Lemony Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti Pasta with Herbs

This is a quick and easy pasta recipe if you are in for spicy hot Shrimps pasta filled with Lemon flavors. I am sorry but don't ask me for calories am bad at it, I just try a dish eat and relish.

You can experiment with the herbs of your choice and angel hair pasta too.

Ingredients (2 Servings)

1. Spaghetti Pasta as per servings. 
2. Shrimps cleaned and deveined - atleast 150 gms or 10 to 15 medium size shrimps
3. 10 - 15 garlic pods - finely chopped
4. Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
5. Lemon zest / rind from one lemon
6. Chili Flakes as needed
7. White wine 2 tb.spn (optional)
8. Olive oil 3 - 4 tb spn
9. Herbs of your choice fresh or dried (Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme)
10. Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
11. Salt / pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Boil pasta as per the instruction in the packet. While the pasta is half done prepare the sauce, we do not want to drain and let the pasta dry for long. 
2. In a Fry pan or wok heat the oil in lowest flame
3. Saute garlic, chili flakes for few seconds and add in the shrimp. Do not over cook. Turn the shrimps and cook on the other side we just need the color to change.
4. Immediately add lemon juice, zest/rind, wine and salt. Give a nice toss. Let them sit for 30 seconds. Add little Pasta boiled water as well.
5. Transfer the cooked pasta and mix well. Sprinkle all herbs 
6. Serve with grated cheese 

Notes:

• You may use mozzarella or other cheese you have
• Do not over cook or under cook the pasta. Keep checking once it reaches the cooking time as per the instruction
• I have used garlic parsley powder and other dried herbs. Do not use too much little pinches of each herb is sufficient. 

Raw Banana Fry / Plantain Fry with Indian spices

This is a quick and easy dish with only few ingredients. In traditional south Indian dish it would be chopped in small pieces and made as sabji/poriyal/thoran with grated coconut.  In this recipe we have the banana in thin slices, soaked in lemon water to prevent discoloring.

Ingredients:

1. Medium sized raw plantain 2 – Slice thinly as in picture. I used Peyan variety
2. Slit green chili – 1
3. A bunch of curry leaves
4. Asofoetida – 1 t.spn
5. Cumin seed – 1 tb.spn
6. Chili Flakes – 1 tb.spn
7. Turmeric Powder – ½ tspn
8. Chaat masala – ¼ tspn
9. Oil for frying
10. Salt to taste

Preparation (Entire recipe prepared in low heat)

1. Heat oil in a large pan or kadai, add Cumin seeds and saute
2. When the cumin releases its flavor add green chili, asofoetida and curry leaves; saute for few seconds. Then add in the turmeric powder and mix well.
3. Add raw banana slices sprinkle salt and let them fry for 2 – 3 minutes. Toss well in between.  
4. Add red chili flakes, chaat masala powder; saute everything. Sprinkle little water if needed.
5. Cover and cook in lowest heat for about 2 minutes.

Enjoy this with sambar/rasam rice.

Crispy Beetroot Fry

This is a quick and easy dish with only few ingredients. This is slightly different from the regular poriyal.

Ingredients:

1. Beetroot – Slice thinly as in picture
2. Slit green chili – as required. 
3. A bunch of curry leaves
4. Mustard seed for tempering
5. Cumin seed – 1 tspn or more as per the quantity of beetroot
6. Pepper powder – 1 tspn
7. Chaat masala – ¼ tspn
8. Oil for frying
9. Salt to taste

Preparation (Entire recipe prepared in low heat)

1. Heat oil in a large pan or kadai, add mustard seeds.
2. When the mustard seed splutter add cumin, chili and curry leaves saute for few seconds.
3. Add beetroot sprinkle salt and let them fry for a minute or two. 
4. Add pepper and chaat masala powder saute everything. Do not cover.
5. Check seasoning, sprinkle very little water if required. ONLY if required. 
6. Cook until it turns crispy but tender at each bite.

Enjoy this with sambar/rasam rice. When the recipe is done, curry leaves and chili would have turned crispy.

Coconut Milk Rasam / Thengai paal rasam without tomato

This awesome recipe was shared by one of my friends from School, and her name is Khalida. I would like to thank her for this. I remember my grandma and mom making a modified version of this without coconut milk when I was a kid. Not sure if it is prepared outside Kanyakumari Villages. They use to burn red chili and soak them in stone ground chutney water, add tamarind and salt to have with rice along with thuvaiyal (Chamanthi). Let me get into this recipe from my friend.

Ensure you use small onion and red chili both burnt as shown in picture. I burnt them on my gas stove top. Use thick coconut milk diluted in little water as we would not be using water for this curry. Remember we do not need tomato or other masala in this curry. I would soon post tomato rasam with coconut milk. Just can't wait to try.

Ingredients:

1. Burnt Shallots 3 - 4
2. Burnt Red Chili 1 or 2 as per your taste
3. 2 large garlic pods or 3 - 4 small pods
4. Small piece of ginger
5. Cumin + Black pepper about 1 tb.spn
6. Little Tamarind to make juice, 
7. Coconut milk 1 1/2 cups
8. Salt to Taste
9. Oil , mustard, curry leaves for tempering. 
10. Coriander leaves for garnishing - optional

Preparation:

1. Grind ingredients listed under 1 to 5 to a coarse paste without water. you may simply crush them using a mortar - Refer to pictures here.
2. In a small pan heat oil and prepare the tempering in medium heat. 
3. Add in the crushed spices saute for a minute in low heat.
4. Add tamarind juice and salt as required bring to a boil.
5. Mix in the coconut milk giving a nice stir. Switch off the flame after 30 seconds.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves. 

Enjoy with steamed rice. If you need little more rasam add coconut milk. Prefer not to add water as the dish would lose it's real flavor.

Let me know how you liked it. Did you eat an additional handful of rice :) ????

Once again thanks to Khalida.