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Fish Curry (Coconut Based)

Fish - 500gms

For the Masala:

Grated coconut - 1 handful Red chillies - 4 Peppercorns -3 Tamarind - 1 marble size ball Onion - 1 medium size Garlic - 4 flakes Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp Cummin - 1 tsp Turmeric - 1/4th tsp Methi (fenugreek) - 1/4 tsp (optional)

For Seasoning:

Onion - 1 small (thinly sliced) Ginger - 1 inch piece (finely chopped)

Method: 1. Grind all the ingredients for the masala with a little water. Leave it a little coarse 2. Clean the fish & wash it well with salt & turmeric & put it in a colander so that the water gets drained well 3. Heat oil & fry the chopped ginger & onion for seasoning 4. When the onion turns golden brown add the masala & fry till the raw smell is gone 5. Add a little water to make a thick gravy. Dont add too much water as the fish will leave some water making the gravy too thin 6. Boil the gravy & then add the fish pieces. Let this cook for about 1minute on medium flame 7. Turn off the flame & garnish with a little chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Bangde Bafat (Mackerel Bafat Style)

Mackrels - 4 large Onions - 2

Long red chillies - 5 Coriander - 1tsp Cumin - 1/2 tsp Peppercorns - 4 Vinegar - 1 tsp Turmeric - 1/4 tsp Grated coconut - 2tsps (optional - this gives the gravy a good texture and also increases the quantity of the gravy) Ginger - 1 inch piece Garlic - 3 flakes Green chillies - 2 (optional -only if you prefer your gravy extra spicy) Salt to taste Oil to fry

Method: 1. Clean and cut the mackrels into 3 pieces (if large) or 2 pieces and drain the water 2. Grind the red chillies, peppercorns, turmeric, coriander, cummin, 1 onion and grated coconut to a fine paste 3. Slice the onion, finely chop the ginger & garlic and green chillies (optional) 4. Heat oil & fry the the onions, ginger, garlic & green chillies one by one until you get a nice aroma 5. Fry the masala well & add vinegar, salt to taste & some water to make the gravy of medium thick consistency. Boil well. 6. Add the fish and cook until done. 7. Serve hot with boiled or white rice.

Special Surmai Curry

500 gm (or 3-4 palm size slices) of king fish/surmai/iswon or pomfret 1/2 tsp tamarind paste or 1 marble size tamarind dissolved in 1 tbsp water 1 medium size onion sliced 1 green chilli (optional) * see notes 1 tsp vinegar (option) * see notes 2 tbsp oil for frying 1 tbsp chopped coriander for garnishing (optional)

For the masala

6-7 long dry red chillies (Bedgi) * see notes 5 peppercorns (kali mirch) 2 cloves (laung) 1/2 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini) 1 pod of cardamom (elaichi) 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi) 1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) 1/2 tsp mustard (rai) 1/2 inch ginger

6 flakes of garlic (Indian) with skin 3 tbsp coconut milk powder or 3-4 tbsp grated coconut (optional) *see notes 1/2 onion (optional) * seet notes

Method: 1. Wash & drain the fish on a colander. Using a little water grind all the ingredients mentioned in 'For the masala' to a fine paste. Reserve the masala water from the mixer jar. 2. In a large pan or wok heat the oil & fry the sliced onion till golden brown. Add the green chilli (optional) and fry till it turns translucent. Add the ground masala paste & fry on a slow flame till the oil leaves the sides of the pan. 3. Add the reserved masala water, salt to taste, tamarind juice, vinegar (optional) and bring the gravy to a boil. Add the fish pieces gently and carefully cover them with gravy. Cover & cook on a medium flame for about 2-3 minutes. 4. Turn off the flame, garnish with chopped coriander & serve hot with rice Notes: 1. I skipped the green chilli & vinegar and adjusted the tamarind juice as per my taste. 2. The original recipe asked for 10 long chillies and 10 peppercorns. I reduced these quantities as I prefer moderately spicy curries. However, you can add the extra chillies by deseeding them. Instead of doing this I added the coconut milk powder & onion (mentioned as optional items above) as they help in increasing the quantity of gravy. 3. If you are using very large slices of Surmai fish wash them carefully as they break easily.

