Gongura Mutton or Mutton curry w/ Sorrel Leaves

We in Greater Toronto Area(GTA) are experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures poised to hit record highs we are under an extreme heat alert as dangerous heat invades ON & QC...kind of living Andhra summer here... So here is another signature dish of Andhra Pradesh, that we Telugu people celebrate.

A week ago I had this chance to make a much longed and missed leafy item dish called Gongura in Telugu(Andhra) which refers to Sorrel leaves in English. Give me this dish all through the year and I wouldn't say no to it. Then you can imagine how much I missed it over these years in Canada. We in east coast are not so fortunate enough to find Sorrel leaves in any grocery store, except someone gets the imported seeds and grow the leaves in summer in their farm or back yard. I think in west coast these are readily available thru farmers market..

A few weeks back a dear friend of us gifted me with this gongura which she purchased whole sale from an import vendor. My joy knew no bounds.
Though I have eaten and cooked Gongura in many varieties like Gongura dhal, Gongura Pachadi, Gongura tadka, Gongura Prawns..etc..the most relished combo for me with Gongura is Gongura Mutton.

Both my grand mothers and mother use to frequent this dish especially for me so passionately. Its like they use to dedicate this dish on my name.
So with that profound history lets see the making of it.
Good that I typed out the recipe long ago when my SIL asked for it, not withstanding the pestering my Bro gave her to make Gongura Mutton like my granny. Little did I believe that I will cook this dish my own in this part of the world.

Ingredients :
To Cook Gongura leaves:
1 bunch Gongura (Sorrel leaves)
4-5 Green chillies slit
1/2 of Small onion sliced
2 Big Garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 tsp home made Chilly made( andhra karam) - ( Use regular one if not available)
1 tsp oil
Rock salt to taste
Enough water to boil and cook the leaves thoroughly.

For the Mutton Curry:

1 to 1.5 lbs Goat or Lamb meat with bones cut into medium to small pieces
1 Tbsp Oil
2 Big or 4 Medium sized Onions chopped
4 Green chillies slit
6-8 Curry leaves if desired
2 Tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 Medium Tomato squeezed

1/2 Tsp Tumeric pwdr

1 Tsp Chilly power
1 Tsp Coriander pwdr
1 Tsp Home Made Garam Masala Pwdr
Salt to taste

Procedure:
Separate leaves from gongura stems ..do remember to add the small pods..which adds to the sourness.
Cook the sorrel leaves with all the rest of the ingredients in the "Cooking Gongura" list..till the leaves are fully cooked.

Remove from heat.

Mash the gongura thoroughly into a smooth paste and keep aside.

Now cook mutton the regular way...
Heat oil and saute' onions, green chillies, curry leaves.
Now add ginger garlic paste fry,
Add Squeezed Tomato and saute'
Add mutton, (usually 1/2 kg- for 1 bunch of sorrel leaves),
Add salt, karam, garam masala powder
Mix and fry for sometime..
Add a little water to cook mutton, or you can pressure cook it too.
Once the mutton is cooked almost, add the cooked mashed cooked gongura and mix well

Allow the gravy to cook for 7 - 10 so that the mutton absorbs the gongura .. and vice versa.

Once the gravy is thick remove from heat.
Serve with Hot rice.

Crab Manchurian

My schedule just got busier with enrollment into a new program..Kids summer vacation is going fab..sure it deserves more time of attention from parents..so that explains my absence for a few weeks on my space. Nevertheless here is another delectable Manchurian recipe which I churned out.

More than eating, kids love watching live crabs in the store or I have fun when I break open one frozen crab box and try to scare them with the claws..

When I lived in Chennai, there was this cute restaurant close to my place which served amazing Crab Manchurian made with dragon crabs..Ever since I wanted to duplicate it in my kitchen too..

