The Story of the Wall Flower and a Madrasi Crustacean

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Lou Holtz

As we ended our Yoga Class today, Keith read this quote to us (thanks N for sending it to me..). it rang so true for me...I have had a crappy attitude for a while now and am trying very hard to channel it in positive directions.
This was a week of many firsts for me -

• My first Oracle Openworld which was awe-inspiring - sheer magnitude and energy
• My son's first blue face (extraordinary behavior)
• Watched Larry's interview live with Maria B. of CNBC (see me...the perfect Wall Flower)
• First visit to Dosa on Filmore (I have been to the one on Valencia) and the food was exquisite

The prawn curry I had there with coconut rice reminded me of a prawn curry my Ma had made for me years back...Ma's curry was spicy and tangy and filled with love but this one was a close second.

photo credit : Dosa, Filmore

Madrasi Prawn Masala

1. You need : Chopped Onions (2 Big), Tomatoes (1 big), Ginger-Garlic paste, sambar masala, Coconut (2 tbsp),  Cashew Nuts (handful), 2 Serrano Chillies (use less or more depending on spice tolerance)
2. Marinate Prawns in Lemon Juice, Salt to taste, Turmeric Powder, Chili Powder, Salt and Ginger Garlic paste for 1/2 hour 
3. Heat Oil and put the pan on the stove. Add urad dal and mustard seeds and curry leaves, fry the ginger garlic paste, add the onions and fry till carmelized. Now add the tomatoes and fry some more till it is all mushy and mixed in. Add the Sambhar powder
4. Grind - the fried masala with the shredded coconut, cashews and serrano chillies to a smooth paste
5. Now add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the marinated shrimp till it is cooked through. Add the ground masala paste. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Add Salt to taste, sprinkle some cinnamon powder on top if you so please. Now shut of the stove and garnish the prawns with cilantro
6. Enjoy with hot steaming rice or some dosas

This recipe goes out to the Seafood Fest event hosted by Usha of My spicy kitchen.

I am looking forward to a quiet weekend : a zumba class, hair cut for K2 at Snip-it  tomorrow, maybe watch SriDevi's new movie - English Vinglish,Clean K1 and K2's cupboards. 

I would like to leave you for the weekend with a thought in mind stolen very aptly from The Perks of Being a Wallflower -

“I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”