Prawn Pepper Kuzhambu - A Guest Post by Menaga of Sashiga

Writing a guest post or getting back a guest post is quite common in this immense virtual world, but getting a guest post from a close friend is more than that. Actually Menaga of Sashiga is one of my best buddy i got through this blog world, we get connected through our passion for foods and later i came to know that she is also from Pondicherry my native and for my surprise she lives also near Paris,how wonderful na. Then one fine day, i asked her fone number and started talking with her through fone. From that onwards, the bond between us is just growing on day by day. She never failed to call me and as usual we talk for hours, even everyone at home pulls me for our long conversation we have mutually with each other.

Few days back, i asked Menaga to write a guest post for me, she immediately asked me whether i need anything special, i simply replied to send me a dish that suits prefectly to showcase our native Pondicherry. She said ok and send me within a day her inlaws signature dish.

Coming to to Prawn pepper kuzhambu, we make prawn kuzhambu at home often as we are the great fans of sea foods, but Menaga's prawn pepper kuzhambu was completely different from mine. Seriously cant wait to make this fingerlicking kuzhambu at home. Actually this gravy goes for the famous South Indian tempering spice called vadagam, which is prepared yearly once with a variety of spices with onions. This sun dried tempering spices gives a wonderful flavour to any tamarind based gravy makes them more flavourful, obviously we used to carry them from India everytime during our visit to India. If you want to make a new variety of kuzhambu, you should give a try to this delicious Menaga's Prawn pepper kuzhambu.

Ingredients

Prawn -1/2 kg
Raw banana  - 2 small
Onion – 2 (sliced lenghtwise)
Tomato -2 chopped finely
Turmeric pd -1/2 tspn
Tamarind –lemon size
Garlic pods -8 nos
Bay leaves -3
Salt to taste
Oil -3 Tbspn

To grind - 1
Pepper  - 2 ½ tspn
Green chillies – 7    add according to ur spice

To grind - 2
Coconut flakes – ¼ cup
Vadagam -2  tbspn
Jeera 1 tspn

 Procedure:

*Soak Tamarind  & extarct the pulp with 2 cups water. In tamarind water add clean &washed prawn+garlic pods+turmeric pd.

*Heat 1 tbspn oil in a kadai add the vadagam & fry it.Keep it aside.then same oil  saute the coconut flakes until it gives nice brown colour.

*first grind  coconut  flakes,then add fried vadagam then lastly add jeera ,gives  a smooth paste…
also grind the ingredients given in the grind 1.

*Heat  rest of the oil in vessel  add bay leaves  followed by onion ,once it turns brown colour add chopped tomatoes +salt  till they get mushy..

*Then add  pepper &green chilli paste saute well.once raw smell goes away add tamaraind water.

*Then it boils well add chopped raw banana &cooked it.

*Finally add coconut paste until it raw smell goes away.

*Serve  it hot with rice ,idli n dosa.

Hope you enjoyed thoroughly going through this peppery and fingerlicking kuzhambu by Menaga, thanks Menaga for sending me this delicious kuzhambu, am sure this kuzhambu is going to be our family favourite.

Happy Cooking!