Ingredients:
1 Box of Ceylon Crabs or Dragon variety (say around 2 lbs, cleaned)
To deep fry crabs:
2 tbsp Corn Flour
2 Tbsp cup All Purpose Flour (optional)
A pinch of black pepper
1 tsp each of ginger garlic powder or paste
Salt to taste
Enough oil to deep fry

Sauces:2 Tbsp Soya Sauce

2 Chilli Garlic Sauce

1 Tsp Worchester sauce
2 Tbsp Tomato sauce or ketchup

Others:1 Tbsp Oil
5 big Garlic pods chopped finely
1/2 cup Green Onions chopped
5 Green Chillies cut diagonally
1 Sweet Green Peppers

Procedure:Make a batter in a bowl with all the to fry list ingredients. Add crab pieces to it and mix well to coat them evenly.
Deep fry the crab in batches for 5-7 minutes and keep them aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add garlic, fry till slightly brown. Add green chillies and fry.
Add sweet peppers and stir fry till edges turn brown on high heat..
Remove the sweet peppers alone and keep aside.
Now add all the sauces, one by one and mix.
Add a little water to make a sauce gravy.

Add salt

Now add deep-fried grab, and carefully mix to coat the crab evenly with the Manchurian gravy sauce.
Cook for another 5 minutes till the gravy is sticking to the crab pieces, mix regularly.
Add water while stirring, if necessary.
Now add the stir fried green peppers and chopped green onions and mix again.
Remove from heat and serve with veg fried rice.(Will post the fried rice in my next post)

Red Snipper Fish Gravy

With kids school closing today, families are looking forward for the long weekend of US & Canada Day celebrations..Stores are flooded with new BBQ equipments and Summer camping and outdoor activity supplies. Truly you can smell the vacation spirit in the air. And all is well if weather co-operates without those thunder storms and gusty winds. We managed one outdoor BBQ in the past two weeks, but the second one was ruined with an un-invited stormy rain. Hopefully the Canada day fireworks won't face that.

Before we march into a new month, I have to stick to the theme of June "Seafood", in particularly "Fish" I posted different varieties of preparations of fish on my space. Today's recipe is yet another fish gravy..not much different from a regular one in procedure wise but quiet different in the sense of fish used. Red Snipper or yerra para(Telugu) or Shankara(Tamil) is a commonly available fish in South India and hence the traditional gravy recipe is used here too.

Ingredients:
3-4 Medium sized Red Snipper Fish, scales removed & cleaned from internal organs, cut into two parts
2 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Fenu greek
4 Garlic cloves crashed or chopped
1Medium size Onion,
4-5 Green Chillies
10- 12 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Ginger paste (optional)
3 Tbsp Tomato puree or 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1/2 Turmeric powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp Chilly powder
1 lemon size tamarind ball soaked in 2 cups of warm water and juice squeezed.
1/2 cup Coconut Milk(fresh or canned)
Salt to taste
Coriander to garnish

Procedure:
Heat a skillet, add oil and then allow Mustard to splutter and add fenugreek seeds, and once the seeds emit smell add the chopped garlic and saute'
Add Onions, green chillies, curry leaves and cook until the onions turn translucent and fully cooked.
Add ginger paste if desired and fry
Add tomato pureeor paste, and mix well till raw smell is gone.
Add all the masala powders and fry well.
Now add Tamarind pulp and salt.
Bring this boil and add the Red snipper fish pieces.
Once the fish is almost cooked add coconut milk and allow it to boil on high heat for a minute or two.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves
Remove from heat.
Served with hot Rice/Roti or Parota.

Happy Summer!!!!!

Curried Shark Scramble or Sura Puttu or Sorra Pidupu

India's version of Academy Awards is about to roll out its the red carpet here in Toronto. The stage is all set for the North American debut of the annual IIFA awards at the Rogers Centre.
With Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez hosting the Much Music Video Awards, Sunday last and the Bollywood much hyped IIFA this Saturday, its a star studded week here in the City.

