I am half Manglorean and half Hindu Goan - you could say I am a Mango. Both
communities use a lot of coconut in their food. Coconut based curries either - with
ground coconut or coconut milk with lashings of Tamarind as a souring agent,
vegetables with grated coconut as a garnish, coconut based chutneys, and,
tempering of dishes with coconut oil, all formed part of the food I ate when
growing up. As a child I remember servants grating coconut on that unique
coconut scraper squatting on the floor. I also remember, quite distinctly,
being allowed to fill a blender with the scraped coconut, adding water,
blending, and then with my small hands squeezing out the milk. A lot of the
food from the Manglorean side used coconut oil as a cooking medium. I have no
problem with that. In fact to this day we use coconut oil at home for several
dishes. Obviously eating Thai food with its coconut milk based soups and curries
are no problem for me. I do like coconut, though, I must confess, I am not too
fond of coconut sweets or the horrid coconut desserts that the Thais love.
As a youngster, either the servants or my
mother, or a selection of aunts, used to make rather delicious coconut curries.
The curry was a base in which invariably there was a protein. The protein could
be non vegetarian - fish, prawns, mutton [goat], and chicken - if this was the
Goan style or it would be vegetarian and have beans if it was Manglorean. Sometimes
the Manglorean style vegetable curries would have potato, sprouted beans or
cauliflower. All delicious.
I used to look forward to Manglorean weddings
because often you got `Batata Sukke’
a potato curry. Soon the Manglorean wedding had Punjabi food so that was that.
Coconut curries became flavours of a bygone time. Coconut curries became rarer
and rarer. Mangloreans soon marched on Paneer Tikka Masala.
I often wondered why it was so difficult to
get a decent coconut curry at home anymore. Often I was told that the coconuts
of today are just not like what they were 15 or 20 years ago. I did not really
believe that, but, since I had no personal experience, I could not question the
answer. My own opinion was that with advancing age, the mothers and aunts used
short cuts to make curries. Servants on the other hand became younger as old
retainers who knew how to cook this kind of food soon retired or died or became
drunks. No new servant knew how to make a decent curry, and to make matters
worse, no one had the patience to train them. The next generation of women had
not much of a clue on how to cook a decent coconut curry. The young ones wanted
to make pizza or a `baked dish’ or Fajitas and Tacos. In many cases the oldies
were either alone at home and simply did not have the energy to make a coconut
curry or the oldies lived with the next gen and was fed Nachos. All this meant
no curry at home.
The only place where one could get a decent
coconut curry was at the Manglorean and Gomantak restaurants that sprung up
everywhere. Apoorva, Trishna and Mahesh were Manglorean and Saayba, Highway
Gomantak, Sachin and Gajalee were the Gomantak/Malwani style. So much so that
if you go to these restaurants today a large proportion of the guests are mummies
and daddies, old mummies and daddies who cannot cook and do not get old style
food at home.
I did think it was a ridiculous state of
affairs. But try as much as I wanted, getting a recipe that worked was next to
impossible. No mummy or aunt ever made a dish with ingredients that were
measured. Frankly, that was just part of the problem. The real problem was they
had simply not made a curry in years and had lost all touch.
I really wanted to make a decent coconut
curry at home. It cannot really be all that difficult. To my mind it was
essential to get a proper recipe, what I call a codified recipe. By this I mean
a recipe that has definite measurements, a recipe that has been tested and most
importantly has been given by a real chef.
Indian cookbooks on Indian food are a
complete waste of time and money. I have only two that make any sense and where
recopies are codified. One is Prashad – Cooking with Indian Masters by Jiggs
Kalra and the second is Cooking Delights of The Maharajas by Digvijaya Singh.
Both books are excellent. The rest that I have, Bilkis Latif on Andhra Food,
Kaumudi Marathe on Marathi food, Sabita Radhakrishnan on Tamil food, the
Calcutta Cookbook and Parsi food by Bhicoo Manekshaw are rubbish. Indian
cookbooks brought out by Mahila Mandals do exist, but are badly written in
every way. Indian cookbooks on foreign food are utterly and totally ridiculous.
