gravy.
Now, turn off the stove and put chopped cilantro.

Baked red snapper fish + fruit salsa

I was looking for recipes on how to bake fish online and I came across quite a few recipes that combined fish and fruit salsa.
It got me excited right away.. cause I simply love fruits these days.

Fish:
I adapted this recipe from http://www.yoursouthernpeach.com/2012/02/chili-salmon-tropical-salsa.html

Red snapper: 2 fillets

spices for marination:
olive oil
lime juice
salt
pepper
kozambhu powder http://easyhappycooking.blogspot.com/2013/08/kozambhu-powder.html

I cut each fillet into 2 halves.
After cleaning the drying these fish fillets, I marinated them with the spices needed for marination.
I added the spices per intuition.
I lined an oven tray with foil and rubbed it with little bit oil.
I put the marinated pieces on the oven tray (skin side down).
I covered and chilled them in the refrigerator for 3 hrs.

After that, I preheated the oven to 450F and put in the marinated fish.
I left it on each side for 20 mins (total of 40 mins).
and tadaa.... its done!

Fruit salsa:
I adapted the recipe from http://rachelvoorhees.com/2012/09/drunken-fruit-salsa/
(except I didn't use the liquor... so, it's not quite drunken :D)

I pretty much did everything exactly as per that recipe except I didn't have pineapple and green peppers handy.. so, I skipped them.
And, I didn't bother to roast any peppers.
It tasted great and tummy felt calm and good :)