DUKRAMAS BOTI kg mixed pork offal [liver, kidneys, tongue, heart and intestine* (*if available)] Enough water to cover the offal + 3 bay leaves
kg pork, with plenty of fat (I use loin chops) 3 - 4 tbsp bafat spice mix (increase by an additional 2 -3 tbsp for added spiciness) 1 tbsp garam masala 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 6 - 7 cloves garlic, chopped roughly 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped roughly 2 - 3 green chillies, chopped very finely (increase for additional spiciness) 2 - 3 large bay leaves, fresh or dried cup vinegar (plain white or red wine) A walnut sized ball of tamarind, soaked in cup hot water (or 1 tbsp tamarind paste) About 2 tsp or to taste of salt 2 large onions, diced *Variation: 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (or fresh grated coconut) **See also Important Note Method: Clean the pork offal very well under plenty of running water. Most places will give you relatively clean offal, but it is important to rinse it all off, especially if you manage to find intestine. Chop the offal into largish, manageable chunks and place in a deep pot along with

the bay leaves. Add enough water to cover completely and bring to the boil. Boil hard for 5 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Then drain and rinse the offal. Chop into very small pieces. Keep aside. Chop the meat into small dice, the same size as the offal. Place the chopped meat and offal into a large pot, and add the bafat spice mix, the garam masala, nutmeg, chopped garlic and ginger and chillies, bay leaves, vinegar and tamarind water or paste. Stir together well, and let it marinate in the pot for about 15 - 20 minutes. Turn the heat under the pot to low, and let the meat and offal gently simmer together for about 1 - 1 hour until completely tender. Stir ocasionally. Don't add any water at this stage. Once the meat is very tender, season the boti to your taste with the salt, adding more if you think it needs it. Don't be scared of salt, it will add to the overall flavour of the meat. Taste, and adjust the seasoning, sprinkling over more salt or vinegar. At this point, you can decide if you want the boti with a little gravy or not. Traditionally, this dish is quite dry, but you can make it with some gravy too. If you want gravy, then add about 1/4 cup hot water. Stir together, then simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Boti is traditionally severed a day or two after making it, as it gives the meat a chance to absorb the spices. Gently reheat to serve. Serve the boti with sannas, sweet pulav or any bread. *A traditional variation to the boti is to add grated coconut. Toast the coconut on a hot tava or pan for about 5 minutes until it turns a dark golden brown. Stir into the boti to serve. ** If you are making a large quantity of boti, and intend to freeze it, then make sure that you DON'T add the coconut to the whole thing, as it will taste off when you reheat it. Freeze the boti, as is, and add the coconut only after reheating and just before serving. The usual measure is 1/2 cup of toasted coconut to 1/2 kilo of prepared boti. BEEF CHILLY FRY (COASTA HOTEL STYLE) kilo beef, cut into small cubes (I use top cut sirloin, as you don't have to cook it for very long, but you can use braising or stewing beef) 1 big onion, diced large 1 big, or 2 small tomatoes, diced large 2 flakes of garlic, sliced 1 - 2 hot green chillies, sliced lengthways (optional) 1 tbsp soya sauce 1 tbsp hot chilli sauce 1 tsp Tabasco sauce (optional)

Salt to taste Around 2 tbsp oil For the masala: 4 - 5 long mild red chillis (use more or less according to your spice tolerance, I would suggest about 3 or 4 more for Mangaloreans) tsp cumin seeds, jeera 5 - 6 whole peppercorns 1 inch piece of cinnamon or cassia bark 4 whole cloves 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped 4 flakes of garlic, chopped 1 tbsp paprika (optional) medium onion, chopped Method: For the masala marinade: Toss together the red chillies, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon and cloves in a hot, heavy pan, until the spices are just toasted. Transfer to a heavy duty blender or mixie. In the same pan, add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger and fry without oil till the raw smell from the onion disappears, around 5 - 6 minutes. Transfer to the blender with the spices, and grind to a fine paste, using a little water if necessary. You should get quite a nice red paste. If your paste is not red enough, use a tablespoon of paprika, it will give the masala a lovely red colour without adding too much spiciness. Add salt to taste. I normally use around 1 and half teaspoon. Marinate the cubed beef in this masala for at least 1 hour, more if possible. In a pan, heat the oil, then add the diced onion. Fry for about 5 minutes on a medium heat, stirring. Add the sliced garlic and green chillies (if using) and fry for a minute more. Now add the tomatoes, and cook for roughly 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and squishy. Add the marinated meat along with any marinade, to the pan, and fry on a high heat, stirring constantly until the beef is cooked and the masala is quite dry. Cooking time will depend on the tenderness of the beef. For me it takes around 10 - 12 minutes. Stir in the soya and chilli sauce and tabasco and cook for a few more minutes. DUKRAMAS 1 kg pork with a little fat, cut into small squares 3 large onions, chopped into squares 1 or 2 green chillies, chopped 3 inches ginger, chopped into small dice 1 pod garlic, chopped into small dice 4 or 5 tbsp bafat powder

