Sunday, November 14, 2010

LAZY FISH AND POTATO MASALA WITH VEGE OPTION ...SHORT BREAK

These days I am quite busy with some long pending work. I follow 4 D principle of Management , Whenever some work comes, try to  Dump , Delay, Delegate and lastly  Do it, in case you cant do the first 3 Ds..Gone are the days " Jo kal Karo, so aj" instead it is now new mantra Jo aj karo so kal... because we really don't have the luxury to advance any work , we are too packed up today ...So all 1st 3 D options are over for me during last several years..so I am doing it.
BREAK
Finally I managed a break with SOMEONE. She could manage a week's off. We are going to Bangalore for 3 days to attend a marriage and decided to go to Kerala for 4 days ...too little time though to see the wonderful Kerala..I have traveled a lot in Kerala in 70s and 80s ..We ( me and my brother's family) will just hole up in Munnar and Kumarakam. After that , most probably my paid holidays will be over and may have to travel to Japan, Korea or Europe ..( I hate winter out side India)..
So here is a Masala dry curry which was up my sleeves since Milano days, and now used it to get rid of some Sardines in the fridge. I am posting this , so that you  dont forget me ..as such my performance has been very poor, only 50 odd postings over 18 months ..:-( 
THE RECIPE 
This is a normal recipe except that it will take less time to make and you can use all types of fried fish or Liver, and also  any one vegetables like Potato, Parmal, beans, Paneer, Turnips, Yam, Arvi etc ( The firm ones). A dash of vinegar is added to make it tangy. I used a Malabar seasoning ( a secrete from SOMEONE) instead of Bong Panch Phodon and no Garam masala. Of course I used fried fish..I like fried Sardines, one can chew the whole fish along with bones.
INGREDIENTS
8 Sardines cleaned, marinated in Turmeric and salt, dip fried to brown. ( I had only 8 in fridge) 
1 Potato medium-large , cut into fingers ( 8mm X 8 mm and length , as large as the  Potato permits) 
For grinding 
1 tomato chopped 
1 onion medium chopped ( same size as the tomato)
6 cloves garlic chopped
3/4th inch by 3/4th inch ginger chopped
2 green chili chopped ( more the merrier) 
2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped.
For grinding

For seasoning 
1/3rd tsp of Cumin and Mustard seeds.
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
2 dry red chili
Others
1/2 tsp cumin powder 
1 level tsp Turmeric powder ( you must have seen I use hell of a lot of turmeric )
Vinegar 1 tsp for marinating Potato
Vinegar 2 tsp for the gravy .
Oil 2-3 tbsp ( any oil of your choice but not ghee). ( other than oil, used for frying)
Optional... add as much red chili powder as you want  ( I added 1 tsp, extra hot red chili powder)
PROCESS
Fry the marinated fish and keep aside.
Grind all the ingredients to a uniform paste.
Cut Potato and soak in water and wash and drain dry..add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp vinegar and mix, leave aside. ( this will give a sourish potato to the core.) 
Fry the potato ( stir fry or deep fry if you are left with enough oil from fish frying) and keep aside.
NOTE: Just before adding potato to the pan, squeeze out the water . ( salt will release water from Potato)
Fried fish, Potato, seasoning and the paste 

Heat oil to smoking and give seasoning.
Reduce heat and add 2 tbsp water to quench the heat so that the seasoning doesn't burn out.
Add the fried potato, the paste, salt, turmeric, Cumin powder  and mix. Simmer covered  for few minutes  to cook the potato.
Add the fish, vinegar and mix. Simmer open pan till the oil starts appearing. 
Saut'e for few minutes and the dish is ready. ( Any excess water will be soaked up by potato..so dont waste time drying the dish,,,but if you want to go ahead and fry the mix further, that too is very yummy).

NOTE : This is a small quantity dish , you want to increase the gravy ? If you double the onion, increase Tomato by half . In this recipe , Tomato and the onion is of same size.

LIVER OPTION
Marinate Liver in salt and turmeric. After adding seasoning, add the liver and saute till the pieces change color. Then proceed with or without potato.

