Indian food has very different characteristics from one region to another, which is why I decided early on to divide India up and tackle it by region. Of course my other reason was that it would allow me to cook more Indian food, but you didn't hear that from me.
The Sal River in Goa, India. Photo Credit: Cajie |
Xitt Codi (Goan Fish Curry)
(This recipe comes from Goan Food Recipes, which is a site that kind of made me laugh because it features graphics that make you think it's the homepage for an American café.)
- 1 mid-sized sized pomfret*
- 6 dried Kashmiri chilies
- 1/2 coconut, scraped
- 1 small piece of ginger
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 to 6 peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- Pinch fenugreek seeds
- Small ball of Tamarind
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 15 oz cans coconut milk
- 1 mango
- 1 green chili pepper
- Salt
Chana Tondak (Goan Chickpea Masala)
(from Raksha's Kitchen)
- 1/2 cup dried chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups canned
- 1 potato, chopped
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 4 red chilies, chopped
- 5 tbsp grated coconut
- 1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 4 to 5 peppercorns
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 4 to 5 garlic flakes
- 1 marble sized ball of tamarind
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
(from Masala Herb)
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 cup water (more or less)
- Ghee
Soak the dried chickpeas for 4 to 6 hours. Then boil some salted water and add the chickpeas and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are just tender, then drain and set aside. (Because I was using canned chickpeas, I boiled the potatoes by themselves, then mixed them with the chickpeas).
Add the oil to a skillet and cook the onions with the chilies until the onions turn a nice, deep brown.
I think I messed this bit up: the recipe doesn't say what to do with the spices beyond just adding them to the pot, so I followed faithfully. I think though that they needed to be ground first, which is what I recommend doing.
So when the coconut turns brown, add the ground spices and continue to cook until fragrant. Remove from the heat and stir in the turmeric. Let cool for five minutes or so.
Now put the onion mixture into a food processor with the tamarind and pulse until you get a smooth paste. Add water as necessary.
Stir the salt into the flour, then make a well in the middle and pour in the oil, then the water. Knead until you get a smooth dough, then dust with flour and let rest for 10 minutes.
Now divide the dough up into golfball sized pieces and shape them into balls. Dust with more flour and roll flat, then spread a little bit of ghee over the surface of the dough.
They should actually be a lot thinner than this when you're done rolling. |
Now transfer the dough into a preheated pan and spread some more ghee on top. Flip and spread ghee on the other side. Let cook on both sides until you're starting to get some dark spots on the surface. Serve hot.
Salt the fish pieces on both sides and set aside. Place the Kashmiri chilies into a food processor with the coconut, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, coriander, fenugreek, Tamarind, turmeric and cumin. Grind, adding a little water until you get a paste.
I really thought the fish curry was delicious, though. You don't have to do it with coconut milk (water will give you a different sort of dish) but I love coconut milk in a curry so there really wasn't any other choice for me. I'm glad I did because the flavor was really stupendously tasty. The chapati, on the other hand—they were just OK. Martin liked them more than I did. I thought they were really meh, but probably because I just don't like whole wheat flour all that much. Don't criticize—I love multigrain and oatnut breads, so I do eat healthy breads, just not whole wheat.
That's another Indian region to check off my list—only 10 to go.
Next week: Greece
For printable versions of this week's recipes:
Looks delicious. I look forward to trying out the fish curry. I am living in rural Bhutan at the moment ( I think that is how I found your blog long ago when you posted a Bhutanese recipe?) and most of the key ingredients are not available. But I'll be home (
ReplyDeleteAustralia) in a few months and come back for a peek. Thank you!
Multi-grain doesn't necessarily mean healthy you know, if all of the grains in it are refined it is just as bad for you as white bread.
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