Prawns in Butter Garlic Sauce

Nariman Point is a prime business area in Mumbai.  It houses some of India’s and the world’s premier business headquarters.  Apart from business, ‘Point’ as it is affectionately called by office goers and locals has something for everyone. The soothing sea breeze, sprawling corporate head offices that are nothing short of architectural marvels, imposing 20^th century buildings and bridges built by our colonial masters, and yes of course, an endless array of culinary options to satisfy every little taste bud on the tongue.

I too, had the opportunity of working at Nariman Point and today’s recipe is the outcome of one such culinary adventure. The place where I used to work was blessed with plenty of options for food right from fine dining restaurants to road side food stalls that served almost anything from Chinese to French or pasta. Though I used to carry my lunch from home (I still do), occasionally, I would skip carrying it allowing my mum some rest. A colleague, who was a foodie like me, mentioned of this recently opened restaurant that claimed to serve some of the best seafood in the area. Now, a new restaurant offering seafood meant it wasn’t long before we both decided to try it out. Of course, the menu had everything that the sea could offer and my colleague suggested we should try the “Butter Garlic Squid”. Being the conventional type (in my choice of food), I wasn’t too convinced that the dish would offer much; but my colleague almost pleaded me to try and try we did. I almost fell in love with the combination and together over the next couple of visits to the place we almost tried everything from squid, prawns, tofu, mushroom, and anything that the tag of ‘butter garlic’ attached to it. My personal favorite though, was the “Butter Garlic Prawns”.

My first attempt at making something with butter garlic sauce was with shredded chicken and honestly, the result was nothing but a disaster. I decided to make the same with prawns. This dish is so simple and uses ingredients that we almost tend to neglect in day to day cooking butter and garlic. Paulo Coelho was spot on when he wrote in the Alchemist: ‘The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.’ I had run a poll on my facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TummyTales) and no wonder then the dish was the winner by a long way. The rich butter sauce cooked to perfection with the garlic that covers the succulent prawns along with the complementing tastes of Italian herbs and the chilly flakes providing adequate support; and finally, the lemon juice provide the final swoosh just as you finish.

Go ahead and try it to experience gastronomic nirvana.

Prawns in Butter Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

• 250 grams medium sized prawns
• 2 large pods of garlic roughly chopped
• 80 grams butter (preferably unsalted)
• 1 small teaspoon olive oil
• 1  table spoon dried Italian herbs (I used thyme, basil, rosemary and oregano)
• 1 table spoon red chilly flakes (or 1 green chilly finely chopped)
• Juice of ½ a medium sized lime
• ½ table spoon crushed pepper
• Salt to taste (please be careful if your using salted butter)

Procedure:

• In a non-stick pan, add the olive oil and the butter and let them heat. Once the butter has melted add in some of the garlic and let it cook till the garlic turns reddish brown in colour. Take it out and keep it aside.
• Now, add in the rest of the garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
• Once the garlic has cooked, add in the prawns and stir till the prawns change colour. Add in the salt and let it cook stirring continuously.
• Next add in the herbs and red chilly flakes, and the garlic that we had browned earlier allowing the flavors to seep into the prawns.
• Add the crushed black pepper and the lime juice giving it one last stir.
• Serve hot.

Goan Pork Sausage Pulao

Here’s a quick question. What best reminds you of Goa? Sandy pristine beaches, Port wine, fun loving people and awesome seafood. But are we missing something? Yes of course!! How could we miss the Goan Pork Sausages, the best gift that Goa could give the world?

The Sausages, Lingis (Linguica) or Choriso as they are called in local language are often ranked number one on the shopping list of any tourist visiting Goa.  I, for one, have been lucky enough to have an aunt who visits Goa at least 2-3 times a year and thus I have my year long supply continuously replenished. In simple terms, the sausages are chunks of pork meat coated with chilly, spices, and marinated with vinegar giving them a fiery hot colour. These are then tied together with a thick thread. You could store them for at least six months. To tell you the truth, they barely remain that long, the magic is when you take the sausages, and there is a nice pungent aroma of the spices and vinegar that have by now mingled well with each other. Then, as you slowly tear the outer covering, the aroma fills your entire house. It has to be experienced.

Because they come preloaded with a whole lot of spices and are already marinated, the sausages serve as a quick fix meal on a day when probably you have guests at a short notice or are feeling lazy to cook. All you need to do is chop some onions, a potato and add the sausages & some salt…. Done…. Your jhatpat meal is ready.

My mum usually makes sausages in the manner mentioned above and they are awesome. I had always wanted to make this sausage pulao and so I gave it a try this time. Spicy, aromatic, and yummy was how I would describe the result.

