Crispy Fish Fry

This is exactly what I want from a fish fry - crisp, light and flavourful batter. I like this pan-fried version for a lighter dinner.

The not-so-secret ingredient in the coating is -you guessed it - panko bread crumbs. They really do wonders. For spice in the marinade, I use a masala that I came up with and use often, a warm/spicy spice mix, not unlike garam masala, but without the sweeter notes. (More about this below.)

Needless to say, the most crucial thing is the quality of the fish. I ask to smell the fish and bring it right up to my nose before I buy it. I didnt believe all the smell-of-the-ocean stuff, until I tried it myself. Fresh fish really has no unpleasant smell and you shouldnt buy any fish that does.



Things needed:


2 fish fillets ( I used red snapper, any mild fish should work)
2 tablespoons of CCCP masala*
1 tablespoon flour (besan or chickpea flour is traditional, ordinary flour works well too)

a pinch of turmeric
juice of one lime

salt
panko bread crumbs
oil

Make a paste out of the masala, flour, turmeric, lemon juice and salt. Slather both sides of the fillets with this paste and leave covered in the fridge to marinate for about half an hour. Beware that fish begins to cook in acidic mediums, so dont leave it in there too long.

Spread out about a cup of bread crumbs on a plate. Warm a couple of tablespoons of oil in a (non-stick) pan that will fit your fillets comfortably. Test the oil with a bit of panko for a good and instant sizzle. Dredge the fillets well in the panko and lay in the pan. Ignore for several minutes to allow the bottom to get golden and delicious. Flip carefully and repeat on the other side.
Serve with lemon slices.




CCCP Masala

I have often heard of Indian cooking dismissed as disguising flavours or muddying the flavour of the ingredients. Much more so with all the focus that there is today on quality ingredients. The multitude of ingredients and spices brought to bear on a simple piece of fish or cauliflower is understandably puzzling to palettes accustomed to cuisines that are based on making single ingredients shine.

Indian palettes and dishes swing both ways. To me, there is as much pleasure in sushi as there is in the above fish fry. Cauliflower stir fried with cumin and salt is as beautiful, albeit in a completely different way, as tandoori cauliflower. After all, the magic of cooking in general and Indian cooking in particular is the alchemy that happens when you put several ingredients together and come up with a whole that is far greater than the sum of its parts. This lies at the heart of the Indian palette and the Indian cooking aesthetic.

Hence our long and complicated love affair with masalas.

Coriander and cumin roasted and powdered by themsleves have completely different characters. Ground coriander is mild and lemony, while ground cumin is sharp and assertive. Put them together, they temper each other and form a warm earthy blend that provides the bass note in a lot of Indian dishes.

Garam masala, easily the most commonly used masala, adds to coriander and cumin a variety of 'sweeter' spices, like clove, Cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, mace and nutmeg. These introduce a sweeter taste and smell component, resulting in an altogether more assertive flavour.

I use the CCCP masala when I want a deep (not sharp) heat and a warm, but not sweet, flavour. I grind it fresh every time, there is really nothing that can take the place of absolutely fresh and popping-with-flavour masala.


Things needed


2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black pepper
2 dried red chillies or 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes


Add all of the above to a small pan and roast on a low flame till your kitchen smells heavenly. Watch that nothing burns or turns black. You are trying to impart a smokeyness to the chillies by roasting them, but this may result in fumes that, if inhaled, can cause lots of coughing etc., so watch out. Slow and steady is the key.
When done, powder fine in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

Farmers Market Minestrone

This weekend was a Farmers Market Minestrone, in honour of the favas that are in season now:
Things needed:

leeks/shallots/onions
garlic

carrots
potatoes
fava beans* (footnote for tips on buying/cooking these yummy things)
asparagus
peas
beans
zucchini (baby ones, if you can find them)
green peppers/poblano peppers

thyme (a little)
parsley (a lot)
lemon juice
parmesan**
pasta (any shape you like, i like using egg fettucine)
olive oil

Set the peppers (green or poblano) to roast on a flame. You want a char on most of the surface of the veggie. The poblanos will add a kick that I love.

