Рецепт Prawn Masala Fry and Prawn Rice ...... cooking a meal under thirty minutes

by Sharmila

Yesterday I made a post on my instagram feed on one of my current knitting projects, as I was getting a lot of messages to share my works in progress.  And I wrote about how this year has been for all of us.  And could not help contemplating on it the whole day. I realised what I had written was just the tip of the iceberg. Given insta's limited word allowance per post, I am not always satisfied with writing there. Which is why I have almost stopped writing a good post. The hurried feel does not suit me. I like to write in a way that the reader gets the essence and the feel of not only the photo but also the setting , the prelude as well as the interlude and conclusion.  So while I did mention how we all found out some hobby to hold on to for comfort in this difficult year, I felt a there is a lot more to it than what meets the eye.  Like how we learnt to manage our days and to divide time among work and family and chores in a more balanced way.How we learnt the real meaning of division of labour. And how to make the division of chores interesting .... focussing not only on the jobs getting done but also on  how to give the other person a break too.  And the most important thing we learnt was how to manage the kitchen in the shortest possible time, how to cook up a nutritious meal for the family without getting exhausted and above all, how to come up with quick cooking ideas with the most basics of ingredients.  And at the same time ensure that it is tasty to please every palate sitting at the dining table. No mean feat I must say.  For me, it has been a long, difficult year when it comes to eating restaurant kind of food. Not that we used to eat out regularly. But I had a surgery last year towards the fag end of August and was on monitored food for almost 6 months. And just as we started to eat out a little .... we must have eaten out for exactly three times .... lockdown happened. And now it has been 8 months that I have been craving for some good Chinese food. Or a good Vada Pao. And Phuchka too.  I have made every one of these at home too. And even more like baking breads, pavs, focaccia , cakes .... and so on. But it requires big work. Lots of effort. And at the end I feel so exhausted that actually enjoying the food becomes an effort too. So I have turned to cooking some spicy and masaledar food for myself recently. Any change to the tastebuds is welcome now.  Recently, my fishmonger got me some very fresh and good sized prawns. They were so fresh that I wanted to keep the sweet taste with just a smattering of spices. And so made this beautiful fry. The coating was of spices and the inside held the juicy, sweet meat that was so good when bitten into.  For the Masala Prwan Fry :    Need :  Prawns - 6 to 8 pieces, cleaned and deveined Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp  Jeera powder - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tspTurmeric powder - 1 tspLemon juice - 1 tsp Rice flour - 2 tbsp Salt - to taste  Oil - to stir fry  How to :  Marinate the prawns with the rest of the ingredients except for the oil.  Keep aside for 15 minutes.  Heat oil.  Let in the prawns one by one and fry till done.  Serve immediately.  For  the Prawn Rice :  Need :  Leftover Rice  Whole garam masalas  Chopped green chillies  Salt to taste  How to :  In the same oil that the prawns have been fried, add the garam masalas and the green chillies.  Let in the rice and toss well.  Add salt and adjust the rest of the seasonings.  Remove and serve hot.  Enjoy!!  Here is my link to the post on Instagram where the write up is even better.  I am going crazy trying to keep track and coordinate my writings at both places.  Hope to sort out the time management soon so that I can write the same post and thoughts in both places as well as share the links too.