Mangalorean Pomfret Curry

Again my mum's recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium sized Pomfrets (clean, cut into 4 pieces each and keep aside)

A little more than 1/4 coconut (grated)

a handful of roasted coriander seeds

8 dry red chillies (4 Madras and 4 Kashmir)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Tamarind (a ball the size of a small lemon, soak in water)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp black peppercorns (roasted)

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (roasted)

1 large clove of garlic

1/2 onion (chopped)

Tempering (optional):

1/2 onion -finely sliced and fried till it is crisp and golden brown.

Method:

1) Grind the coconut, coriander seeds, red chillies, tamarind, turmeric powder, black peppercorns, fenugreek seeds and water into fine paste. Every now and then add a little water to the mixture. 

2) The finer the paste the better the curry.

3) Once the paste is ready add the garlic, half onion and cumin seeds and grinds for a further 30 seconds. Do not grind for longer as we don't want the garlic and onions to get all mushy, that will kill the flavour of the other spices.

4) Place the paste in a pan and add water to it to make a nice gravy.

5) Let the curry come to a boil.

5) Once the curry starts to boil add the fish pieces and let it boil till the fish is cooks (about 5-10 mins).

6) Let it simmer while you fry the onion slices in a little oil (fry the onion till it is golden brown).

7) Add the fried onion to the curry and cover.

8) Serve hot with rice.

P.S.: The tempering is optional and is usually done when we have guests for dinner, but I like it so when I cook my curry usually has it :)

Neer Dosa

For all those who are die-hard fans of my mum's Neer Dosa, I hereby give you the recipe. The second reason why this is being documented is that I seem to have a memory of a goldfish or more close to home, seems to have developed a Ghajini complex whereby things that are not written down are forgotten. I figure I do not have enough surface area over my body (or the pain threshold) to have the recipes tattooed so have resorted to writing it down here for my own sake.

Ingredients:

1 cup kolam rice

2 cups dosa rice (you will get this in your local shop)

 1 onion - Chop half of it, the other half will be used for oiling the tawa.

1/4 coconut (grated)

Salt

Oil

Method:

1) Wash the rice and soak it water overnight.

2) Discard the water.

3) Grind the rice, onion, coconut in a mixer till it is a fine paste (I mean really really fine, put a drop of the batter on the tip of your index finger and rub it against the tip of your thumb, it should feel like paste).

4) Place in a bowl, add salt and water to make it a fairly runny batter (it should look like coconut milk at this stage only a little thinner).

5) Heat a dosa tawa (I really cannot help you here, this tawa is a speciality from Mangalore, and I don't think it is available anywhere else, you could try your local Mangalore stores, they sometimes keep this tawa or you could try get pally with your friends from Mangalore so they bring you back one on their annual pilgrimage to Mangalore).

6) Dip the onion that you reserved earlier, cut side in oil and run the cut surface all over the tawa, this way the flavour of the caramelised onion gets infused in the oil and ultimately the Neer Dosa.

7) Take a ladle full of the dosa batter and pour on the tawa. Since the batter is runny it will spread all over the tawa, there will be a few gaps, pour some more batter over them, but ensure that you don't put too much batter (else the dosa will be too thick). The best Neer Dosa look a lot like crochet handkerchiefs.

8) Cover and let it cook for about 30 odd seconds

9) Uncover and fold the dosa like you would fold a handkerchief.

10) Remove from the tawa and keep aside.

11) Serve with coconut chutney (refer earlier post for recipe).

Tip:

1) The dosa should not burn, it should only cook for 40 seconds tops, the whiter the dosa the better the cook you are :)

2) The onion is optional, you can eliminate the onion that you put in the batter. Instead once the dosa is ready, you can put sugar and grated coconut before you fold the dosa, I assure you it is a hit with kids.

P.S.: I don't have a picture at the moment, it will follow.

Coconut Chutney

This chutney is perfect with dosas, idlis or as a side dish at meals. The tempering is optional and the chutney tastes just as good without it.

Ingredients:
1/4 coconut (grated or cut into small pieces)
4 dry red chillies (I used 2 Kashmir and 2 Madras varieties)
1 inch piece of ginger (lose the skin)
Tamarind (a marble sized ball soaked in warm water)
Salt

Tempering: (Optional)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
1 red chilly
a few curry leaves

Method:
1) Blitz the coconut, chillies, ginger and tamarind in a mixer, till it is a fine paste.
2) Place in paste in a bowl and add salt
3) Heat a little oil, add the mustard and let it splutter.
4) Add the urad dal to the oil
5) Add the chilly and curry leaves
6) Pour the tempering over paste and mix well.
7) Serve with dosas or idlis or as a side dish at meals.