My recipe this week is also a Signature Star Dish in Seafood mostly in my home state Andhra. Adherently cherished in my childhood days. In fact his was one of the best Seafood delicacy my mom(Amma) used to cook. The unusual way of preparing the seafood in this variety used to draw attention and a curious me was totally taken for a suprise the with the exceptional taste of this delightful recipe.

I completely duplicated her version here. We in Toronto Area are fortunate enough to get fresh shark in most of the Asian Stores. So once in a while I make this fish scramble curry, famously known as Sura puttu in Tamil and Sorra pittu in Telugu.
This is one main course dish to accompany with hot Andhra masoori rice and Sambar(Pappu pulusu). For those who follow low carb diet, skip the rice and make a milder version of this scramble to eat with steamed or stir fry veggies.

Ingredients :
1 lb Shark piece w/ or w/o skin
2 Tbsp oil
2 large Onions diced
6-8 hot Green Chillies
10 - 15 Curry leaves
2 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Freshly chopped coriander to garnish.


Procedure:
Bring 3/4 saucepan of water to boil and add the Shark Chunk along with half of the turmeric powder and some salt.
With closed lid, steam the fish till it is fully cooked.
Remove from water and take of skin if necessary.
Now scramble the fish log into small pieces. Reserve the bones too.
Keep aside.
Mean while, in a wide pan, heat oil and add onions, green chillies, curry leaves and saute' till the onions are translucent.
Now add ginger garlic paste and fry till rawness is gone.
Add turmeric powder and salt and fry.
Now add the scrambled fish and mix thoroughly till all the fish is coated with the masala.
Cover and let the spice flavours be induced into the fish, and the fishy smell gone and the delectable aroma of dish sets in.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and remove form heat.
Serve with rice and sambar.

Curried Salmon Fish Masala- Jara Hatke!!

Was on a vegan spree for the last few months and yes still have a couple of vegan recipes in drafts to post...but I think my blog needs a non-vegan recipe feeds..Most of all June being my hubby's b'day month it would be appropriate to go with his favorite "seafood" theme. And guess what this is - his own creation too, with which he surprised me one evening when I returned Home late from work.

So all for you seafood lovers this is a must try...Salmon fish just blends with all the flavours of this recipe. You can't ask for more.

Ingredients :
4 large Salmon, fillets or steaks(Frozen or fresh)
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Medium Onions
2 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
4-5 Green Chillies Slit
A hand full of Curry leaves
Half a Tsp Turmeric powder/Haldi
1 Tsp Chilly Powder
Half a tsp Garam Masala powder
A tinge of black pepper
Salt to taste.

Procedure:
Oops!!! let me check it with my husband first..
Okay..got it..
Heat oil in a wok, add onions, slit green chillies and curry leaves and cook till onions are caramelized.
Add Ginger garlic paste and fry till raw smell is gone.
Now add turmeric powder, fry.
Add chilly powder and salt and fry well.
Now add the fish pieces and to watch them scramble as we mix and fry it with the onion masala.
Keep roasting for about 10-12 mins mixing regularly till the fish is done.
When the fish is almost cooked, add garam masala powder and sprinkle black pepper powder just before taking the wok off from the oven top.
Add coriander chopped if desired..
Serve with hot rice and sambar or mixed fried rice.

Curried Long and Kidney Beans - Srilankan Style

Toronto ranks as the second-best city among the world's "metro powerhouses" in areas of business opportunities, culture, livability and innovation, only beat out for the top spot by New York City and followed closely by surprise contender San Francisco a new report claims. As for me, I will tag Toronto as an cultural Icon. I'm always impressed by the feast of cultures its got to offer. And sure different cultures bring exotic flavours of different foods, Western, Mexican, Italian&Spanish, South Asian, Greek& other Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai&Malai & other Oriental, Pakistani, Srilankan you name it...With all these captivating culinary skills we have a perfect gastronomic treat right here.

