Roast the dried Shrimp and dry red chilies together in a pan until the Shrimp turn light brown and the dry red chilies turn slightly crispy. This will not take more than 5 – 10 minutes.
Keep aside to cool.
Add the roasted dried Shrimp, dried red chilies, grated coconut, ginger, small onions, tamarind, curry leaves and salt in a blender.
Grind well without adding any water.
Scrape the sides of the jar in between.Adjust the salt and tamarind to suit your taste. Shape the ground mixture to a balAdjust the salt and tamarind to suit your taste. Shape the ground mixture to a ball.
Enjoy this chammanthi with plain rice/rice porridge.
Unakka Chemmeen Chammanthi Podi
Ingredients:
Dried coconut powder – 1½ cup
Dried shrimp – ½ cup
Small onion (chopped – 8 nos
Ginger (chopped or grated) – 3 nos
Curry leaves – 2 – 3 sprigs
Died red chillies – 5 - 6 nos
Whole pepper corns – 15 – 20
Tamarind – Large goose berry sized
Salt – To taste
Instructions:
Dry roast the dry shrimp and keep aside.
Roast the grated coconut, small onions, ginger and curry leaves stirring frequently. Take care not to burn it.
When it turns light brown, add the dry red chilies.
When the coconut turns brown add the tamarind, salt and roasted dry Shrimp.
Stir-fry for a few more minutes and take away from stove.
When it cools down, grind in a mixer till you get a coarse powder.
Unakka Chemmeen Manga Curry
Ingredients:
Dried Shrimp – 250gm
Raw mango (pacha manga) – 1 (sliced into small pieces)
Onion – 1(sliced finely)
Ginger – ½ – 1 tbsp
Green chilli – 2 Nos
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Chili powder – ½ – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Medium thick coconut milk – 1 ½ cups
Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
Small onion – 4 (sliced finely)
Mustard – ½ tsp
Salt - To taste
Curry leaves - As required
Coconut Oil - As required
Instructions:
Grind number 4-8 ingredients with a little water, to make masala.
Combine prawns, mango & onion with ground masala. Add medium thick coconut milk & salt to this. Mix well.
Cook till the gravy becomes thick & the prawns are done. Add thick coconut milk. Bring it to a boil and remove from fire.
Heat oil in a pan & splutter the mustard.
Add small onions & curry leaves.
Fry it till the onion becomes golden brown. Add it to the curry. Serve hot with rice.
Unakka Chemmeen curry
Ingredients:
Dried Shrimp - ½ cup
Grated coconut
(fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
Onion- ½ cup
Red chilies- 4 to 5 nos
Tamarind extract - ¼ tsp
Coriander seeds - ¾ tsp
Potatoes (cut into big pieces) - ¾ cup (optional)
Oil - As required
Salt- To taste
Instructions:
Heat small quantity of oil and fry coriander seeds. Grind it with coconut, tamarind and red chilies to a smooth paste.
Heat remaining oil and add onions. Fry till they turn slightly brownish.
Add shrimp, potatoes and ½ cup water .
Cook till potatoes are tender. Now add ground paste, salt and sufficient water and boil
Unakka Chemmeen Peera
Ingredients:
Dried Shrimp - ½ Cup
Fish tamarind/Kudampuli/Kokum - 1 or 2 Small pieces
Grated coconut - ¾ to 1 Cup
Small Onion - 3 to 4 nos
Green chilies - 2 to 3 Nos or to taste
Ginger chopped - ½ tsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Curry leaves - 2 Sprigs
Coconut oil - As required
Salt - To taste
Instructions:
Soak dried shrimp in water for about 15 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
Soak the fish tamarind (Kudampuli)in water for about 5 minutes
Coarsely grind together grated coconut, Small Onion, green chilies, ginger and turmeric powder.
In a manchatti/clay pot combine together dried Shrimp, fish tamarind, prepared coconut mixture, curry leaves and salt to taste. Mix well until combined.
Add required amount of water (about ¾ cup), cover and cook for about 15 minutes.
Uncover and cook until it is almost dry. Drizzle ½ tsp coconut oil on top, if desired.
Serve with rice.
Dried Shrimp Chilly Paste
Ingredients:
Dried shrimp - ¼ cup
Dried whole red chilies - 4-6 nos
Garlic - ½ cup
Palm Sugar - 1 ½ tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Small Onion - ½ cup
Tamarind paste - 2 tsp
Cooking oil - ½ cup
Water - ½ cup
Instructions:
Over low heat, add ½ cup of oil to a pan. Add dried shrimp and stir. Stir until the shrimp turns lightly brown and crispy and drain the shrimp from oil and set aside.
Add the dried whole chilies to the oil, fry to crispy level and take out.
Add the sliced garlic to oil and fry until golden brown. Drain and set aside when done.
Add sliced small onion to oil and fry until golden brown.
In a stone mortar, grind shrimp until finely ground. Scoop out the ground shrimp. Add the fried whole chilies and salt and grind until finely ground. Add fried garlic and small onion.
Grind until smooth. Add palm sugar and mix everything together.
