Burmese Khow Suey / Khao Suey

Premika Posaw
Additional garnishes Amina Sarkar

Lost until today! I had Khow Suey for the first time when Premika made it for us and it was delicious! And then I misplaced the recipe for the longest time. The next time I had it was at Meera D's, where it was a favourite with the family. And then I had it at Amina's (photo taken of the spread) a few days ago and that's what had me scuttling around trying to locate this recipe. I plan to make this again some time soon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 onions chopped fine
6-7 cloves garlic grated together with
1 1/2" of ginger
3/4 tbspn besan (gram flour)
Coconut Milk
Haldi, Chilli Powder & Salt

Garnish
Chopped spring onions
Deep fried sliced onions
Chopped coriander
chopped green chillies
Fried garlic flakes
boiled egg chopped small
maggi noodles (raw) fried
peanuts - fried/roasted broken into pieces
soya sauce
lime cut into quarters

Method
Fry onions till soft. Do not brown. Add ginger, garlic paste. Fry till it smells like it is done (!) approx. 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, turmeric (shld look yellow) and chilli powder. Fry till the chicken turns white and is coated well with the spices. Add besan and mix well. Add coconut milk and an equal quantity of water. Also add the salt now. Bring to boil and let it simmer till the gravy thickens. The coconut milk might threaten to froth over but dont panic, wait for it to settle.

Serve in a bowl - first the noodles, top it with the gravy generously till the noodles are well covered and top with the all the garnish.

( discovered that premika has made no mention of the noodles in her recipe and i havent a clue so will have to chase her up to add that bit. Well, I got laughed at plenty but here it is. Jan 11, '06)

Boil water. Enough to cover the noodles. Put in noodles only after water starts boiling for 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and a garlic pod to the water along with the noodles. Drain and serve. We ate Khao Suey at Amina's last night and it was fabulous. I've updated the "Garnish" section with a few additions.

Burmese Khow Suey / Khao Suey

Premika Posaw

Lost until today! I had Khow Suey for the first time when Premika made it for us and it was delicious! And then I misplaced the recipe for the longest time. The next time I had it was at Meera D's, where it was a favourite with the family. And then I had it at Amina's (photo taken of the spread) a few days ago and that's what had me scuttling around trying to locate this recipe. I plan to make this again some time soon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 onions chopped fine
6-7 cloves garlic grated together with
1 1/2" of ginger
3/4 tbspn besan (gram flour)
Coconut Milk
Haldi, Chilli Powder & Salt

Garnish
Chopped spring onions
Deep fried sliced onions
Chopped coriander
chopped green chillies
Fried garlic flakes
boiled egg chopped small
maggi noodles (raw) fried
peanuts - fried/roasted broken into pieces
soya sauce
lime cut into quarters

Method
Fry onions till soft. Do not brown. Add ginger, garlic paste. Fry till it smells like it is done (!) approx. 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, turmeric (shld look yellow) and chilli powder. Fry till the chicken turns white and is coated well with the spices. Add besan and mix well. Add coconut milk and an equal quantity of water. Also add the salt now. Bring to boil and let it simmer till the gravy thickens. The coconut milk might threaten to froth over but dont panic, wait for it to settle.

Serve in a bowl - first the noodles, top it with the gravy generously till the noodles are well covered and top with the all the garnish.

( discovered that premika has made no mention of the noodles in her recipe and i havent a clue so will have to chase her up to add that bit. Well, I got laughed at plenty but here it is. Jan 11, '06)

Boil water. Enough to cover the noodles. Put in noodles only after water starts boiling for 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and a garlic pod to the water along with the noodles. Drain and serve. We ate Khao Suey at Amina's last night and it was fabulous. I've updated the "Garnish" section with a few additions.

Fish/Prawn Curry - 2 Varieties

Pushpa Prabhu

This is one dish that has been liked by everyone who has tried it. Ours have not turned out as good - at least my taste buds insist. I think it all has to do with the kind of red chillies that you use and figuring out how much of imli to add. Papa's variation which follows was to allow us to make it without coconut or coconut milk. Tastes rich and creamy too.

