Chilly Fish

I really didn't know whether I should call this Chilly Fish or Fish Manchurian. Finally I settled with Chilly Fish; whatever the name is, this is a lip smacking dish! You could follow this preparation with Chicken or even with some fleshy veggies. You could make this dry and serve as an appetizer or make this with gravy and use as a side for rotis or a rice preparation. I also love the dry version with Roti and rice. This dish is a feast for the eyes as well as for your stomach!

Print / Save this Recipe

Serves 6-7 people

For the Fry

Fish	- 1 lb
Corn Starch/Corn Flour	- 3 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste	- 1 tbsp
Chilly Powder	- 1 tbsp
Salt	- to taste
Water	- 1/4 cup
Oil	- as needed to shallow fry the fish

1. Make a batter with the corn flour, chilly powder, ginger garlic paste, water and salt.
2. Cut the fish into small cube sized pieces. Use any boneless fish. I used Tilapia fillets.
3. Dip the fish pieces into the batter.
4. Heat the oil and add the fish pieces to the hot oil and fry.
5. It is ideal to fry the fish well/dark brown, which will help it keep its shape when adding to the gravy. Also it enhances the taste.
6. Transfer the fried fish pieces to a plate lined with a paper kitchen tissue, to absorb any excess oil.

For the Gravy

Oil	- 3 tbsp (left from frying)
Ginger	- 2 big piece (0.10 lbs)
Garlic	- 15 big cloves (0.10 lbs)
Green Chilly	- 3 big (0.10 lbs)
Onion	- 1 (0.75 lbs)
Tomato Sauce	- 3 tbsp
Soya Sauce	- 3 tbsp
Water	- 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves	- handful for garnish (chopped)
Salt	- to taste

1. Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of oil (used for frying the fish) to it. 
2. When the oil starts to heat up, add the finely chopped ginger and garlic to it.  
3. Saute the ginger and garlic until the raw smell is gone (for about a minute). 
4. Add the finely chopped onions and a little salt and saute it well.  
5. When the onions are almost translucent, add the chopped green chillies and saute for a minute. 
6. Add the tomato sauce and soya sauce and mix well. 
7. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well.  
8. When the water just starts to boil, add the fried fish pieces and mix well to coat the sauces to the fish pieces.
9. Adjust the salt, if needed and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 
10. Turn off the stove and leave the pan closed for at least 10-15 minutes for the fish to absorb the sauces and the taste to set in.

Note: - If you want a gravy version, you could add more water (around 1/2 cup) mixed with a little corn starch/corn flour (about 1 tsp). Make sure the corn starch is mixed well without any lumps.

This is an easy version of Chilly fish with just the basic ingredients. You could also add red bell peppers and spring onions to make it more colorful, if needed.

Chicken Puffs

Let me start off by saying a "Happy New Year" to all my friends out there! Hope you all had a fantastic start.  Before I get on to the recipe, let me tell you about one of the most exciting recognition that I received end of December. My Kinnathappam recipe was selected as one of "The 30 Best Recipes of 2010" at a contest conducted by Chacko’s Kitchen. So not to mention that I have had a fantastic start for 2011!

So I will start off this year's post with an appetizer - Chicken Puffs. Something I have missed a lot after coming to US. Back home, this used to be one of the favorite snack for tea, and we used to have it at least once a week. But we never made this home. I would run to our nearby bakery - Anjali Bakery - one of the popular ones in the Trivandrum area to get the fresh baked hot puffs just out of the oven. They were in huge demand that you have to get them by 2pm or they would be gone. It was a blessing when I discovered the puff pastry sheets in the grocery stores in US. So here is what I do to recreate the taste and memories back home of the fresh hot puffs from Anjali Bakery.

Print / Save this Recipe

Makes 12-15 Puffs

Oil	- 2 tbsp
Onion	- 1 small (0.65 lbs)
Ginger Garlic Paste	- 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder	- 1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder	- 2 tsp
Garam Masala	- 1 tsp
Chicken	- 0.45 lbs (cooked & shredded)
Pepper Powder	- 1/2 tsp (coarsely crushed)
Puff Pastry Sheets	- 2 or 2 1/2 sheets
Egg White	- from 1 egg
Salt	- to taste

1. Add oil in a pan and add and saute onions when the oil is hot.
2. When the onion turns translucent, add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell is gone.
3. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and garam masala to this and saute for a minute or two.
4. Add the shredded chicken to this and mix until well combined. I used a 12.5oz can of chicken chunks. 
5. Add the coarsely crushed pepper and salt and mix well for 5-10 minutes in a medium flame. 
6. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.
7. Thaw the Puff Pastry Sheets as instructed in the packaging.
8. Cut the thawed puff pastry sheets into the required shape. I made 6 puffs from one sheet as you can see from the picture. A packet has 2 sheets.

