Periamma’s Vegetarian Pulao

# goes well with *chicken with red gravy

                              *spicy chicken or mutton perathal

                              *vegetarian kurma

Ingredients

3 cups of basmati or long grain rice

1 carrot

1 large green capsicum

1 large red capsicum

2 green chilies

2 red chilies

2 bay leaves

2 in cinnamon

4 cardamom

2 staranise

3 shallots

2 pips garlic

1 in ginger

2 cashew nuts

2 tablespoon yogurt

1 cup full cream milk

A little butter

Preparation

1. Rice : Wash it and sieve it. Don’t squeeze the rice too much when you wash it cause the grains might break.

2. Carrot : grate it lengthwise ( 2 in long )

3. Capsicum : cut them into small squares.

4. Shallots, garlic, ginger and cashew nut : blend them into a fine paste.

Method

1.  Melt the butter in a wok. ( use low flame cause butter heats up fast )

2. Add in the bay leaves, cinnamon , cardamom and star anise. Saute.

3. Then add the rice. Stir to mix the butter and butter well with the rice. Keep stirring for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add all the vegetables and stir for 1 minute.

5. Transfer the rice mixture from the wok to the rice cooker.

6. Add the prepared liquid mixture to the rice and top up with water. Add some salt and give it a stir before switching on  

    the rice cooker.    ( 1 cup rice needs 1 ½ cup liquid/water . This is the standard measurement.)

7.After the rice is cooked, cool it a little before stirring it .

 * Stir with a fork to prevent the grains from breaking.

Periamma’s Authentic  Fish Curry

Tips from Periamma

# use fresh fish

## use fresh supply of tamarind pulp            

### use a good quality  curry pot / vessel

Ingredients

1 kg of jenahak fish

10 okras

20 cent sized tamarind

10 shallots

5 pips of garlic

3 green chilies

¼ cumin seeds

 ¼ fennel seeds

¼ mustard seeds

¼ fenugreek seeds

2 packets of Baba’s fish curry powder( small pkts)

1 teaspoon of chili powder

2 tablespoon of canned tomato soup.

2 sprigs of curry leaves

2-3 tablespoon of cooking oil

Preparation.

1. Fish : Clean it and cut it into medium sized pieces.

2  Shallots and garlic: slice them

3. Chili: just slit them lengthwise and deseed

4. Okra : wash then snip off the top and the tip.

   * avoid cutting into two cause okras are quite slimy

5. Tamarind : soak the tamarind in some water then squeeze out the juice and discard the pulp.

6. Curry powder and chili powder : add some water to make a thick paste.

Method

1.  Heat some oil in a curry pot / vessel

2.  Add the spices , cumin, fennel, mustard and fenugreek  seeds, and sauté. ( you can hear the mustard popping)

3. Add in the onions and garlic. Continue to sauté for 1 min then add in the green onions and curry leaves. Saute all the ingredients till you smell the fragrance of the onions.

4. Next, add in the curry paste and tamarind juice Sauté for 2-3 mins then add 1 ½ cup of water.      

    Bring it to boil .

5. Then add the fish and lower the flame a little. Let the fish cook for 2-3 minutes in the gravy.

6.. Stir the gravy gently so as not to break the fish and add the tomato soup

7. Finally drop the okras on top of the gravy and let it cook for a minute.

8. Garnish the gravy with some coriander leaves.

9. Ladle out the fish gently when you serve the curry.

* you could add 2 tablespoon of milk if you feel 

the curry is too spicy. 

( Add the milk after step 7 )
<>Mackerel(ikan tenggiri ) and threadfin fish
( ikan senangin ) are equally good for fish curry.

Valaipoo Vade

# made like parpu vade

## can use either rice flour or channa dal ( chick pea) flour.

·        Rice flour makes it crispy and light.

·        Channa dal flour gives a nice fragrance but adds volume.

### this dish goes well with sambar, vegetarian pilau /pilaf/pulao rice

Ingredients

1 valaipoo

2 large onions

4 red or green chilies ( or 2 dry chilies)

½ in ginger

2 sprigs curry leaves

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

2-3 tablespoon of rice/ channa dal flour

1-2 cup oil for frying

salt

Preparation

1. Valaipoo : clean the valaipoo and chop it up into small pieces manually or use the food processor.

2. Onions, chilies, ginger and curry leaves : Chop them up    finely.

Method

1.  Add the salt , flour, onions, chilies, curry leaves, ginger and fennel seeds to the valaipoo.

2. Mix them well and check the consistency of the mixture. You may need to add extra flour if it’s   too runny.

3. Heat the oil in a wok/small pot.

4. Make even sized balls from the mixture. Lay them on a plate. Flatten one by one as you drop them into the hot oil.

    * If you don’t want to drop the vade directly into the hot oil then flatten the balls on a spatula and drop it into the oil. ( a rice spatula is easy to navigate cause it is short and has a large flat space)

hot crispy vades

5. Fry the vades till they darken. You don’t have to fry them too long cause they cook pretty fast. Drain the excess oil and serve.

