Tisrya Sukke

QUES: My family loves fish especially clams made with coconut and served in Mangalorean restaurants. I have tried to recreate the dish but it somehow does no turn out quite the same. Help! �Harpreet Nagi, Bombay
ANS: This is a Maharashtrian recipe borrowed from fisherfolk on the western coast
and made popular by a community called the
Saraswats. Make sure the clams are fresh, that
is important.

Ingredients:
3 tbsps sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped finely
2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
150 gms desiccated coconut
300 gms cooked clams
(the shelled ones sold in tins or
jars are suitable)
Salt

Procedure:
Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onions until golden. Add chillies, ginger-garlic paste and tomato and stir until mushy.
Tip in the garam masala/ turmeric and coconut and mix thoroughly.
Gently stir in the clams, season with salt and serve hot with rotis.  

Fish Amritsari

QUES: After years of eating Fish Amritsari in restaurants, I finally realised that perhaps it is an easy dish to make at home. There may be many ways to make it, but surely there must be something quick and easy.
�Aparna Pai, Bangalore
ANS:This is the easiest we could find. The dish, a tangy, crisp starter from Amritsar, actually, is best eaten with sliced onion rings.

Ingredients:
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste,
1 tbs lemon juice, rock salt to taste
4 fillets of fish (cod or similar firm white fish)
2 tbs gram flour pinch ajowan (ajwain),
1 egg
2 tsp very red mild chilli powder,
Sunflower oil for deep-frying
Lemon wedges, to serve

Procedure:
Mix the ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and rock salt and marinate the fish in the mixture.
In a separate bowl/ combine the gram flour, ajowan, egg and chilli powder with water to make a thick batter.
After 20 minutes, lift the fish out of the marinating mixture and coat each fillet with batter.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan and fry the fillets until crisp.

Jheenga Charchari

QUES: Prawns are my all time favourite seafood. I enjoy making them provided the recipe is simple and easy to follow. Is there something new that I can try making with prawns?
� Rachna Desai, Nashik
ANS: This would be the perfect recipe for you. Traditionally, the smallest prawns with their shells on (for a crunchy effect) would be used in this dish. But, here we have peeled them.

Ingredients:
1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
4 dried red chillies
1 large onion, chopped
l cm/l/2 inch piece of
fresh ginger, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
l kg/2 1/4 lb medium-sized raw headless
prawns, shelled and de-veined
1 tsp sugar, Salt to taste
For tempering:
3 tbs mustard oil, 2 dried red chillies
2 bay leaves, 1 1/2 tsp whole Panch
Phoran Spice Mix

Procedure:
Grind together the cumin, poppy and mustard seeds, turmeric, red chillies, onion, ginger and garlic.
In a small pan, heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Add all the tempering spices and let them splutter until the dried chillies change colour.
Add the ground spice mixture and stir-fry for 1 minute. Then add the prawns and stir-fry over a high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar and some salt and cook for
about a minute longer, until the oil separates from the mixture.

 

Omlette Curry

QUES:Is there any other way of eating an omelette? I’ve heard that some communities make a curry of it. Any chance of getting the recipe?
�Sarah Veigas, Goa

ANS: Of course. The Muslims of the Malabar coast in Northern Kerala make a curry made with an omelette cut into broad strips. The gravy is like a thick spicy coating around the omelette strips. It is best eaten with sliced bread as an ideal dish for brunch or high tea.

Ingredients:
For the omelette:
3 eggs
1 onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
A pinch of ground pepper
Oil, Salt
For the curry:
2 tbs grated coconut
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
2 tbs oil
3 small onions, finely sliced
2-3 green chillies, chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp vinegar
1 tbs chopped coriander leaves
Salt

Procedure:
Put the coconut, cumin and fennel seeds, coriander, red chilli, turmeric and garam powders into a blender with 2 tablespoons water and grind to a paste. Set aside.
To make the omelette, whisk the eggs. Add the onion, green chillies, coriander leaves, pepper and salt to taste and mix well.
Heat a little oil in a large pan
and, when hot, pour in the egg and
chilli mixture.
When the lower side of the omelette is cooked, turn the omelette over with a large spatula. Let the other side cook. Remove from the heat. First cut the omelette in half, then cut crossways into 1-in (2.5-cm) wide strips. Roll up the strips. Set aside on kitchen paper.
To make the curry, heat the oil in the frying pan and fry the sliced onions over a moderate heat for 10 minutes. Add the spice paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add a little more oil if the mixture sticks to the pan but the spices must fry properly.
Add the green chillies and tomatoes and saute for 5 minutes. Then add the vinegar, 3 cups water and salt to taste. Let this curry simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the coriander leaves and omelette strips. Cook for 3 minutes over a very low heat, and then serve.