Star Fruit and Shrimp Salad.

I am in one of those “Eat Healthy” phases. For the past few days my lunch at office has been fresh fruits or salads, of course rounded off by the once in a while pizza. While thinking of new salad ideas thought up this one, and seems it turned out not to bad. For those of you wondering whether or not I tried it out myself, well, I have. ;)

It’s a pretty nifty one. Refreshing on a hot summer’s afternoon or as a cold snack when you return from office.

Ingredients:

Star Fruit/ Carambola (or ‘Kamranga' as we call them in Bengali)- 1 green, the more tender the better the tart taste.

Shrimp- 200 gms, shelled and boiled in salt water with Paprika.

Paprika coarsely ground into powder- To taste.

Salt to Taste

Preparation:

Slice the fingers of the Carambola lengthwise, leaving behind the core which contains the pips. Chop these into small triangles. Sprinkle a healthy dose of paprika onto the shrimp. Salt to taste. Toss with the Carambola slivers. Chill. Serve.

Tips:

• Originally thought of making a dressing with 'Saké, and 'Wasabi'. Marinade the prawns in this pungent mix. And post marinade, you could mix in a little more sake and pour over the salad as dressing.
  
• To increase volume you can add shredded salad greens.
  

Mutton Stew With Coconut Milk

Picked up from a former roomie. Modified from a traditional Malyali recipe, this one has a nice creamy taste and you can add vegetables as you want to make this as nutritious as you want.

Ingredients (Serves 2):

Mutton/ Lamb- 250 gms
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Carrot- 1 medium sized, chopped
French beans- 50 gm, chopped
Onions- 4 large, finely sliced
Cinnamon- 3 large sticks
Sun dried red chillies- 3
Salt, sugar to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Boil mutton with salt till tender. Fry onions till white and mushy. Add mutton, cinnamon stick and cook till fat leaves the sides. Add the chopped vegetable. Stir in the coconut milk slowly, cover and cook over low flame. Regulary stir and add the stock bit by bit. Reduce gravy.

Tips:

Traditionally eaten with appams, but goes just as well with rice. Goes well with brown toast, just make the gravy thicker.

Greek Salad

Whatever, I like calling this a Greek Salad, therefore a Greek Salad it is. Fast to cook. And as one of my girl friends like calling it, the perfect 'horny-porny' food.

Ingredients:

Iceberg lettuce- 4
Cherry tomatoes- Half a handful
Black olives depipped and chopped- Half a handful
Feta cheese- 100 gm, chopped into small pieces
Mushrooms- Half a handful
Baby corn- 6 small
Pepper corns, roasted- 1 tsp
Olive oil and vinegar dressing

Preparation: [The snaps not mine, but does look inspiring:)]

Wash all the greens thoroughly. Chill iceberg lettuce. Throw all ingredients together in mixing bowl, shred chilled lettuce, add to bowl. Toss around with olive oil and vinegar dressing and a little salt for taste and volia, your salad's ready.

Tips:

• Perfect for a brunch after a late night. Also goes very well as an entree for dinner.
• Works perfectly with white wine and candleight. ;)

Sauted Veggies with Mustard Twist

A quick dish for the times you want a veggie side dish for a heavy meal.

Ingredients (Serves 2):
Potatoes- 3 large
Tomato- 1 small
Spring onions sprigs- 100 gms
Onions- 1 large
Oil- 2 tsp
Pepper corns- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Salt & sugar to taste


Preparation:
Boil potatoes. Heat oil in pan, and fry onions till golden, add the chopped potatoes along with mustard seeds, pepper corns, salt, sugar to taste. Fry till potatoes are almost cooked. Add chopped tomatoes, spring onions and a few sprigs of corriander. Cover. In five minutes it can be served.

Methi Chicken

This one's passed down from a cousin of mine. This was the first dish cooked successfully for a lunch for junta, my first success as a host. This one's for you Gopalda. This one can be whipped up in a jiffy, about twenty-five minutes actual cooking time, is minimal fuss and requires very simple ingredients.

Ingredients (Serves- 2):
Chicken- 300 gms
Curd/ Yogurt- 100 gms
Green chillis- 3
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds- tsp
Oil- 2 tbsp
Salt and sugar to taste

Preparation:
Prepare a marinade of beaten curd, salt, chilli powder, salt. Marinate chicken for 2 hrs.
Heat oil, add methi seeds on low flame. Just as they start turning golden brown, add chicken pieces. Once the fat leaves the sides, add the marinade into the pan, stir and and leave covered for fifteen minutes. Once the chicken is done, slit the chillis lengthwise and add. Serve hot.

Tips:
The taste though similar to most creamy chicken dishes is suprisingly different because of the methi and the smell of green chillis added in the end. Great with rice.

Mutton Stew with Green Papaya.

Today's cooking day. A holiday after almost a continous month of working. Avi's coming home for dinner, maybe that inspired me to cook for the whole day. This one's easy, a mutton stew, low on oil and easy to cook. The predominant flavours is from the cinnammon and the green papaya. The green papaya once thorougly cooked also forms the base of the gravy, giving it a slightly different flavour. Approx cooking time- 1 hr.

Ingredients (Serves 4):
Mutton/ Lamb- 500 gms
Green Papaya- 500 gms
Onions- 3 large, sliced
Garlic- 3 large cloves, minced
Ginger- 1 inch stick, coarsely chopped
cinnammon- 2 or 3 inch long pieces
Red chillis- 3 large
Red chilli powder, turmeric powder
Bayleaves-3
Sugar, salt to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp

Preparation:
Put mutton to boil with salt, turmeric and half the chopped ginger. Chop green papaya into small pieces and add to boiling mutton. Keep boiling till meat is tender. Once mutton is tender, heat oil in pan and add onions, garlic, ginger, red chillis, cinnammon. Add a little sugar to the pan for taste and colour. Cook over low heat till onions soften. Add the mutton pieces and keep stirring to thourougly cook the mutton. Keep stirring contiously, till fat leaves the sides. Slowly add stock bit by bit and keep cooking over a low flame. Keep over low flame for twenty minutes and then add remaining stock with ht half cooked papaya. Stir, cover and let simmer over low flame, till gravy thickens.

Tips:
Serve with steaming rice or can be eaten with pancakes or appams (just reduce the gravy).