Cookbooks on Indian food published abroad are
excellent. Cyrus Todiwala, Atul Kochar, Vineet Bhatia, Udit Sarkhel’s book on
Bengali food, Mrs. Balbir Singh and Madhur Jaffrey are all top class books.
Camellia Panjabi book 50 Great Curries is also very good. Good codified recipes.
I had bought Vineet Bhatia’s book some years
ago and had been making several of his recipes, South Indian Sambar, Cabbage
Foogath, Shikampuri Kebabs and many more. Then last week, HRH the Queen of
Kutch and I decided to give his recipe for South Indian Style Chicken Masala a
try. I cannot tell you how utterly good the recipe is and what delicious
results it gives. So much so that I was inspired to write this post. The recipe
focuses on coconut. You use the flesh you use the milk and you use coconut oil
in the tempering. The curry is a coconut curry and makes no bones about it. The
brilliant bit about the recipe is that the curry is a very versatile vehicle.
You could make a delicious chicken curry or an equally lip smacking vegetarian
one with potato or cauliflower or double beans or even a Rajma. This is a
really good recipe.
If any of you want to eat a curry that you
remember from your childhood, or if you simply want to make a good curry go
ahead and make this. I have only one request. Do not eat it on the day you cook
it. Please cool the curry, put it in the fridge and eat it the next day. The
curry will be much much better as all the flavours will have calmed and
assimilated.
Here is the recipe
South
Indian Style Chicken Masala – Vineet Bhatia
Serves
4 generously
Ingredients
For
the Coconut base
5 to 6 dry red chillies or simply use chilli
powder appropriately
150 grams fresh coconut grated [Half a coconut
weighs between 130 to 150 grams so that should be enough]
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2.5 cms or 1 inch Cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
For
cooking the coconut base
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds [yes that is
a lot]
1 ½ tablespoons heaped of ginger garlic paste
or ¾ tablespoons each of finely chopped ginger and garlic
1 medium onion thinly sliced [Ideally
shallots or Madras Sambar Onions of an equivalent quantity]
1 sprig curry leaves washed and chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tomato pureed
200 ml thick coconut milk [a Tetrapak is
fine. A tin of Thai coconut milk much better]
1 tablespoon Tamarind pulp [or more to taste]
400 grams chicken breast cut into strips
[much like potato chips]
For
the Tempering
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds [yes that is
a lot]
1 sprig curry leaves
Possible
alternates to Chicken
Boiled double beans
Boiled Rajma
Boiled Potato and/or Cauliflower and /or peas
Method
For
the Coconut base
Take two heavy bottom fry pans. In one pan add
the grated coconut in the pan and dry roast it, stirring from time to time till
the coconut turns a light brown and has a nutty smell.
In the second pan toast the spices for the
coconut base. If you are using chilli powder do not toast this. Simply add it
into the blender.
Blend the contents of the two pans without
any water. Once the mixture stops working add as little water as possible till
you get a very fine paste.
Job done.
For
cooking the coconut base
Heat the oil in a largish pan and add the
mustard seeds. When they start popping add the ginger garlic [paste or chopped]
and sauté a bit. Now add the onion [or shallots or sambar onion] and the curry
leaves and sweat till they soften. Add the turmeric powder and then the Coconut
base you have made. Keep stirring, be careful it sticks and it bubbles
viciously so it may splash on you. Cook this for some time till the water sort
of dries out and the raw flavour is gone.
Now add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
The curry may be very thick. If so add some
water to thin it down. The curry should have the consistency of a Chinese Sweet
Corn Soup, about as thick as that. Add the Tamarind check the salt.
Now you can add the Chicken or the possible
alternative to Chicken.
Once the Chicken is cooked [if using] or when
the curry reaches a boil again if using the alternatives it’s time to temper.
For
the Tempering
Heat the coconut oil in an appropriately
sized pan. When hot add the mustard seeds wait till they start to pop and the
curry leaves. Pour this into the curry.
Job done.
To
eat
Ideally, as I have said, try and not eat it
on the day you make it. Please cool the curry, put it in the fridge and eat it
the next day. Heat gently adjust the seasoning.
This is great with plain hot boiled rice.
Hi,
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