Author: RB

Caldeirada (layered vegetables and fish)

Caldeirada is a well known Portuguese dish which, I seem to remember,
uses a lot of shellfish. Here is a Goan version.

Ingredients
10 large mackerel or sardines, cleaned and head removed
4 large onions, sliced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 head of garlic, finely sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, finely sliced
3 Tsp light oil
1 Tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
4 bell peppers (red/green) and or green chilies
salt to taste

Method
Layer a few slices of onion and tomato in a pan. Place 1/2 the fish over onions and tomato.

Add another layer of onion/tomato and then another layer of fish. Sprinkle with the garlic and ginger.

Scatter over the remaining onion and tomato. Pour the oil, vinegar and about 6-7 Tsp water over the fish. add salt is desired.

Cook on a low heat until fish is half done. Sprinkle turmeric over fish. Add
peppers/chilies.

Cook until fish is tender.

Caldeirada (layered vegetables and fish)

Caldeirada is a well known Portuguese dish which, I seem to remember,
uses a lot of shellfish. Here is a Goan version.

Ingredients
10 large mackerel or sardines, cleaned and head removed
4 large onions, sliced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 head of garlic, finely sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, finely sliced
3 tbls light oil
1 Tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
4 bell peppers (red/green) and or green chilies
salt to taste

Method
Layer a few slices of onion and tomato in a pan. Place
1/2 the fish over onions an tomato. Add another layer of
onion/tomato and then another layer of fish. Sprinkle with the garlic and
ginger. Scatter over the remaining onion and tomato. Pour the oil, vinegar
and about 6-7 Tsp water over the fish. add salt is desired. Cook on a
low heat until fish is half done. Sprinkle turmeric over fish. Add peppers/chilies.

Cook until fish is tender.

Goan Fish Curry

Goan Machi All along the Konkan coast, a variety of fish and shellfish
are cooked in a hot sweet and sour coconut sauce. ‘Kokum’ fruit is used
with tamarind to produce a sour effect, but the curry can be made successfully
with limes or lemons as a replacement. I find the flavor improved if the
fish is prepared a day in advance.
1
Ingredients
3/4 lbs firm white fish fillets
1 tsp turmeric salt
2 tsp lemon juice
3 dried hot chili peppers
1 tsp cumin seed
2 tbls coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
6 cloves garlic
1 1/4 inch piece peeled fresh gingerroot
2 1/2 cups freshly grated coconut
1 large onion
2 tbls veg. oil
5 fl. oz. tamarind juice
5 kokums or chopped
flesh from 1/2 lime or lemon
7 oz. peeled tomatoes
3 fresh hot green chili peppers

Method
Sprinkle the fish fillets with the turmeric, a little salt, and
the lemon juice. Leave for several hours. Grind the seeded red chili peppers,
cumin and coriander seeds, and peppercorns to a fine powder, then work
with the garlic, ginger and coconut in a food processor to form a smooth
paste. Chop the onion and fry in the heated oil until golden brown. Add
the spice paste and cook gently for 10 minutes. Pour in 1 quart of boiling
water and simmer for 20 minutes. Now put in the fish and it’s liquid, together
with the tamarind juice and the kokums. Cook gently for 10 minutes. Just
at the very end, add the chopped tomatoes and seeded green chili peppers.
from Favorite Indian Food by Diane Seed.

Indian Mussels Goa-Style

A delicious shellfish recipe from Goa, using spices and fresh coconut.

Ingredients
2 1/4 lbs. mussels
4 Tbl. veg. oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 medium onion
6 cloves garlic
1 1/4 inch piece fresh ginger root
2 fresh hot chili peppers
1 tsp. turmeric
2 cups freshly grated coconut
1 tsp. salt

Method
Heat the oil and let the cumin seeds begin to spatter before adding
the finely chopped onion. Cook until it is soft. Grind the garlic and ginger
to a paste with a little water. Add the paste to the onion and, after a
few minutes, stir in the seeded and chopped chilies and turmeric. Add the
coconut, salt and about 10 fl. ozs. water. Simmer for about 5 minutes,
then add the scrubbed mussels, still in their shells. Mix well and simmer
for another 5 minutes or so, when all the shells should be open.

From Favorite Indian Food by Dianne Seed

Chicken Shakuti I (chicken cooked in coconut)

Ingredients
1Kg chicken, cut into desired pieces (or or off the bone)
6 Tsp ghee
10 onions
2 coconuts – thick and thin milk extracted from one, the other grated
and roasted in a large pan with two of the onions (sliced) and a little
ghee. This should be roated until the coconut has gone a pale brown. Grind
this roasted coconut/onion mixture.
2 Tsp coriander seeds
5 peppercorns
15 dried red chilies dry roast the above and grind into a paste with a little water and add 1tsp turmeric.

