Ever heard of a kid who gobbled up all the vegetables without complaining? The kind who would frustrate her friends, for the moms of the friends would go into the sing song of the comparing game to why they should eat the vegetables without whining? That kid was me.
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Or call it a Sorbet…I wasn’t sure if this should be called a Sorbet or an Ice Cream. I guess it can be both, as Sorbet does not have dairy & the Ice Cream has cream. This one here has a non dairy Coconut Cream.
Not quite so popular as the Red,Green & Yellow Thai Curry, but a little milder & a lot more aromatic is the Unique Massaman Curry. The flavoring for Massaman curry is called Massaman Curry Paste (nam prik kaeng masaman), which contains very warm & aromatic spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, & nutmeg. These popular spices of the Indian Subcontinent combined with the Asian flavors of Lemon grass, Galangal, Kaffir lime leaves, & Fish Sauce, makes it a rich & brimming part of the Thai cuisine.
I did not dare to cook Thai at home for so long, for I am not very comfortable with the strong smell of the fish sauce & shrimp paste. This Massaman curry paste, however inspired me to give it a try. I read thru’ & I realized that I could easily leave out the fish sauce & still have a very authentic & flavorful touch of authentic Thai. Right when I was planning on this, I found some Thai Eggplants & used these for the Massaman Curry. (Any kind of eggplant can be used for this.)
Having been not feeling so good for the past few days, I was yearning for some change of taste for my tasteless sensation in my mouth. That’s what flu does to you – steals your energy, enthusiam & the sensation of the taste buds too. I did not want to even look at anything overcooked, or too spicy. Something different (as if some else cooked for me, you know how everything tastes better when you don’t cook), light & warm yet healthy is exactly what I needed & exactly what I got.
for Hay Hay it’s Donna Day !
My Daughter has a love affair with Shrimp. I have too, but her intensity far surpasses mine. She is the reason I am always trying out different things with Shrimp. I happen to grill shrimps quite often, and this Satay Shrimp had been a pleasure every time. How nice does it feel, when you see that twinkling eyes shine so bright when she comes back from school & asks, “Whats for dinner, Mama?” & I kid around with her saying all the things that she does not like… see her groan & whine, and then I say… “It’s Shrimp Day for you!” , I say… It is a special treat for her every single time.
So when I saw “Satay”, for Hay Hay it’s Donna Day, I knew I had to share this recipe.
I remember the time when back in India many moons back we used to live in a joint family. My grandparents, uncles, aunts & cousins all lived in a big house, ate all together in one long dining table. Sunday afternoon lunches were always beautiful times when everyone was home, relaxed & talking for hours over food. Even tho’ I might have been only about 6 or 7 years old, I still remember that one of the dishes used to be mutton curry or chicken curry. The hot steaming curry, used to be placed at the center of the table, & all us little kids eyed it with utmost enthusiasm, while waiting for our turns.
Talking of Dum Aloo…There are some hundreds of ways to make Dum Aloo. In West Bengal it used to be a must dish served for weddings with “Radhaballavi” (lentil stuffed puri), and I loved the slight & subtle sweet taste of that kind of dum aloo.
Also during fall/winter time, when there would be small new baby potatoes, & the peas in the shell, my mom would make peas kachori and dum aloo with the bite size potatoes. It used to be an all evening activity when we would all sit and shell the peas and rub the potatoes to skin the already peeling skins.
Every evening as I make my cup of coffee, I have this craving for something sweet with it. A biscotti, a slice of cake… & often times I think of the white fruit cake with the colorful candied fruits in it that we would get from the local bakeries back at home. That was long long time back. But certain tastes & aroma stay with you irrespective of the years in between. When I read this recipe, I almost visualised the cake we would have, for the picture given for this was white and the recipe asked for red cherries.
Chingri Maacher Malaikari is an old Bengali Classics. I have grown up in this East Indian State (West Bengal), having to eat (and loving every bite and moment of it) this simply marvelous dish in every special occasions, be it be a birthday, or a houseful evening guests. My dad would have to go to the Sunderbans for work, and we all waited till late night knowing that he would get the fresh jumbo prawns/shrimps and next day would be the grandiose Chingri maacher malaikari.
This is cooked with coconut milk, which is very easily available here in cans making the process much more easy and faster.
Here I am sharing with you the way my mom always cooked chingri maacher malaikari.
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Shell the Shrimps and baste with ¾ spoon of turmeric, little bit of salt and half the amount of red chili powder. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.
Heat about the oil and lightly sauté the shrimps till they are almost done.
Heat the Ghee. Add the cracked cardamoms, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Once they start sizzling, add Cumin, the green hot peppers and the ginger paste.
Fry for sometimes till the ghee leaves the sides of the pan. Be careful and see that the paste does not burn and turn dark brown.
Add the sautéed Shrimps, sugar, salt, and the rest of the chili powder and turmeric and the coconut milk & the shredded coconut. Boil this till the coconut milk start getting creamy. You will see little bubbles coming up.
Gently stir for some more time and when the gravy coats the spoon you will know that its done.
Serve with white basmati rice.
Details 
