CRAB CURRY

CRAB CURRY

INGREDIENTS

Small crabs - 10
Shallots - 10
Green Chillies - 3
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Thick Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbsp
Tomatoes - 2
Fennel - 2 Tsp
Cumin - 1 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tbsp
Coriander Powder - 2 Tsp
Pepper Powder - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 Tsp
Coriander Leaves - 4 Tbsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Salt - To Taste
Coconut Oil - 4 Tbsp

METHOD

Clean crabs and set aside
Dry roast coconut along with shallots fennel cumin and curry leaves
Once it's done add the spice powders and let it cool at room temperature
Grind the roasted ingredients to a smooth paste
Heat oil in a pan and curry leaves and add ginger garlic paste and sauté till raw smell is no more
Slice green chillies and tomatoes and add to the pan
Add the ground roasted coconut paste and sauté for a few minutes
Add in some water and the cleaned crabs
Add salt to taste and cook covered for 10 - 15 minutes
Add in the coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes
Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves

NOTE
For a dry crab roast simmer till gravy dries up
Adjust ingredients to suit your palate

CARROT HALWA ( SOUTH INDIAN STYLE )

CARROT HALWA ( SOUTH INDIAN STYLE )

INGREDIENTS 

Carrots - 2

Thick Coconut Milk - 1 cup

Full Fat Milk - 1/2 cup

Sugar - To Taste

Cardamom Powder - 1 Tsp 

Condensed Milk - 1/2 cup 

Ghee - 2 Tbsps 

Almonds & Pistachios - 2 Tbsps 

METHOD 

Clean remove skin and grate the carrots

In a pressure cooker add in the ghee and sauté the grated carrots

When it’s fragrant add in the coconut milk and pressure cook until soft

In a pan add in the pressure cooked carrots and simmer until almost all the liquid is absorbed 

Add in the full fat milk and simmer until the mixture is semi dry

Add sugar to taste condensed milk and cardamom powder 

Sauté in low flame until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and the ghee floats on top

Add in some of the chopped nuts and mix well

Garnish with the remaining almonds and pistachios 

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if liked

Notes:

Adjust sweetness to suit your taste 

I used two medium sized carrots

Using condensed milk is optional

Use less sugar if you use condensed milk 

CRISPY CHILLI JACKFRUIT

 CRISPY CHILLI JACKFRUIT 

INGREDIENTS 

Tender Raw Jackfruit - 1
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tbsp 
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 Tbsp 
Crushed Peppercorns - 1 Tbsp 
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp 
Chicken / Mutton Masala Powder - 2 Tsps
Soya Sauce - 2 Tsps
All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Rice Powder - 1/4 cup
Salt - To Taste
Oil - To Fry

METHOD 

Remove skin and the centre of jackfruit 
Cut remaining portions into fairly thin slices 
Add the spice powders and other ingredients to the slices of jackfruit 
Set aside for 15 - 20 minutes 
Heat oil in a pan scatter as for pakoras and fry the jackfruit mixture in batches until crisp

Notes:

Adjust spices to suit your taste 
I got around 5 cups of jackfruit slices 
So adjust the quantity while adding rice flour and all purpose flour as well
You can add cornflour instead of rice flour 

PRAWN GHEE ROAST

PRAWN GHEE ROAST 

INGREDIENTS 

Prawns - 1/2 Kg
Onion - 1
Green Chillies - 4
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 Tbsp
Curd - 3 Tbsps 
Dry Red Chillies - 2
Curry Leaves - 1 Sprig 
Ghee - 4 Tbsps 
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 2 Tbsps 

INGREDIENTS TO GRIND 

Kashmiri Dry Red Chillies - 8
Black Peppercorns - 2 Tbsps 
Coriander Seeds - 1 Tsp 
Fennel Seeds - 2 Tsp 
Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp 

Dry roast all the above ingredients and powder in a blender 

INGREDIENTS TO MARINATE 

Red Chilli Powder - 2 Tsps
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp 
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Tsp 
Curd - 1 Tbsp 
Salt - To Taste

METHOD 

Clean wash thoroughly and devein the prawns 
Add the ingredients to marinate to the cleaned prawns 
Mix well and marinate for an hour
Chop very fine the onion and green chillies 
Heat oil in a pan in medium flame and add the prawns along with the marinade 
Cook the prawns in low to medium flame until done and dry
Heat 3 Tbsps of ghee in another pan and add the dry red chillies and sauté for a few seconds 
Add in the chopped onion and green chillies 
Sauté until transparent and add the ginger garlic paste 
Sauté until raw smell is no more 
Now add the powdered masala sauté for a minute and add the curd
Add salt to taste and cook the masala until the ghee floats on top
Add the cooked prawns and curry leaves to the masala
Simmer for a couple of minutes add the remaining ghee mix well and remove pan from stove
Serve hot with rice pulao naan or rotis

Notes: 

Adjust spices to suit your taste 

TANDOORI CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS AND SPICY RAW MANGO JAM

TANDOORI CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS  & SPICY MANGO JAM 

INGREDIENTS 

Chicken Drumsticks  - 4

Clean and wash chicken pieces 
Make deep slits all over the chicken drumsticks 

INGREDIENTS FOR FIRST MARINATION

Lemon Juice - 2 Tbsps
Turmeric Powder - 1 Tsp
Pepper Powder - 1 Tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Tbsps 
Salt - To Taste

METHOD 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Rub marinade all over the chicken drumsticks  
Cover bowl with cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