Ingredients:

1 Kg Fish/Prawns
1 Coconut (grated)
7-8 red chilies (lightly roasted)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (lightly roasted)
1/2 teaspoon haldi powder
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
Salt to taste
1 large onion (finely chopped)


1. Clean and cut fish into pieces. Put aside with salt and haldi (note the fish needs to be washed before it is added to the curry)
2. Grind coconut and spices into a fine paste (should have the consistency of a gravy)
3. Fry onion in a pan to golden brown
4. Add coconut paste to the onions and bring to a boil
5. Add prawns and cook for 5 minutes (till prawns are cooked and it doesnt take long max. 10mins!!) In the case of fish you could wait for the oil to rise to the surface.

--------------------------------
Alternative method
Devidas Prabhu

Ingredients:

1 Kg prawns
1/2 liter cream
1 tablespoon red chilly powder (lightly roasted)
1 tablespoon coriander powder (lightly roasted)
1/2 teaspoon haldi powder
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 large onion (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

1. Shell and clean prawns. Put aside with salt and haldi (note the prawns needs to be washed before it is added to the curry)
2. Fry onion in a pan to golden brown
3. Add spices to the onions and fry
4. Add water and tamarind paste and bring to a boil (salt to taste)
6. Add prawns and cook for few minutes basically till the prawns are almost cooked. will not take more than 5 mins max.
7. Add cream and heat for a minute (note, do not boil as cream might curdle)

Categories: pushpa, devidas, prawn, fish, curry, coconut

Bhakres

Pushpa Prabhu

Ingredients
1 cup rice flour
1 cup sooji (roast all the sooji you buy - very lightly - before storing)
3/4 cup coconut grated
2-3 green chillies - deseed and chop finely
1 cup sliced onions ( quartered )

Preparation
First take a spoon of salt and one of sugar. With the back of a spoon mix this with the chillie pieces on the chopping board. Then add the onions and mix well. In a mixing bowl add the sooji and then add a little water and mix. Next add the onions mixed with salt and chillies. Stir well. Then put in the rice flour and water and mix well. Thin to the consistency you need.

Method
Heat the dosa tava till hot. Take a ladleful of the bhakre mixture and pour into the centre of the tava. Spread in dosa like fashion - as far as possible. Put a teaspoon full of oil around the bhakre and into any holes that may be there in the middle. Cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes. Open and turn. It should cook a bit on the second side too. The main side should be brown and the bhakre a bit crisp.

You could replace the onions with grated cucumber for the cucumber bhakres only remember that you need to add 2 teaspoons of sugar to that mixture.

Chicken Fry

Roopa Nayak

Ingredients
1/2 kg chicken cut in small pieces ( about 1" or a bit larger)
1 cup dahi
2" ginger piece
7-8 pods of garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder

Preparation
Make a paste of the ginger and garlic and add to the dahi. Also add salt, garam masala and red chilli powder. Mix well. Check taste and then add to the chicken. Ensure that all the pieces are well coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Method
Heat a little oil in a kadai. Put the chicken and stir till all the pieces are coated with oil. Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Open and keep stirring till the water dries and the oil comes to the surface. Serve Hot.

Green Chicken Curry - 2

Roopa Nayak

Ingredients
1 kg Chicken pieces ( broiler )
1 coconut of 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
2 medium bundles of coriander
11-12 green chillies
11-12 garlic pods
3 marble sized bits of tamarind
4" ginger
4 medium onions

Sabud Garam Masala
1 tsp khus khus
5-6 cloves
3-4" cinnamon
7-8 peppercorns
1 cardamom
1/2 tsp jeera
1 tsp coriander seeds

Method
Make a paste out of one bunch of coriander, 2" ginger, 7-8 pcs garlic and 7-8 pcs green chillies. Apply to the chicken pieces along with salt and a pinch of turmeric and set aside.

Fry one chopped onion, 4 pods of garlic, 2" of ginger and 4 green chillies chopped fine in a kadai. Fry just for a short while to take away the raw smell of onions. Remove from oil and set aside. In the same oil fry the garam masala. Remove, allow it to cool and then put into a mixie along with the fried onions, another bunch of coriander, the tamarind and 2 tablespoons of coconut from which the milk has been removed. Make a masala

Take 3 chopped onions and fry in a pressure cooker till nicely browned. Add chicken and fry for a few minutes. Then close the pressure cooker and allow it time for one whistle. Wait for the pressure to subside before opening to ensure that the chicken is cooked. Open and add the second masala and allow it to boil. Also check to see if the chicken in tender else cook for longer. Then add coconut milk and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. Add half the quantity of coconut milk add more if the flavor has not come out. If not spice enough add red chilli powder and check and top up salt.

