Sunday, May 26, 2019

Visona Panna Upkari (Spicy King Fish Curry).


"Visona Teekhi Panna Upkari (Spicy King Fish Curry) served with Udidu ani Tandla Khotto (Urad Dal Rice Idly prepared in Jackfruit leaves), Dalitoy (Spiced Tuvar Dal) and Pineapple" ... my favorite combo with panna upkari is either khotto/panpolo /shevai or Ukde SheetHa, today made the curry very spicy and relished it with khotto and dalitoy ... Spicilicious .... 

** Panna Upkari is a very spicy dish from Konkani Saraswat Cuisine that is very famous amongst our community people. This dish is prepared both in Veg and Non-Veg form. I remember during childhood I never ever ate this dish coz it was so spicy that it literally bring water from eyes and nose when you relish it and I never liked that and if at all I ate, I would eat loads of chocolates later on. It was only much later ie after my marriage that I began relishing this dish, though till today it makes me a bit uncomfortable for a few hours as excess spice is something I cannot digest as I prone to acidity. But yes, my hubby loves this dish very much and insists I make it spicy once in a way. I have cut down the spice level in recent years as too much of spice is normally not good for health and it should be cut down. Well, to cut short, I have posted many variations of this dish prepared both in veg and non veg varieties. I will post a common link at the bottom of this recipe so that you can check out on the same. 

** The recipe is the same as that posted before, but I am re-posting the same for newbies. I must mention here that this dish is prepared the most with Mackerel (Raja/Bangda/Bangude) Fish, though it can be prepared with other varieties of fishes too. Today small sized King Fish / Visonu was available with my fish vendor which was very fresh. So I bought it, my fish vendor gave slant cut while slicing the pieces as if done horizontally they would be too small in size. When the fish is fresh and fleshy it does add on taste to the curry. Again, I must mention here that this curry taste best after 12 hours of resting period. I remember Mom used to prepare it early in the morning so that by noon while serving it would get a good resting period and taste that much tastier. You can also prepare this in the night and serve it the next day, but do remember to heat it once in the early morning to avoid the curry getting spoilt. Do try this out if you love spicy fish curries and enjoy them with any accompaniment of your choice. 

** This fish curry taste best when served with any type of rice though tastes better with Red Boiled Rice (Ukde SheetHa), but for that one must have developed a taste for it. We South Indians are used to this rice and enjoy the same, though there are many who do not like it. The choice of rice is left to individual and family liking for sure. The other best way to serve it is with panpolo ie neer dosa, a thin lacy dosa often prepared in Konkani Saraswat homes. Then the same can be served with Khotto ie Idly prepared in Jackfruit leaves baskets or homemade Shevai / Sevai / String Hoppers. I have also served this with Dosa and Appos many times as this was something I learned from my father. My Mom always cooked food early in the morning and the lunch items were also at times prepared and done before serving of breakfast. My father would always ask her which curry she had prepared and would relish the same with dosa at times if he liked it. I found that interesting and followed suit. But I do so for lunch as somehow, I cannot enjoy a heavy breakfast from childhood. 

** Here is my Recipe for "Visona Teekhi Panna Upkari (Spicy King Fish Curry)” … My Style …. 

** Wash and clean the Visanu/King fish pieces, rub some salt and keep them ready aside. I had about 10 medium sized pieces of Visonu. Just before preparing the curry wash them in plain water and keep it ready. 

** Peel of the outer skin and chop 3-4 large sized Onions finely and keep it ready aside. Wash, wipe dry and chop 1 large or 2 medium sized Ripe Tomatoes and keep them also ready aside. 

** Heat about 1/2 cup oil in a thick bottomed kadai. When hot add in the finely chopped onions and fry them till they are evenly browned. Do not let them burn or the dish will turn bitter. Now add in handful of fresh curry leaves, 4-5 tblsp of Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder, 2 tblsp of Coriander Powder and fry for a second or two. 

** Now add in the finely chopped Tomatoes, 2 tblsp of Tamarind Paste and about one cup of water and bring to a boiling point on medium flame. Now lower the heat and let simmer well, slightly keep crushing the tomatoes in the kadai with a spatula to make it mushy and thick consistency. Add salt to taste and mix well. 

** Now add in the fish pieces in a layer in the kadai and let cook on low to medium heat for 5 minutes. Do stir in once or twice and check the consistency. If need be do add in some more water if need be. This is a semi dry dish with slightly thinner textured gravy, but spicy one. 


** "Visona Teekhi Panna Upkari (Spicy King Fish Curry is done and ready to be served. This is a very spicy dish that tastes best when served with rice specially red boiled rice (ukde sheetHa). But also tastes great with dosa specially panpolo as it tastes awesome. Another combo that tastes awesome with this one is homemade rice shevai and Khotto (Idly prepared in Jackfruit leaves baskets). 

** Do try out various options with this dish as accompaniment and enjoy them with your family and friends. If simmered well, once cooled you can put this in the fridge and it remains good for almost 3 days and can be reheated and served too. Saves on time and tastes great too, a boon when you are having busy schedule or guest coming over. 

** Note : Again, addition of tomatoes are a matter of choice. Traditionally it was not added, in which case you need to increase the amount of tamarind added while grinding by double. 

** Note : You can increase the amount of chilly powder depending upon the spice level of your family, I have made this dish spicy, as the dish is supposed to be very spicy but nowadays somehow, we cannot tolerate that much spice so you can cut it down a bit. 

** I am sharing a common link for all types of “Panna Upkari” below, where in the same dish is prepared with different types of veggies, you can check out the same too … 

** For the "Udidu Tandla Khotto / Urad Dal Rice Idly in Jackfruit leaves" Recipe, Please follow the link given below ....

** For “Dalitoy (Spiced Tuvar Dal)” Recipe, Please follow the link given below …. 

** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.

** I am happy to inform you that I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" which is over and year old, with about 19K strong members. It is a pleasure to inform that you will find in the group many more recipes posted by our expert members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You …. 

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