INGREDIENTS FOR SECOND MARINATION

METHOD 

Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 Tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tbsp 
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp 
Pepper Powder - 1 Tbsp 
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Hung Yoghurt - 4 Tbsps 
Kasoori Methi Leaves - 2 Tbsps 
Butter Cubes - 16
Salt - To Taste 

Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl
Rub all over the chicken drumsticks 
Preheat oven to 200*C for 10 minutes 
Line a baking tray with aluminium foil 
Arrange the marinated chicken pieces 
Dot with some butter on top
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes on each side adding butter on the other side as you flip and cook 
Serve hot the juicy tandoori chicken drumsticks with spicy mango jam

SPICY MANGO JAM

INGREDIENTS 

Raw Mango Jam - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 3
Pinch of Salt

METHOD 

Remove seeds from the green chillies and chop fine
Steam until soft
In a mixer jar add 1/2 cup of raw mango jam steamed green chillies and salt
Grind to a smooth paste

Notes:

Adjust spices to suit your palate
I used salted butter and adjusted the salt used in the recipe 
Butter cubes is nothing but chilled and firm butter cut into cubes
A drop of edible food colour can be added if preferred 
Timing might vary with the size of the chicken pieces used and the different brands of ovens available in the market 

MANGO ROSE CAKE

MANGO ROSE CAKE

INGREDIENTS 

Vanilla Sponge Cake - 1

Whipped Cream - As Required 

Vanilla Essence - 1 Tsp 

Sugar / Simple Syrup - As Required 

Firm Ripe Mangoes - As Required 

METHOD 

Peel the skin off the mangoes and set aside 

Add vanilla essence to whipped cream 

Mix well and refrigerate until used 

Slice and divide the cake into three layers

Place one layer of the cake on a cake board

Drizzle simple syrup over the cake 

Spread whipping cream on top 

Scatter some small cut pieces of mangoes 

Place the another layer of cake on top

Repeat the steps until you’re done with the last layer of cake

Evenly spread the entire cake with whipped cream 

While cutting the mangoes cut the cheeks and set aside

Slice the mango cheeks one at a time into medium thin slices 

Start arranging the slices overlapping one another from the bottom

Repeat arranging until you reach the rim of the cake

From here onwards arrange the slices upright in position at an angle overlapping one another

As you go further towards the centre use small slices of mangoes to get a bud like centre and finish 

Notes:

Make sure you use firm ripe mangoes

If the mangoes are overripe you’ll find difficulty in arranging 

Use medium sized mangoes

The mangoes I used for my test recipe were large and so were the slices

A couple of mangoes I used were ripe but not firm so I had some difficulty in arranging 

The final structure of the rose depends on the arranging the mango slices 

The amount of whipping cream and number of mangoes depends on the size of the cake

I used a plate instead of a cake board for colour contrast 

INDIAN JAMUN MOJITO

INDIAN JAMUN MOJITO 

INGREDIENTS 

Ripe Indian Jamun - 5
Powdered Sugar - 1/4 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp 
Mint Leaves - 4
Club Soda - 1 cup
Ice Cubes - As Required 

METHOD 

Remove seed from jamun fruits and slice
Muddle sliced jamun fruits mint leaves powdered sugar and lemon juice in a tall glass 
Add club soda and ice cubes stir well and serve immediately 

Notes:

Adjust sweetness to suit your taste 

CARAMEL RAWA PUDDING

CARAMEL RAWA PUDDING 

INGREDIENTS FOR CARAMEL 

Sugar - 3 Tbsps 
Water - 2 Tbsps 

INGREDIENTS FOR PUDDING

Eggs - 2 
Milk - 1/2 litre
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Semolina - 3 Tbsps 
Vanilla Essence - 1 Tsp 

METHOD 

Caramelise water and sugar in a pan until you get an amber colour
Pour caramel into a pudding dish and set aside 
Heat milk in medium flame and add sugar
When it’s dissolved add in the semolina 
Keep stirring until it forms a semi thick mixture 
Remove pan from stove and set aside to cool at room temperature 
Meanwhile break eggs into a bowl and beat well with vanilla essence 
Add to the cooled rawa mixture and mix well
Pour mixture into the prepared tray with the caramel 
Steam for 25 - 30 minutes 
Cool slice and serve 

RAW MANGO JAM

RAW MANGO JAM

INGREDIENTS 

Raw Mangoes - 3
Sugar - 5 cups
Lemon Juice - 1 Tsp 
Green Food Colour - 2 Pinches

METHOD 

Wash pat dry and remove skin from the raw mangoes
Chop the mangoes into medium size pieces and pressure cook for 2 whistles 
When cool drain water if any and grind the cooked mangoes to a fine Paste
Pass the ground paste through a sieve and add to the strained water and mix well
Measure the paste and add twice the amount of sugar for each cup of the paste
Add the paste to a pan and in medium flame stir continuously along with sugar



When slightly thick add two pinches of food colour of your choice and mix well to combined 

 

Keep stirring until the mixture is thick and reaches jam consistency 


 

Remove pan from stove cool to room temperature and store in a sterilised glass bottle



Notes:

Jam is done when you take some jam in a wooden spatula hold it above the pan and it cascades and falls off the spatula in one thick sheet and not runny 



The number of whistles in the pressure cooker varies with different brands available in the market 
I used 3 medium sized  mangoes and got 2 cups of mango paste
I added 2 1/2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of mango paste.
Adjust sweetness to suit your taste