Prawn Theeyal

As a kid I have never enjoyed theeyal, particularly when it's only with shallots or vegetables.  As I always say, now it's the reverse as I grew up.  Now I love theeyal and shallots a lot, I even enjoy raw shallots or pearl onions.  Raw shallots so good for you, in those days when you have rice leftover in home, what they do is wash the rice well and add some more water to the rice and leave it overnight, not in a refrigerator.  The next day morning they drain the water and add fresh water or sometime use the same water.  Mash up the rice well with water, add a few spoons of yogurt, freshly chopped  raw shallots and some green chillies,curry leaves.  You won't believe this gives you unbelievable stamina for the whole day.
The starch from the rice  gives you this stamina and raw pearl onion or shallots adds up lots and lots of health benefits.  Raw shallots are rich in antioxidants,vitamins and minerals.

Shallots reduces the cholesterol level in your body, also it reduces the blood sugar level. Shallots are also particularly effective against liver cancer, since shallots remove the toxins from the liver.  Regular intake of shallots also reduces the infections from stomach.  Although peeling and preparing the shallots are bit time taking work, thinking of all the health benefits, I think it's worth all the efforts.  To read more about shallots click here and here.

Coming back to our recipe here Theeyal is originally a recipe from Kerala, which is almost a similar version of pulikulambu which is prepared in Tamilnadu.  Theeyal is a tangy and spicy curry prepared with a mix of vegetables or prawns.  Theeyal can be served with rice, idli's or dosas.  In case of Prawn theeyal, it can be served with chapathi's too.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40-45 minutes
Serves  4

Ingredients:
Prawns ( shelled and cleaned )- 1/2 kg
Shallots- 12 ( peeled and chopped)
Tomato- 2 medium sized chopped
Tamarind- 1 lemon sized ball ( soaked in water and extract the pulp)
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder-2 1/2 tsp
Green chilly - 2
Curry leaves-10
Garlic-  4 pods chopped
Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Fresh grated coconut- 100 g
Oil- 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Clean and wash the prawns with little turmeric and salt.  Dry roast the coconut until it turns light brown in colour.  Mix the chilly powder and coriander powder along with the coconut, grind it to a smooth paste by adding little water.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds when they start spluttering, add methi seeds,curry leaves and garlic.  Now add the onions and stir fry until it turns translucent.  At this stage add the ground paste and stir well with out sticking to the bottom.  Now add the tomatoes, green chillies and stir well.  Cover the pan and let it cook till the tomatoes get softened.  Now add the tamarind juice and water, let it boil for few minutes.  Finally add the prawns, salt,  cover the pan and let it cook till the prawns are completely cooked.  When the colour of the prawns are changed in colour,you know it's cooked.  Leave it till oil floats on top of the curry.  Take it off from heat and serve with hot steaming rice.

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Shrimp/ Prawn Biryani

When it comes to biryani, it's always the most welcome in our family among any food. Also when it comes to any special occasion , Biryani is something which comes first.  When you have Briyani in your meals, it's definitely considered as a Royal feast.
To us briyani with mutton, chicken, vegetables or fish,anything we just enjoy it to the core.  To be honest , among all the foods sometimes I find Biryani as easy preparation, if it's a pressure cooker version.  It's a one pot dish, it's special, delicious and just a simple raita is enough to accompany a briyani, unlike other dishes, you don't have to prepare so many sides.

This recipe is a very simple shrimp/ prawn biryani.  Shrimps are more easily available than prawns, so you can use shrimps but a good quality and a good size prawns would be the best.  Don't use this same recipe to prepare mutton or chicken biryani, since the spices is bit different for this prawn biryani.  Hope you all enjoy making this simple prawn biryani in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:
Rice- 2 cups
Prawns- 1/2 kg
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp.
Onion- 1 big sized ( finely sliced )
Tomato- 2 medium sized  ( finely chopped )
Green chilly- 2 slit lengthways
Coriander and mint leaves-  2 tbsp ( chopped )
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Curd- 2 tbsp
Bay leaves- 1
Curry leaves- 5 to 10 leaves
Cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch stick
Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Oil / Ghee- 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Clean and wash the prawns well.  Mix it with salt and turmeric powder and set aside.  Heat oil/ ghee in a pressure cooker .  Add cinnamon stick, bay leaves, curry leaves and fennel seeds.  Let it fry for less than a minute, then add the finely sliced onions and ginger garlic paste.  Stir well with a spatula.  Add a pinch of salt to this onion, this helps the onion to cook faster.  Once the onion turns light brown in colour, add tomatoes and stir well.  Cover the cooker with a lid, keep the flame in medium to low and cook the tomatoes until they become soft and mushy.
Now add the prawns and stir well, add turmeric, chilly and coriander powder mix it well. Cover the cooker with the lid, keep the flame in medium and cook it until the prawns are cooked.  Now add the curd, coriander and mint leaves, finally add salt to taste.  Cover it and cook for few minutes until you get a nice thick gravy.  Now add rice and 3 cups of water.  Pressure cook for 2 whistles.  Let it rest for few minutes.  Remove the lid and give a gentle stir to mix the spices evenly with rice.  Serve warm with raita.

Sending this spicy biryani to Royal feast- Biryani and Kerala Kitchen Event hosted by Palakkad Chamayal.

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Prawn Gravy

Suja of Kitchen Corner has some amazing collection of recipes.  Everytime when I visit her site, I used to bookmark them, especially if it's something with chicken or prawns, I would be just drooling at the pictures. This is a recipe which I have been eyeing from her site for a long time now.
Most of the time I cook in a hurry and I end up in making my usual style of curries and gravies. This time when I was buying the prawns itself I made up mind that no excuses today.  So finally I tried her prawn gravy with few variations and it was just amazing. This easy peasy gravy is surely a keeper for me.  Thank you Suja for sharing this wonderful recipe, I'll keep trying more recipes from your site. Don't forget to check her mouthwatering collections from here.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Prawns- 300 g (cleaned and washed)
Onion- 1 big sized sliced
Tomato- 1 small sized
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Fennel powder- 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder-1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/4 tsp
Tamarind paste-1 tsp
Lemon juice- juice of 1/2 a lemon
Curry leaves- 1 spring ( about 5 to 6 leaves)
Cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch stick
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Oil- 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method:
Clean and wash the prawns well.  Apply some turmeric powder and set it aside. Grind together 1/2 of onion, tomato, tamarind, lemon juice and spice powder. Heat the oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and cinnamon stick.  Then add ginger garlic paste and sliced onion.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook till the onions get softened. Now add the ground masala and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Finally add the prawns and salt. Mix it well to coat the gravy completely.  Cover the pan and let it cook until the prawns get cooked completely.  At this stage it would be a semi gravy, you can serve it like this or if you prefer for dry gravy, increase the heat until all the water gets absorbed and the gravy looks thick and oil oozes out from it.  Serve it hot with chapathis, plain rice or pulav.

Sending this to Joy From Fasting to Feasting

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