thecookscottage

Prawn Curry with lemon grass

This is another family cooking day special.Our numbers are growing to include dear friends who love cooking too and are eager to learn and share their own special cooking tips. Mohini demonstrated one superb prawn recipe made with some lemon grass bulb that she brought back from Thailand. Then the addition of few leaves from her lemon tree crushed in a mortar added even more of a lemony flavour.Made with large luscious fresh prawns, we demolished the curry, as usual, immediately after for lunch .

Ingredients:

250 gms large prawns cleaned and deveined

1 bulb lemon grass, not the fibrous root. Crush

5-6 lemon leaves, crush

2 medium sized onions, choped very very fine

1 slit green chilli, with seeds removed

2 peeled tomatoes chopped fine

2 tbsp garlic chopped very fine

1 tbsp ginger paste

1/2 tsp haldi

1/2 tsp mirchi powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp hara dhania

Fry the onions, garlic, lemon grass bulb, lime leaves, kari patta, green chilli and ginger paste till soft and pulpy. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes more. Now add the haldi, mirchi powder, salt and sugar. Add 2  tablespoons of water and cook covered for 8 minutes till all the ingredients have mixed and cooked well Now add the prawns and simmer for 5 minutes. Add three tablespoons of prepared coconut milk  and the hara dhaniya.Mix well and serve hot with rice.

An illustrated glossary of Indian Fish-3 - Malabar Sole

Flatfish are common in India one of the most important fisheries being the Malabar Sole or  Lep as it is known in the vernacular in Maharashtra. Scientifically known as cynoglossus semifasciatus it is found in greater numbers in the waters of the Indian Ocean on the east coast and in the estuary of the Godavari, for which reason it is more commonly known as the Bengal tongue-sole in English. It is also found around Sri Lanka where it is native.

I buy sole at the Kirkee fish market which is open till late in the evening. They stock a lot of river fish,  eel, shark and other species which are not always available in other areas of the town.

Other common names for sole are Nangu in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. It is also referred to as Manthal in Kerala and Nakkumeen in Tamilnadu. Since there are 137 species of tongue fish it is likely that one can be mistaken for a different variety in different states. The Kukur jeebh of Bengal is also referred to as Bengal tongue sole in English( note: without a hyphen)  but its scientific name is cynoglossus cynoglossus, thus a different species.

Relatively inexpensive as compared to the pomfret, sole is a common food fish especially amongst the poor. Is is not, however, as rich in Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, as in fish like the salmon and mackerel .

Like other tongue fish it feeds on the ocean and estuary floors and is fished in the ocean only when it comes in to fairly shallow waters in September and October. During the monsoon, shoals tend to go out into deeper waters. At the end of October they migrate out again to breed, returning only at the onset of the monsoon. The biggest catches are, however, on the Malabar coast between Kadapuram in Thrissur district and Edakkad in  North Kerala.

The Malabar sole, as with all tongue fishes, has both its eyes on the left side of its head and can be recognized by its shape which is ovoid in the front and pointed towards the tail. The following simple fried fish recipe is good for all flat fish.

Fried fish - Tala hua macchhi

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients

• ½ kg small  Malabar sole fish (about 6).
• 6 tbsp rava / semolina
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp haldi / turmeric
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 limes cut into quarters

Clean sole by peeling off the skin. It comes off really easily. Cut head and wash well.

Mix all the masalas and rub on both sides of the fish. Let it stand for half an hour. Now spread the rava / semolina on a plate and coat both sides of all the  fish.  Heat half  the oil in a large non stick frying pan and fry three fish at a time.  Brown well on both sides for 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately with lime quarters and tomato chutney.

Fishy Business - An illustrated glossary of Indian Fish -2. Pomfret

Pomfret is the party fish in this part of the world. If fish is served, at a lunch or dinner occasion, it has got to be pomfret. No Parsi wedding is complete without it . Pomfret takes pride of place on the menu and justifiably so. It has a delicate flavour, a central bone and is not too fishy.