Valaipoo Parathal

Valaipoo Parathal

# taste like mutton dry parathal

## valaipoo is rich in Potassium , Magnesium , fibers,  vitamin E and flavonoids

### oil your hand when you are cleaning the valaipoo( prevents the latex from staining your hands)

#### Cook the valaipoo as soon as you clean it cause it turns dark if you leave it too long.

Ingredients

1 valaipoo

1 large onion

5 cloves of garlic

½ in ginger
2 sprigs of curry leaves
4- 5 dry chilies

cinnamon, cardamon,
fennel and cloves

1 teaspoonful of mutton curry powder
2 inches cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 cardamons
¼ - ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
Some salt
2 tablespoon of cooking oil
1 teaspoon of ghee( optional )

Preparation

1.Clean the valaipoo.

chopping with a food processor

the florets after cleaning

Remove the skin( many layers). Each layer has a row of florets. The florets in the upper layers are a little bigger than the florets in the inner layers. Remove the stamen , a plastic like string which is slightly hard, from each floret. As you reach the inner layers, you don’t have to,  cause the it is soft. Wash the florets n sieve them. Wait for 2-3 minutes  then either chop them up manually or use a food processor to chop them up. Start cooking after you chop them up cause they turn dark very fast. ( you could add a tablespoon of yogurt to the florets if you plan to cook it much later. This prevents it from turning dark) 

2. Slice or chop the onion , garlic and ginger

3. Dry chilies : Slit the chili lengthwise with a  kitchen shears . Remove the seeds then leave the chilies in a bowl of water for about 5 -6 minutes. Clean the inner part of each chili under running water. Then cut each chili into 3 parts.

Method

1/2

1. Pour some oil onto a heated pan/wok.

2. Add the cinnamon, fennel, cardamom , cloves and chilies to the pan. Fry the spices for a minute (till the chilies turn brown ).

3. Followed by the onions and curry leaves. Fry till the onions turn light brown.

4. Add in the valaipoo , the curry powder and salt. 

5. Stir the mixture well and add some ghee before you let the valaipoo cook . ( 5 mins)

6. Keep stirring on and off till the mixture becomes thick and dry.

7. Switch off the stove when you are satisfied with the thickness.

8. Dish out and serve

Stir Fried Long Beans with Coconut

Ingredients

10 - 12  long beans

2 tablespoons of scraped coconut
4  pcs of dry chilies
½ in of ginger
2 sprigs of curry leaves
½ teaspoon of mustard seeds
½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
Salt
2 tablespoon of oil

Preparation

1. Cut the long beans into desired size.

2. Deseed the dry chilies and cut them into 2 or 3.
3. Cut the ginger into strips.

Method

1. Add some oil to a pot and add the dry chilies, mustard and cumin seeds. Sauté for a minute.

2. Add in the ginger and curry leaves and continue to sauté till there is a nice fragrance.







3. Drop the long beans into the pot and add some salt to it. Fry for a minute.

4. Add the scraped coconut and stir well to evenly coat the long
beans with the coconut.

5. Keep stirring to prevent the coconut from getting burnt.

 6. Frying for 2-3 minutes should be enough unless you like the coconut to be a little brown. Then you need to fry for another minute or two.

7. The long beans are ready.

# The long beans can be substituted with a variety of of vegetables like French beans, murunge keerai......  

Perimma’s Style Fish Curry

( 85 % similar to the original taste)

     # use fish like senangin, tenggiri, ikan merah , jenahak , pari or any fleshy fish

     ## you could buy the whole fish or just a few pieces.          

Ingredients

1 medium sized fish

7-8 shallots/ 2 medium onions

3 fresh red chilies

2 tomatoes

1-2 sprigs of curry leaves

4 stalks of coriander leaves ( for garnishing)

Tamarind  ( 20 cents coin sized ball)

½ teaspoon of cumin seeds

½ teaspoon of fenugreek

1 small packet of Baba’s fish curry powder

             Or

  2 ½ tablespoons  of any fish curry powder

¼  tablespoon of chili powder

( could increase to ½ if you want the curry to be spicy)

¼ cup or 3-4 tablespoons low fat milk

1-2 cups of water

4 tablespoons of cooking oil

 Preparation

1. Wash the fish and slice it in chunks.

2. Wash all the ingredients. Mix the cumin and fenugreek when you wash them in a siever.

3. Next, Slice the onions, crush the garlic with the blade of the knife , deseed the chilies and cut 

     the tomatoes into pieces. Lay them out in a plate or the chopping board.

4. Remove the curry leaves from the stem and leave it with the other ingredients.

5. Either chop the coriander leaves or just cut them into large pieces (just hold it in a bunch and cut  it 2-3 times. )

6. Soak the tamarind in some water, wait for at least 5 minutes before you mix it well and sieve it to separate the pulp.

