Shrimp Cutlets

Once again, I'm posting a recipe after a short break. As many of you know, I had family come over from India and stay with us for about 2 1/2 months. Time flew by quickly and they went back last Wednesday. So I decided to get back to what I missed a lot, blogging and catching up with my dear friends on the blogosphere! It sure feels good to be back. I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but thanks a lot for keeping me in your circle all this long. I am not feeling well these past few days, but I hope to get back to active blogging soon enough.

I couldn't help myself from posting this recipe today because this is one easy recipe which JM's mom introduced me to. Cutlets, in India, are basically croquettes made of vegetables or minced/ground meat (most commonly - beef) or fish. Eventhough I've had beef and vegetable cutlets (rarely ;-)) for as long as I can remember, I've never had shrimp cutlets before. This was a pleasant introduction to something really wonderful. The frozen shrimp available at the grocers here are nothing compared to the fresh ones my husband was used to, but this is a good way to dress it up to make it more flavorful. I am sure that if made with fresh shrimp/prawns, it would be a thousand times better than the ones made with frozen shrimp, which were still tasty nonetheless. So if you could get your hands on some fresh prawns, be sure to give this recipe a try. This would be a great appetizer or as a side dish with rice. Hope you all would love this recipe. Stay tuned for more recipes from my MIL. In the mean time, enjoy the shrimp cutlets! Have a great day!

Recipe:

Shrimp - 8 oz
Potatoes - 2, cooked and peeled
Pearl onions - chopped, 3 tbsp
Green chillies (serranos) - 1, finely chopped (~2tbsp)
Ginger - 2 tbsp, chopped
Garlic - 1 tbsp, chopped
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves - optional (10-12, finely chopped)
Egg - 1, slightly beaten
Breadcrumbs - as needed

Method:

Cook the cleaned shrimp with a bit of water, a pinch of turmeric powder and salt, until all the water is evaporated.

Allow the shrimp to cool.

Process the shrimp in a food processor to a medium mince.

Heat oil in a skillet and add onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves (if using).

Saute until the onions are somewhat cooked and the ginger and garlic are no longer raw.

Add chilly powder and turmeric powder to the onion mixture.

Saute until fragrant.

Toss in the minced shrimp to the skillet.

Saute until the shrimp mixture is just dry.

Adjust the seasoning and keep aside.

Mash the cooked and peeled potatoes retaining some small chunks.

Mix the potatoes with the shrimp mix.

Shape into cutlets.

Dip each cutlet in the beaten egg.

Roll in breadcrumbs.

Fry the cutlets until golden brown.

Serve hot with ketchup and chilli sauce.

Tips:

1. Curry leaves are optional and can be done without.
2. Instead of pearl onions, regular onions or shallots can be used.
   

Wishing you all a great weekend ahead!!

Prawns (Shrimp) biriyani

Biriyani is one of our favourite dishes, a rice medley made of either vegetables or more commonly egg, chicken, goat, lamb or beef and flavoured with spices. Seafood biriyanis are also very popular and includes fish biriyani and prawns biriyani. There are regional differences in the preparation of biriyani with changes in the combination of spices used and/or the variations in the techniques of cooking. It is traditionally served with raita (a yoghurt sauce with vegetables or fruits), crispy wafers called pappads and spicy pickles. I am not a very big fan of seafood, so I do not experiment with a lot of seafood. Being born and brought-up in a city where fresh seafood is abundant, JM is fond of seafood dishes and favours prawns (shrimp), although the frozen shrimp available in the US is not as tasty as the fresh ones available back home.

When a fellow blogger visited my blog, I went back to explore hers. I found a recipe for a very appetizing prawns biriyani. It seemed good with a layer of cooked shrimp masala sandwiched between two layers of rice, covered and baked in the oven. After going through the recipe, I was left with a longing for such a biriyani from my kitchen and I knew that JM would appreciate it very much. Thankfully, I had a packet of frozen shrimp, so I planned the preparation for the next day. Usually, JM does not come for lunch, and I lured him home with the promise of a good lunch. I got to cooking after he left for work, and finished earlier than I expected. I did not have any cashewnuts because the "resident thieves" had raided the cashews reserved for such impulsive cooking. When JM came home for lunch, excited about my promise, I showed my creation to him. He was impressed by the presentation and we happily clicked away for my blog! As soon as we finished taking pictures, we started our taste-testing. Needless to say, we were not disappointed, infact we were hooked !! It was not very spicy, was cooked to perfection and looked stunning, perfect for when you have guests over. Thanks Remya for the wonderful recipe. I would suggest checking out her blog for the recipe and instructions. Do try this one out, the work you put in will be worth it! We had the biriyani with grape raita, the recipe for which I will be posting soon. Hope you'll enjoy the pictures of my biriyani, dont forget to leave words of encouragement. Enjoy, you all !!

Tips:

1. I used frozen, deveined, cooked tail-on shrimp. Thaw before use.
2. I would suggest to sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp of water over the layered rice and prawns, so that the baked biriyani will remain moist and flavorful.
   

Prawns (Shrimp) Chilly fry

I happened across a recipe for prawns chilly fry on the Kerala tourism website. I was a bit confused after reading the recipe but decided to try it anyways. I experimented with the recipe and derived one that seemed good for our tastes. I should say that I was very pleased with the result. I ended up with a pretty HOT chilly prawns (even by Indian standards). The recipe below is my version with the exact amount of spices that I used. It would serve well for those with a bit of tolerance for spicy food. Others need not worry, just adjust the chillies to your tolerance level. I am pretty sure that you too will enjoy the adapted version of prawns chilly fry. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Prawns/Shrimp - 12 oz, shelled, deveined and tail-on (cooked)

Green chilli - 1, julienned

Garlic - 4 cloves, julienned

Ginger - 1/2 tbsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Red onion - 2 cups

Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Salt - taste

Coconut oil - 4 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Green chillies - 2, spilt lengthwise

Roma tomato - 1, sliced

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Garam masala - half a pinch

Method:

Wash the shrimp and drain.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.

To the prawns, add julienned green chillies, garlic, ginger, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilly powder, 1 tbsp coconut oil, salt and curry leaves.

Cook for about a minute. Keep aside.

Saute the onions in the remaining oil until light brown.

Add the remaining chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and saute for a few minutes, until the spices are cooked.

Stir often to prevent the spices from burning.

Pour the water and allow it come to a boil.

Saute well until most of the water is evaporated and the onions are tender.

Add the cooked shrimp, split green chillies, tomatoes and curry leaves.

Stir fry until well incorporated.

Shut off the flame, add lime juice and sprinkle garam masala.

Serve hot with rice.

Adapted from: Kerala tourism website

Tips:

1. I used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil. For the authentic kerala taste, use coconut oil.
2. Use curry leaves, if available. If not, omit that.
3. The above recipe makes a HOT prawn chilly fry. Adjust the amount of green chillies and/or chilli powder according to personal preference.
4. A suggestion is to reduce heat is to omit the julienned green chillies, use 1 split chilly and reduce the amount of red chilly powder to 2 tsp.
5. The actual recipe called for 40g of prawns! I think its an error, it must be 400g. I found that the recipe works well for 12 oz of shrimp.
6. If using uncooked shrimp, add the raw shrimp to the onion gravy and cook until done.