eCurry - The Recipe Blog

And a Sweet Little Incident… Here it goes:

The other day we were going out for dinner. For once there was some peace in the car. The 2 kids were not fighting, each of them busy doing thier own things. I noticed that my 2 year old had been looking out of the window for quite sometime, when she cried out ”the moon, the moon! mama the moon is broken. Someone broke the moon…” She was definitely very upset about it. A few days back she had seen an enormous orange full moon, and now all of a sudden it was just a  slice. I wish I had an as imaginative an explaination as her beautiful mind. Later on she herself figured that the cloud must have bitten a piece out of it, since the cloud is the only thing that can reach it!!

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Toasted Sesame & Shrimp Fried Rice

This is one of those tasty recipes which can be created in jiffy when you are in a time crunch, yet you crave for something to fulfil your taste buds and hunger. The toasted sesame gives a subtle nutty flavor and you can add any vegetable you want.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked rice (I use Sona Masoori white rice)
½ pound medium raw shrimp – deveined and shelled
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
2 tablespoons of Tangy Hot Oil(If this is not handy, just use regular oil mixed with a teaspoon of any hot sauce)
½ medium sized Onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped and mashed
4 stalks of Celery chopped
½ cup Peas
½ cup chopped Carrots
3 Sprigs of Spring Onion (some cut in angles and some chopped fine)
Salt
2 teaspoons Vinegar
2 tablespoons Oil
1 tablespoon Oil
1.5 tablespoons of Sesame Seeds

Preparation:

Toast the sesame seeds on a skillet till they are light brown but not burnt. Set aside.

Coat Shrimp with lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and let it marinate for about 10 minutes. Heat the Hot Oil in the pan, and sauté the shrimps till they are pink and curled up. Set aside.

Wash the rice thoroughly to drain away the extra starch, cook it in 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon Oil. When all the water evaporates from the top, lower the heat to minimum and cover it for about 10 minutes. Switch off the heat and let it stay covered for another few minutes. The rice at this stage should be separate and long and not sticky and mushy. (Alternatively use a Rice Cooker and follow Instructions).

Spread out the rice in a plate, sprinkle Vinegar on it, toss and let it sit for about 15 minutes. In the mean time heat oil and add the garlic and onions. Stir them in oil for a minute and add the carrots, celeries and peas. Fry at high heat till all the water disappears. Add salt and the rice, stir gently and cook for a few more minutes. Switch off the heat and add the Spring onions, the Shrimps and the toasted Sesame seeds. Toss and Cover for 10 more minutes.

Serve Hot.

Singapore Fried Rice

Asian food has all kind of variation all over the world. Generally Indian food in America are not all that spicy and oily as in India, except for a few authentic restaurants. Just like so, we cook  Indian Chinese in India.

I am not sure if Singapore Fried Rice is a cuisine of Singapore, but it is a big part of the Indian Chinese in India. It is similar to Chinese Fried Rice, except it is made very spicy by adding tons of red dry chili to hot oil. You can go easy on the number of red chilis you add, but do add a few because it is the red dry chilis which actually adds the flavor to this rice.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup long grained rice (Will yeild about 2 cups approx. cooked)
2. 2 cloves of garlic - chopped fine
3. 1/2 onion chopped
4. 8 -10 Dry Red Chilis
5. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorn
6. 1 teaspoon very thinly sliced ginger
7. 4 tablespoons oil
8. 2 teaspoons oil ( to use when boiling the rice)
9. 2 teaspoon white vinegar
10. 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
11. 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
12. 1/2 cup peas
13. 1 Big carrot chopped
14. 3 sprigs of green/spring onion chopped
15. 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
16. 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
17. Salt to taste

Any vegetable like beans, celery may be added to this.

Preparation:

Wash the rice very well to wash off the starch. Soak it in cold water and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Boil 1.5 cups of water, add 2 teaspoons of oil to it and and add the rice. The oil will help the rice not to stick to one another. Cook it so it so they are long and done but separate. If there is till some water left and the rice it done, strain the water.