Prawn Wadis (Cutlets)

Manjula & Roopa Nayak

Though this recipe is originally for shell fish. We made these wadis once with prawns and the next day with cabbage, both very tasty. I think its all the coconut! Gals the cabbage version for you - sorry!

Ingredients
250gms prawns OR shredded cabbage ( v.small bits )
1 and 1/2 medium onions chopped fine

For the Masala
1/2 a coconut grated
4 red chillies } saute a
1/2 tsp coriander seeds } bit
a pinch of turmeric
a marble sized bit of tamarind
salt to taste.

For coating
a mix in equal parts of sooji and rice flour

Method
Grind the masala. Make sure you only add water as required as you want a thick paste and definitely not a watery one. If it does turn out to be too watery add a bit of rice flour to thicken.

Add the onions and prawns and mix well using your hands ( kallay )

Take a bit of the mixture in the palm of your hand and make a ball the size of a laddoo and roll in the coating mixture. set aside on a plate. Do this with all the mixture.

Then put a griddle on the flame and wait for it to heat well. Add a teaspoon of oil. Tilt the tava in different directions till the surface has a coating of oil.

Lower the flame. Take one ball of mixture and flatten on the tava. Repeat till the tava is filled but leave enough place around the wadi for you to be able to turn them.

Do not turn too quickly as the wadis then just break up. Wait for the first side to cook and brown well before turning and then let it brown well on the other side too. Add oil while turning to ensure that it doesnt stick to the tava.

Serve hot. We cooked them in coconut oil but I dont think that that is necessary.

Prawn Malai Curry

Cant remember if i got this one from Loli or from the web. Shall check with her and correct. The Bengali malai curry tastes quite close to ours - just the mustard bit is different.

Ingredients
500gms Prawns
1/2 cup Coconut milk
1/2 cup Onions chopped
20-30gms Paste of mustard seeds
2-3 Green chilis chopped
1 tsp Turmeric
5 tbsp Mustard Oil
Salt to taste


Method
1) Clean and de-vein prawns and marinate
with the paste made from mustard seeds and
little water, 2 tbsp of oil, chopped green chillies, turmeric and
salt. Keep it aside for a while.
2) In a pan take 3 tbsp of oil and fry in the chopped onions till pale golden brown.
Then add the marinated prawns into the pan
properly fry for sometime while stirring.
3) Next add the coconut milk to the contents of the pan
and cook for 10 minutes till the gravy has become thick.

Sukanya's Sambar

Sukanya Balakrishnan

She made it simple enough for even me to understand! An easy and nice sambar recipe.

1. Boil 1 cup of arhar dal and set aside.

2. take hot water and add tamarind the size of a large lime and set aside for a while.

3. In a saucepan take a bit of oil and add 1and a half tablespoons of whole dhania and an equal quantity of red chilies. Fry this till the dhania is reddish brown. Add half a spoon of methi. Fry briefly and then set aside.

4. in a saucepan and add the juice from the tamarind. Add water again mix with the leftover tamarind and empty into the saucepan. Do this 3 times.

5. Once it starts boiling add karipatta, hing, salt and the vegetable. Also add 1 tsp. of sugar. Keep keep on a medium flame till the vegetable is cooked.

6 . Grind a quarter coconut along with the roasted dhania, methi, red chili mixture into a smooth paste.

7. When the vegetables are cooked and the tamarind water has reduced to half the quantity that you started with, add the paste.

8. Boil for another 5 to 6 minutes.

9. Now add the cup of arhar dal which has been mashed to a paste and boil for another 2 to 3 minutes.

10. Make a tadka with mustard seeds and add to the Sambar. Close the lid of the saucepan to hold in the flavors.

Molagootal

Subha Hari

We troubled Harry, when she came to visit us in Alex, into teaching us to make a few additional south indian dishes. This was one of them. Very tasty and easy to make!

Can be made with cabbage / spinach / doodhi / potato
Chop vegetable (2 cups after chopping) and cook along with about 3/4 cup of moong dal, and a pinch of haldi. Grind 4 tbsp grated coconut, with 1 tsp jeera and 1 red chilli. When veg are cooked, add the ground masala to the veg+dal mixture and bring to a boil. Season with mustard seeds, and kadipatta. Add salt to taste.

