Fish Fingure or Fish sticks

Fish fingures are prepared by marinating the fish ,breading it and frying.These are very famous appetizers in Chennai hotels.I had some tilapia fillets ,so tried with that.It came out reall good.My family thoroughly enjoyed it.The besan makes the fish to get the preferred coating.

Ingredients:
1.Fish                          -                3
2.Besan flour               -                1/2 cup
3.Bread crumbs            -                1/2 cup
4.Chilli pwdr               -                 1 tbsp
5.Turmeric pwdr          -                 a pinch
6.G&G paste                -                  1 tsp
7.Garam masala pwdr  -                   1/4 tsp
8.Curry leaves              -                  few
9.Lemon                        -                  1/2

Method:
* Cut the fish into fingure like shaped pieces.
* Take a mixing bowl,add chilli pwdr,turmeric pwdr,ginger garlic paste,garam masala ,chopped curry leaves and lemon juice.Mix them well with salt.
* Now coat the fish pieces and marinate them over night.

* In a separate bowl,add besan flour and bread crumbs,mix them.
* Now, take each fish and roll them in the besan- bread crumb mixture ,tap the excess flour and keep it aside.Coat all the fishes with the besan mix.
* Deep fry them in oil.
* Serve them with yogurt dip.

Note:
If u dont have time,then u can marinate the fish for an hour also.The more u marinate,the more juicy fish will be.

Fish cutlet - a spicy transformation

We bought a box of fish sticks,imagining that as fish fingures.But I was totally dissappointed with the taste and texture.No body in our house liked it.Even rohith was not willing to eat it.It was lying in our freezer for months now.When I opened the freezer, for some other reason,it caught my eyes and wanted to try something spicy out of it.And hence the title a spicy transformed fish cutlet from fish sticks.Fish cutlets came out really spicy and tasty too.More variations, I am thinking now to tansfer it to a edible one.

Ingredients:
1.Onion                          -              1/2
2.Red chillies                -               2
3.Garlic pods                -               2 to 3
4.ketchup                       -               1 tbsp
5.Red peppers               -               1/4


Marination:
1.Fish sticks                   -                 6 to 8
2.Vinegar                        -                1 tbsp
3.Red chilli pwdr           -                 1 tsp
4.Pepper pwdr               -                  1/2 tsp

for coating:
1.Egg                               -                    1
2.Bread crumbs               -                    1/2 cup

Method:
* Shred the fish sticks and add all the ingredients under 'marination'.
* Mix it well and refrigerate over night.
* Take a pan,add oil ,saute the chopped oinion,crushed garlic ,crushed red chillies and chopped red peppers.
* Add salt and let it cook well.
* Now add the marinated fish sticks and mix it with the onion.

* Add the ketchup and coat it with the mixture.
* Remove from heat and add chopped cilantro.
* Divide it into equal parts and roll it.
* Dip in egg and coat it with bread crumbs.
* Shallow fry it in the tawa .
Serve with ketch up.

Reposting for the event.
Sending this to Akila's Dish name starts with F event

                                                           
                                                Fish Kuzhambu

                            Fish Puttu / Sura Puttu / Shark Crumbles

                                            Fish Cutlet  -    Version 1

Araithu vitta Meen Kuzhambu / Fish curry with freshly ground spices

Fish curries are my families favourite.Shanvi's arachi vitta meen kuzhambu inspired me a lot.So I prepared her curry this week.It was heavenly,with freshly ground spices.....It tasted ,in the same way,where we used to prepare it in villages..But little spicy.We can alter the spice level according to our taste..I used here tilapia fillets.

I dont want to waste time in typing the methods....just chk shanavi's post.it will do all magic to ur curry,with freshly ground spices...For her recipe go here

For more seafood varieties go here......