Spread the cooked rice in a thin layer on a plate and sprinkle vinegar on it. Let it cool

Heat oil in a Wok. Once its smoking hot, add the crushed black peppercorns and the dry red chilis. The chilis will soon turn dark and sizzle. Add the garlic and the onion. Fry at high heat till the onion starts to brown. Add the peas, carrots, bell pepper, and ginger and fry at high hear  till all the moisture dries off. This should not take for than 3-4 minutes.

Lower the heat and add the soy sauce. Mix it with all the vegetables and add the rice. Stir it around to mix it and keep frying at medium heat. Increase the heat to high again. When all the rice is coated, with the sauce, add the cabbage and cook for a couple of more minutes tossing it around fast and sprinkling few drops of water on the wok for the sizzle and the smoke. Switch off the heat. Add the cilantro and spring onions and cover it for 5 minutes for the heat and the smoke flavor to be absorbed. The smoky flavor is a very distinctive flavor to this dish.

 Serve hot with with Hot Oil, or with Vegetable Manchurian, Chili Chicken, or Chili Paneer.

Jeera Rice

 Ingredients: 
1 cup of uncooked basmati rice
2 small green cardamoms
1″ stick of cinnamon
1 clove
1 tablespoon ghee
1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash the rice till the water runs clear. Soak the rice in cold water for 1/2 an hour and drain.

Heat Ghee, and add cardamom, cinnamon and clove. When they start to sizzle and splutter add the rice. Stir for sometime till the ghee coats the rice.

Now add the Cumin seeds. Make sure not to add the Cumin seeds directly in the ghee, as this will darken the cumin and give a different flavor. Add salt and fry for some more time, about 5 more minutes.

Increase the heat. Add 2 cups of water and let the water boil. When you see no water over the surface of the rice, cover it and immediately switch off the heat. Be very careful during this time as more heat or delay may burn the rice at the bottom of the pan. Let it stay covered for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot.

Every time we visit a Mexican Restaurant, we end up ordering atleast two orders of the Spanish rice. The kids love it too. One day when I had nothing but V8, a can of red beans and some left over rice at home, I thought i would make something like the Spanish rice. It turned out pretty good, but not quite the same taste. So next time I tried it with uncooked rice and more hot peppers and black peppers to cater to our spicy taste buds.
Some evenings when I just feel like doing nothing, lazing around the backyard, and hope that food would be cooked magically without doing a thing ( I feel that pretty often:-D ), I try this quick dish. With the beans, & the vegetables it is like a meal in a dish. Here it is. Enjoy. Mind it, do change the amount of the hot peppers and black pepper to suit your taste!!

 I am sending this to SAPADU READY, hosted  by From the Kitchen.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups White Rice (uncooked)
2. 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
3. 1/2  Onion (thinly sliced lengthwise)
4. 4-5 cloves Garlic (very finely chopped and crushed with knife)
5. 1 - 1.5 cans (Approx. 16 oz cans)  Red Beans or Red Kidney Beans
6. Fresh Cilantro: few spoons chopped
7. Green Serrano Peppers: according to taste, Finely chopped (Optional)
8. ½ cup Corn
9. 2 big Carrots chopped into small pieces (Optional)
10. 1 cupV8(or tomato puree or tomato juice or fresh tomato[2 cups pulsed in the blender])
11. Oil
12. 2.5 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
13. ½ teaspoon roasted ground cumin
14. Salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil.

Add Cumin Seeds and let it get a little darker.

 Add finely chopped and crushed garlic.

Add the sliced Onions and fry till they are glazed. 

Add uncooked rice and fry till the rice is slightly brown.

Add green Serrano peppers, red beans, carrots, corn, and the roasted cumin powder and stir and fry for about 2-3 minutes.

Add tomato (or puree or V8).

Reduce the liquid at high heat.

Add water to boil the rice (see cooking instructions for Rice). Also can transfer everything to the Rice Cooker and follow the instructions till rice is cooked.

Add Ground Black Pepper and stir it to mix (You can adjust the amount to more or less spicy).

Sprinkle chopped fresh cilantro and cover it for sometime before serving.

This dish can be prepared with left over cooked rice. Add the cooked rice after the liquid of tomato has been reduced and stir to mix all ingredients at low heat.