Fish Curry - CKP style

This curry style can be used for most types of fish, pomfret, kingfish etc. I have also made this style curry with Rainbow trout and Halibut. These fish like Indian spices I think...I tried this with Salmon and that was a failed meal! Traditionally it is made with fresh grated coconut that is ground to a fine paste - but if you have thick coconut cream that works as well. You don't always get fresh coconut everywhere. Frozen grated coconut works too...
 Some people prefer a paste of just garlic and green chillies...I prefer ginger in there and I use more red chili powder instead of the green chili. I like the colour the red chili powder gives to the dish.

So here goes - one of the most simple fish dishes...

1 lb of cleaned fish - pomfret, kingfish, halibut etc
2 TBS garlic paste
1 1/2 TBS ginger paste
1 TBS tamarind extract
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder (cayenne)
salt
2 TBS grated coconut blended to a fine paste or
2 TBS frozen coconut soaked in 2 TBS hot water blended to a fine paste or
2 TBS thick coconut cream
chopped coriander
1 small garlic clove smashed
oil

Clean the fish and wash it, apply salt, turmeric, chili powder, ginger garlic paste and tamarind pulp to the fish and let marinate for about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan big enough so it does not crowd the fish. Put in the smashed garlic clove to flavour the oil. Put in the marinated fish and all the masala with it. Saute this for a couple of minutes till you see the fish change colour.

Put in the blended coconut paste / coconut cream and add water to desired consistency. Let it come to a boil and sprinkle chopped coriander on top.

Serve this with steaming hot rice...enjoy!!!!!!!!

paaplet kalvan

pomfret curry

surmai kalvan

Kairiche Panhe - Raw mango drink

This drink is made in the summer months and is considered to be very helpful to slake your thirst during the intense heat of summer. This is served with Ambyachi Daal during the Chaitra Gauri Haldi Kumkum.

4 large raw mangoes*
4 TBS Jaggery (preferable yellow jaggery)
Sugar (quantity explained below)
salt
saffron
powdered cardamom

* The mangoes have to be really raw because the tartness of the raw mangoes is what gives this drink its unique taste.

Wash the raw mangoes thoroughly, they sometimes have sap on the skins. Steam the mangoes till completely soft, the skin will split that's when you know they are done. The easiest way is to cook them in a pressure cooker, 2 whistles and 15 minutes on low is the usual time.
When the mangoes are cool, scrape off all the pulp and keep aside.
Melt the jaggery in about a cup of water and keep aside.
Measure the mango pulp and by volume take 3/4 quantity of sugar (if you have one cup of pulp, take 3/4 cup of sugar).
Cover the sugar with just enough water to soak it and make a simple syrup and keep aside.
 Pass the mango pulp through a food mill or a sieve or just run a hand help blender through it.

Mix the blended pulp with the jaggery syrup and the sugar syrup. Add salt - about 1/4 tsp to bring out the flavour of the mango. Add the powdered cardamom and saffron strands.

This thick pulp can be kept in the fridge for a week or so. Just add cold water and ice according to taste and enjoy.

Ambyachi daal - gram with raw mango

 This is a dish unique to the state of Maharashtra from where I come. This is usually made during the month of April when the first raw mangoes of the season appear in the market. This is a must item when we have the Chaitra Gauri Haldi Kumkum along with Ambyache Panhe, a drink made with raw mangoes.



1 cup gram daal (split Bengal gram)
1 large raw mango
2-3 green chillies
6-7 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
salt
sugar
2 TBS oil
1 TBS lime juice
chopped coriander

Wash and soak the daal for 6-8 hours, in plenty of water. I usually soak it overnight. This dish is served raw, so the daal has to be soaked thoroughly.

Peel the raw mango and grate it. Finely chop the curry leaves.

Put the soaked daal and chillies through the chopper and pulse it- we do not want a batter, just a rough chop of the soaked daal and the chillies.

In a bowl combine the chopped daal, chillies, coriander, raw mango, salt and sugar.
Heat the oil and temper with the mustard seeds, hing, turmeric and the curry leaves.
Pour the hot oil into the daal mixture. Mix well and pour the lime juice over.

Let this sit for a couple of hours before serving for the flavours to meld.

Shrimp Sabudana Paapdis

Sabudana - 250 gms
Water - 2 ltr
Shrimp - 150 gms (cleaned, deveined)
Salt - According to taste
Pepper - 1/2 tsp


Wash the sabudana and soak it for 2 hours in 4 cup water (the quantity of water should be double the quantity of sabudana).
Run the shrimp through the food processor till completely mashed. add pepper and mix well.

Take a deep pan and boil 6 cups water in it. Once the water starts to boil add soaked sabudana and salt to it. Stir it continuously so it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

When the sabudana is cooked (it turns transparent once it is cooked.) Take the mixture off the heat and add the shrimp mixture and stir till completely mixed.

Proceed with making the papdis as usual, though its better if you make these slightly smaller than usual.

Dry them completely and store in an airtight container. These will not last as long as our regular sabudana papdis...usual shelf life is about 2 months.

Chicken Salad

Why post a recipe for chicken salad on an Indian food blog...yeah valid question. But with kitchens becoming more and more 'international' it seems quite normal! This recipe has a slight 'zing' to make it a little bit more Indian (!)

2 chicken breasts bone-in (roasted with salt, pepper and olive oil - 350 degrees for 30 minutes)
Shred them into bite size pieces when cool.

Finely chop 2 sticks of celery, 5-6 small gherkins, 1-2 tender spring onions, 1-2 small hot chillies (thai chillies work best).

Mix together the chicken, vegetable, 1 cup of mayo and 1 TBS of good mustard. Adjust seasoning (salt) as per taste.

Serve with a side of pickles- tender salad leaves- in between good bread.