Dhum - Hyderabadi (Shrimp) Biriyani - Shrimp Biriyani

Whenever I see recipes ,titling dhum biriyani, I used to think that it will be a heactic job.today I planned to cook shrimp biriyani as a one pot dish.My friend Ayesha called me and when she was speaking askd abt my lunch.she told me to prepare it as dhum biriyani and she gave me the guidelines.I took her guidelines and vah-chef's tip of marinating shrimp,and prepared this dish.It was awsome.My Hubby will not talk much.I have to understand ,by his deeds.He was asking more and more and we finished off the biriyani within minutes.My son loved the juicy prawns and he too had well.I was so satisfied . This dhum biriyani,makes the shrimp juicy.Give it a try, u will love it a lot....

Ingredients:

For Marination:
1.Prawns                 -       1 lb
2.G&G paste           -        1 tsp
3.Red chilli pwdr    -        1 tsp
4.Lemon Juice          -        half

For Cooking Rice:
1.Basmati rice         -        2 1/2 cup
2.Oil                        -        1 tsp
3.Whole garam masala ( 2 cloves,1/2 inch cinnamom,2 bay leaves)
4.Salt                       -         1/2 tsp

For Gravy:
1.Whole Garam masala   -       4 cloves.1/2 inch cinnamom,2 bay leaves
2.Ghee                             -       2 tbsp
3.Oil                                -       2 tbsp
4.Onion                            -       1 1/2
5.Tomato                          -       2 1/2
6.Green chillies                -       5
7.G&G paste                     -       2 tsp
8.Mint                                -       1 cup
9.Cilantro                          -        1 cup
10.Orange color                 -        1 tsp

Method:

Marination:
* Marinate shrimp with all other items under marination for 15 to 20 mins.
* This will make the shrimp to absorb the masalas well.

Cooking Rice:
* Take a rice cooker and cook basmati rice with oil,salt and whole garam masalas ,up to 90%.
* Take it out and transfer it to another container and close it tightly,as  rice shud  be hot for biriyani.
* We can also cook it on stove top and drain the water .

For Gravy:
* Gravy shud be prepared simultaneously.
* Slice onions finely,chop tomatoes and slit green chillies.The amount of onion and tomatoes must be little bit higher than chicken and mutton biriyani.Bcoz shrimp will not give out much water.So in order to have a thick gravy, we are using much higher amt.
* Take a pan ,add oil,ghee and splutter with whole garam masalas.
* Saute onion and green chillies well with little salt.
* Add G&G paste and saute well.
* When onion leaves out oil, add tomatoes and sprinkle some salt.
* The tomatoes shud disintergrate into the gravy.
* Now dump in the marination and saute well, till shrimp is cooked 95 %.
* Add mint, cilantro and cover it and cook for 2 more minutes.

For keeping in dhum:
* Now take a wide- heavy bottomed,container and add 1 tbsp of ghee .
* Transfer the prawn gravy to the container .
* Pour the cooked rice on top of the gravy and spread it well ,without any lumps.
* dilute the orange color in a tbsp of water and pour it over the rice.

* Take a wet towel and spread it on top of the container .
* Place some weight on top of the towel.Here I have kept 5 plates (dinnerware set) on top.
*  Place a tava over the stove and keep this covered container on top.
* Place it in dhum for 10 to 15 mins.
* Take it out carefully, and mix the rice and gravy using a fork as shown in last pic.
* Now ur shrimp biriyani is ready.Serve hot with raitha.

Dhum biriyanis have more flavour than one pot biriyanis.We enjoyed our lunch.The prawns tasted heavenly,as it was marinated well with masalas.Planning to do chicken and mutton biriyanis in the same manner.

Note:
We can also add curd instead of lemon juice.Dont add water while making the gravy.The water content in the gravy shud be contributed by onion,tomatoe and shrimp.
For more biriyani recipes, chk my previous postings...



Sending it to Akila's "Dish name starts with D"

Hydrabadi Dum Biriyani

Fish cutlet /Patties

We were invited for diwali to Saras and Thara home.After one lone some diwali, we had good time with their family.We had a  feast that day.My husband and me went crazy ,after having her fish cutlet.It was awsome.I took a oath that I shud try it imediately.Luckily i had a shark slice sitting at my home.Anxiously waited till sunday and prepared this wonderful dish.It came out really well.My husband's face lit up immediately when he saw these for lunch.This dish is full of nutrition and ofcourse less oil.
"Savitha's kitchen is all about healthy living and happy eating".Ok podhum build up,come lets see my little cuties.

