PF Chang's Shrimp Dynamite

Any recipe can be recreated. I used to wonder how my mom could tell me the ingredients in any dish. But as I got into cooking and started identifying the flavors, it became easy to find out most of the ingredients and the methods used in a recipe. The main thing is that you should really know how to taste. This is a one of a kind shrimp recipe, my version of the famous Shrimp Dynamite from PF Chang's and dedicate this to my friend Amala whose family is a great fan of PFC.

INGREDIENTS :

Shrimp    - 1 lb (25nos)
Oil          - For frying

Step 1 :
All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup
Corn Flour            - 1/4 cup
Egg                       - 1
Pepper Powder     - 1 tsp
Salt                       - 1/2 tsp
Water                    - 1/2 cup

Step 2 :
All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Corn Flour           - 1/2 cup
Salt                      - 1/2 tsp
Pepper Powder    - 1tsp

Dynamite Sauce :
Dried Red Chilly  - 3 nos
Garlic    - 2 cloves
Vinegar  - 1tblsp           
Honey     - 1 tblsp
Dark Brown Sugar - 2 tsp
Mayonnaise  - 1 cup

METHOD :

   Clean and devein the shrimp. Mix the ingredients in step one into a batter and add the shrimp to this batter. Leave the shrimp to get well coated in the batter while the sauce is being made.
For the sauce, soak the chillies in about 3 tblsp of hot water or microwave for about 30 secs. Drain water and blend them in a food processor with other ingredients into a sauce-like consistency and keep aside.
 Now mix the ingredients in step 2. Toss the batter-covered shrimp in this flour mixture to get them well coated.
  Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. A drop of flour in the oil should float and turn crispy, when the oil is ready. Fry the shrimps in this oil until they turn light golden brown. Then, drain them in paper towels. Toss them in the sauce and serve immediately in a bed of this salad.

Kinnathappam

     Kinnathappam is one of the unique festive sweets common to the Muslim households of Kanyakumari district. Sorry, no offense to my non-Muslim friends, but I have never known anyone else who has made this, and it's always me making them this sweet. It's a festive sweet because it's specially made during Eid and all many other happy occasions. Kinnathappam is a must have during Eid and is made in almost every household. Eid is the one day you can taste every possible variety of Kinnathappam because you get to eat it at almost every house you visit.

     This sweet is a twin of Vattilappam, local to Ceylon. The difference between Vattilappam and Kinnathappam is that the former is made using more eggs and the latter with more of coconut cream. This is very easy to make and it's a rich delicacy made out of fewer and easily available ingredients. Depending on the rice used, bringing the texture can be really challenging; I usually use basmati rice so that the texture remains the same every time I make it. This exact measurement credit goes to one of my friends, Aneeze.

     If you are using fresh coconut cream, you can use the first milk extracted for the given amount and use the second and third instead of water. Again, it's highly recommended to grind the rice in a grinder, but I always use my mixer to do the job and never regretted doing so. I use a pressure pan to make this with a round steel stand to hold the plate and the lid goes with the rubber gasket without the whistle. My pan to hold the batter is 2" deep and 6" wide. With the given standard measuring cup I make two plates of this pudding.

     The prep steps may sound very long, but it is actually very simple and worth a try. Believe me, you will definitely fall in love with this smooth velvety creamy pudding.

INGREDIENTS :

Raw rice             - 1 Cup
Sugar                  - 1 Cup
Egg                     - 1
Coconut Cream  - 1 1/2 Cups
Salt                     - Pinch
Jeera Seeds         - 1/2 Tsp (optional)
Water                  - As needed
Cardamom          - 8 Nos
Ghee                   - 1 Tsp

METHOD :

     Clean and soak the rice in water for a couple of hours. Grind the rice with cardamom and egg to a smooth paste. Add the coconut cream to this too while grinding, instead of water. The texture should be really smooth, almost like silk. Remove this from the blender, add sugar, and dissolve well. Add a pinch of salt and measure the total quantity of this mixture with the same cup used to measure the rice. Bring this to a total measure of four cups using water. For every cup of rice used, you should make it to four cups of batter, as this helps to maintain the consistency of the batter.

     Now strain the batter through a fine sieve. Strain it a couple more times to remove any grains. The batter is now ready to be steamed. In a wide pan deep enough to steam a cake, or a deep plate, pour water and put something to hold the plate/pan (an inverted plate, for example) so that the plate/pan with batter doesnt touch the bottom of the wider pan and bring it to a boil. Grease the pan or plate with ghee, then pour the batter through 3/4th's of the plate and keep above the inverted plate. Cover the deep pan and steam cook at medium flame for about 14 mins. A tooth pick inserted should come out clean and you should see slight cracks on the surface of the cake once done.
  
     Remove from the stove and sprinkle jeera seeds on top. Let it cool completely, then cut and serve. The shelf life is one day and can be refrigerated for about three days. If you freeze it's better to steam again before serving, to get the right texture.