Mince the leeks/onion/shallots and garlic and add them to a pan with a couple of glugs of olive oil. Sprinkle some salt on (this aids caramelization and flavour) and let it go on a low flame till your kitchen smells heavenly and the veggies are softened and brown.

Meanwhile, get started on your other veggies. Chop the potatoes, carrots, asparagus and beans into roughly the same size. Take the skin of the roasted pepper (I dont really bother too much with this) and slice into strips. Peel the fava beans. Chop the thyme and parsley fine.

Add what looks like enough water to make soup of all the veggies you have into the pan with the garlic mixture, adn bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in all the veggies and the herbs. Save about half of your parsley. Cover and let it go till the potatoes are nearly cooked. Add in the pasta and cook till the pasta is a consistency you like.

In a mortar and pestle, grind up the remaining parsley with some garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add this to the soup to taste. (Totally skip this step if you want to, but i think it takes the soup to different level.) Grate the parmesan and sprinkle over individual bowls. Enjoy.

*Fava beans are in season now. They usually have two shells that need to be dealt with. The big outer one, and the outer casing of each bean. The problem with this second shell is that it tastes kind of bitter and turns an unappetising gray when cooked. Try buying the slim ones, they maybe tender enough to not require the second shelling.

**Buy a hunk of real parmesan and toss it in the fridge in a ziplock bag. It will keep forever and tastes way way better than any packaged crap. The parmesan was a truly delight in this soup.

Menthi Koora Pappu

Menthi Koora Pappu (Fenugreek Leaves in Garlicky Dal)

I love greens of all kinds, but most of all those with quirky flavours, like fenugreek (methi) , gonkura, mustard greens and amaranth(thotakura or pulikeerai). All these have a dominant not-quite-pleasant taste that has to be coaxed into deliciousness. Methi leaves are, quite frankly, unpleasantly bitter. They need a base flavour that is smooth, substantial and fairly bland, which is why you will see them usually paired with potatoes, creamy and nutty sauces, yellow dal, peas and chicken. (Note that here I am talking about the fresh leaf. The dried version, kasoori methi, is a different animal and a story for another day.)

Today, on a beautiful sunny sunday in California, I found fresh methi at my local farmers market. I decided to honour it with a classic of the Andhra cooking repertoire.

Ingredients

couple of handfuls of fresh methi leaves (plucked off the stems and rinsed)
1 1/2 cups of toor dal (substitute some part of this with channa dal for an earthier flavour)
a medium sized tomato
atleast 3 large cloves of garlic
curry leaves
mustard seeds
asefotida
a green chili
turmeric
oil

Cut the tomato into large chunks and wash the dal. Put the dal and tomato into a vessel to go into the pressure cooker, with 2 cups of water and some turmeric. I find cooking the dal with the tomato homogenizes the tomato into the dal, which is an effect I like in this dish. two or three whistles in the good old pressure cooker should give you a good creamy consistency for the dal. Whisk the cooked dal to further homogenize.

Slice the garlic into slivers and chilli into long thin slices. Heat the oil in a pan, add the asefotida, curry leaves and mustard seeds. Wait till the popping of the mustard seeds builds to crescendo and begins to die down. Add the garlic, and green chillies. Carefully caramelize the garlic, remembering that there is nothing worse than burnt garlic sticking in your teeth. Add in the methi leaves and sprinkle on some salt. Put a lid on the pan for a bit, to allow the methis to soften in its own juices (to create which you added the salt).

Once the methi has cooked (lost its bright green edge), add in the dal/tomato mixture. Stir, taste and adjust the salt.

Cook up some rice to a nice soft consistency. Serve the dal with rice and pass around the ghee for extra yumminess.