Cutlet ready to serve!!!!

Ingredients:
1.Shark                    -      1 pound
2.Onion                    -      1/2
3.Green chillies       -       4
4.Garlic                   -        5
5.Chilli pwdr          -        1/2 tbsp
6.Garam masala      -         1/4 tbsp
7.Soy sauce             -         1 tbsp
8.Cilantro
9.Bread slices         -        2

For coating:
1.Egg                   -       2
2.Bread crumbs   -        1 cup

Method:
* Cook the shark in a pan  with some salt and turmeric pwdr,until it is soft.
* Shred it and keep it aside.
* Chop onions,garlic and green chillies.
* Take another pan, add a tbsp of oil and saute onion,green chillies and garlic.
* Make sure that they do not over cook.
* Sprinkle chilli pwdr,garam masala pwdr and mix it well.
* Pour the soy sauce and mix with the onion well.
* Pour the contents into the shredded shark and knead it with the bread slices.
* There shud not be any lumps .
* Now add the chopped cilantro and form small patties .

Patties -ready to get coated...

* Take eggs in a bowl and dip the patties in it.
* Coat it with the bread crumbs and shallow fry it in a tava.
* If u have so many patties , then we can freeze it in the freezer after coating with bread crumbs.
* So whenever, we want ,we can just thaw it and fry it in a tava.

Note:
We can also add G&G paste.We can do veg cutlet the same way ,by adding all boiled veges and without egg wash,but with maida dip.
Fish Fry

Prawn Gravy

My husband goes for hair cut to a vietnamese shop.Next to that we have a chinese shop, where sea food are fresh and cheap.Since this shop is far from our house, we will not go very often.This week he went for his hair cut and bought prawn and shark for me.I love the texture of these prawns , as they r fresh and just resemble our indian prawns.
I had bottle gourd sitting in my fridge.As it is not my hubby's favourite, so thoguht of adding it with prawn.As bottle gourd are watery veges,they can absorb the flavor of prawns and  change into vege-prawns.U can never distinguish between prawn and bottle gourd.After our lunch, i asked my husband whether there was any difference.He cud not say anything.
Hmmm made my husband and kid have veges and  prawn together.Its a big victory for me.
Here comes my recipe of prawn and bottle gourd.

Prawn (Bottle gourd)Gravy !!!

Ingredients:
1.Prawn                    -     1 pound
1(a).Bottle gourd      -      1 cup
2.Onion                     -      1  (big)
3.Tomato                   -      1 ( big)
4.G&G paste             -      1 tbsp
5.Chilli pwdr            -       1 tbsp
6.Green chillies        -       2
7.Curry leaves
8.Cilantro                

Method:
* Wash and peel prawns.
* Wash and cube the bottle gourd.
* Chop onion,tomato,green chillies finely.
* Take a pan, add a tbsp of oil and splutter with mustard seeds,curry leaves.
* Saute onion,green chillies untill it turns light brown.
* Add tomato and sprinkle some salt.
* When tomato disintergrates ,add turmeric pwdr and chilli pwdr.
* Saute till it looses its raw smell.
* Dump in the prawn,bottle gourd and saute it well.
* Add the G&G paste to the mixture.Let it saute well.
* Adjust salt to taste.
* Turn off the heat ,when the gravy becomes thick.
* Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot rice.

Note:
This bottle gourd wud taste like prawn after it is cooked well.
Shrimp/prawn Fry

Fish Curry ( Keluthi Meen Kuzhambu)

Fish curry is our all time favourite.My husband went to a Chinese shop and this fresh Cat fish caught his eyes.After a long time we are having this fish curry for lunch.Wow......my mouth is drooling,I cant wait to give the recipe.



Drowling Fish Curry!!!



