Prawn Salad with baby potatoes

Shrimp/Prawn Sesame Salad

Hello Friends, it’s been another Salad dinner night (J yes, we are still managing to have just Salad for dinner). So I decided to get something more than just vegetables.But just three nights down, I am already craving for nice complete meal warm and hot.

Prawn is something which you can throw in the vegetables and it works brilliant.

Frozen prawn is easily available in almost every supermarket and is like secret ingredient for me as they are peeled, cleaned and cooked ones. Oh life is so easy with the frozen prawns. Whenever I am short of ideas for dinner or lunch, I cook something or other with prawns. Quick and Easy!

I served the Prawn Salad with warm baby potatoes. So it is a mix. Cold and Warm!

Ingredients

250 grams –small prawns/shrimps, peeled, washed and cooked.

4-5 small radish-cut into 4 halves

1 small beetroot- cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tomatoes- sliced into big chunks

1 Medium Onion sliced roughly

Baby Potatoes, washed and skin on

1 celery stick sliced

Bunch of basil leaves, I used Greek basil as it is growing in my kitchen window

A bunch of coriander leaves chopped finely
Spring onions few twigs chopped roughly

2 tbsp of butter

Dressing

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp white sesame seed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sesame oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Process

1.

Pre heat your Oven.

2.

Put a deep bottom pan with water on full high and let the water come to boil.

3.

Put the baby potatoes and cover with a lid and let it boil.

4.

When they are soft enough, drain the water.

5.

In a bowl, put the potatoes, butter, salt & pepper, a pinch of coriander leaves and mix it well.

6.

Put the potatoes in the oven for about 15 minutes at 250 degrees Celsius.

7.

Meanwhile heat 2 tbsp sesame oil and add the sesame seeds to it.

8.

Don’t let it go dark and add the prawns to it. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to it and stir it so the prawns are coated well.

9.

Fry the prawns for 2-3 minutes and set aside.

10.

On another deep bottom pan, boiled the celery, radish and beetroot for 3-4 minutes. They should be chunk.

11.

When done, drain.

12.

Take a big bowl, add the vegetables, prawns and give it a little mix.

13.

Prepare the dressing with the remaining sesame. Add the coriander leaves in it and give it a good whisk. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

14.

Dress the salad with the fresh dressing and we are done with the salad.

15.

The potatoes done, nicely crisp on outer and soft inside. Serve them hot. If needed sprinkle some sea salt and pepper and straight on the table.

Happy Cooking!!!

Plum Tomato Chutney

Plum Tomato Chutney

Tomato chutney is a must to have delicacy during any occasions in a Bengali household in India.  It is extremely popular in Bengal as well as in other places like Andhra though the preparations is little different in different places. In Bengal, it is sweet chutney, can have different variations as per the season but a must when there are guest for lunches or even for Sunday lunch. It is all time favourite item in the Pujo Bhog for Durga Pujo, Lakshmi Pujo or Kali Pujo along with Kichudi.

Though this chutney can be cooked with different ingredients such as Apples, Dates, Aam shotto (Sweet Mango sheets), sultanas, etc etc and served as an accompaniment with rice, Nan, chapattis, fried rice or Pulao. Here is my recipe of Tomatoes cooked with plum….very easy and a quick one.

Ingredients:

2 Big juicy Tomatoes- chopped

4 Juicy Plums- seeded and chopped

2 green chillies chopped finely, if you have a kid at home than you can take the seeds out or just could put a slit length wise

4 tbsp of grated fresh root ginger

½ tsp lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Bay leaves

A pinch of salt (black salt tastes even better)

6-7 tbsp of soft brown sugar / half cup of jaggery,  depending on how sweet you want it to be. I used half cup of jaggery plus 2 tbsp of soft brown sugar. It gives a caramelised taste to it. If you do not have both of them in your pantry, don’t worry. You can use normal white sugar by all means.

1 tsp of plain vinegar (optional)

A pinch of freshly grounded black pepper

2 tsp vegetable oil.

A pinch of mustard seeds (optional). Well, it is a must at my mum’s and in laws place but I haven’t used any.

Direction:

Heat the oil in a deep bottom sauce pan.  

Add the bay leaves and grated ginger and green chillies to it and stir. Also the mustard seeds if you want them.

 After few seconds, add the chopped tomatoes and plums and give it a good mix and cover with a lid.

Take out the lid after around 4-5 minutes and stir well. By this time the tomatoes and plums will start melting and a lot of liquid will be released.

Keep on stirring on low flame.  It will help in melting the tomatoes quickly.

Sprinkle the salt and the lemon zest now, mix it. You can see the sauce sort of thing by now. This is the chutney forming.

Pour in the lemon juice and vinegar. You can add the sugar/jaggery now. Give it a good mix. Cover the lid for another 2-3 minutes.

Take out the lid, grind the black pepper on it and stir.  Switch the heat off now.

Check and adjust the seasoning. The tanginess from the lemon and vinegar and the sweet from the jaggery and sugar give a nice flavour to the chutney. And the salt really brings out the flavour.

You can store this chutney for 2-3 days in a jar.

Now the variations:

With Sweet Mango slices- It will give mango tanginess plus an amazing colour to it.

With Dates: Richer and heavy

With sultanas:  Loved by children and elders a lot.

With Apples: it is more in mass and sweet too

More towards British version

You can add strawberries, raspberries, cranberries and cherries too….not tried yet but they are surely in my list. Let me know if you try one.

Happy Cooking!!!