Sindhi methi machchi curry

I thought I was done with my grocery shopping for the week. I had told myself that we were eating much more than we should be and soon weighty troubles would be knocking at the door. So I had to be careful. But how could I stop myself from picking up those bitter gourds or that bunch of fresh methi when we had to visit the Indian store for chapati flour? Methi - that flavoursome green which perks up any dish? Yes, the bunch was large.. but it was just 1.5NZD. The husband gave a nod of approval to put it into the basket.

Once home, we sat about picking the fresh leaves to put them into an airtight container so that they last. Awakening. There was way too much methi than the both of us needed before it would go bad. So we had to fight the deal that we had struck to try to remain vegetarian until mid March. Methi can be bitter so veggie dishes don't require too much of it and it had to be a non-veg dish that could help use up most of the methi.

After a 8km loop walk around the Orewa estuary, we stopped at the store to pick up some meat. All we could find were pieces of salmon. I picked them up remembering the methi fish curry that Pras gobbled up when we last visited Ooty. So here's how I made the methi fish curry. It is super easy to put together.

Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6) :

1. Fish - with few bones - 750grams
2. Fresh methi/fenugreek leaves - 1 cup finely chopped and densely packed
3. Ginger - 2 inch piece
4. Garlic - 16 pods
5. Green chillies - 6
6. Tomatoes  - 3 medium sized
7. Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
10. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Garam masala - 1 tsp
12. Water - as per gravy requirement. I used 1 cup.
13. Oil - 1/4 cup
14. Salt to taste

How I made it :

1. Clean the fish. Cut into 2 inch cubes Salt it and keep it aside.
2. Make a puree of the tomatoes
3. Make a paste of the ginger, garlic and green chillies.
4. Wash the methi and finely chop them.
5. Now, wash the fish and keep on dry towel.
6. Heat oil in a wide bottom pan.
7. Throw in the fish and let them fry till they are half cooked on all sides.  About 2 minutes on each side.
8. Remove the fish pieces.
9. Throw in the jeera seeds.
10. Once they crackle, lower the flame and put in the ginger garlic green chilli paste.
11. Let that fry till the raw smell is gone. About 3 minutes. 
12. Next, throw in all the dry masala powders. Fry for a minute.
13. Now, put in the methi leaves and let them fry to reduce their bitterness. 
14. After about 4 minutes of frying, put in the tomato puree. 
15. Adjust the salt and let this fry till the fat separates. 
16. Add the water. Once it comes to the boil, add the fish pieces. 
17. Cover and let the fish cook on low flame Took about 10 minutes. 
18. Serve hot with chapatis.

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Jo's Yummy Prawn Curry

How can one not try the seafood options available when living on an island? And we've been eating only red meat as NZ is well known for its red meat. I went shopping on my own this weekend and hence decided to pick up some prawns. I did wanna pick up some clams as well but put that away for the next time.

I made this curry in a hurry and with readymade coconut cream. It was delicious nonetheless and a match made in heaven when had with kerala appams. I used the double horse brand ready mix for easy palappams.

Also, please do excuse the lazy me as I continue to take the pics either after we've eaten our fair share for the day and with my humble phone camera.

Preparation time : 5 minutes
Cooking time : 25-30 minutes

Ingredients ( Serves 4) :

1. 500g of prawns - cleaned and deveined
2. 1 large onion
3. 4 sambar/pearl/pickle onions
4. 4 cloves of garlic
5. 1 inch piece of ginger
6. 2 tsp red chilli powder
7. 1 tsp coriander powder
8. 400ml of thin coconut milk/cream (or) 200g of thick coconut cream diluted in water
9. 1/2 cup of water + more for the coconut milk
10. 1 tbsp tamarind paste
11. 4 tbsp oil
12. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
13. A handful of curry leaves
14. Salt to taste
15. Chopped coriander to garnish

How I made it:

1. Grind the onions, pearl onions, garlic, ginger to a fine paste in the mixie.
2. Heat oil in a pan.
3. Add the mustard seeds when oil is hot.
4. When they stop spluttering, add curry leaves. 
5. Add the onion paste from step 1.
6. Fry on medium flame for 10-12 minutes till the fat separates. It takes longer for this step to complete as onion paste takes some more time as well as more oil to fry well. 
7. Add red chilli powder and coriander powder.
8. Fry for a minute and then add the tamarind paste in 1/2 cup of water. 
9. Let it boil for 3-4 minutes and add the coconut milk. 
10. Adjust salt. 
11. Once it comes back to a boil, add the prawns.
12. Cook until the prawns turn pink. Do not cook beyond this else the prawns tend to get rubbery in texture.
13. Turn off heat. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or appams.

Now this is a keeper of a base for any kind of meat curry that needs to be made in a hurry.

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