Chicken Malai Kebabs

Malai Kebabs
Lata Ghose

We've had this several times at Lata's but attempted to make it just once when we had a barbecue in Alex. It's a rich recipe and a wonderful melt in your mouth kebab. Definitely will be repeated again. Ideally I would like to have it again at the Ghosh's!

recipe forwarded by Namita Sinha - only to explain the change in style of writing :P

i kilo breast with pierced,
vinegar 1/4 cup,
butter 3 tbs,
onion paste 1/2 cup,
ggp 6 tsp,
cashewnut paste 1 cup,
red chilli powder 2 tsp,
cornflour 1 tbs,
yoghurt 2 cups,
thickened cream 2 tbs,
small elaichi powder 3 tsp,
coriander leavesfinely chopped 1/2 cup,
2-3 green chillies finely chopped.

method- melt butter -fry onion-till gbrown-mix all ingredients-add onion paste-add chicken-marinate for at least 12 hours -bbq -put oil on top fron time to time while bbq.
leaves a lot of spare marinade but guess is ok

Green Chicken Curry

Pushpa Prabhu

Sundays at home when we were growing up wouldnt have felt like Sundays without mama's chicken soup and green chicken curry with parathas and onion rings. Got to get hold of the Chicken soup recipe too!

Total Ingredients:
I kg chicken2 onions
1-cup mint (~50 gms)2 cups coriander (~100 gms)
6 tablespoons oil1 cup grated coconut
12 green chilies1 lemon (juice)
12 garlic cloves3-inch ginger
1-tsp garam masala3 cloves
3 cardamoms1 inch cinnamon stick
10 peppercornssalt to taste

Marination of chicken
Marinate chicken pieces with 1-teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon garlic and half cup yogurt for 1 hour

Green chutney ingredients (has been included above) should be ground with all the ingredients listed below
100 gms. Coriander
50 gms mint
12 green chilies
10 garlic cloves
2 inch fresh ginger
1 cup grated coconut
3 cloves
3 cardamons
1 inch cinnamon stick
10 peppercorns
Put all the ingredients for the green chutney in a blender. Add 8 tablespoons of water and blend to a pastekeep aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok over high heat. When oil is hot add the finely chopped onionsstir and fry for 3-4 minutes until they begin to brown. Add grated 1 teaspoon grated ginger and 1 teaspoon crushed garlic and stir once. Put in the chicken pieces and _ teaspoon of salt. Stir and fry for 2-3 minutes (heat should be high). Add the remaining marinade and then add 120-ml/1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining 3-tablespoon oil in a separate pan over high heat. When hot add chutneystir and cook for 6-8 minutes until the oil separates from the chutney. Add chicken pieces, their juices and _ teaspoon salt. Stir and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced to just coat the chicken and check to see that the chicken is tender. Add the lemon juice and garam masala and mix well.

Chicken Biryani

Waheeda Sayyid

This is a Biryani to absolutely die for. The process is a bit time consuming but the end result well worth it!

500gms chicken (with bones) cut into medium sized pieces

Ingredients for the Marinade
3-4 tsp Ginger Paste
3-4 tsp Garlic Paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 2 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 2 1/2 tsp Dhania Powder (more if you like)
1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 1/2 Bay leaves
4 5 Cloves
8-10 pcs of Whole Pepper
1 tsp Anardana (roughly ground) Add if sourness wanted
2 Cinamon stick
4-5 Cardamom Black and regular
1 1/2 medium Tomatoes cut in chunky bits
1/3 rd Lemon s Juice
3 tbl spns Yoghurt
3-4 tbl spns Oil
Salt to taste

Mix all the above well with the chicken and set aside for 3 hrs (minimum 1hr)

Ingredients to be fried
1 medium potato quartered and fried - optional
3 large onions finely sliced and deep fried till crisp. The onion should be ready before you begin to cook the chicken.
handful of cashew nuts
handful of raisins

400gms Basmati Rice. Wash and set aside. Start cooking after putting the Chicken on the stove. Cook until 2/3rds done. Then drain and set aside.

Put a pinch of Safron in warm milk and set aside for 20 minutes. The milk should turn yellow.

The Biryani
Put the chicken in a pot on the stove. Add 3/4ths of the fried onions. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender. Stir frequently to ensure that the masala does not stick to the base of the pot.