   Then , mix the fish curry powder and chili powder to the tamarind juice/liquid . Stir it and leave it aside.

7. Add the milk to half a cup of water and mix it well. Leave aside the left over water in case you need it later.

 Method

1. Heat the pot and add some oil.

2. Add the cumin and fenugreek seeds to the oil.

3. Saute for less than a minute then add the onions, garlic, chili and curry leaves.

4. Fry the ingredients until the onions turn a light to medium brown. Keep stirring on and off to prevent the garlic from  burning.

5. Add the tomatoes , stir once or twice . Do not stir too often cause the tomatoes might become too pulpy.

   Cook the mixture until the tomatoes become soft. ( might take around 2-3 minutes )

6. Pour in the curry powder, chili powder and tamarind mixture. Stir it well. Cover the pot and lower the flame a little. Let it cook for at least 5 minutes. Stir at least once or twice in between.

7. Add 1 cup of water and give the curry a good stir. Increase the flame slightly and bring it to a boil.

8. Lower the flame and add the fish. Cover the pot.

   * use the ladle/wooden spatula to drop in the fish slices, one by one

9. Leave the fish to cook in the curry for around 5 – 6 minutes.

10. Add the milk mixture. Stir carefully. Try not to break the fish. If you think your curry is too thick you can add more water to it. Increase the flame slightly , cover the pot and wait for the curry to boil.  Leave the curry to boil for 30 seconds .

# If the curry boils too long , the milk might leave white specks on the curry.

11. Drop the coriander leaves on the curry, cover the pot and switch off the stove.

12. Your curry is ready. Serve it with rice, chapatti or fresh bread.

* When you dish out , be careful not to break the fish.

* If the fish is not deboned , do be careful, cause some of the bones might be in the curry.

{ will post the pictures later: having some technical problems }

A Simple Vinaigrette

# enough for 2 -3 servings

# could use as a dressing for just leafy salad or mixed salad

 Ingredients

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

¾ tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar   
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
 ( just crush some black peppercorn with the blade of a knife or just use black pepper powder )
4 tablespoons of olive oil
  

 

Method

 

1. Mix the vinegar , mustard, sugar , salt and pepper . A food processor/ blender will be useful to blend the ingredients well.

Instead of the blender, you could use a long jam bottle. Pour the ingredients into the bottle , tighten the cap and shake it well. 

2. Then add the olive oil, half at a time. Continue shaking and you will get a nice smooth emulsion.

3. Your vinaigrette is ready. You can leave it in the blender /bottle and mix /shake it again before you drizzle it over the salad.

## You could add 1-2 tablespoon of thick fruit puree to the mixture in step 1. A good choice would be Mango or soursop cause  they have a natural sweet and sour taste  so they complement  the vinegar and mustard . 

 Nasi Lemak ( Coconut Cream Rice )

Ø   (Rice) You could use

          a) basmati rice if you want the dish to look elegant

          b) ponni rice if you want it to be healthy

          c) any type of rice if you are alright with it

 

Ø  (Coconut milk/cream) You could use

a)      freshly squeezed coconut milk/cream as it has a lovely taste.

b)      the pressed coconut milk/cream sold in the market.

c)       packet coconut milk/cream sold in supermarkets.

 

bay leaves

Ø  ( fragrance ) You could use

a)      Bay leaves ( briyani leaves ) which you could buy in Indian stores

                         b)      Screwpine leaves ( pandan leaves ) which are
                                 sold in markets and hypermarkets


                      c)       Some people add 1-2 star anise or even 2-3 cloves for additional fragrance. This is 

                               actually optional because both these spices have a pleasant strong taste and smell. *It all depends on how you want your rice to smell.

star anise

                                           The bay leaves,cloves or star anise will
                                           give the rice more of an Indian smell
                                           and taste.
 

cloves



Ingredients

( serving for 4 people )                                                 

2 cups of rice







coconut milk/cream rice

2 cups of coconut milk/cream                      

1 cup of water

¼ teaspoon of salt

4 slices of ginger ( slightly thick slices )

3 bay leaves or 2 screwpine leaves

  

* 2-3 Cloves or 1-2 star anise ( optional )

 

         Method
             1.       Wash the rice . ( Basmati rice grains break easily so don’t press on it too much )

2.       Add in the coconut milk/cream, water , salt ginger slices , leaves and (optional )spices .

3.       Give the rice a stir and leave it to cook in the rice cooker.

4.       When the rice is cooked , cool it a little before you stir. This will prevent the grains from breaking.

             5.       Serve the rice with any dish you like , like chicken parathal, sambal anchovies and so on.

E If you want to maintain the beauty of the rice grains you could

     - soak it for 10 minutes after washing then sieve it .

    -Next, add a teaspoon of oil in a pot and  fry the ginger then add the rice and stir fry for 2-3
      minutes before transferring the rice to the rice cooker .Add the other ingredients and follow 

      steps 3,4,and 5 .