Tamarind prawns

Today's recipe like most recipes on this blog, is a no hassle preparation. As you read it you might dish, wonder if it will turn out alright. And that's the beauty of this dish, no fuss to make it and yet turns out tasty. I guess that's also because if you have fresh good quality prawns you can never go wrong with it. Many of the recipes I have shared on this blog are from my mum in law, and this is one of her quick fix yet delicious gems.

Recipe credit - Ms Rozita Coutinho

Ingredients:

1. Prawns - 1 cup, peeled
2. Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp
3. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Red Kashmiri chilly - 2 nos
7. Salt as required
8. Oil as required

Method:

1. Place the pan on the stove, add the washed and drained prawns into the pan. Use the medium flame to begin with.
2. Add all the ingredients into the pan except oil.
3. Mix all the ingredients in the pan and let the prawns cook. At this stage the the prawns will give out water. Let the water dry out, you can increase the flame to do this.
4. When the water evaporates, add oil to the pan and stir well to avoid the prawns from sticking to the pan. Cook till the prawns are done. 
5. Switch off the flame and serve hot with chappatis, or as a side dish with rice and dal or curry.

Pork chops - Oriental style

Pork is one of my favorite foods, and they come in so many different forms, who can say no to a lovely slice of ham in a sandwich, or bacon with some mashed potato and scrambled egg, or the super awesome Goa sausage with pulao. Well clearly I can't. But when it came to pork recipes, I stuck to the tried and tested traditional recipes like Pork bafath/ bafad, Pork sorpotel, Pork saulantulem, Pork vindaloo etc.

But in the past few years, I have ventured into pork roast, pork curries, and stir frys. More on that later. The recipe  I share with you today is one of the many I've learnt from my mum-in-law. You must give it a go, and I promise you, you will love it.

Recipe credit: Mrs. Rozita Coutinho 

Ingredients:

1. Pork chops - 1 kg, washed and drained
2. Garlic - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
3. Celery - 2 big stalks
4. Green chilly - 1 no, sliced
5. Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
6. Honey - 1 tbsp (optional)

Marinade:

1. Salt - as required
2. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp 
3. Vinegar - 3 tbsp 
4. Soy sauce - 3 tbsp
5. Red chilly sauce - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Marinate the pork chops with the ingredients mentioned under marinade for minimum two hours. For better results marinate longer and refrigerate.
2. Cook the chops till done and set aside.
3. In a pan, heat oil, add the chopped garlic, celery and green chilly. Fry well, but do not brown.
4. Arrange the pork chops on the pan, in such a way that each piece touches the surface of the pan. Fry till each chop has a brownish coat on either side.
5. Add the remaining marinade, and ketchup. Bring to a boil.
6. Lastly drizzle the honey. Check for seasoning and consistency.

Aloo Matar Dry (Potato and Green Peas Saute)

Today's recipe of aloo matar or potato and peas is a quick meal recipe. This recipe does not require any chopping of onions, tomatoes, or herbs. If you'd like you can leave the potato skin on, just ensure they are washed and scrubbed well. In fact it is more nutritious that way. You can also make this with only potatoes or only peas, and it will turn out well. This recipe should be bookmarked for days that you're in a hurry or too lazy or short on ingredients. Whatever your reason may be, try it and I'm sure it will be your go to recipe in emergencies.

Ingredients:

1. Potato - 3 medium, cubed
2. Green peas - 1 cup (240 ml)
3. Cumin/Jeera seeds - 1 tsp
4. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp.
5. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbsp*
6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
7. *Dry mango powder/ Aamchoor - 1/2 tsp (if not available, use 1/2 tbsp lemon juice)
8. Salt - as required
9. Oil - as required

Method:

1. Heat a pan, pour oil and add the cumin. Once the cumin has changed color, add the cubed potatoes.
2. Add the turmeric and salt and let the potato fry for two minutes on high flame. Use a spoon to stir the potato and lower the flame, cover with a lid and cook till the potato is half cooked.
3. If you prefer to use less oil in your cooking, you will need to add water, about half a cup for the potatoes to cook. Add more if required.
4. Then add the peas, and all the remaining powders, mix well and continue cooking till the potatoes and peas are done. Since this is a dry dish, let the water dry out before you put out the flame.
5. Serve hot with chappatis or eat it with rice, dal and papad.

Notes:

*Use chilly powder as per spice tolerance.
*If aamchoor or dry mango powder is unavailable use lemon juice. Add the lemon juice after the vegetables are cooked and just before the flame is put off.
I always use frozen peas in my cooking due to non-availability of fresh peas. Fresh peas take longer to cook, so if you are using fresh peas, add the potatoes and peas together. And add the spices once they are half cooked.

Pork Adobo in coconut milk

I have been living in the Philippines for over three years now. This is a beautiful paradise with picturesque beaches, clear blue waters and magazine perfect scenery. I love the Filipino cuisine, and today's recipe that I share with you - Adobo, is considered by many to be the national dish of this country. Pork and chicken are combined to make the adobo and it is a very common dish, however you can make them separately too. It is cooked differently across various regions, but the basic ingredients remain the same, i.e. soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, peppercorn and bay leaves. There are different versions that add either red chillies, brown sugar, potatoes, coconut milk etc, but that varies based on personal tastes, preferences and regions.

I have adapted the recipe to suit our tastes, but I learnt the recipe originally from Aate Rhea, who was my cook at one point. It tastes best with hot rice and steamed vegetables.

Recipe credit : Aate Rhea

Ingredients:

1. Pork - 1/2 kg (2 inch cubes)
2. Garlic - 6 flakes
3. Crushed peppercorn - 1/2 tsp
4. Bay leaves - 2 nos
5. Dry red chilly - 2 , roughly torn
6. Soy sauce - 1/4 cup
7. Vinegar - 2 tbsp
8. Coconut milk - 200 ml
9. Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic and fry for a minute. Add the pork cubes, and fry till they are browned.
2. Add all ingredients except coconut milk and cook till the pork is almost done.
3. Add the coconut milk and cook till the pork is done.
4. Go easy on salt as the soy sauce is salty. I usually don't add any salt as it turns out just fine.

Note:

1. Aate Rhea's recipe does not call for coconut milk, red chilly or oil. So you can follow the same recipe and skip those ingredients. Just combine everything in a pan, and cook till done.
2. You may also use 1/2 tbsp. chilly flakes if you do not have dried red chilly.