Cheera chemmeen thoran - Spinach stir fry with a hint of prawn

Another delicacy from Cochin, where people like to induce the flavor of meat or seafood into veggies!

The natural sweetness of prawn really blends with the spinach so it’s a great way to uplift the taste of a regular thoran!

Ingredients

1. Spinach (finely chopped) – 2 bunch
2. Prawns– 250 gm
3. Freshly grated coconut – 1 ½ cup
4. Garlic (crushed) – 3 pods
5. Button onion/ shallot (crushed) – 2 pods
6. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
8. Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
9. Curry leaves – a few
10. Salt – as required
11. Oil – 2 tsp

Method

1. Remove the shell of prawn and roughly chop them.
2. Coarse grind grated coconut, garlic, shallot, turmeric powder and chilly powder.
3. Heat oil in a fry pan and splutter mustard seeds.
4. Add chopped prawns and sauté for a few seconds.
5. Add the ground mixture, curry leaves, salt and spinach and mix well.
6. Cook in medium heat till spinach is done and curry is dry.

Chemmen peechinga ularthu – Sinqua and prawn fry

Mixing meet or prawn with vegetable is the Cochin way of cooking. Cooking vegetables in the juice of meet will enhance its flavor. Peechinga (sinqua) is a common juicy vegetable available in Kerala. And prawns are available in Cochin all year long. So cooking both combined is a cleaver way to get the taste of both with the effort of making one!


Ingredients

1. Peechinga (cut into small cubes) – 2 nos
2. Prawns (peeled and chopped) – 150 gm
3. Garlic (crushed) – 2 pods
4. Button onion (crushed) – 3 pods
5. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
7. Curry leaves – a few
8. Salt – as required
9. Oil – 2 tbsp

Method

1. Combine peechinga, prawn and salt in a pot.
2. Cook in medium high till water comes out of peechinga.
3. Cover the pot with a lid and cook in low flame till done.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add crushed garlic, button onion and curry leaves.
5. Add chilly and turmeric powder and mix well.
6. Stir continuously and fry in high flame till all are well fried and oil starts to separate.
7. Add cooked prawn and peechinda and mix well.
8. Remove from flame and serve hot with rice.

Meen thakkali palu curry - Fish and tomato in coconut sauce - An authentic Cochin recipe

Ingredients

1. Fish - ½ kg
2. Tomato (thinly sliced) – 2 nos
3. Onion (thinly sliced) – 1 no
4. Green chillies (half slit) – 3 nos
5. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
6. Coriander powder – 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
8. Ginger (thinly sliced) – 1” long piece
9. Vinegar - 3 tbsp
10. Thin coconut milk - 3 cup
11. Thick coconut milk - ½ cup
12. Salt - to taste
13. Coconut oil – 3 tbsp
14. Curry leaves - a few

Method

1. Clean and cut fish into small pieces.
2. In a cooking pot (preferably earthen pot) heat oil.
3. Fry onion, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.
4. When onion changes color to light brown add chilly, coriander and turmeric powders.
5. Fry till oil starts to separate form the mixture.
6. Pour the thin coconut milk and salt and bring to boil.
7. Add fish, tomato and vinegar.
8. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer in low flame for 30 minutes.
9. Add the thick coconut milk and cook for 2 more minutes.
10. Remove from flame and serve with rice.

Erachi pachakkaya ularthu - Beef and plantain fry - An authentic Cochin recipe

Ingredients

1. Raw plantain (cut into small cubes) – 1
2. Beef with fat – ½ kg
3. Onion (thinly sliced) – 1 no
4. Ginger (crushed) – 2 cm long piece
5. Button onion (crushed) – 4 pods
6. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
7. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
8. Coriander powder – 1 ½ tsp
9. Garam masala – 1 tsp
10. Curry leaves –a few
11. Oil – 3 tbsp
12. Salt – as required

Method

1. Cook beef, onion, ginger, salt along with half portion of chilly, turmeric and ¼ cup of water.
2. Add plantain and cook.
3. In a pan heat oil and add button onion, curry leaves and all the remaining spices.
4. Fry them till button onion and spices are well fried and oil starts to separate.
5. Add cooked plantain and beef and mix well.
6. When the curry begins to thicken remove from flame.