This is my honest attempt 2 pen down,without favour or prejudice,my romantic rendezvous with foodNculinary travel.You can expect straight 4m the heart narratives,as I share my indelible loveNunending curiosity 2 discover all facets of foodNculinary travel.I will Unravel tralatitious recipes,regional faresNdivulge first hand experience of restaurants dined in.Travelogues will include my escapes,as an Eco-traveller,indulging in luxurious travels or traversing like a local with focus only on food.
It's the weekend and my time with little D. We do are Mummy daughter things mostly on the weekends. But this weekend my little darling is down with a nasty cold. To make things worse, the anti histamine syrup prescribed by her doctor is making her drowsy and grumpy. My poor darling has lost her priceless smile as she is tucked away under her favourite tinker bell blanket, clinging to her tinker bell doll, as if almost hoping that this fairy doll will sprinkle some magical powder on her which will make her feel better. For a mother nothing can be more heart wrenching than seeing her little one unwell, even if it's just a common cold.
Today in the HAPPY BEATS series I talk about the importance of physical activity and its benefits to heart health. We all are very much aware of the rewards of physical activity to our body and whatever I am about to write here you all are very familiar with. I will still put them down because although we know it, most of us do not implement it in our day to day life, hiding behind the excuse of having no time.
Kicking off the BLOGIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS with this post MANGALORE FISH CURRY/MEEN GASSI. This post is my ode to two very important people in my life and also in my Blogging journey. My Mum-In-Law or Mamma as I address her and the husband. Well dear readers Mr. S is responsible for the name of my Blog. It is he who coined My Tryst With Food And Travel.
My Mum-In-Law has been one of the biggest impetus and has been Rock Solid in her support towards my Blogging journey. When I started the Blog, I intended to only write about culinary travels. It was she who persistently kept telling me to open up my INDIAN kitchen to my readers through my Blog. Although initially reluctant, as I was unsure whether I would be able to balance both work and home front if I took this step, with her push and her support I finally relented and opened up my kitchen to the world through my Blog.
Although I loved cooking and cooked at least one dish a day and frequently experimented in my kitchen, I was not sure if I had enough time to record every step pictorially and thereafter document and reproduce in the Blog. It was Mamma's confidence and belief that I could do it that propelled me to go ahead. Not only is her contribution immense in providing me more time to concentrate on my blogging, she also is many a times the first expert to approve or disapprove the dish. Always ready with suggestions and her treasure trove of recipes, I have benefited immensely from her years of cooking experience and also the fact that she is the most celebrated cook in our family and most of the family and many of our friends think that her dishes are the tastiest and unparalleled.
The dish I am posting today is her favourite dish from the dishes that I have cooked for her till date. Getting her stamp of approval on a dish that I have cooked is a stupendous achievement for me. So you can imagine that I was definitely on cloud nine the day she declared over a meal that I had cooked MEEN GASSI with perfection and right balance of flavours. And later on when she would ask to prepare it for her, my happiness would soar high.
So dear friends here is the MEEN GASSI or MANGALORE FISH CURRY that I had savoured eons back in the Southern City of Mangalore. I seem to remember the exact flavours which had distinctly taken over my taste buds and have remained with me till date. The MEEN Gassi curry is delicious, it's fiery orange colour beguiling, the burst of perfectly blended flavours urging you to keep digging in. The fish itself is fresh, the soft white breaking apart as you break into it.
I owe it to the kind chef who generously parted with his recipe when I requested him after finishing my meal. It's my earnest request to all my readers that if you come across MEEN Gassi on the menu of any restaurant do try it and if you ever pay a visit to Mangalore, please do not leave without trying the Mangalore MEEN Gassi.
Meanwhile you can cook MEEN Gassi in your kitchen by following this recipe and I can vouch that you will keep cooking it again and again.
MANGALORE FISH CURRY/MEEN GASSI RECIPE :
AUTHOR - PIYALI
SERVES - 4
CUISINE - INDIAN /MANGALORE
TYPE - MAIN COURSE /FISH CURRY
TIME - 20 MINUTES PREPARATION + 40 MINUTES COOKING TIME
INGREDIENTS :
1) 500 Gms Fish steaks ( Any firm white fish will do )
2) 1 Large Onion thinly sliced
3) 2 Medium sized tomatoes, skinned and sliced
4) 2-3 sprigs of fresh Curry leaves
5) 2 Tsp of tamarind paste
6) 2 Tbsp of Coconut oil for cooking
7) 100 ml of Coconut milk
8) Masala Mix
9) Salt to taste
MARINATION FOR FISH:
1) 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2) Juice of 1/2 Lemon
3) Salt
FOR MASALA MIX:
1) 250 Gms fresh Grated Coconut
2) 1 Medium Onion roughly sliced
3) 10-12 pods of garlic
4) 8 Byadagi Dry Red Chillies ( You can use Kashmiri Chillies in the same amount if you are unable to find Byadagi Chillies )
5) 1 Tsp Mustard seeds
6) 2 Tsp Cumin seeds
7) 1 Tsp Fennel Seeds/Saunf
8) A generous pinch of Fenugreek seeds/Methi dana
9) 3 Tsp Coriander Powder
10) 2 Tsp of Black pepper powder
11) 2 Tsp Coconut Oil
12) Enough water to grind to a smooth paste
FOR GARNISHING :
1) A few sprigs curry leaves
2) 2 Tbsp fresh coriander leaves chopped
GET COOKING WITH ME IN EASY STEPS :
STEP 1:
LET'S PREPARE THE MASALA MIX :
In a pan heat coconut oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, dry red chillies and sauté till all the seeds pop and the dry red chillies changes colour. Next add the coriander powder and pepper powder. Sauté for a minute and add the garlic pods, onions and grated coconut. Fry till the onions become soft and the coconut a very light brown. Keep a watch on the flame and take care not to burn any of the spices. Remove from flame and cool to room temperature. In a grinder add the mix of spices from the pan and grind to a smooth paste, adding water as required.
