Goan Fish Fry

A delicious fish fry recipe from Goa. Turmeric, salt, chilli, cumin and coriander powders are made into a paste with kokum pulp to marinate the fish. Marinated fish is then rolled in semolina (sooji or rava) and shallow fried in oil. Goan fish recipes often use kokum as the souring agent, while in Kerala, gambooge (kudampuli or malabar tamarind) is used for the pupose. They both belong to the same family, with the difference (in layman's terms) that ripe kokum fruit is dark red in color where as gambooge is yellow in color.
Recipe Courtesy: Denufood

Mackerel / Ayala Fry (Kerala Style)

Guess what I found in the grocery store the other day - 'fresh, cleaned' mackerel (ayala)!!! It was not Indian mackerel but Atlantic mackerel (aka Boston mackerel), which differ in appearance from the former. I was very surprised to find fresh mackerel here but it was not as fresh as the mackerel sold by the local fish sellers in Kerala who go from house to house to sell their latest catch. Or, maybe it's just that I don't want to admit that anything I get here is as good as what I used to get back home! Anyways, I fried them and it brought back good old memories. My son loved it too and he said he want more of the lobster! I didn't try to correct him for the moment because a mere name change can make say "I don't like it"...
Recipe Courtesy: Veena's Curry World

Bengali Fish Fry - Anglo-Bangla Style

This is not the traditional bengali fish fry (mach bhaja), but the anglicised version of it. Here mildly marinated fish is coated with all pupose flour, then with egg and finally with bread crumbs and then fried in oil. This mouthwatering crunchy fry can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish.
Recipe Courtesy: Bong Mom's CookBook

Malabar Style Stuffed Chicken / Cornish Hen for Thanksgiving (Kozhi Nirachathu)

 

Hope you all had a great thanksgiving day! I found this twin pack of two small cornish hen at the grocery store and decided to go chicken instead of turkey this time for a Kerala style thanksgiving. Malabar is a coastal region of Southern India which forms the northern part of Kerala. It is in the Calicut district (now Kozhikode) of Malabar that Vasco da Gama once landed in his quest for spices, opening up a new spice trade route to India (rest is history!). It is fascinating to think that the same region was Christopher Columbus' original destination when he accidently discovered the Americas (and rest is history!). Oh yeah, I'm getting addicted to Wikipedia these days. :) Anyways, coming back to Malabar cuisine, the region has its own style of a rich culinary tradition. This stuffed chicken is one of their specialties where chicken is stuffed with hard boiled eggs and roasted onion masala. This was my first attempt and it was indeed a culinary delight.

Recipe Courtesy: My Treasure...My Pleasure

Fish Fry (Kuttanadan Style)

I had left over fish in the refrigerator and wanted to make fish fry. This Kuttanadan fish fry recipe from Sarah Naveen's blog Vazhayila looked very appealing to me and decided to give it a try. Kuttanad, 'the rice bowl of Kerala', is a beautiful region located in central Kerala famous for its backwaters and green paddy fields. This recipe is very similar to my mom's recipe eventhough she is not from Kuttanad. I loved it. Thanks to Sarah for the recipe.