Shrimp Nugget

   Back then when I was a novice in cooking I used to watch cooking shows in my thirst to  learn any new recipe. This one was one such recipe I learned from a cooking competition. Just modified a bit to fit our palette. Actually I was so sceptical about using sambar powder in the fry because all I have known is sambar powder is used to make sambar,lol. But believe me this spice mix gives that nice aroma to the fry. Shrimp tastes so rich in this spice combination. I just gave the name nuuget because the corn flour gives this nice layer over the shrimp and I don't want to name it another fry.

INGREDIENTS :

Shrimp                 - 1Lb
Oil                        - For frying
Marinade :
Ginger Paste        - 1 Tsp
Garlic Paste         - 1 TsP
Yogurt                  - 1 Tblsp
Lemon Juice        - 1 Tblsp
Tomato Ketchup  - 2 Tblsp
Chilly Powder     - 1 Tblsp
Sambar Powder   - 2 Tsp
Salt                      -1/2 Tsp
Corn Flour          - 1 Tblsp

METHOD :

     First clean the shrimp. Remove the shells and devein them. I usually buy the headless raw shrimps. There will be the vein on one side and another thin black thread like thing running through the bottom. Split open the curved top portion and pull out the vein. The bottom thread can be scrapped out using a pairing knife. If you are using frozen shrimps defreeze them and soak in salted water for about 15mins. Brings back the freshness.
  Mix all the ingredients under marinade and rub over the cleaned shrimp and and let it sit for atleast 15 minutes.
    Heat a shallow pan over medium heat. Pour oil needed to shallow fry. Arrange the shrimps over the oil and cook for about 2 mins on both sides or until it turns slight brown and crispy.
Serve as a starter over coleslaw or as side dish for your lunch. Very flavorful and rich taste,yumm.

Chicken Dry Roast

    Chicken Dry Roast is a simple yet delicious dish. Helps your fried chicken craving without being fried. My mom used to make this but her version has a few other ingredients as well. I'll post that version later. Got this recipe from one of my favorite chefs. This is a famous Andhra dish, Chicken Veppudu. Very flavorful and tastes really yum when served hot. Give it a try and you will want to do it again and again. Adjust the spice levels to your taste, especially chilly powder. The hotter the better. But here I have given only medium to mild heat.

INGREDIENTS :

Chicken Breasts   - 1 lb
Onion                   - 1 medium
Tomato                 - 1 medium
Curry Leaves        - 2 sprigs
Ginger                   - 1Tsp
Garlic                     - 1Tsp
Chilly Powder        - 1Tsp
Coriander Powder  - 1Tsp
Turmeric Powder   - 1/4 Tsp
Cinnamon              - 1"piece
Cardamom             - 2 nos
Cloves                    - 2 nos
Cashews                 - 1 Tblsp
Salt                         -1/2 Tsp
Oil                           - As needed

METHOD :

                Clean and cut the chicken into small cubes. Chop the onion and tomato into small pieces. In a pan pour a tablespoon of oil and fry the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Add the chopped onions and fry until golden brown. Add ginger and garlic paste, then add the tomatoes and fry well. Add the turmeric powder and then the chicken and simultaneously add the coriander and chilly powder and let the chicken cook in this masala until done. Do not add any water because the chicken gives out water during cooking.
                  Heat a bigger pan, add two tablespoons of oil, fry curry leaves and add the cashews. Once the chicken is done, transfer the whole content to a pan and fry well until dry and everything comes together.
                 Serve as a starter or as a side dish. You can adjust the amount of oil according to your diet needs. Tastes almost like fried chicken.

Nagercoil Plum Cake

  Nagercoil Plum Cake. The reason I named this recipe Nagercoil plum cake or more accurately, Greatest Bakery Plum cake is because I had this in my place since my childhood and haven't had such a luscious tasting cake anywhere else. And I bet you won't find this anywhere else in the world. It brings a lot of sweet memories and nostalgia about so many recipes and flavors of my home town. To prove it wrong you should first taste this cake from my place. Do try out this recipe, but my native cake is much more rich and sophisticated than my recipe. I tried to find out the ingredients needed for this cake and read about this recipe from another blogger. I made changes and finally ended up here.