STEP 2:
MARINATE THE FISH :
Clean the fish, marinate the pieces by adding salt, lemon juice and turmeric. Do not marinate the fish for more than 5 minutes. As the lemon juice will cause the fish to break while cooking.
Chop the Onions and skin the tomatoes and slice them too.
STEP 3 :
COOKING THE FISH GASSI CURRY:
You can use an earthen pot or any regular pan or wok to cook the fish. I have used a wok. Pour coconut oil in the wok and wait till it becomes hot. Add in the curry leaves and as they sizzle add in the onions. Season with salt. Sauté the onions till they become soft. Add the sliced tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes become pulpy. Next add the Masala Mix.
Now add water and let everything in the wok cook. Don't add a lot of water, just enough to cook the masala. Once the masala is cooked add the tamarind and mix well, sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove from the flame and add the coconut milk while stirring continuously. Put the wok back on the flame and mix well. Wait till the gravy starts boiling. Now add the fish. Integrate well. After adding the fish, do not stir or use your spatula vigorously in the wok, or else you will break the fish. Anyways, there nothing much to do now for you. Only stir gently occasionally and don't cook the fish covered. Once the fish is cooked through, remove from the flame.
Garnish with coriander and curry leaves and serve piping hot. This curry tastes the best with Ne'er Dosa, but even with rice, it tastes awesome.
MA, that's how I address the person I love and revere the most on this Planet. If love could be quantified, then, I loved my father a tad bit more as is with most girls, who are their father's little princesses. Ma has been the epitome of love, kindheartedness, sacrifice and patience and I till date haven't been able to decipher how she still personifies these qualities after all these years.
A few years back I read a book called CATWALK CUISINE. This was a very intriguing cookbook which had the top INDIAN models and supermodels talk about their favourite dishes and divulge the recipes. The book kept me fascinated and glued for a long time and I learnt that most models are fascinated about food because mostly they are not allowed to indulge. Now this book had most of the supermodels, ex-Miss India's talk about their most loved dishes. I remember being fixated to one particular model and loving her food. Her name is Joey Matthew. The book said "Joey's cooking is legendary in fashion circles, and her food is quite stylish". INDIAN Fashion Guru Prasad Bidapa the co-author of the book recalls times when Joey would fix a meal for friends and colleagues after a long day of rehearsals for fashion shows with so much passion and a huge smile.
Like people have soul mates, in my family Biryani is the soul food or food for the soul. We can go anywhere, anytime, in fact to any lengths, to get our hands on that perfect pot of Biryani. When overtly joyous we eat Biryani, all important occasions are celebrated with Biryani as the show stopper, when depressed we eat Biryani to cheer ourselves up, any achievements are lauded with a large plate of Biryani, and I can go on and on.
The rich cultural heritage which constitutes the state of West Bengal has paved way to immense treasures which manifest themselves in the Bengali Food, their love for Music, Dance, Theatre or Jaatra and off course movies. Any bengali no matter in which part of the world they are born will definately be acquainted with Rabindranath Tagore's poetrys and songs known as Rabindra Sangeeth, Freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and his movement for India's struggle for independence, Durga Pujo the stupendous celebrations and festivities and offering of prayers to Goddess Durga in a week long revelry, Oscar winning Filmaker Satyajeet Ray's movies, Hilsa/IIish fish cooked in Mustard Sauce, Kasundi the pungent mustard sauce and Mishti/Sweets with main emphasis on Sandesh, Rosogolla and Mishti Doi the highlight of Bengal.
Bengali Cuisine imbibed its nuances from a major historical trend which touched this Eastern INDIAN State distinctively and continuously. It is interesting to note that whoever either ruled Bengal or made Bengal their home brought with them their own significant culinary traditions which was glibly absorbed by the people of Bengal and made their own. Bengali Cuisine is therefore the result of a long standing marriage of flavours from different cuisines. Two most important imprints in the Bengali gastronomy has been left behind by the earstwile Mughal Nawabs who were exiled in Bengal and brought with them their own Khansamas or chefs who weaved the flavours of Mughlai and Awadhi style of cooking into Bengali dishes. The second most important influence is that of the British and the Babu Culture which saw the Bawarchi's ( cooks ) change their cooking styles to suit the British palate, thus giving rise to different culinary heritage with pronounced flavour strands.
Living in Dubai you are bound to be enveloped in the rich culture, finger licking delicious cuisine and much more of "God's Own Country" KERALA. Frequent visits to restaurants serving food from the region has always made me want to recreate our favourite dishes back in my kitchen. But every time I craved for this food, I would go down to the restaurant instead of cooking at home which is a very common phenomenon with us, living in DUBAI because of the close proximity of restaurants which serve Kerala Style Food from our homes here.
