Sunday, November 17, 2013

Churakka unakka chemmeen curry / Bottle gourd and dried prawn in coconut gravy

This is one dish that my grandmom makes with churakka / bottle gourd and trust me ..it tastes awsome...and we like dried prawns in almost everything..



Ingredients

Diced churakka / Bottlegourd - 2 cups (cleaned, peeled and diced)
Dried prawns - 1/2 cup (slightly roasted, head n tail removed and thoroughly washed)
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

To grind
Shallots - 6, thinly sliced
Green chilly - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Grated coconut - 1 cup

For tempering
Shallots - 2, thinly sliced
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Dried chilly - 2
Salt - as per taste
Coconut oil - 1 tsp



Method

Boil the bottlegourd pieces in 1 cup of water, along with required salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder. When they are half cooked add the washed dried prawns. Let them get cooked well. Meanwhile, in the small jar of the mixer, grind the items mentioned under "To grind" to a coarse paste. Add this paste to the almost cooked bottlegourd. Add more water if needed (it should have a medium thick consistency). Switch off the stove once the coconut mixture is about to boil.

In another pan, add coconut oil. Once hot, add the sliced shallots, dried chilly and curry leaves. Let the onions turn brown and crisp. Add them to the coconut gravy, stir gently and close the lid immediately for the flavors to set in. 

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