When ready transfer into the vessel in which the biryani will be made. Add slices of tomato till all the meat is hidden. 1 to 11/2 tomatoes should suffice. Now, spread the rice over the mixture. Pour the kesar/milk mixture over it and spread it to cover the surface.

Close the vessel and cook on an extremely low flame. Keep and eye to ensure that the meat does not stick to the bottom of the vessel and stop when the rice is cooked.

Garnish with the remaining onion some fresh coriander and the cashews and raisins. Serve immediately with raita. Try grated muli and pounded walnuts as optional ingredients in the raita.

Having the ingredients ready and prepared will help you save on cooking time.

Fish Fry Paste

Pushpa Prabhu

This paste is easy to make and store and the fried fish is absolutely yummalicious!

Ingredients
2 tspns Red Chilli Powder (heaped)
1/2 tspn Haldi (level)
1 tspn garlic paste
1 tspn imli paste
1 tspn salt

For Coating
heaped tbspn of rice flour
half a tbspn of rava

Method
Mix all the ingredients together and adjust after tasting.

Apply a generous layer to the fish piece. Then roll it in rava + rice flour mixture and pan fry. Excess Paste can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge. For something so easy to prepare the taste of the finished product is outstanding

Chicken Shammi Kebabs

Sharmila Arora

This has been used by us as a starter at parties in Shanghai - once we'd pinched the recipe :P and then later in Alex. Easy to make, store and then fry and serve as required. Fifi used to do a terrific job of making these and samosas and stocking them up!

Ingredients:
375 gms minced chicken 2 pieces cinnamon
20 gms Bengal gram (chana) dal
5 cloves
2 green chillies
4 green cardamoms
20 pepper corns
½" ginger &
4 garlic pods
salt to taste
½ cup water
½ coriander
200gms onions


Preparation : very finely cut half of the onions, green chillies and coriander.

Method: Put minced chicken in p. cooker with the remaining onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies, pepper corns, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, Bengal gram and water. Place cooker on medium heat. Bring to full cooking pressure, reduce heat and cook for 10 to 15 mins. Allow to cool. Remove all ingredients and grind to a fine paste. Mix paste with the very finely cut onions, g. chillies, coriander and salt. Add whole beaten egg[optional] and bread crumbs.

Make into FLAT BALLS and shallow or deep fry. Serve HOT.

Update: You could also make and place them onto a large plate and freeze for a short while. Then remove and bag in plastic bags and store in freezer. The first step is to ensure that they dont stick to each other. You can then remove and fry the quantity required when needed. Handy snack to serve even with ketchup.

Hilsa Huggi

Pushpa Prabhu

I can remember eating Hilsa Huggi as a kid. I enjoyed the masala a whole bunch but though the Hilsa tasted delicious I didnt enjoy it so much because of the zillion bones that each morsel had. But the masala, the flavour was outstanding. It's one of my mum's top 10 recipes.

This has been a recent attempt of mine and even though I havent used Hilsa the dish has been enjoyed by the friends we've served it too. Ramesh has liked it both the times that I've made it but then he hasnt had the original. I need to get him to try it at home so that he has good benchmark to judge my efforts against. I havent been satisfied so far. Will see mama make it this time when I go home and shall add any tips that I pick up.

I used a kilo of King Fish (Surmai) instead of Hilsa. Apparently it is a sea fish. As it was a large fish, I could easily get it deboned.

Ingredients
1kg fish, 1 coconut grated, 12-15 whole red chillies, one tspn of imli, 10-15pcs of Tirphal (must have ingredient), 2 tspns of salt

Method
Put the Tirphals in some water in a small bowl and set aside, cut the fish into approx 1 and 1/2" cubes, apply haldi and salt liberally and set aside, grind the coconut, red chillis, imli, salt into a rough paste, add the water in the tirphal bowl while grinding, pound the wet tirphal seeds and add to the masala, wash the salt and haldi off the fish pieces and mix in with the masala in a bowl.

Set the oven to 200deg or cake baking strength :P, take a oven proof dish and spread a thin layer of oil to prevent the huggi from sticking to its surface, spread the fish and masala evenly in a single layer, add in the remaining masala into the gaps, put in oven for half an hour, check after 20 mins to see that the top is not getting too dark, if it is and the fish is cooked (feel with fork) shut oven and leave inside.

Serve Hot.