1 tsp garam masala tsp ground nutmeg 2 bay leaves, torn 100 ml water squeezed from a small ball of tamarind or 3 tsp tamarind paste mixed with 100 ml water 100 ml vinegar 2 tsp tomato ketchup Salt to taste Method: 1. Marinate the pork in the bafat, garam masala, nutmeg, salt, ginger, garlic, bay leaves and chillies with vinegar and tamarind water for about 1 hour. 2. Boil the pork in the same mixture, without adding any more water. 3. Mix in the onions halfway through the cooking process. 4. Keep simmering on a low heat until the pork is cooked through, adding a little water as you go. If you like your pork with gravy, add more water as the cooking process continues. 5. The raw smell of the spices should have disappeared. Ideally, you want to cook this dish the day before and reheat it, as the taste is much much better the next day. The spices will have had time to get absorbed into the meat. 6. The bafat powder recipe is in the spice mixes section. 7. Serve with sannas, bread or rice. EASY BREAD RECIPE 1 and 1/4 cup warm water 2 tbsp softened butter tsp salt 3 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp powdered milk 2 cups white bread or plain flour 1 1/4 cup wholewheat bread flour 1 tsp yeast

Whisk together yeast, water and tbsp sugar. Keep aside for 2 minutes. In a deep bowl, add the flour, salt, rest of the sugar, milk powder and butter. Slowly add the water, and knead to a soft dough. Add a little more water if too dry, or a little more flour if too wet. Note: If you have a bread machine, just add all the ingredients in the listed order, and set your machine to the dough cycle. It saves a lot of time and washing up! If you do this, skip the step above and below. Roll the dough in a ball, pop into a greased bowl, and keep in a warm place to rise to almost of its original size, preferably double. This usually takes about - 1 hour. Take out the risen dough, punch down, knead again for 2 minutes or so. Then shape the dough into a cigar shape, and pop into a greased loaf tin. Leave in a warm place again for

1 hour to rise (or you can heat the oven to its lowest setting, and put the tin in the oven, like I do, I feel it makes the bread rise better) Once the dough has risen again to fill the tin, roughly 3/4 its size, turn up the heat in the oven to 175 C or 350 F, and bake for 20 25 minutes, until the crust is a lovely golden brown colour. Take out of the oven, and brush a little melted butter on top, which will soften the crust a bit more. Take out of the tin, and let cool on a rack. You can cut it while its still warm (it will be slightly crumbly, but delicious), but if youre freezing it, make sure its completely cold before putting in the freezer. Don't wrap it up before its completely cold. Another note: You can replace the wholewheat with just white flour if you want white bread. But don't replace all the white with wholewheat, as it doesn't work that way round. KORI ROTTI 1 large onion (chopped roughly) 3 tbsp coriander seeds 2 tbsp cumin seeds 1 inch stick of cinnamon or cassia bark (available at Indian grocers, and Ive seen them in Tesco too!) 4 cloves 4 cardamom pods star anise 2 4 mild dried red chillis (according to taste) Small handful of fresh coriander (All the above ingredients need to be fried lightly first)
tsp turmeric inch ginger 4 cloves garlic 1 tin (75 ml) coconut cream or tin (200 ml) coconut milk (Grind all of the above ingredients, including the fried stuff very finely) 1 kilo chicken, cut into bite sized pieces onion, diced 2 tbsp ghee (or use vegetable oil) Salt to taste, or 2 tsps 2 tsps or to taste of Barts Tamarind Paste (available at all groceries) More fresh coriander, to garnish Method 1. Wash and cut the chicken into pieces, then apply 1 tsp salt and a little turmeric powder to it. Keep aside for about 15 minutes. 2. Grind the first 13 ingredients into a fine paste, adding coconut cream/ milk as required for a thickish masala. 3. Fry the onion in a little ghee until lightly coloured, then add the salted chicken