Today I'm blogging one of my favorite Srilankan Tamil curry made with Srilankan raw curry powder which is usually on the menu in most of the Srilankan Tamil take outs and their gatherings and special occasions. Somehow took a liking towards this vegan preparation that I gave it a try at home. Some of the Srilankan Tamil dishes follow the method to deep fry the vegetable and then add it to the sauce/gravy, which definitely grades high in taste if you comprise on health. Well once in a while is ok, but not on regular basis. I completely cooked in steam and it still turned out tasty.

Ingredients:
1 full bunch of Long beans, broken into 1 inch pieces
1 or 1/2 Can Kidney beans
1 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 medium onion sliced
3 small green chillies
8-10 curry leaves
2 Tbsp Srilankan Curry power or use the Spice powder mix(below)
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Salt to taste
For the Spice powder mix:
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fennel powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp fenugreek powder
1/4 tsp Mustard powder
1 tsp Chilly powder
1/4 tsp Black pepper powder
1/2 tsp Dhal powder

Preparation:

In a kadai, heat oil and allow mustard to mustard.
Add sliced onions, slit green chillies & Curry leaves and saute till onions are translucent.
If not deep frying, then add the broken long beans, salt and saute' .
Now add the Srilankan Masala powder and mix thoroughly.
Add tomato paste and mix again.
If required sprinkle some water and cook covered for 15- 20 min or till the beans are soft.
If you deep fried the beans, then before adding the fried beans add the spice powder to the sauteed onions and fry well.
Then tomato paste and a little water and cook till the sauce thickens, and then add the beans to the tomato spice mix gravy.
Cook for 5 to 6 mins till the beans absorb the sauce into them.
Now add the kidney beans and mix well to coat them evenly with all the masala, taking care not to mash them.
Simmer for another 2 mins and remove from heat.
Makes a hearty side dish for rice, idiyappam or parota.

Karela Khatta Meetha / Bitter gourd Sour & Sweet

---AKA Kakarakaya belam pulla Kura/ Pavakka Vellam Puli Kuttu---

It's been a wet spring so far. But thanks for the change that is about to stay. Environment Canada is predicting above average summer temperatures from coast to coast and an increase of a couple degrees here in Toronto. We mothers are fortunate to have been bestowed with a warmer and dry Mother's day weekend. Happy Mothers days to all mothers!!!!

Thinking of mothers sure puts food they cooked for us on the top of the list. We can't be grateful enough for all the delicacies they showered on us. Mother's cooking is in itself a comfort and name one comfort food for me, is this sweet and sour bitter gourd curry. Yes, off course Bitter gourd is one of my fav veggies. For those whom this vegetable is an introduction or who shy away from this veggie, I encourage them to give this recipe a try, you won't be disappointed.


Ingredients:
3-4 Medium Size Bitter Gourd (5-6 if small)
Oil - 1 tbsp
1/2 tsp Mustard
1 small Onion
3-4 Green Chillies slit
6-8 Curry leaves
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
1 small lemon Size tamarind ball soaked in enough water
1 Tbsp crushed jaggery
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - a small bunch

Procedure:
Scrape, Wash and slit Bitter Gourd into four parts and then further cut those four sides into small pieces.
Now soak the pieces in salt water to remove excess bitterness.

Allow mustard to splutter in a kadai/pot after the added oil is hot.
Then add cut onions, green chillies, curry leaves and saute till onions turn slightly brown.
Add Tomato paste and fry for a minute or till raw smell is gone.
Add chilly and coriander powder and mix
Add Bitter Gourd pieces, salt, and mix well.
Sprinkle some water and cover with lid to cook the Bitter Gourd in steam for about 20minutes.
Keep mixing periodically and add more water if required.
Once the Bitter Gourd is almost cooked add the squeeze the tamarind juice into it and mix well.
Add jaggery and mix till dissolved.
Cook for another 5-7 minutes or till karela is soft.
Add finely chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat.
Serve this with hot rice and papaddam or dry fish or meat fry.