Dry roast the following and grind into a paste with a little water:
6 cloves
1/2 inch piece cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg
3/4 Tsp aniseed
1 Tsp poppy seeds
2 limes

Method
Chop four of the onions and fry until light brown. Add the chicken and brown.
Add the coriander etc. paste, fry for a minute and then add the thin coconut
milk. Cook until chicken is tender. Cut the remaining onions into quarters and
add to the chicken, along with the roated coconut and cinnnamon etc, paste.
Simmer for a few minutes then add the thick coconut milk. Add salt if required.
Simmer for 10 minutes or so until sauce has thickened. Sprinkle over some
lime juice prior to serving.

Neureos

Another traditional Goan Christmas treat.
Ingredients
1 lb. flour
2 Tsp. ghee
a pinch of salt
For the filling:
1 lb. sugar
1/2 cup water
1 half ripe coconut grated fine
100 g. cashew nuts (chopped very fine)
100 g. raisins
2 Tsp. ghee
6 cardamons (powdered)
oil for frying

Method
Mix flour, salt and ghee well, add just enough water to knead into a small
dough. Keep aside.

Heat sugar and water till a syrup is formed. Add the grated coconut, ghee and nuts. When the mixture has thickened, add raisins and cardamon powder. Remove from fire after the mixture turns quite dry. Cool and keep aside. Divide the dough into small balls, roll out into thin rounds, put a spoonful of the coconut filling on each round, wet the edges, press down to form half-moon shapes. Trim
edges preferably with a cutter and deep fry in hot oil.

In India, a paper back edition of this recipe book is available for about 30
rupees (~ US $ 1).

You can contact the author the following address: Joyce Fernandes D/5 Kundaikar
Nagar, Dada Vaidya Rd., Panjim, Goa. India. 403001

Kassaundi (Aubergine pickle)

Ingredients
7 lb. aubergines, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups salt
4 cups sugar
4-5 cups oil
5 cups vinegar
1 1/2 cups tamarind (soaked in vinegar and strained)
handful curry leaves
Grind together the following:
1 1/2 cups chili powder
1 Tsp turmeric
4 Tsp mustard seeds
4 Tsp cumin seeds
4 Tsp fenugreek seeds
large piece of ginger (about a 10 inch piece or equivalent)
10 pods garlic

Method
Salt the aubergines and leave for three hours or so. Drain well and pat dry.

Kodubale Courtesy: K.Raghunandana

This is one of the widely known snacks of Karnataka, perhaps also popular in other parts
of South India. It is fairly easy to prepare, but needs some initial patience and effort. A trial
on a week-end is suggested. KODU means Horn (like that of a cow) and BALE means
Bangle, the best one is made by grand-mother.
Ingredients
Rice flour (slightly coarse, gives more crispy touch)
red chili powder
Jeera (cumin seeds)
Hing (asafetida)
grated coconut
dried & crushed curry leaves
white sesame seeds
butter
salt to taste
Oil to fry
Proportion is for 500 gms of rice flour, put in a handful of each of the other ingredients
(except chili powder, ooh, just a table spoon of that would do).

Method
Mix the rice flour, red chili powder, salt, butter (one quarter piece of the commercially
available pack), and all the above ingredients in the dry form. Knead with hand to ensure
that butter gets uniformly mixed in the dry flour. At this stage some people prefer to put 1
or 2 red chilies in hot oil, take out after 1 minute, cool, powdered by hand and mix with the
dry flour. This gives a traditional flavor to KODUBALE. Also, freshly grated coconut
gives a much better taste than the dry coconut powder available in stores. If using fresh
coconut, save the coconut water, to mix the dough. This enhances the taste.
Frying procedure : The proper method is not to mix water to the flour all at once, but to
sprinkle, enough to make a handful of wet dough at a time, finish that and proceed again.
So, mix water to a portion of the dough (preferably at the centre), mix it to a semi-wet
paste (not as wet as a chappathi/bread dough – remember – rice flour does not have the
stickiness of wheat and stays together more loosely, held by ingredients). Take a lemon
sized ball and start rolling on a cutting board. The consistency should be sufficient to roll,
but not too wet/soggy. If the water is less, the rolled rod breaks. If this happens, add a little
water (coconut water if you have). Remember, do not put too much pressure on the semi-
wet dough, but gently roll to form a smooth natural rod, rolling sideways to get an even
thickness of about the small finger on your hand. When the rolled rod becomes 4 inches
long, slowly turn around the ends, join them to form a circle (like a bangle). The correct
consistency is that at the points of bending, small cracks may appear, but the roll will not
break. Carefully hold it at the circumference and slide it along Wok-edge into hot oil. Use
medium flame to heat the Wok (BaNale or Kadayi). Sunflower oil is preferable to others
since it does not have any odour of its own. Back home, the popular medium is unrefined
groundnut oil (coconut oil is popular in S. Canara dist).
Put in 5 to 6 Kodubale at a time and deep fry slowly till brown. Use the back of stainless
steel spoon or a wooden rod to lift them thro’ the centre hole.To test consistency, break one
after cooling; it must be crispy with crumbs at the center. If the butter is too much, the
KODUBALE breaks into pieces after getting into the hot oil. If the water is too much, the
KODUBALE becomes smooth and soft. Lack of butter makes it pretty hard, which, many
people do like. Adjust your proportion, Khara (chili powder) etc by tasting one, then
proceed with the further batches. It can be kept in bottles for 15 days to a month and eaten
at tea time (all the time – for kids :-), as experienced people will tell you). The right thing
to have on a rainy day; if it is a little on the hotter side (taste-wise) it will go very well
with beer 🙂
If you have a tough time/run out on your patience, beat the lemon sized balls into flat round
pieces like mini pappadums and fry. If you have decided to do this, add roasted groundnut
seeds and Purikadale (bhoonja chana) to bring a distinct taste. This is also called Nippattu
in Kannada (I know the Telugu people have a name for this, but can’t remember).
KODUBALE, KODUBALE, KAASIGONDU KODUBALE (Kodubale – for a penny each)
is a song of the good-old times. May not be as cheap now, but still is sold in all the
bakeries – isn’t it 🙂