When eating sea food I am almost spineless. Which means I don't like to fish the bones out of my mouth and prefer something not too spiky. Most Bengalis are adept at separating the bones from the flesh, even while chewing, a talent which I envy. It enables them to enjoy even the boniest of fish. They also crunch up fish skeletons with alacrity. Many sea food lovers would choke over lesser carcasses. I am told that Bengalis attribute their highly developed intellect (ahem) to their fish intake, which is pretty steep when compared to other communities .

Sadly, the price of silver pomfret has gone through the roof and it has become a delicacy for the wrong reasons. The fish monger slices each piece of fish like a diamond cutter works on each facet of a gem. Slowly and deliberately, setting each precious chip aside however microscopic.

Pomfret is also known as Butterfish, and is available throughout India, perhaps to a greater degree in Maharashtra. The three varieties are :

Silver Pomfret

Silver Pomfret (Pampus argenteus) is known as Vichuda or Paplet in Gujerati, Saranga, Chandava, Papleet or Paplet in Marathi, Pomfret or Chandi in Bengali, Chandee or Ghia in Oriya, Chanduva or Nallachanduva in Telugu , Karuvaval in Tamil, Avoli, Velluvolli , Velutha Avoli in Malayalam, Manji or Thondrette in Kannada,Surangat in Konkani, Silver Pomfet or white pomfret in the UK, Palometon platero in Spain, Lowandg in Indonesia and Ilak in the Phillipines.

White Pomfret
Pampus chinensis (Chinese pomfret)
which is often known by the same common name as the silver pomfret in different regions of India though it is not as widespread,

Black Pomfret

and Black Pomfret , Parastromateus niger which is known as Halwa in Hindi, Marathi and Gujerati , Karauthakoli or Karuvolli or Vellavoli in Malayalam, Karuvavalor, Vavval, or Vellaivaval in Tamil, Thellachanduva or Nallachanduva in Telegu, Thondrotte in Kannada, Slade or Butterfish in Australia, Palometa Negra in Spain, Black Pompano, Black Pomfret or Sweep in the U.S, Castoline Noire in France, Gebel in Indonesia, Kuro-Aji-Modoki in Japanese and, what do you know, Doggie in Australia

Of the three species the Silver pomfret is most common. Black pomfret is also widespread and Chinese pomfret, though familiar on the East coast, is rare on the West coast and not as readily available as the other two. Pomfret is fished extensively in the Arabian Sea from September to January and the season is at its height from October to the end of the year.
I like to bake pomfret as it retains its flavour and does not fall apart. Here is a recipe which always turns out well.

Baked Masala Pomfret Packets

To serve 4

Ingredients:

4 small silver pomfret about 6" in length and about 300-400 gms each. Fillet , wash and clean,without removing the skin.
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi / turmeric

1/2 coconut grated.
1-4 green chillies minced.
2 inches ginger peeled and roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic.
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp jeera /cumin powder
2 tsp dhania/ coriander powder
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 piece of gur / jaggery or 1/2 tsp of brown sugar.

Foil

Make a mixture of the salt, pepper,chilli powder and turmeric and rub on the insides of the fillets. In a blender, grind all the other ingredients into a smooth paste . Place a fillet of pomfret on a piece of foil. Spread a generous amount of paste on it. Cover with the top fillet. Wrap into a neat parcel leaving a tiny pocket of air on top and place on a baking dish. Do the same with the other 3 pomfrets.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. When hot, place dish with fish inside and cook for 15-20 minutes till the flesh is white and flakes when tested with a fork.
Remove and serve hot with chapathies or rice. This is also delicious with crusty bread and a tomato salad.

(If you can get hold of some banana leaves you could use them instead of foil . If wrapped in banana leaves, steam the parcels in a covered steamer on the stove top for half a hour.)

7/20/2006