Dry fish chutney

This recipe was shared with me by my mamma after I came to Germany. She makes the world's best dry fish chutney! It goes so well with rice especially red rice and is really simple to make. At home mum made it with fresh grated coconut but she gave me a super convenient method of making the chutney with 'kopra'/dried coconut. You can make it with fresh or dried coconut depending on what is easily available. When using 'kopra' first soak it in water for at least 4 hours so that you can grind it easily.

So here's what you need..
Half a coconut - make pieces
5 to 6 dried red chillies/ 2 green chillies or depending on the spice you can take
Ball of tamarind, about 11/2 inch in diameter
About two fists full of any dry fish of your choice, best to use something boneless


The process..
Put all the ingredients except the dry fish in a mixer and grind coarsely till it blends together. Collect this in a bowl and add the dry fish. Mix well. This goes well with plain rice or dal rice or rasam rice.

Nutty मोर

Next time you eat Pistachios don't throw away the shells. There are different beautiful things you can do with them. Here is one idea. (मोर = Peacock in Hindi pronounced as 'more')

You will need:

Lots of Pista shells

Acrylic paints or water colours

Brushes

Tooth picks

Cardpaper

Thick white glue

Draw an outline of a peacock on white card paper and cut it out.

To get an idea of how many shells to colour place the shells on the outline as in the picture below. Place three over the head for the crest, one for the eye, few for the main body and one for each feather.

Depending on the part of the body colour the shells. Bright pink for the crest, a black dot for the eye, blue or purple for the body and light green with a dark green dot for the feathers.

Once they dry up stick them in place using glue.

For the beak, feathers and feet use tooth picks. You will need to cut these to required size.

Stick the peacock on a black sheet of paper. Cut clouds and grass and stick them around the peacock.

Now time to go dance in the rain!!