INGREDIENTS :

All Purpose Flour - 2 1/2 cups
Sugar             - 2 1/2 cups
Large Eggs        - 2
Butter            - 3/4 cup   
Baking Powder     - 2 Tsp
Cloves            - 10nos(slightly pounded)
Nutmeg Powder     - 1/4 Tsp
Shahjeera         - 1 Tsp (coarse powder)
Salt              -1/4 Tsp 
Orange Zest       -1/2 Tsp
Orange Juice Fresh - 1/2 Cup
Apple Cider        - 1/2 Cup  
Prunes or dried Plums -3 Cups

Black  Raisins     - 2 Cups
Cashew Nut Chopped  - 1 Cup

 

METHOD : 
  
The method needs some make ahead steps. You can even do them a week ahead and refrigerate.
The first step is soaking the dry fruits. Soak the raisins in half cup orange juice and half cup water along with a quarter cup apple cider. You can leave them overnight at room temperature or until ready to use, in the refrigerator. Drain excess liquid when adding to the cake batter.
    Next make the caramel syrup. In a pan over medium heat mix 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tablespoon water and mix until sugar dissolves. Give it a gentle stir and let it caramelize to a deep golden color. When completely caramelized, add half more cup of water and make a brown syrup out of this mixture.      
    The last make ahead thing is the plum puree. Chop 2 cups of prunes and mix with 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup apple cider and cook on medium flame until the prunes are soft. Cool down the mixture and puree them. To this add the other cup of finely chopped prunes and keep aside.
    Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Use a 2lb bread loaf pan or a bundt pan. These pans help the heat to get through well because the batter is kind of thick. Grease and dust the pan and keep aside.

    In a mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt, the pounded cloves and shahjeera and mix them well.
    Cream the remaining 2 cups of sugar and butter. It's always better to have room temperature butter and eggs. To the sugar-butter mix, add the eggs, one at a time and the orange zest and continue creaming while still adding the caramel syrup. To this start adding the flour and the raisin puree alternately. When done, fold in the soaked raisins and the chopped cashew nuts with a spatula. 
     Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour and 15 minutes. Test by poking a toothpick into the cake. It should come out clean. If not, bake for another ten to fifteen minutes. The outside can be dark and that is perfectly fine. Remove from oven and let it cool down completely. The longer it sits in the pantry, the more heavenly it tastes. If you love baking and cakes, this recipe is a must-try.

  

Puli Inji

  Puli Inji. I came to know about this from a friend who always talks about having this with Biryani at another friend's place whenever I serve Biryani. Finally we got a chance to taste her Puli Inji and my fellas fell in love with the taste, a perfect blend of sweet and sour with a hint of heat. So this recipe is a courtesy from my dear friend Sameera. She served with her awesome Malabari Biryani, the rich, flavorful dish with very few ingredients. Haven't gotten it right yet, In shaa Allah will post it someday.

INGREDIENTS :

Ginger    - 1/2 Cup (finely chopped)
Green Chilly - 2 (finely chopped)
Tamarind Paste - 1 Tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Jaggery - 2 Tblsp
Flour - 1 Tsp
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2 Tblsp

Garnish :
Oil - 1 Tsp
Mustard - 1/4 Tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Dried Red Chilly - 1

METHOD :

   Finely chop ginger and green chillies. Heat a pan along with oil over medium flame and fry the chopped ginger and green chillies until the raw smell is gone. Move to a plate lined with paper towel and drain the extra oil. Then cook this ginger and green chillies in a little water along with red chilly powder and salt. Once it becomes soft, add the tamarind paste and jaggery, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour in little water, add to this simmering mix and let it thicken.
 Finally heat oil in another pan, season with the ingredients under garnish and add to this. This step is optional.
 Puli Inji is served as part of Sadhya, the Onam meal and has many variations too. I'll post the recipe for another variety of Puli Inji that is common in my household, soon.
 It makes a fantastic side dish for fish biryani.

Basil Tomato Quiche

      Quiche is a simple yet rich egg dish baked over a puff pastry or pie pastry. If you are making it for breakfast, its preferred to make with puff pastry and if you are making it for brunch, go for pie pastry because the pastry itself is pretty filling. The filling can be anything you would like to have with eggs. The more vegetables you add, the healthier it is. Today, I preferred to make it with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella to bring in those Italian flavors. Try it out, its pretty easy and simple even for beginner cooks. My family enjoys this a lot and hope yours would do too.

INGREDIENTS :

Puff Pastry Sheet - 1
Eggs                     - 6
Heavy Cream       - 2 tblsp
Mozzarella Cheese - 1/4 cup (grated)
Parmesan Cheese    - 1/4 cup (grated)
Plum Tomatoes       - 1 cup (halved)
Basil Leaves           - 10 (chiffonade)
Pepper Powder       - 1/2 tsp
Salt                         - 1/4 tsp 

METHOD :
Thaw the puff pastry sheet. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" pie dish.
In a bowl break the eggs and whisk them well along with the heavy cream, salt and pepper. Check for salt and add more if needed.
Layer the pastry sheet in the pie dish. Arranged the halved plum tomatoes as a layer above the pastry.Then above that sprinkle the basil leaves. On top of that, add both the cheeses. Above this add the whisked egg mixture.
Bake in the oven for about 35 to 45 mins. The time varies with the oven. So you might want to set the timer for 35mins at first, check and set more time if needed. The egg should settle well and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. If you like firmer eggs, then let it bake for few more minutes.