Canned Tuna and Coconut stir fry

Trying to incorporate healthy foods in our family of three is a challenge I always have fun with. I have been weary to try canned grocery as they are notorious for their sodium content as well as other additives. Some of them though have been a staple in my kitchen after I tried them after much scrutinisation.

I am not a purist when it comes to cooking.I am all for easy to make, semi homemade, quickie cooking too as long as it doesnt make me compromise too much on the taste, nutrition value, and ofcourse the price :-)

After a chat with one of my friends who suggested that I need to have a section on "Bachelor cooking", I decided this is the perfect dish to start this section. I will be posting such dishes from time to time.

Canned Tuna was something I loathed when my better half bought it the first time years ago. As I told you in a previous post, he has this habit of picking up something new whenever he does the grocery shopping.

I was so fascinated reading the label on it where it tells about the omega 3 goodness in the canned tuna. Not to mention, the additional good things that I found after a thorough google search.Apparently canned tuna are one of the best foods that can be stocked during an emergency. But all in vain once I opened the can....since the whiff made me trash the entire can.

Fast forward to present..... I am eager to incorporate seafood into my munchkin's diet, since it's good in terms of nutrition value. I am not good at filleting fish or have the time to clean and cook seafood from scratch. Hence I decided to put the canned tuna to test. I added flavor enhancers and maskers to not make it taste like it came out of a can and I have to say it's now a hit with my boy and his dad :-)

So here is how I made it:

Ingredients:

2 canned tunas (the one in water is best as it has less sodium)

1 medium shallot sliced

2 tablespoons thinly sliced ginger (this gives the flavor boost according to me)

Grated coconut (fresh or thawed): 1/2 cup

Salt

Oil : 2 tablespoons

Spices:

Garam masala: 2 teaspoons divided

Coriander powder: 1 tspn

Cumin powder: 1/2 tspn

Red Chilli powder (according to your tolerance)

Hing (asafoetida) powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder: 1/4 teaspoon

How to make:

Drain the water from the tuna can like this as shown in photo below. It's the most effective way.

Then transfer the tuna into a bowl. Add all the spices and a pinch of salt (not the amount to actually season, just a pinch for the flavors to mix), and grated coconut and mix well with a fork.

In a frying pan or saute pan on medium heat, heat oil, a pinch of salt and hing (i like to flavor my oil with salt before hand since i feel it adds flavor) add shallot, and ginger. Saute until they brown lightly. Then lower heat to medium low, add 1 teaspoon garam masala, stir well say for a minute, then add the tuna mixture. Saute while breaking the mixture so as to mix everything well with the shallot and ginger. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon garam masala, and stir well, check for salt at this point. Keepimg heat at medium low, cover pan and let it cook for a minute.Lower the heat open the cover, stir for 15 seconds. Do a taste test if you are like me (while my boy says "meetth na" meaning not enough salt, even before he tastes anything these days, as he sees me taste testing :-P ). Switch off.

This goes well with a rice and dal combo since it makes a great stir fry with immense flavor of the ginger, tuna, and spices.

Did you like this post? Let me know :-)

Happy Easter !
MK

Easy Coconut Milk Pie (no bake)

Hello dear reader,
How was your past week? If you saw my update post, you will remember why I did not post last week. Well, things are not any better, but I have been evolving each time my baby is going through a growth spurt, it's just that it takes a bit of adjustment, and understanding , that period is the testing part.
Anyways, I am on a mission to lighten my overcrowded pantry, ... At this point I feel if I hoard anymore grocery in there (yes I am a hoarder of grocery, tch tch, not proud of it, but I admit it and vow to not do it again ,...infact I am scared to set foot in a supermarket now thinking I would be tempted to stock up again :-\ ...)....
Keeping that thought in mind, I decided to start with "getting rid of" the readymade pie crust and cans of coconut milk. I got this recipe from internet and with minor substitutions, it's easy peasy :-)
Here is what you need:
1 store bought ready to eat piecrust (I used a granola crust)
Filling:
3 cups coconut milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs beaten (iam guessing it can be made eggless if I add bit more of cornstarch , but I have not tried it)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sliced almonds for garnish
How I made it:
Mix everything for the filling except coconut flakes and almonds in a medium saucepan.
Keep it on low fire and keep stirring until mixture starts thickening. I had to turn up the heat to medium after sometime since it was taking forever on low. But just make sure that there are no lumps, and the first sign of thickening, you turn it back to low. And keep stirring. Add the flakes at this point, stir. Switch off. Transfer to the pie crust. Chill atleast 5 hours or even overnight. Garnish with sliced almonds and Saffron.

Enjoy :)

MK

An update.....

Hey readers, I have been dealing with a cranky toddler, whose new sleep schedule is making me go bananas,... Hence the delay in blogging,... It's taking over my blogging time you know, and I am like a zombie during daytime with groggy eyes, and been very quite except when I have to pressurize my son to doing things like eating, and sleeping....But I am still trying out recipes, and cooking, so it won't take too long alright ? Meanwhile feel free to browse my oldies :-) .... And is there something you want to me blog about in particular with regard to food? Please let me know through the comment section :-)

Ciao !
MK