Vanpayar unakka chemmeen varavu / Dried shrimp with azuki beans(red chori)

Vanpayar / Azuki beans with dried shrimp is a new combination but together it tastes really yummy.

Many times I have heard people saying the your kids will love it.Disguise the veg ,mash it they will not know... Oh no...  no...!!  those cheat tricks!! I am not buying that anymore because it does not work for me that way. Phew!!!My daughty has a keen eye like any Master chef to tell exactly what is wrong with her food !!! Moreover I believe in letting her know what's there and letting her love it on her own.Don't you think that's better than fooling?
On most days I need to rack my brains in order to cook something healthy which my picky eater would eat without much fuss esp when it comes to lentils.Any mom who is going through it knows how stressful it can get.  On one such day I happen to see Ms.Lakshmi Nair's recipe of this dish and just loved the idea of dried shrimp.

You know my love of  Dried shrimp I  made it  right away and guess what there is some truth in the saying,"We eat with all our senses." The smell of sauteing shrimp is so inviting ( at least to us ) that  daughty   came to peek into the pan.Even before I finished cooking she was scooping spoonfuls in the name of tasting!! 

If you love vanpayar thoran with kanji then try this  great combination  with some papadam & achar u will really like it.

Ingredients

Vanpayar / Red chori- 1 cup

Red onion -1 chopped or Shallots/Cheriya ulli - 10 to 12

Tomato -2 

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Dried shrimp - One handful or more if u like ( may be half of the pack u see above)

Mustard- 1 tsp

Chili flakes- 1 to 2 tsp (depending on ur tolerence :)

Curry leaves- few

Coconut oil- 1 tbsp (do not use anything else  )

Salt to taste

Method

1.Pressure cook vanpayar to 90% cooked (not mushy) discard excess water.Keep it aside.

2.Clean the shrimp well and just quickly wash and gently squeeze off excess water.

3. Blanch the tomatoes by putting it in boiling water for few minutes till the peel cracks then remove it and take off the peel .chop it and keep it ready.

4.Heat oil add mustard when it crackles add curry leaves, onion chopped , chili flakes saute  till onion becomes transparent then add the chopped tomatoes ,turmeric powder dried shrimp saute till the tomato onion becomes mushy .

5.Finally put the vanpayar saute till everything is well combined and vanpayar is cooked well.

Serve along with rice, morucurry and some cheera thoran like I did.

Note

• I did not use tomato did all the rest.Oh almost forgot! I used pearl onion/ cheriya ulli.
• A quick frying shrimp in coconut oil and putting it towards the end would make it crispy don't u think that would have tasted even better like the fatter shrimp I have used.

Some more "SHRIMP " for you:

1. Shrimp fry
2. Chemmeen theeyal / Konju theeyal
3. Unakka chemeen chammanthi podi

Hope you liked it.Do tell me how you deal with such silly yet brain racking days :)

Meena