As always make some extra, you never know someone might just drop in sensing the aroma.

Goan Sausage Pulao

Ingredients

• 150 grams long grained rice
• 150 grams Goan Pork Sausages
• 2 Onions (Peeled and Cubed)
• 2 Potatoes (Peeled, Cut into wedges & fried)- I excluded this
• 2 tablespoons Garlic Paste
• 2 tablespoons Ginger Paste
• 1 Green Chilly (Chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Oil and for frying the potatoes.
• 2 Green Cardamoms
• 8 Black peppercorns
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4-5 Cloves

Procedure

• Wash the rice, and soak in water for about 20-25 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
• Peel the potatoes and cut into wedges. Heat oil in a pan and fry the potatoes till they are golden brown in colour. Keep them on an absorbent paper for oil to drip off.
• Open the casing of the sausages by cutting the string and keep aside.
• In a pan, add 1 teaspoon oil and heat. Add in the ginger-garlic paste and let it cook.
• Once the pastes start to brown, add onions, and stir well till they turn translucent.
• Add in the whole spices, chilly and potato wedges and let them cook for a while.
• Once the spices begin to give out an aroma, add in the sausages, and let them cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the rice and mix well. Be careful when you mix as too much mixing will cause the grains to break.
• Add water and cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Remember to keep checking at regular intervals if more water is required. Usually, the proportion of rice and water is 1:2. So for 1 cup rice, you will require 2 cups of water.

 Voila!!! The Goan sausage pulao is ready…. Enjoy with friends and family.

Hello everyone, since this is my first post of the year. Let me begin by wishing all of you a very Happy New Year. May the coming 365 days bring you joy, peace, love and yes, delicious food in plenty.

Although I have only recently started blogging, I have been fortunate enough to get to know people from across the globe; some who follow my blog and some who read it. It is great fun interacting with you all sharing tips, tricks, recipes and above all the love for good food. A co-blogger (who follows my blog and loves Indian food) recently wrote to me asking if preparing all kinds of Indian food involved detailed technique and consumed a lot of time. My answer? Yes and No. Because of the cultural diversity existing in the country, certain regions do have an elaborate cooking process, some places it’s a quick fix meal. Nevertheless, I promised her to put up Indian recipes that didn’t involve a lot of technique and would be quick to prepare. That set the creative juices flowing and the recipe you see below is the result of one such endeavor.

The Red Roast Chicken (well, that’s what I called it) gets done in about forty five minutes and with a minimal of ingredients. Although I originally thought of only using the masala as a base, the gravy lover in me wouldn’t budge and I added curd towards the end to give the dish some more depth. The dark red colour comes from using a secret trick that I would share with you a little later. The roasted chicken when combined with the aromatic spices and the fragrant curry leaves combines into something that is almost impossible to resist. It is slightly heavier on the spices and oil; however, you could adjust to your taste.

I would be glad to hear from you on whether you’ve  tried it and the results.

Red Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 Kg Chicken (I used boneless chicken)
• 5 Tablespoons Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 3 Tablespoons Refined Oil
• 150 grams curd
• 2 ½ tablespoons Red Chili Powder
• 1 ½ tablespoons Garam Masala Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds (and some Cumin powder)
• 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
• 1 tablespoon Cardamom Powder
• 1 tablespoon Cinnamon Powder
• 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
• 1 tablespoon Ginger Paste
• 1 Big sprig of Curry leaves
• 1 Lemon sized ball of tamarind (Soaked in warm water)
• Green Coriander Leaves (For garnishing)
• Juice of One lime
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

• Clean, wash, dry and cut the chicken. Add in salt, lime juice, and some turmeric powder and keep aside for 20 minutes.
• Now, heat the Ghee and oil together in a pan. When it is hot, add in the chicken pieces and roast them well. Once the chicken pieces start to brown, take them out from the pan and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add in the cumin seeds and the curry leaves and let them splutter.
• Once they start spluttering, add in the Ginger and Garlic paste and let it cook for a while. Once it starts to brown, add in all the other masalas (spice powders) except for the red chili powder.
• At this point, your mixture may be dry so add in a little water, just enough to keep it moist.
• Well now is the time for the secret I promised earlier. When the oil begins leaving the masalas; beat the curd well and add the red chili powder to it. This is done so that the beautiful red colour is released enhancing the end colour of the dish. Add the curd to the mixture along with the roasted chicken and allow it to cook.
• Squeeze the pulp of the tamarind well and add the water to the mixture. Add in the salt.
• Add a little water if you would like it have gravy, else the chicken should be done in 10 minutes.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice.
• That’s it. Red Roast Chicken is ready!!!