HOW TO MAKE CHILLI PRAWN KEBABS: EASY AND TASTY RECIPE

CHILLI PRAWN KEBABS

Ingredients

30 king prawns, shelled and cleaned but leave tail

60 gr butter

1 bulb of garlic, peeled and crushed

2 tbsps brown sugar or gur

2 tbsps lemon or lime juice

2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves, pounded

2 tbsps holy basil( tulsi) leaves, pounded

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Method

Slit the prawns along the vein, lengthways.

Heat the butter in a frying pan, and add all the ingredients apart from the prawns and stir well to mix.

Add the prawns one by one and cook them for 5 minutes each.

Put the prawns on a tooth pick so that you skewer them twice so that they almost form a circle.

Serve as an appetizer or with other nibbles with drinks.

These can be made beforehand and kept until the fridge until they are needed and grill before serving. They are tastier if you do this.

These have Taste and are a Treat.

WATERCRESS ( NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE): MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF WATERCRESS: WATERCRESS SALAD RECIPE

WATERCRESS, NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE

Watercress is related to the flowers that grow in many British gardens, nasturtiums. Nasturtium comes from the Latin, nasus meaning nose and torquere, to torment. The nasturtium family of cresses (which includes the flower and the herb called Garden cress) has a pungent aroma, which explains their name. Watercress grows wild in Britain by clear flowing streams, and I used to gather it on the mountain, when I was a child. I have always loved both the smell and the taste of this herb. Now of course it is cultivated and can easily be bought from supermarket shelves, but you can also grow your own by putting some leaves with stems in a bottle of water and changing it once a day. When it has grown roots it can be transplanted into pots of sandy soil and watered frequently.

   Watercress is native to Europe and Russia, but now grows on most continents. The Greeks and Romans believed that it cleared the mind so that decisions could be made more easily. They used it as a salve for wounds. If you rub a paste of the leaves onto a wound it will stop any infection as the leaves have antiviral and anti-bacterial properties.

   It is good eaten raw in salads and is useful for diabetics as it helps get rid of excess sugar in the blood. It is a diuretic and so good for obesity as it helps the body rid itself of excess water. It cannot help remove stones from the internal organs but it a good preventative. Watercress aids the liver, helping it to stay healthy.

   Watercress belongs to the Brassica family of vegetables along with broccoli and brussel sprouts and shares many of the same properties. It tastes a little like rocket but is less spicy, although they can be substituted for each other.

    A tisane can be made from 5 gr. of watercress to 1 cup of boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes and then strained. This is good as a diuretic and if you have a bronchial cough or cold. You can also steep 25 gr of watercress in a glass of cold water overnight and strain it in the morning and take a tablespoon 4 times a day. Pep it up with the addition of cayenne pepper or black pepper.

    If you crush the leaves to get the juice from them you can apply this to your face to remove any skin blemishes, but to get rid of pimples you should take the tisane internally.

    Watercress can help with respiratory illnesses as it is an expectorant, antibronchitic, antiviral, antipyretic and a general tonic. It contains 13 amino acids, the B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, C, and the following minerals: - calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, iodine and zinc. This means that it contains a lot of antioxidants, so helps with blood flow, etc. It also contains beta-carotene, fibre, and essential oil, glutotropeolin, and glycosides. It has been used in the past to treat TB and Culpeper suggested the bruised leaves could be used to remove skin blemishes.

   An old superstition says that if you wrap watercress in red flannel and wear it when you have to go on water you will be protected from drowning.

WATERCRESS SALAD

Ingredients

1 bunch of watercress, shredded

½ head of lettuce, shredded

4-6 spring onions, roughly chopped

½ cucumber sliced

4 tomatoes, sliced

1 tbsp capers

12 black olives

olive oil and wine vinegar for the dressing

½ tsp dried oregano

Method

Combine all the ingredients except for the oil and vinegar.

Mix 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar and add a little oregano. Shake well to combine, then toss the salad in this dressing.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

HOW TO MAKE SPICY FRIED PRAWNS: EASY AND TASTY RECIPE

SPICY FRIED PRAWNS

Ingredients

2 cups prawns, shelled and cleaned

3 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsps cornflour

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt

1 egg white

oil for frying

Method

Mix together the flour, cornflour and spice powders add a little water and stir to a paste.

Put the prawns in this mixture, making sure they are completely coated in it and leave to stand for ½ hour.

Whisk the egg white until it is stiff and forms peaks.

Heat the oil in a pan and dip each prawn in the egg white and add to the pan.

Fry the prawns for about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately with salad.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

FISH CURRY WITH SPRING ONIONS RECIPE

FISH CURRY WITH SPRING ONIONS

Ingredients

1 kg white fish cut into 3 inch pieces

½ kilo spring onions, chopped

1½ tsps fenugreek seeds (methi)

1½ tbsps chilli powder

1½ tbsps ground cumin seeds

1½ tbsps ground coriander seeds

salt to taste

1 tbsp pounded garlic paste

1 tbsp pounded ginger root (paste)

1 cup natural yoghurt

1 cup oil

8 green chillies, finely chopped

1½ inch piece of ginger root, chopped

fresh coriander leaves for garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan with the fenugreek seeds and fry until they become red. Add the spring onions and fry until they become light brown.

Add the garlic and ginger pastes, chillies and all the spices. Cook for 5 mins.

Then add the yoghurt to the spice mixture and stir well. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the fish to the mixture and make sure the heat is low.

Cover the pan so that the fish is cooked by the steam. Don’t remove the lid, but shake the pan to mix everything when you think you need to, (every 3 to 4 mins should be enough).

Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat take out the fish and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with the ginger and fresh coriander if you wish.

Serve with boiled rice or breads of your choice.

This has Taste and is a Treat.