Patrani Macchi

Or what happens when the husband takes over my kitchen

VC has never made me anything more than some eggs, toast and my morning tea. And today I discovered that its not because he can't or he doesn't want to. It's mostly because I have never let him have a go, unperturbed, uninterrupted, unsupervised. So today, after much coaxing, I agreed. I tried to calm down and have an open mind because I have never known VC to cook, or even experiment. But I stand corrected. The man can cook. And how!

Here's how. From calling his mother up for her recipe, to bringing me some fresh water fish, to cleaning it, following the recipe step by step and ensuring that we had a wholesome lunch, VC did it all.

So this post is dedicated tot he surprise visitor who took over my kitchen for the day, cooked up a storm and left me very, very satisfied.

Here's what he used:
450 gms basa fish, deboned (We chose this fresh water fish because given that its the monsoon river fish is way fresher than sea fish, but technically any light, white fish would work)
2 handfuls of fresh coriander
1/2 coconut grated
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 big thumb of ginger
2 green chillies
Juice of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon chaat masala (this was my little contribution/experiment, and it added quite a distinct tanginess to the dish)
2 large banana leaves

Here's what he did:
First VC ground together the coriander, coconut, ginger, garlic, chillies and salt till it was nice and pasty. Next, add in the lime juice, garam masala and chaat masala and grind again till well mixed.

Start off without adding any water, because you don't want a runny mix. What you can do is have a go without water, and then add in very little if need be so you end up with is a finely ground mixture slightly thicker in consistency than chutney.

Next, he heated some oil in a pan and sauteed the chutney for about five minutes. This is done to cook the masala a bit and get rid of any unwanted moisture.

Then set he the masala aside to cool till it was okay to handle it with his fingers when he got down to wrapping the fish in banana leaves.

Next VC mopped the banana leaf dry so there was no moisture getting in the way.

Once he had chopped the leaf into squares big enough to wrap the pieces of fish, he placed a piece of fish towards the top.

Then, he covered both sides with masala, dabbing it with his fingers so it was tightly packed.

Next, I helped him wrap the fish in the banana leaf and secured the pieces with thread.

In a pressure cooker with more water than you would usually use, place a deep dish/vessel. Cover the vessel with another shallow one. Place the wrapped pieces of fish in it and steam in the cooker without a whistle.

15 minutes later, when we opened up the cooker, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly steamed coriander and spices, and VC peeped over the dish with a look that can only be compared to a toddler with a new toy.

Carefully pulling them out, he heated some oil in a pan and lightly pan fried the fish, which was still intact, wrapped in the banana leaf.

When slightly browned on either side, it was time to open it up!

Done!

For all those of you who love fish and thought this was a complicated, intimidating dish to try at home, you have to try this out. If VC can make it, so can you!

BBQ masti

Sunday afternoon was spend amidst food, fire, fun, rain, beer and music. We went to a BBQ lunch. On the menu featured 3-4 different kinds of chicken, fish marinated and wrapped in banana leaves, prawns, feta cheese and tomato salad, bbq paneer and roasted potatoes and beets. The weather was just perfect, and to make things better we had a downpour. The BBQ menu was largely improvised and experimental, or so it seemed. Everything was tasty, though :)

Until Sunday I didnt imagine a BBQ get together could get so many people together having so much fun. The lunch began at about 2 and ended close to 7. 'nuff said.

Dont have any recipes to share, but just some snapshots that capture the fun we had:

Fish Curry and Fried Fish.

The perfect Sunday lunch: Granny's fish curry, fried fish and rice

After VC turned non-vegetarian again, it has been almost as if his sole preoccupation in life (aside from work, of course) is food. IE: what shall we eat next? Food/meals/cuisine/culinary choices and experiments have become his biggest preoccupation. I dont blame him though..after years of nothing paneer, mushrooms and baby corn, allowing himself meat again must feel like stepping into utopia.

So today, we decided to attempt the proverbial Fish Curry and Fried Fish combination at home. This was my first time buying fish, cutting cleaning and marinating fish, and cooking it all alone. VC helped, and I wouldnt have been able to do it otherwise. This was a joint effort in every sense.

I consulted my Granny for advice on what fish to buy, how much to buy and of course HOW to make it. I was astonished at how simple it sounded, and even turned out to be once i tried my hand at it! I bought a pair of white pomfrets, and we were set! At the risk of sounding immodest, I must say that the end result was pretty satisfactory for Fish Curry and Fried Fish virgins that we are!