VEGE OPTIONS
As all of you know, Vege food is delicacy for all non vegees and true for me too. Most of these vege options are well tried when I was in Milano. ( The beautiful reception girl used to lend me a mixer-grinder to make huge quantity of this paste ..with a condition that I will treat her and her boy friend with Indian Vege dish once in a while. I was surprised that the girl and her BF had become veges...I was more than glad to make many  dishes for her and her BF..including Malabar or Chetinad paneer , Patato, Zucchini  etc  etc...you should have seen the girl eating with red chicks,  running nose and eyes and still asking for more....great satisfying moments of life...
Potato option 
Boil Potato , and cut then into chunks. soak the potato in salt and vinegar ( little) and fry to golden brown...proceed as above adding potato at the last moment.
 Paneer option
Same as above , cut the Panner into chunks, prick with fork, marinate in salt and vinegar , deep fry to spotted brown and proceed.
Other vegetables ( hard ones , haven't tried soft ones like Brinjal, pumpkin, ridge gourd etc)  
Cut the vege to 1 inch pieces, soak in salt and Vinegar and proceed,.

OK friends...I will be reading your blogs during my break ...please keep cooking , I believe cooking is a great stress reliever apart form the great satisfaction we get, when our near and dear ones give a smile and appreciate the taste ...It is so satisfying ( well we all know it, I dont have to say )
Happy cooking and I will miss you all for some time ...

38 comments:

Nandinis food said...

I'm getting very lazy too these days. Anyway, the side dish is superb! Very spicy and awesome!

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

kabe aschen kabe aschen? aj ar kono katha nay age date janan tarpare anyo katha.

Kanchan said...

after a long time .. nice to see you..
hope you have happy small vacation :)
Waiting for pic updates :)

Fathima said...

that is really a yum curry... love it.. perfect with a bowl of rice...

Kalyan Karmakar said...

arre i am going to Bangalore next Thursday...on work. Have a good trip Ghosh Kaku

Priya Suresh said...

Dish looks simply droolworthy and spicy..let me tell u a secret, am also getting lazy nowadays..

Jaya M said...

Ushnish Da,
eta darun preparation hoyeche mach'er ..ami jodi sardines na use kori tahole ki onno fish use korte para jaye -mane-pabda , nahole rui mach..and 3D mantra ta amar DH ke bolte hobe eyi baar :-)..regards

Unknown said...

Hey,

Lovely dish...:)Have a great break and be back soon!!:)

Dr.Sameena@

http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

sangeeta said...

I ahve already tried your mete chorchori and i am going to try this one with both the options ...liver and sardines...yummy i am sure.

veena said...

great that it has a vege option too:-)Have a great break:-)

Jaisy James said...

looks yummy. wish u happy journey

? said...

Good to read your post again Ushnishda!
Happy travelling in Kerala...

Very interesting combo with potatoes. We usually fry them after a marination in a paste of chillies and small red onions.

Sarah Naveen said...

Great to hear that your are going to Kerala...i m sure you love the place :)..
Sardines are my fav..but cant buy it here cos it stinks that bad!!!

Unknown said...

This looks ultimately spicy...have a great trip enjoy well :)

Devasena Hariharan said...

Enjoy your trip. This dish sounds different to me..

Poonam said...

Thanks Ushnish for stopping by my blog and posting the comment. It is a coincidence that I was posting your recipe for the fish I cooked and you put a comment in my vada-pav post. In fact, we have more than cooking in common, Physics background. You are an Engineer and I am a Physics major with my Ph.D. and postdoc in Astrophysics. My hubby is also having an Engineering background and his Ph.D. is in Material Science.

Amritha Kalyani said...

Actually your comments give me a great encouragement :-) Your dish looks delicious. I love the veggie option. I am gonna try this one day. Wish you a great holiday.. Have fun.

Aparna S Mallya said...

Thanks for the suggestion Ushnish. Would love to roast the eggplant next time. However mine is an electric coil so I wasn't sure if I could do it on that. I also want to try baking it in the oven to see if it makes a difference.

Fried fish and potatoes seem like an interesting combination.

Sutapa said...

