Aatu kaal kuzhambu (Paaya) - Goat trotters stew

In Tamil cuisine, there is a special way to cook virtually all parts of a goat . Unlike chicken dishes, dishes made with each part of a goat, taste quite different from each other.

When following the traditional way of preparing this, my mom cleans and cooks the trotters in the night. The next morning, the stew is prepared and the trotters are cooked a little more. It is a very involved process.

But, I am going to show you a no-sweat way to make this stew, without compromising the flavors.

Ingredients:

• goat trotters, cleaned - from 2 goats, about 3 pounds
• onions, finely minced - 1 big
• tomatoes, finely chopped - 1 big
• chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• coriander powder - 3 tbsp
• coconut, shredded - 1/2 
• mint - 5 sprigs
• cilantro, chopped - 1/2 cup
• ginger paste - 3/4 tbsp
• garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• bay leaf - 1 lea
• cinnamon - 1" stick
• fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
• oil for sauteing
• turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• salt to taste

Method:

Preparing the trotters

1. If you are lucky to have access to seared / smoked trotters with the skin on, skip this section.
2. Rest of us probably get the trotters bleached white and with no skin. You can still simulate the flavor by broiling the trotters in oven.
3. In a foil lined baking dish, arrange the trotters in a single layer and broil on high for 10 minutes or until the bones have adequately browned and the liquid runs clear.
4. Remove from oven and let it cool.

Preparing the stew:

Using a slow cooker (the no-sweat way):

1. In the crock pot, add the prepared trotters and all other ingredients except coconut. Cook on high for 4 hours or slow for 7 hours.
2. One hour before it is done, add the coconut.
3. Enjoy your stew. 

Told ya it is no-sweat!

Using a pressure cooker (the long-winded way):

1. The night before, fill a 5 liter pressure cooker with enough water to cover the trotters. Add the turmeric powder, little salt and pressure cook the trotters for 5 whistles.
2. The next morning, transfer the trotters and the stock to another vessel. 
3. Rinse out the pressure cooker and heat oil on a medium high flame.
4. Before the oil starts smoking, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. When the spices have warmed up, add the minced onion, ginger and garlic. Stir and allow the onion to turn soft.
5. Now add the tomatoes and a little salt to sweat the tomatoes.
6. Stir once or twice, until everything turns into a slurry.
7. Now add the pre-cooked trotters, chilli powder and coriander powder.
8. Add back the water that was used to pressure cook the trotters.
9. Cover and cook for 3 more whistles.
10. When the steam has subsided, stir in coconut, mint and cilantro.
11. Let it come back to a boil before removing from fire.

This stew makes an excellent side dish for traditional breakfast dishes like idli or dosa. It also goes well with chunky ciabatta and a garden salad.

Nandu Masala - Crab Masala South Indian recipe

Nandu Masala - Crab Masala

One of the perks of growing up in Chennai is the endless supply of seafood that one has access to. Even though seafood was a regular in our Sunday lunch menus, crab has always been special.
When we visited SFO one summer, we went to the Fisherman's pier for the popular steamed crabs. But, the sheer volume of crab carcasses on the table and seeing the rush of people gobbling the meat down, turned my appetite off.
This is one of the few dishes that I like spicy hot.

Don't be fooled by the photo. I didn't make enough masala for the 6 big dungeness crabs that I cooked. I have adjusted my recipe to accommodate this. I will post a better photo when I cook this recipe next time.


Ingredients:

• Crab - 6 big ones
• garam masala - bay leaf, fennel seeds
• onion, chopped - 1
• tomato, chopped - 1
• ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
• red chili powder - 1/2 tablespoon
• coriander powder - 2 tablespoon
• black pepper, fresh cracked - 1 teaspoon
• coconut, shredded (optional) - 1/2 cup
• cilantro - for garnish
• salt to taste
• oil for sauteing

Method:

1. Wash the crabs in a mix of cold water and vinegar. Clean the crabs (see tips).
2. In a wide mouthed pan,  heat oil for sauteing. Add garam masala to the hot oil.
3. When the masala has roasted well (look for fragrance), fry ginger-garlic paste in the hot oil.
4. Add the chopped onion to this.
5. When the onion turns translucent, add the chopped tomatoes.
6.  Add a little salt to draw water out of the tomatoes.
7. When the masala starts oozing oil, add chili and coriander powders and fry until the raw smell disappears.
8. Add the cleaned crabs and black pepper.
9. Crab meat will cook in 5 minutes. Once the meat has cooked (about 5 minutes), add shredded coconut to the pan. 
10. In another 5 minutes, remove from heat and garnish with cilantro.

Serving this dish with fluffy white rice and a simple sauce/stew will help its delicate sweet taste shine.

Tips:

• Buying crab on or around the new moon day ensures that you get meaty crabs.
• Using a lobster pick set, ply off all the claws/limbs before cooking. This helps manage the crab pieces easily.
• If you buy fresh live crabs, here's a tip on how to prepare these for cooking: On reaching home, bring a soup pot of water to a rolling boil. Using tongs, carefully remove one crab at a time from the butcher's bag and slip it into the boiling water. Turn the heat off, cover with a lid and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once all the crabs have died, transfer these to a bowl of ice. 
• Cleaning the crab: Using a lobster pick, pry open the hinged underbelly of the crab. Also pry the hard outer shell. If you do not care for crab mustard, flush the crab under running water to get rid of impurities. Using a lobster cracker, cut all the limbs/claws.
• Here's a good tutorial for cleaning crabs. Note that the author discards the crab mustard. You might choose to keep it.

Everyday Rasam

Back home, Rasam was a staple in my mom's everyday cooking. Be it the hump day or a special Sunday, you are sure to see fluffy white rice and tangy rasam on the table at lunch.
Here's how my mom makes it.
Ingredients:

• tamarind - a small lime sized ball
• tomatoes - 1 medium roma 
• cilantro / kothumalli - 5 sprigs

to grind:

• pepper corns - 1 teaspoon
• cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
• garlic pods / poondu pal - 4

for seasoning / thalippu:

• mustard seeds
• cumin seeds
• asafetida - a pinch
• curry leaves / kariveppilai - 1 or 2 sprigs
• dried red chili - 1
• gingelly oil

Steps:

1. Prepare tamarind water. 
2. If the tomato is firm, soak it in 1 cup of warm water. When it is pliable, coarsely chop the tomato. 
3. Wash and dry curry leaves and cilantro on a paper towel. 
4. In a spice grinder or the smallest jar of your mixer, coarsely grind the ingredients listed under "to grind".
5. On medium heat, warm gingelly oil in a sauce pan / kadai. When hot, add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, dried red chilli and asafetida. 
6. Add tomato and a sprinkle of salt. The salt will help soften the tomato quickly.
7. Wait for a couple of minutes. The tomato pieces should have turned mushy by now. Add the ground spices to the above. 
8. Add tamarind water to the pan and let this mixture simmer at a boil for 3-5 minutes.
9. Taste the rasam at this stage and adjust salt and water per your taste.
10. Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot over fluffy white rice. Pairs well with microwave appalam.

The above rasam is a little like the everything bagel. It could be considered a mix of poondu rasam , tomato rasam and milagu rasam. Mom just prefers to have the goodness of all three in 1 dish.

Up the amount of black pepper corns in the recipe and it becomes a very soothing dish for sore throat or heavy cold.