Fried Fish

What you need (for about 6 pieces)
Freshly squeezed tamarind pulp
Red chilli powder
Garlic paste
Turmeric
Salt

Rice flour
Rava

What you need to do
Mix together the above ingredients and apply on the fish evenly. Let the fish sit in the marinade for atleast 2 hours.



When ready to fry, make a mixture of rice flour and rava. This powder, when coated on the fish gives it the crispiness you want. Dab the fish in the powder and coat it evenly on all sides. Shallow fry in a pan till golden brown and crisp!



Fish Curry

What you need (for about 6 pieces to serve 2 hungry people)
Juice of half a lime
Turmeric
Salt

3/4 cup coconut
1/2 a medium sized onion chopped
4-5 dry red chillies
Freshly squeezed tamarind pulp
2-3 pods of garlic
3 tbsp whole coriander seeds

2 slit green chillies
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger

What you need to do
Marinate the fish in a mixture of the lemon juice, salt and turmeric and allow it to sit for a couple of hours.

In the meantime, grind together the fresh coconut, chopped onion, red chillies, tamarind, garlic and coriander seeds to make a fine paste. This is the masala that is the basis of the curry.

In a pan, heat some oil. Saute the finely chopped onion till almost brown. To this, add the freshly ground masala, some water and salt. Bring this to a boil on a medium flame stirring occasionally. Turn down the flame and throw in the slit green chillies and fresh ginger. Stir it in and let it simmer for a while.

Once the masalas are cooked and the heady fragrance of the masalas takes over your senses, drop the pieces of fish in. Gently, one at a time. Pomfret usually cooks quickly and didnt take u longer than 5 minutes. The fish should be incorporating the flavours by now.

And thats pretty much all there is to it!



Done!

This is best enjoyed with steamed rice, onion and tomato salad, with lots of lime. Big hugs and a giant thank you to my dearest Ammama for helping me out today. She wished me "best of luck" too :P and assured me that it was simple enough for a novice like me to get right even in the first attempt. And she was right. My fish curry and fried fish will probably never be as good as hers, but it was pretty darn tasty to spice up our Sunday afternoon. This ones easy-peasy and if youre a fan of coastal fish curry and fried fish, you have to give it a shot!

Tuna Cutlets

...and we're back!

So, after a hiatus of just less than 365 days, we're back. And with good reason too. A lot had happened in the interim. Many changes (more about that HERE), some life changing. One of the biggest changes is that we have a kitchen of our own now. All the better to experiment with!

After weeks of cooking, bettering culinary skills, significantly widening the repertoire of things that can be cooked at home (yes, there is a world beyond dal-roti!), and thinking many-a-time that we should revive this spot, we decided finally, to quote a much overused cliche, JUST DO IT.

Presenting this weeks kitchen adventure:

TUNA CUTLETS:
Ingredients
2 cans of tuna, drained
3 medium sized potatoes, mashed
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1 large piece of ginger, grated
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 handful of coriander leaves
1 heaped teaspoon crushed pepper
Salt to taste
Juice of half a lime
Oil for sautéing

1 egg
2 cups breadcrumbs

Procedure

Finely chop onions, coriander and chillies. Grate the piece of ginger finely. Keep aside.

Boil potatoes and mash them. Add salt, pepper and chopped coriander and mix well. Keep aside.

In a kadhai, heat some oil. Sauté onions till translucent (take care not to brown them). Add ginger and chillies and sauté well.

Add the drained tuna and mix well.

Keep mixing till the tuna is semi-cooked and separates into shreds.

Combine the mashed potatoes and tuna mixture. Mix well.

Add juice of half a lime.
Add additional salt and pepper if required.

Beat an egg in a bowl and lay out the breadcrumbs in a separate dish.

Take spoonfuls of the cutlet mixture and roll into patties (1 cm thickness to ensure they cook evenly). Keep aside.

Take the cutlets one at a time, roll in the beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs.

Shallow fry cutlets till golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy hot, with bread!

Credits

Lekha (AKA Chandresh), for all the inspiration, transfer of knowledge, chicita company and motivation to embark on this tedious and laborious adventure! I couldnt have done it without you. Im going to miss our food-obsessions, random cravings and experiments!

VC, for bringing back his enthusiasm to shoot this adventure, despite the light and setting being inadequate for his pro-skills!