Rawas Gashi/Ambat (Indian Salmon Fish Curry).

“Rawas Gashi/Ambat (Indian Salmon Fish Curry)” … the aromatic seasoning of onions takes this fish curry altogether to another level … just serve it with some ukde sheetHa (Red Boiled/ Matta Rice) along with few veggies as side dish and it’s a scrumptious meal for fishitarians … Yummilicious …

** It’s great to have a fish curry meal on Sunday’s though I never plan them ahead as I am never sure if I will get round to preparing them. If on waking up I feel fit to do so only then I venture out to buy them and today was one such day and though I reached late my fish vendor had a small sized whole rawas/ Indian salmon and without giving a second thought I purchased it and she did clean and slice well for me, well relief as half the job was done.

** Luckily, I just thought of checking out on blog to see if I had shared it and NO it was not, wonder why not? Five years into blogging and rawas gashi was not shared. It amazes me at times that there are still so many common dishes I have yet to blog not to mention those still lying in my draft waiting to see the day. I wonder if somewhere the rawas picture clicked also lies in folders, but on second thoughts I just thought of clicking the same again to save time.

** In short, l guess life has doubled its speed for most of us and we just don’t get enough time to do so many things which we mean to but do not, I am sure many of you will agree with me. I really miss those relaxed days as a teenager zooming about in my moped and enjoying with friends, sigh, were have all those lovely days gone by. Anyways, that life, we move on, so the next time you buy rawas fish, try out this curry and serve it with rice, its just Yumz.

** Before I forget I must mention that Rawas/ Indian Salmon fish pieces when sliced only has a close resemblance to visonu/ surmai/ king fish though the fish in whole looks different as rawas is white (fair looking) while surmai is black (darker shaded). Again, the outer skin differs as rawas has lots of scales while surmai is all smooth as though it has gone in for waxing. jokes apart, both are tasty in their own way. 

** Here is my simple recipe for “Rawas Gashi/Ambat (Indian Salmon Fish Curry)” … my style … do try it out and enjoy with family ....

** Rawas/ Indian Salmon fish has lots of scales on its skin which should be scrapped well, fins trimmed, then sliced to ½ inch thick slices horizontally after cleaning its stomach portion from within. In Mumbai, fish vendors do this for us when we buy, so half the work is done and all we need to do it is clean it well gently in plenty of water.

** However if you need to buy them whole then cleaning the fish is tough and tricky task though cooking fish is fast as it gets cooked in a jiffy. You will first need to scrap the scales on outer skin, trim off the fins, tail and the head portion. Give a slit on the stomach side to open the stomach clean within and rinse the fish gently in plenty of water.

** Put the fish pieces in a vessel filled with clean water till we go about preparing the masala. Some people do apply lemon, haldi/ turmeric, salt all over the fish pieces and allow to rest, well my amma never followed that procedure, neither do I, I just keep them in water, gently clean again in fresh water and add them to the curry, that’s it.

** I have used about 8 pieces of ½ inch thickness for this curry, so the masala prepared is accordingly, if more do adjust accordingly.

** Masala to be ground : Grind 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) with 10-12 kashmiri red chillies (byadgi mirchi/ kumte mirsanga) and a small marble sized tamarind (chinchama/ imly) to a very fine paste.

** Add the ground masala in a broad flat vessel (always use flat and broad vessels to cook fish) and add in necessary amount of water to bring to a thick gravy consistency. Now add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and cook on medium heat until it comes to a boiling point, then lower the heat and let simmer.

** Now gently add the cleaned, prepared and kept rawas/ Indian salmon fish pieces one by one into to the curry gently taking care to see that you lay them on a single layer without toppling on each other. Raise the heat to medium and bring to a boiling point stirring gently in between until the fish is cooked. 

** Note : Do not boil or cook the curry in excess, as fish hardly takes more than 5-8 minutes to get cooked well, also stirring briskly will break them, so you should just try shaking the vessel with help of tongs or cloth in circular movements which is what most of us do when it comes to cooking fish curry.

** For Tempering/ Pannaka : Heat 2-3 tblsp oil (tel/ tela) in a small pan, when it is hot add in 1 large onion (piyavu/ kanda/ pyaz) chopped finely. Fry until onion is evenly browned and then pour over the simmering fish curry and give the curry a single stir. Remove, cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes for the flavor to get infused.

** “Rawas Gashi/Ambat (Indian Salmon Fish Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Personally in my home we love to relish it served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled/ kerala matta rice) however, if you do not use that rice, you can serve with any steamed rice of your choice as fish curry always tastes best served with rice. 

** Off course the next best choice would be I guess, mildly spiced rice items, like ghee rice or jeera rice or maybe roti if that’s your staple diet, well frankly to each one their own choice, after all a meal should always be relished the way one desires to have or enjoys the best way to give immense satisfaction, Isn't it? So just go ahead and try your own combinations and try them out the way you love it and yes enjoy. 

** There are many more delicious “GSB/ Konkani Saraswat” style fish curries shared in the blog, they are all tasty and are easy to prepare. Do try them out and enjoy with your family and friends and yes, do give me a feedback if possible.