Tamatar Ka Salan - Andhra Special

April is here, and this month is going to be hectic for many of us coz of kid's exams else coz of their vacation. For me its going to be hectic coz of a month of long month marathon. Monthly we do three days of blogging marathon but April is everyday posting and for this month's theme, we chosed to cook from many Indian states. Being a South Indian, i always love to cook North Indian foods very much, seriously this month's blogging marathon pulled myself and my co marathoners to explore not only different Indian regional cuisines but their cultures and the way they cook their foods.Today, am taking you all to one of the famous South Indian flavourful Andhra Cuisine.

Andhra Pradesh is a state situated along the south-eastern coast of India. The charm of the Andhra Pradesh cuisine is the delightful blend of original Andhra, delicious Southern and brilliant Hyderabadi style of cooking. While the original Andhra food is hot and fiery in nature, Hyderabadi food brings the Mughal influence into the Andhra cuisine.The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is a foodie’s delight. The food of every Indian state has a certain kind of uniqueness to it and the same holds true for the cuisine of this state too.

Abundant use of spices and exotic seasonings mark the cooking style of Andhra Pradesh. This cuisine sees a healthy mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. A large chunk of the population is vegetarian and has devised brilliant vegetarian recipes. The people along the coastal areas have developed amazing seafood recipes. As Andhra Pradesh was under the rule of Mughal Emperors the cuisine of the land has been heavily influenced by the Mughals and this influence is reflected in the world-famous Hyderabadi cuisine.For the first day of this long marathon with Indian states as theme, i cooked this delightful Tamatar Ka salan from Hyderabadi Cuisine.

Homemade Masala Fish Fry

Every year i try to get fresh chilly powder and coriander powder from India,but sometimes i finish them easily and quickly if i make Indian foods very often. Few days back, while going through my pantry i noticed that i just have few teaspoons of red chilly powder and i dont want to finish them at all. I can get super hot chilly powder from Indian groceries here,somehow i dont like it, personally i felt that they are very bright in colour (dunno whether they add food colour) and very spicy for our tastebuds,finally i decided myself to make my fish fry masala at home with dry red chillies and few more spices.

Nothing will beat this super flavourful homemade masala, i just marinated my fish slices for two hours and fried them. Oh boy, they tastes super delicious and the spices i used in them gives a wonderful flavourful to this frozen fish slices and turned them simply awesome. We enjoyed thoroughly this superb fish fry with hot sambhar rice.I conserved this masala paste in an air tightened box and kept in fridge for a week, they suits prefect even for masala fried chicken.This masala paste is really handy and definitely flavourful when compared to the store bought ones.Sending this irresistible fish fries to Usha's Seafood Feast.

Masala paste:
10nos Dry red chillies
2tbsp Coriander seeds
10nos Peppercorns
1tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Fennel seeds
2nos Cloves
1no Cinnamon stick
1no Onion (chopped)
Few curry leaves
5-6nos Garlic cloves
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Lemon juice

Fish fry:
10nos Fish slices (cleaned)
1tbsp Rice flour
Salt
Oil for frying

Dry roast the red chillies,coriander seeds, peppercorns,cumin seeds,fennel seeds,cloves and cinnamon stick until a nice aroma comes out. Keep aside.

To the same pan,add few drops of oil, saute the chopped onions,curry leaves and garlic cloves, cook until they get partially cooked.

Now take the roasted spices and onion-garlic together in a mixie jar, add the turmeric powder,lemon juice and grind as fine and thick paste with enough water.

Conserve this paste in a cleaned air tightened box;keep it in fridge and finish them before a week.

Take enough paste in a plate, add the rice flour,salt and mix it..

Apply this thick paste evenly over the fish slices and keep them aside for atleast two hours.

Fry the fish slices with enough oil in medium flame and drain the excess oil with a paper towel.

Serve hot with your favourite dish.