Tag: curry

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Thai Clam-Potato Curry

We order all our seafood using this app called FreshtoHome. An order placed in the evening results in delivery between 9am and 11am, and I’m speaking of Greater NOIDA. Another reason I like using this app, is the variety of fish delivered is restricted to what they have in stock, and not what the local residents prefer buying.

This means, we have access to lesser available varieties of seafood, such as clams, mussels, shark and all manner of other species, in addition to their being fresh and free of preservative chemicals.

We picked up a batch of tiny clams this time. Remember to clean your clams thoroughly, including picking out bits of seashells as well as soaking them for a while in water so the sand that’s inside them can sink to the bottom. Even better was a suggestion from a friend, Apolina, a marvellous cook. She suggested they be placed in a sieve that’s partially immersed in water, so the clams stay on the sieve while the sand filters down.

How do they taste? If you’re new to seafood, clams are a great place to start, as they don’t have that strong fishy smell that quite a few sea creatures tend to bring along with them. Some of us, like me, think it’s an aroma, while others think it’s a stink. Your call. Clams have a bit of a bounce and in my opinion, must retain that bounce. They mustn’t be mushy or extra soft and all of that – do that to your red meat – cook the living daylights out of it, as contradictory as that sounds. Seafood? We have to be a little more delicate. So there’s a bit of a bite in clam meat, a slight bounce and a distinct aroma and flavour that you’ll come to associate with molluscs.

Cooking was quite simple. When using coconut milk, make two versions – one thin and the other, thick. The thicker one is used to finish the curry, while the thin one is for cooking. The thicker one is prone to curdling and must be treated delicately.

Ingredients:

  • Clams, 500g
  • Tom yum paste, 50g
  • Onions, 2 large, sliced
  • Potatoes, 2 medium, diced small-medium
  • Coconut milk, thin, 500ml
  • Coconut milk, thick, 200ml
  • Oil, 2 tablespoons

Method:

  1. Heat the oil
  2. Fry the onions for a bit
  3. Add the tom yum (or other) paste
  4. Fry a bit more
  5. Add the clams; fry
  6. Add thin coconut milk and potatoes; mix well
  7. Cover and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes while the potatoes (and clams) cook.
  8. Add thick coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  9. Adjust seasoning
  10. Serve with hot rice.

Notes:

  1. Remember to clean them well.
  2. Did I mention cleaning them properly is important?
  3. Don’t forget to clean them thoroughly.
Categories
Recipes

Banarasi Kaddu ki Khatti Meethi Subzi

Certain memories of one’s childhoods never fade away. For me, every summer vacation Mom used to take us from Gujarat to our Nani‘s house in Banaras. Every morning me and my cousins would go to Gangaji for a bath and while returning jam kay bhook lagti thi and Nani used to keep this dish ready for us to eat. Believe me, simple kaddu ki subzi and puri would give us so much happiness.

My Nani was widowed at a very early age so she had very limited resources. She use to cook on a chulha, and we kids would surround her and sit, while she made garam garam puris and serve us in kuut ki thali (brass thali).

Sometimes, I feel kaash time machine hoti movies ki tarhah and I could relive those days once again. So today was my lunch, banarasi kaddu ki khatti meethi subzi with masala puri.

Ingredients

  • 250 gm Pumpkin/Kaddu, peeled and cut into pieces
  • 3 tsp Mustard/Sarson oil
  • 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds/Methi dana
  • 1/4 tsp Cumin seed/Jeera
  • 2 nos Red chilli, dried
  • 2 nos Green chilli
  • pinch of Asafoetida/Hing
  • 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder/Haldi
  • Salt as per taste
  • 1/2 tsp Dried mango/Amchur powder
  • 1/4 tsp Rock salt / kala namak
  • Jaggery/Gur as per taste

Method

  • Add oil in a kadhai and heat till it starts smoking. Switch off the flame and wait for a minute or two, so the oil cools a little and doesn’t burn the spices in the next step.
  • Add jeera, hing, methi dana, dried red chillies and green chilies.
  • When the mixture becomes aromatic, add kaddu, salt, haldi and 1/4 cup water.
  • Cover and cook till almost (80%) done.
  • Add gur, chilli powder, amchur, rock salt.
  • Cover and cook on a very slow flame till the oil separates.
  • Serve hot with masala puris.

Notes

  • The ingredients mentioned are for one portion
  • If you don’t have mustard/sarson oil, any other can be used
  • Haldi/turmeric powder can be less if you wish
  • When removing the skin of the pumpkin/kaddu, don’t remove too much. Use a peeler not a knife.
  • The distinctive flavour of this dish comes from the sarson ka tel, gur, methi dana and rock salt.
  • An iron kadhai is best for cooking this dish.