Three spotted (swimmer) crab in spiced coconut gravy

Happy New Year 2015 dear readers! It has been close to a year since my last blog post (sounds a bit like a confession at church - 'Forgive me Father it has been close to a year since my last confession!'). Jokes apart, I must apologise to you my dear readers for not having to hear from me. 2014 was quite a roller coaster ride with the best and worst seen! It was definitely a year full of changes and challenges. Thankfully we survived the bitter ones with the Grace of Our Lord! I also thank you dear readers for the numerous emails, messages, calls, texts and IMs to check in on me and motivating me to return to G'Gina's Kitchenette.

I lost my dear grandma in August of 2014 and as you may have noticed a lot of my previous blog posts and posts/tweets refer to grandma's influence in my cooking. So what started as what may have been a writer's block, saw me through a whole heap of events including a physical move of G'Gina's Kitchenette to a new location. I am not sure if you know that I also run a Tourism business ICare Holidayz which thanks to word of mouth from dear friends and family has been doing fairly well in 2014. I also work in my field of specialization which is Human Resources. Our recent relocation in 2014 has not been easy on my little one or us as a family owing to a lot of circumstantial changes. We hope for the best and a resolve in 2015. So among all this my recipe creations were on a hold from being shared!

I was contemplating on what to begin with as although the writing had ceased for a while, the cooking cannot! So there are a lot of new recipes I have tried and tested time and again which I hope to share with you soon. I thought I would begin with Mum's recipe which was liked a lot by my grandma as well. I am hoping I can be regular with my blog posts as often as possible to compensate for the 11 months silence. I dedicate this recipe to my dear grandma who I am sure is in Heaven's Abode praying and looking over us.

This recipe has always been welcomed by family, friends and relatives. And I am certain you would love the same.

You need:

• 1 kg of fresh three spotted swimmer crab, washed, cleaned and halved
• Cleaned hard shells of the crabs, air dry the shells (Mom does not incorporate this in the original recipe)
• 4-5 green chilies (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2" ginger, diced
• 2-3 cloves, garlic (*optional - mom does not use)
• 1/2 cup of drinking water
• 1/2 of a medium sized coconut, grated
• 1/4 tbsp of red chili powder (I use Kashmiri Chili powder)
• Salt to taste
• Oil to fry the hard shells

The Make:

Serves : 4 adults | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 40 minutes

I normally get my crab cleaned at the vendor's place itself. This time, I got the hard shells cleaned as well. Garlic is not required but you can add a few cloves.

1. Grind the coconut gratings, green chilies, ginger, garlic (optional) ,chopped tomatoes, red chili powder and salt with a little water as required to grind the mixture for a minute on high to medium speed.

The ground mixture should be thick enough to leave a circle in mix when stirred with a ladle.

2. Next heat oil to fry the hard shells in a wok and add the air-dried hard shells, taking care to ensure that the shells do not have traces of water to avoid the splutter. Once the shells turn orange, strain off the oil and on to kitchen towel.

3. Drain off most of the oil leaving just 1 tbsp of oil in the wok. Next add in the ground coconut mixture to the oil on medium-low heat. Cook for 2 minutes or until the coconut mix leaves the sides of the wok.

4. Add the crab halves to the coconut mixture and cover the crabs with the coconut mix. Saute for 3-5 minutes.

5. Add a tad bit of water if the coconut mixture is too dry. This will help the cooking process and avoid drying or even getting burnt.

6. Cook for about 20-30 minutes taking care to saute in between to avoid the coconut getting burnt. 

7. Serve with the hard shells on top on in the shells with piping hot /steamed rice.

Bon Appetit!

Lamb Curry

Off late I have made a couple of recipes using Lamb. This interest came about as I was avoiding chicken for several months due to health reasons and as per the Ayurvedic doctor's advice for alternate meat options. I have also opted for dry mango powder (again the Ayurvedic's advice - avoiding tomatoes for a while). I got a good produce of lamb from the vendor. I am not too keen of boneless meat unless it is a good cut of steak otherwise I am known to enjoy the boned meat esp. the marrow. The marrow bone otherwise known as the whistle in my home has been a cause of many a sibling argument :)

Lamb Curry for the soul -  comfort food!

This recipe was inspired by my taste buds one afternoon and is quite simple as I wanted to have some comfort food that afternoon. These are the times one really misses one's mum. I thought of her all the while when I planned to make this dish, to making it and whilst eating it as well :) No wonder it turned out so well.

You have two options to cook this curry, one is through slow cooking which is preferred however if you do not have a slow cooker, you can also opt for the pressure cooker.

You need:

• 800 gms of Lamb cut into medium pieces
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp of finely sliced ginger
• 1 tbsp finely diced garlic
• 1 large shallot finely diced
• 2-3 green chilies slit length wise and chopped in half
• 1 stem of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp of dry mango powder/amchur powder (or 1 large tomato diced)
• 1 tbsp of Garam Masala
• 1 tbsp of Kashmiri Chili Powder (or Paprika Powder)
• 1 cup of thick Coconut milk (first milk only) (or 1 tbsp of corn flour or corn starch diluted well with 2-3 tbsp of water) *optional
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp of Meat Masala powder (optional in case you are using my Homemade Garam Masala)
• 1 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2-3 tbsp of water

The Make:

Cooking Time : 60 minutes | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Serves 6-7 adults

As I mentioned, this curry can be made using a slow cooking process, however I will describe the easier process. 

1. Marinate the cleaned lamb pieces with ginger-garlic paste, amchur powder, salt and Garam Masala for at least 15 minutes - 1 hour. As with any meat marinating process, the longer the better (just make sure if its longer, you cover it properly and store in the fridge for up to 3-4 hours).
2. Pressure cook the marinated lamb pieces for 35-40 minutes. It takes at least 3 whistles on high and 1 on low heat. Try not to overcook it. 
3. In a large deep bottomed skillet, heat the oil, splutter the mustard seeds and add the curry leaves. Toss in the shallot and diced ginger and garlic and saute till translucent on medium heat.
4. Add the green chilies and saute for about a minute. Next add the Chili Powder and Meat Masala and mix well for about a minute. Add 2-3 tbsp of water to avoid the masala sticking to the bottom and allow to reach almost a  boil. Then lower the heat.
5. Give the contents of the pressure cooker a good stir and then transfer the contents to the skillet and mix well and allow it to reach a boil which would take about 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Note: Choose if you want to add the entire stock of the lamb. If you would like to leave some behind as you had initially added too much water, then make sure you stir well before you transfer the contents. To avoid this choice, do not add too much water to the pressure cooker whilst cooking. Try the 1:1.5 ratio.
6. This next step is optional. You can add either Coconut milk extract or Cornstarch mixed in water to get a thicker gravy. However, what I did was add half a cup of coconut milk and then I topped it with corn starch. It turned out well. However I know there are people who do not consume Coconut Milk or Corn starch in which case you can end with step 5. 
7. Lower the heat, and add the corn starch dilute and mix well. Allow it to reach a boil on medium heat. Then lower the heat and add the coconut milk extract and stir well and allow to warm. Turn off the heat and serve hot with your choice of rice, bread or Appams and your favourite greens on the side. My recipe on Spinach and Drumsticks gravy will follow soon.

Bon Appetit! Enjoy!

Lamb Curry served with Rice and Spinach and drumsticks gravy

Lamb Curry!

Lamb curry served with Rice