Scoop the mixture out and drop it back into the pan with oil over low heat. Add the tamarind water mixture and stir to mix everything in. Let the paste bubble.
The paste will get thicker as the ingredients absorb the liquid and palm sugar binds everything together.
Add sugar, tamarind and salt to your taste. As the paste cools down, it will thicken.
Dried Anchovy Recipes
Unakka Netholi Pacha Chammanthi
Ingredients:
Dried Anchovy – ½ cup
Grated coconut – ¾ – 1 cup
Dry red chilies – 7 – 8
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Small Onions– 4 - 5
Tamarind – To taste
Curry leaves – 10 – 12
Salt – To taste
Instructions:
Roast the dried Anchovy and dry red chilies together in a pan until the Anchovy turn crunchy and the dry red chillies turn slightly crispy. It would not take more than 5 – 10 minutes.
Keep aside to cool.
Add the roasted dried anchovy & dried red chillies with grated coconut, ginger, pearl onions, tamarind, curry leaves and salt in a blender.
Grind well without adding any water
Scrape the sides of the jar in between. Add salt and tamarind to suit your taste. Shape the ground mixture to a ball.
Enjoy this chammanthi with plain rice/rice porridge.
Unakka Netholi Chammanthi Podi
Ingredients:
Dried coconut powder – 1½ cup
Dried Anchovy (Netholi) – ½ cup
Pearl onion (chopped – 8 nos
Ginger (chopped or grated) – 3 nos
Curry leaves – 2 – 3 sprigs
Died red chilies – 5 - 6 nos
Whole pepper corns – 15 – 20
Tamarind – Large goose berry sized
Salt – To taste
Instructions:
Dry roast the dry Anchovy and keep aside. When it slightly cools down semi grind in a mixer.
Roast the grated coconut, pearl onions, ginger and curry leaves stirring frequently. Take care not to burn it.
When it turns light brown, add the dry red chilies.
When the coconut turns brown add the tamarind, salt and roasted & semi grinded dry Anchovy.
Stir-fry for a few more minutes and switch off.
When it cools down, grind in a mixer till you get a coarse powder.
Unakka Netholi Curry
Ingredients:
Dry Anchovy - 250 g
Onion - 75 g
Green chilies - 2 nos
Ginger garlic paste - 30 g
Coriander powder - 30 g
Chilly powder - 30 g
Turmeric powder - 10 g
Curry leaves - 10 g
Mustard - 10 g
Fenugreek - 10 g
Coconut oil - 50 ml
Tamarind - To taste
Instructions:
Put dried Anchovy cold water
Take a vessel and add coconut oil, mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves, green chilly slices, onion slices and make it brown.
Ad cleaned Anchovy it hater and tamarind and cook well.
Dried Anchovy in Coconut Gravy
Ingredients:
Dried Anchovy – 1kg
To Roast and Grind
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Smalll onions (sliced) – 2 nos
Garlic – 1 tsp
Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Whole black pepper – 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 4 – 5 nos
For Gravy
Ginger (chopped)– 1 tsp,
Garlic(chopped)– ½ tbsp
Green chilli (slit lengthwise) – 1-2 Nos
Snall onion (sliced) – 5-6 nos
Turmeric powder – 1tsp
Fidh Tamarind (kudam puli) – 3 soak in hot water for 5-10 mins
Tomato(cut into 4 pcs) – 1 nos (optional)
Curry leaves
Coconut oil
Salt
Instructions:
Heat a pan and dry roast the ingredients (except chilli and coriander powder and curry leaves) listed under ‘To Roast and Grind’. When coconut becomes golden brown, add chilli and coriander powder and curry leaves. Fry it for 2 more mins. Let it cool. Add 2-3 tbsp, water and grind it to a smooth thick paste.
Heat oil in the same pan and add ½ tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp chopped ginger and 6 sliced pearl onions and 1-2 green chilli. After 4-5 mins, when the small onions and ginger and garlic start changing colour, add turmeric powder and cook for a min or so. Add ground coconut paste, salt and water (around 1.5 cups – 2 cups). Let it boil.
Add Add tamarind and cook for 2 mins. Add anchovy pieces. Cover and cook. When anchovy is half cooked, add tomato (refer notes) and continue cooking till the anchovy is cooked completely.
Switch off the gas and add 1 tbsp coconut oil and curry leaves. Let it rest for a while for the flavour to settle in.
The colour of the curry deepens while it rests.
Unakka Netholi Fry
Ingredients:
Dried Anchovy - 85 g
Ginger Garlic paste - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - ¼ tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - less than ¼ tsp
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Onion sliced - ¼ cup
Oil - to fry
Instructions:
Prepare a marination of Dried Anchovy with turmeric powder, red chilly powder, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste.
Add the dry anchovies to the masala and marinate for minimum 30 minutes. Now take a pan and pour 4 tbsp of oil.
Heat the oil in a medium flame and fry the onions and the curry leaves. Now throw in the marinated dried anchovies and fry it in the medium low flame for 5 minutes by stirring then and there. So that it fries evenly and serve.