and tamarind. Cook the chicken in about 4 tbsp water till its almost done, about 10 minutes or so. 4. Add the ground masala to the chicken and stir well. Season with the remaining salt adding more if you think it needs it. If the masala is too thick, thin the gravy with hot water. The consistency you are aiming for is a little runnier than single cream. 5. Allow to simmer gently, till the raw smell of spices disappears, around 20 30 minutes. 6. Sprinkle some more fresh coriander to garnish. 7. Serve with rottis, if you have a great Indian trade network, or else, this goes well with any other Indian bread or rice. It even goes well with plain old white/ brown bread or pitta. CHICKEN CHITTINAND 6 chicken thighs, or a kilo of chicken. tsp whole peppercorns 1 tsp aniseeds 3 tbsps coriander seeds 1 tbsp cumin seeds 4 cloves 3, inch pieces of cinnamon sticks or cassia bark star anise 4 flakes garlic 4 mild long red Kashmiri chillis 250 ml coconut cream 2 tbsps coconut oil (replace with olive/ vegetable oil or for a real treat, ghee) 2 onions, diced into a medium dice 2 sprigs curry leaves, about 10 or so. 2 tomatoes chopped, or 1 small tin chopped tomatoes tsp ground turmeric tsp hot chilli powder (or to taste) 1 and half tsp salt or to taste 1 small lime or lemon or 2 tsps lemon/ lime juice Fresh chopped coriander leaves Method: 1. In a hot pan, toast the peppercorns, aniseeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, star anise and chillies for about 30 seconds or so, until they give off a lovely toasty aroma and the chillies darken slightly. 2. Put the spices into a blender with the garlic and coconut cream and blend until the masala is finely blended and the spices are crushed very well. 3. In a shallow saut pan, heat the coconut oil and fry the onion with the curry leaves till a nice medium brown. 4. Add the tomatoes to the pan, and fry for about 5 minutes or so until they are nice and mushy. 5. Add the turmeric and chilli powder and fry for another 5 minutes. 6. Add the chicken pieces and the ground masala to the pan and stir well to coat. Let the chicken simmer in the pan for about 20 minutes until it is well cooked. If the masala is too dry, pop in some hot water and stir. As the masala dries out, dry it out to your desired consistency. If you want it dry, keep simmering till the masala is

lightly dry and the chicken pieces are cooked through and coated well. If you would like more sauce, add hot water or alternatively a few tbsps coconut milk/ or cream and simmer to your desired consistency. Season with the salt. 7. Pour over the juice of one lime. Check seasoning, and adjust the salt and lime juice to taste. 8. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with any Indian bread or rice. Tendli Tel Piaow 1/4 kilo tendli (ivy gourd) 1/2 medium onion sliced 1 green chilly, sliced 1/2 tomato chopped Salt to taste About 200 ml water Handful or so, grated coconut To temper: About 2 tbsp oil 1 whole flake of garlic (bruised) About 2 sprigs of curry leaves 1 tsp black mustard seeds 1. Wash and cut the tendli into quarters lengthwise. 2. Put the onion, chilly, tomato and salt into a pan, put in the tendli and add just enough water to cover the tendli and bring the water to the boil. 3. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until the tendli are soft (al dente, but without any rawness) 4. Add the grated coconut and stir. Add just enough coconut to absorb the water. 5. For the tempering, in a small pan, put in the oil and heat. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and the garlic, and stir until the mustard splutters, and the garlic turns a light brown. Watch yourself, as this really does splutter and hiss. 6. Quickly pop the tempering into the cooked tendli, stir once and cover to keep the aromas. When ready to serve, stir everything together and serve as a side dish with rice or any other Indian meal.