Ingredients:
1.Cat fish               -  6 to 8 pieces
2.Shallots               -  1 cup
3.Tomatoes            -   2
4.Garlic pods         -   4 to 5
5.Chilli pwdr         -    11/2 tbsp
5(a).Coriander pdr -   2 tbsp
6.Turmeric pwdr    -    1 tsp
7.Tamarind juice    -    1 cup
8.Curry leaves

For Tempering:
1.Cumin seeds     -   1 tsp
2.Mustard seeds  -    1 tsp
3.Methi seeds      -     1 tsp
4.Vadagam           -     1 tbsp

Method:
* Cut and wash the fish as shown.



Washed and cut cat fish.



* Make the shallots into halves and chop the tomatoes and peel the garlic.



* In a pan add oil and temper with mustard seeds,cumin seeds  ,methi seeds,and curry leaves. * Add the Shallots and garlic and saute it untill the shallots loose its texture.
* Dump in the tomatoes into the pan.
* Sprinkle some salt to cook the tomatoes fast.
* Add the turmeric pwdr , chilli pwdr and coriander pwdr .
* Let it loose its raw smell ( Be careful it may turn black at this point).
* Add the tamarind juice into the pan and bring it to a boil.



Boiling curry!!!!!!



* When the curry becomes thick, dump in the fish carefully .
* Let it cook for 2 to 3 mins and turn off the stove.
* In another pan add a tsp of oil and temper with vadagam and pour it into the fish curry.
* This vadagam gives a unique flavor to the curry.
* Serve with steamed rice .

Note:
Make sure that u dont mix the curry after fish is put into it,as it may brake the fish .

Steamed Shark Crumbles (Sura Puttu)

 Sura puttu is a south indian delicacy and served as a side dish in most house holds.Small sharks are used for this recipe.But here in US we get only big ones.Though it doesnt match with the small ones,but fresh sharks are tasty.My mom used to do a lot,but this particular recipe is from my friend Sheena.



Sura Puttu!!!


Ingredients:
1.Shark                        -     1 piece
2.Onion                       -      1/2
3.Green chillies           -      10
4.Garlic                       -       10 pods
5.Red chillies              -        3
7.G&G paste               -        1 tsp (optional)
7(a).Chilli pwdr          -        1 tsp (optional)
8.Curry laves
9.Cilantro


Fresh Shark!!!


Method:
*  Chop onions,green chillies and garlic.



Chopped onion,gren chillies,garlic,red chillies,curry leaves and cilantro


* Pressure cook the shark for 1 whistle with little turmeric pwdr and salt.Shred the shark as shown.



Steamed shark in crumbles


* In a pan add oil and splutter with mustard seeds,red chillies and curry leaves.
* Saute onion,till they becomes transparent.
* Dump in the garlic and green chillies. let it cook for a while.
* Add G&G paste and mix it well.
* I love to add chilli pwdr to spice up my dish.
* Adjust salt to taste.
* Now add the shredded shark into the pan.



Adding shark to the tempering.

 
* Give it a toss and garnish with cilantro.
* serve with rice.



Ready to serve....



Note:
Green chillies and red chillies can be reduced to ur spice level.More garlic pods will enhance the flavor.

Fish fry

Fish fry is one of the dishes I cherish, in my MIL 's cooking.She is awsome .She just grinds masalas by hand in an ammi and marinates the fish.This is an authentic dish which has routes in chidambaram, my husband's native.Its famous for its Natarajar temple and the famous "Annamalai University".So this has a long history and so is the taste. I can bet that nothing beats this dish.

Ingredients:
1.Freshly cut tilapia fillets - 2
2.Ginger
3.garlic pods - 4 pods
4.fennel seeds -1 tsp
5.chilli pwdr - 1 tbsp
6.turmeric pwdr _ 1/2 tsp
7.tamarind juice - 2 tbsp

Method:
* wash the tilapia fillet and cut into pieces
* grind ginger,garlic and fennel seeds in a grinder and make it into a fine paste
* In a bowl, add chilli pwdr,turmeric pwdr,salt and the mixture which we grinded.
* make it into a paste by adding the tamarind juice.
* marinade the fish for 1 hr and then in a tava, shallow fry the fish.

Notes:
If u r in india and have a ammi, just grind the ginger -garlic in that.This will surely enhance the taste and flavor.
Fish Fry