Hi Ushnish,
Enjoy a great and happening holiday!
Come back soon as we all miss you a lot!
Delicious hot and spicy fish dish and I am missing my plate of steamed rice!

Vikis Kitchen said...

Dear Ushnish ji, Your posts are always very lively and stress busters for me. Pls Keep blogging, at least once in a while is enough, but don't stop writing:) Sardines are my most favorite fish too, I eat it with that fried head portion too:) Here I can't get that small version of sardines. Sardine in any form, even the dry fish is great for me:) I absolutely like the above curry, which is new to me. Looks so delicious. Btw, by your encouragement I posted my dum biryani process, without hesitation (anyways did some makeover for the kitchen counter) :)Wishing both of you a pleasant holiday at Kerala. Enjoy their fish and banana chips. waiting to see the pictures soon:)

Poonam said...

Thanks Ushnish, I will keep these tips in mind when I cook this fish next time. I know of Sangeeta's blog and am already following it. It is a great blog. And yes, cooking is great stress reliever. Whenever I get time from my work and little son, I cook!

Akila said...

hi enjoy ur trip.... waiting for the trip photos.....

Unknown said...

Sounds interesting with potatoes..spicy & yummy!! Have a great vacation :-)

Namitha said...

That's great to know. I was thinking that it's high time you take SOMEONE with you for your travels :-) Have a fun time in B'lore and also in Kerala .Where are you going to be in Kerala...Oh, I'm so jealous ;-)
I don't think that there will be any fried sardines left if I'm the one who is making this dish ..lol

Lorraine said...

Wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing it.

Have a nice holiday:)

Mary Bergfeld said...

I am so glad to have found your blog. I've just spent some time reading earlier posts you have made. This is a grand place to visit and I will be back often. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

Mary Bergfeld said...

I'm jumping back in to let you know that we stayed at The Temple Tiger Camp in the Chitwan Widlife Reserve.

Madhu said...

Thanks for your kind comments. 6 eggs in a single day eh? Wow ji, you really love your eggs dont you?

Loved the recipe. i will sure try this at home sometime.

San said...

I have never made this....your take on it looks really simple n easy.Come back soon .

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your kerala trip Ushnish Da.I love the fish preparation -simple and flavorful.I have never tried potatoes with fish though I like it a lot in my mutton curry.I really liked the description of your four D's ..so apt.
Thanks fro visiting me and the kind words.I hope u ll like the dahi gujiyas,

Urmi said...

Thanks for your lovely and encouraging comment.
Fish curry looks delicious and mouth watering. Absolutely gorgeous dish and I feel like having it now. I will definitely try your lovely recipe.

Alessandra said...

Ciao Ushnish, how are you?

You know that there are 6 million vegetarians in Italy now, and many are vegans?

When I started, two decades ago, there were hardly any, people thought that I was strange... but they probably thought that anyway :-)!

Nice masala!

ciao
Alessandra

Amrita said...

Aaj kare so kal karo
Kal kare so parson
aisee bhi kya jaldi hai jab abhi to jeena hai barson

I have a feeling that the 4D philosophy has been encoded in my DNA. Try as I might I will never be able to overcome this :)

As a token of my appreciation for your various talents, there is an award waiting for you at my blog :) Please collect.

Oriyarasoi said...

very spicy and tantalizing ....BTW wat is sardine in Bong/Oriya ??

Hope you had a nice trip...looking forward to some gr8 clicks !!!

Simplyfood said...

Loved the vege option looks droolworthy and delicious.

Rajani said...

I am a vegetarian so totally love your thoughtful veg options.Would like to see you back in blog-action soon.

Malar Gandhi said...

Dear Ushnish,

How are you? I came back to Oxford couple of months ago...but ever since I landed I am traveling like a maniac, hardly cooking these days:( So, how is things at your end? Belated Diwali wishes to you and your family:)

I have tagged you with 8 Questionnaire for 8 bloggers, Please take some time to answer them. I am looking forward for your answers, happy cooking:)

Anonymous said...

hi how are you? i just got back after hajj, and am catching up on blogging. you are planning to come to the maldives? how are plans for that going?