Nimbekayyi Uppinakayyi (Lime pickles – hot) Courtesy: K.Raghunandana

This is one of the most common items, often bought from stores. It is also easy to make at
home, though a bit slow. For those who need the *homely* taste and also those who have
kids etc here is the recipe which *does not* use oil and can give the Khaara
(hot/eravu/teekha) to your taste.
Cut 25 fresh limes (must be semi-ripe at best, but preferably on the green side)and put them
in a large mouthed jar/vessel which has a cover. It is necessary to wash and dry lime and
also this jar/vessel thoroughly, before starting. While putting the cut pieces, sprinkle salt as
you put the pieces layer by layer. Also, after putting salt on each layer, cut a lemon,
squeeze its juice uniformly. For about 25 limes the juice of 5 limes must be sufficient. After
a day, turn itaround with a clean spoon (it is better this turn-around is done daily).
The next day, cut pieces of Haagalakaayi (Karela, pavakkai), to almost 1 cm squares and
put them along. You can also cut and put Maavinakai shunti (mango flavoured ginger),
green chilies cut to 1cm length, or chopped green-beans if you wish. Remember to trun it
around daily, add a small pinch of turmeric (arishina/haldi). The turmeric added must be
really minimum, but is necessary as a preservative. Remember to sprinkle a little salt after
putting vegetables. It must be mentioned that the whole of this paragraph is an option, many
do not like adding anything to the lime pickles, which in its own right, has fine taste.
After 15 days, take a handful of Menthya (methi seeds) dry fry them along with a small
teaspoon-ful of mustard and hing. After it is cooled, grind them well in a dry grinder and
add red chili powder to taste. Then mix it and add these to the well turned, salted limes
(with/without vegetables etc). Turn it around.
After another week of turning around, the pickle will be ready for use. Now take it out and
put it into bottles of convenient size. Any additional salt, hing, chili powder etc., can be
added before bottling them. After bottling, ensure that it settles, leaving the red pasty layer
on top (i.e the cut pieces should stay submerged). The juice squeezed in initially, decides
the amount of pasty layer. For those who like the uppinakaayi rasa (this pasty-tasty part) a
liberal amount of squeezed juice is advised, but it will also need a proportionally
additional amount of salt to taste. While using, ensure that you use a dry spoon, remember
to keep the mouth of the bottle clean and closed after use. It is not necessary to refrigerate
the pickles but these days most people do, more as a precautionary step.
It is important to wash and clean and dry everything thoroughly. Any trace of water reduces
the shelf life, so it better to take extra care in doing the whole process in a clean,
systematic way. Once done, the pickles easily last well over an year. For children and
those who need less of chili, the chili proportion can be reduced. A favourite with curd
rice, the lime pickle goes equally well with dose’ (dosa), idli, bread toast or for that matter
anything that needs a spicy-tasty side-dish.
P.S: For a good reddish colour the powder from Byadagi menashinakayi (red chili from
Byaadagi, North Karnataka), is used. This may not always be available. It is good to
remember that Byadagi chili gives good colour but has less khara (teekha/eravu). Any chili
powder basically does the job, colour is just a matter of aesthetics and has very little to do
with the taste of the pickle.