Chemmen Thenga pal Curry (Kerala-style prawns cooked in coconut milk)

When it comes to non-veg, there are few things my family relishes more than prawns. Fried, sauteed, grilled - we can't have enough of 'em! The famous "Chingri Malai Curry" (prawns cooked in a rich coconut milk sauce and select Bengali spices) of West Bengal is probably our favourite, followed closely by "Daab Chingri" (prawns in a grainy mustard sauce, cooked inside a green coconut).

Having moved to the south of India, the exquisite cuisine of Kerala inevitably caught our fancy, especially because of its brilliant seafood recipes. This afternoon, I decided t try my hand at cooking a the traditional Chemmen Thenga pal, recipe sourced from http://www.mykitchentreasures.com/2010/09/prawns-in-coconut-milk-curry.html

It turned out to be the easiest dish to make and it's a creamy, spicy bit of joy, best served on a bed of steaming, fluffy white rice.

Ok, time for lunch!

If I have no bread, I'll just bake some!

This weekend I decided that it was high time that I pushed myself into the unknown realms of baking. It's probably the baked foods frenzy that I see on Facebook nowadays, with some of my friends posting picture after picture of the most amazing oven- fresh goodies that they've churned out. I decided I had to see for myself if this is something truly doable for a single man, with little to spend in the kitchen.

I never seem to want to start just from the basics (bad habit) so I found myself a recipe of rustic rosemary garlic bread at http://chewoutloud.com/2012/10/05/rustic-rosemary-garlic-bread/

To cut a long story short, here's what happened after about 3 hours (2 hours of which was free time, waiting for the dough to rise).

As I look back on the weekend, I think I could get used to baking after all!

Grilled veggies drizzled with pomegranate reduction

Inspiration struck this afternoon, driving me straight to a nearby store from where I procured the veggies. I had no idea what I would do with them until I go home. Seeing our trusty OTG in the kitchen I decided on grilling them, and the memory of a middle eastern dish made me think of a pomegranate reduction. The reduction would normally have been used on pork or lamb, but its addition to hot grilled veggies was just as good! Pity you can't see it clearly in the photograph. Next time, I'll take a picture of it separately.

Stir Fry

Something for my veggie friends - Stir-fried mushrooms, bell peppers, beans and pokchoy

'Junglee' Pesto Fish With Red Rice And Suteed Veggies

Continuing on the fish trail - this is something I made a few months ago. A meal-for-one, which went down very well indeed! Lemme know if you want the recipe :-)

Baked lemon and cucumber sea bass with a low cal hollandaise

Republic Day lunch. Recipe available on request! :-)

"Mom! There Are Fish In The Flowerbed!"

Cooked this up on a rainy winter afternoon in Bangalore.Grilled sea bass with bell peppers and bunch of other things.

Serves 3-4 people

You will need:

1. 3 large sea bass steaks
2. Red and yellow bell peppers (1 each), sliced cross-sectionally
3. Plenty of spring onions chopped
4. Chilly flakes
5. Some seasoning like Keya All Pupose Seasoning
6. Lemon juice (2 tea spoons)
7. Pomace Olive oil (1 table spoon)
8. Salt to taste
9. Pepper powder, 1 tsp

Directions

1. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper powder
2. Smear this mix nicely over the sea bass steaks and keep aside for 30-45 mins
   
3. After the fish has marinated, spray a baking tray with some low-cal, oil spray. Preheat your grill to about 250 degrees C.
4. Place the fish steaks on the tray, leaving enough space in between for some veggies 
5. Arrange the chopped spring onions, bell peppers around the fish, any way you like, but make sure that most of the fish will be exposed to the grill
6. Sprinkle the fish with chilly flakes
7. Grill for 15 minutes
8. Check if the fish is cooked, by pricking it with a toothpick. 
9. Once it is done, serve hot, with garlic bread

The best thing about this dish is that the veggies release moisture as they cook and that keeps the fish from drying. You also get to try a bunch of different flavours all at once, when you take a perfectly proportioned bite of fish, spring onions, and bell pepper all together! :-) 

If you try this, let me know how it works out. Also check out the lemon and cucumber sea bass recipe!