9. Fill each puff with 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp of the chicken mixture.
10. Line the sides of the pastry with water using your hands and seal the puffs with the filling. The water will help it stick well together.
11. Once all the puffs are done, beat the egg whites and brush the top of all the puffs with a light coat of egg whites. This will give the puffs a glazed look.
12. Arrange the Puffs in a baking tray lined with a parchment paper or greased with butter/oil.
13. Preheat the oven at 400 degree F and bake the puffs for 20 minutes or until they are slightly brown.

This recipe will make 12-15 puffs depending on how much filling you put into each puffs. You could replace the chicken with veggies or beef to make a variation. Serve the puffs with ketchup or on its own with tea. It will definitely be a perfect appetizer for parties!

Easy Indian Fish Fry

For me and my family (and for most people from South Kerala, I would think), a normal lunch consists of rice, a curry (could be a vegetarian curry like Sambhar, Moru Curry, etc or a non-veg curry like a Fish Curry), a thoran (stir-fried veggies) and a fish fry. Adding fish to your daily diet ensures that you get your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids which helps reduce the risk of heart disease and promotes healthy brain function. In addition to all these health benefits, it just makes the lunch, or any meal, all the more exciting. The version of fish fry I have here is a simple 'n easy 'n quick one, to the extent that I do not even know if a posting for the same is needed in this space here. I am just going to go ahead and do it anyways!

Print / Save this Recipe

Makes 18 square pieces

Fish	- 1 lbs (I used Mahi Mahi)
Chilly Powder	- 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder	- 1/2 tsp
Salt	- 3/4 tsp (add according to taste)
Oil	- as needed to fry

1. Cut the fish into square pieces.
2. Add the chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt to the fish and mix well with your hands. Do not add any water, as the water content in the fish should be enough.
3. Keep the fish aside for a minimum of 30 minutes to marinate.
4. You could shallow fry this fish with very little oil or deep fry with more oil. You also have the option of baking, by broiling the fish in a conventional oven for 10 minutes.

Enjoy the fried fish with a meal or even as an appetizer. When serving as an appetizer, you could add on some sliced onions and lemon on the side.

Crab Shiitake Puff with Grape Fruit Sauce

How does the name of the recipe sound? It has quite a story behind it. My team decided to do this get-together at one of our colleague's place as a team activity and the idea was to do 'Chopped'. For those who do not know what 'Chopped' is, it is a Food Network Reality show where the chefs are given 3-5 unrelated ingredients and are asked to come up with an Appetizer, Entree and Dessert. So now to what we did, I was asked to prepare an appetizer with Crab Meat, Shiitake Mushroom, Grape Fruit and Bran Cereal. Again unlike the show, we were given the ingredients a week early. The list of ingredients here were stuff I had never even bought before. Deciding what to make was a tough decision and had to try it once before I made it for the competition. I will cut the story short and get into the ingredients and method of making this appetizer.

For the Puff:

Crab Meat	- 300 gms (0.7 lbs - used 3 crab legs)
Shiitake Mushroom	- 150 gms (0.35 lbs)
Butter	- 3 - 4 tbsp
Ginger Paste	- 1 1/2 tsp
Garlic Paste	- 1 1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder	- 1 tsp (I used very little to make the appetizer mild)
Garam Masala	- 3/4 tsp
Egg Whites	- 1
Puff Pastry Sheet	- 1 Packet
Salt	- to taste

1. In a mixer, mince the cooked crab meat.
2. Chop the mushrooms into small slices.
3. In a pan, heat the butter and add Ginger and Garlic paste.
4. After sauting the ginger and garlic for 2-3 minutes, add the Chilly Powder and saute for a minute.
5. Add the chopped mushrooms and saute until the mushroom is cooked.
6. Add the minced crab meat, garam masala and salt and mix everything well for 3-5 minutes.
7. Turn off the stove and let the filling cool.
8. Use the puff pastry sheet to make puffs with the filling into any shape you want.
9. Line a Baking pan with parchment paper and place the puffs in it.
10. Beat the egg whites and brush the egg whites on to the top of the puffs. This is to give a glaze to the puffs.
11. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degree for 15 minutes and your puffs are ready.

For the Sauce:

Grape Fruit	- 6 oz can
Salted Butter	- 1 tbsp
Ginger Paste	- 1/2 tsp
Sweet Chilly Sauce	- 1 1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder	- 1/4 tsp
Brown Sugar	- 2 tsp
Salt	- 1/4 tsp
Water	- 1/2 cup
Corn Starch	- 1 tsp
Bran Cereal	- 2 tbsp (powdered)

1. In a pan heat the butter and add ginger paste and saute for 2-3 minutes.
2. Grind the grape fruit with the juice (I used the canned version, as I could not get the fresh ones).
3. Add the ground grape fruit to the pan and let it boil.
4. Add the sweet Chilly Sauce, Chilly Powder and Brown Sugar and mix well.
5. Mix Bran Cereal powder in little water and add to the pan.
6. Mix the corn starch in a little water and add to the pan as well. This is to give a glaze to the sauce.
7. Let the sauce thicken and add the salt.

We were rated equally for Taste, Creativity and Presentation and guess what, this dish won the second prize at this competition.