“Roopchand Alle’ Piyava Gashi (Rupchand Fish Ginger Onion Curry)” … roopchand fish known in English as Chinese Pomfret is largely used in Bengali fish delicacies … as for me I am trying it out for the first time by preparing our famous alle’ piyava gashi/ curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine and it tasted wonderful … of course it's best served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled rice)/ steamed rice or any type of rice items ... Yummilicious ....
** I have often mentioned that there is a false notion that GSB Konkani Saraswat's do not eat fish and I have unfortunately been targeted on this matter several times in some food groups. Well, what can I say to those who really do not know the history of Saraswats, just ignore, and move on, isn't it. If you visit, Goa, Kumta, Mangalore, Karwar side Konkani Saraswats, you will be aware that over 50% of them do eat fish while other non. vegetarian dishes are a matter of choice that got on later on.
** Having said that we GSB’s usually stick to certain varieties of fish only, but then I always feel one should try out other options available as is the vicinity in which you stay. Though I have come across this fish called Roopchand or Rupchand often, this is the first time I thought of buying it, that too again first time online. It resembles close to pomfret though slightly lesser in taste, nevertheless we loved it very much and I am sure to try out some of the Bengali dishes for which this fish is famous too.
** For the first time however, I wanted to stick to my home comfort ginger- onion curry as I was somehow sure that it would taste great as we often try the same with manji/ pomfret. This is a simple medium-spiced curry that I recommend be relished with rice for best of taste. Though boiled rice is all time favorite as it tastes great, you may relish the same with any type of rice you usually prepare at home. I am sure this fish is available almost everywhere if not definitely online, so try it.
** Here is my recipe for “Roopchand Alle’ Piyava Gashi (Rupchand Fish Ginger Onion Curry)” … my style, similar to our pomfret curry ….
** Ingredients :
Roopchand/ Rupchand/ Chinese Pomfret : 500 gms (I got 6 large pieces)
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 1 medium sized chopped fine.
Ginger/ Alle'/ Adrak : 2 inch piece chopped fine.
Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 3-4 slit lengthwise (Optional)
Coconut Oil/ Narel Tela/ Nariyal Tel : 1-2 tblsp
Salt/ Meeta/ Namak : to taste.
** For Masala to be ground :
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 2 cups of freshly grated
Kashmiri red chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 8-10
Tamarind/ Imly/ Chinchama : 1 small marble sized or 1 tsp paste.
** About Roopchand/ Rupchand/ Chinese Pomfret Fish : This fish is similar to pomfret/ manji/ pamplet/ halwa and you need to clean and make it ready as you would with the same. I bought it for first time online as my fish vendor was out of town and I really could not got to main fish market for just one item. Though I was skeptical of online fish purchase, surprisingly it was delivered within one and half hour, all cleaned and packed well. The fish too was handled well and cleaned so beautifully, that I just needed to wash it in clean water twice, that’s it. I was very happy that my tedious work of cleaning fish as usual was not there and my only regret was that I did not try it out before. Anyways, I got 6 large slices of about ½ inch in thickness and about 8 inches in length.
** Note : In case you buy it as a whole fish from fish, wash the fish well, pat dry, trim off its edge on its tail, cut off the fins and the side wings. Remove the scales on the body if any using a blunt or butter knife. Then slice the fish into 1/2 inch thick slices horizontally. Keep the tail part of the fish a bit wider say around 3-4 inches. Do away with the head part of the fish or if you like it, you can use it by cutting of the edge unto eye part and then cleaning it well from within. Clean the fish especially its stomach area and clean the inside portion very thoroughly. Apply a little bit of salt all over and keep it aside ready, You can also put it in plenty of water and keep it aside til to be used. If unsure, always ask your fish vendor to do the needful, in Mumbai they do it.
** For the Masala to be ground : Grind coconut, tamarind and chillies to a very fine paste with a little bit of water. The ground paste should be thick and very fine in texture. Remove and keep this aside ready.
** Note : You can use tart/ tangy imparting veggies like bimbul (tree sorrel), karmbala (star fruit), ambado (hogplum), kokum etc. to the curry too if desired in which case however do not add tamarind while grinding the masala.
** Add ground masala in a wide flat thick bottomed vessel along with required amount of water to bring it to a thick gravy consistency. Cook on a medium heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat, add the finely chopped onion, ginger, green chillies, salt to taste and mix well. Once again, let the curry come to a full boil, then lower the heat to minimum and add in the cut fish (roopchand) pieces in a single layer in the vessel without toppling on one another.
** Note : Always use flat wide utensils to cook fish. This helps to add on the fish pieces in a layer without toppling on each other. This also helps in even cooking of the fish pieces and also becomes easier to gently stir or move the vessel in rotation to cook the fishes intact without breaking into pieces.
** Cook the curry for 5-7 minutes on low- medium heat, stirring gently with a spatula/ ladle avoiding touching the fish pieces while doing so. The other method which we saraswats follow is we hold the vessel either with the help of tongs or with a cloth on the rim and gently rotate or tilt leftwards and rightwards the vessel, which helps the gravy and fish together to move smoothly within the means of vessel, this method makes it foolproof from the fish getting broken as they are very delicate, however do be careful when holding the vessel.
** The fish pieces hardly take much time in cooking depending off course upon the quantity otherwise in maximum its about 5-7 minutes and its done. Lastly add in coconut oil in raw form over the curry, mix and remove from heat. Keep the curry aside covered for about 15-20 minutes for the flavors to get infused. Fish curry always taste best when given some time to rest after which it can be served hot along with some rice and bhaji etc.
** “Roopchand Alle’ Piyava Gashi (Rupchand Fish Ginger Onion Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Fish curry always tastes best served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled rice) or any plain rice, so do try the same combo sometime. Again, you can also serve it with mildly spiced rice dishes like pulav, ghee rice too, though we GSB Konkani Saraswats always prefer to relish it with plain rice, try it I am sure you will love it. Remember to also serve some veggie bhaji/ upkari or any type of salad along with fish curries during meals, as veggies should always be a part of every meal.
** Fish is full of proteins and omega 3 which is indeed good for heart and overall health. If you are a non-vegetarian then make it a point to include more of fish items into your meals as they rank the highest among non.veg items along with eggs. It is always a joy to relish fried fish items but then curries are much more healthier option these days. So, do try out this simple delicious curry and give me a feedback if possible.
** I had previously posted the same curry ie with ginger, onion, topped with coconut oil with different types of fishes which you will find them all if you browse through the common link shared below … it includes all types of fish curries and fries …
** For “Red Boiled Rice/Tambde Ukde Tandla sheetha/Urpel Ari /LaL Mota Chawal” … Cooking of Red Boiled Rice using Pressure Cooker. My easy way out. Cooking red boiled rice/ ukde sheetha is considered laborious and time consuming, but I use a faster method and get perfectly cooked rice using pressure cooker. Anybody can follow this simple method, cook and enjoy hot red ukada boiled rice with a spicy Veg / Non. Veg Curry …. Please follow the link given below for the method of cooking .....
** Note : If for any reason you do not want to cook Boiled Rice, you can try out the normal rice prepared using Surthi Kollam or Wada Kollam rice by the following method too, which is normally the method of cooking in almost every Konkani Saraswat Home …
** For the Recipe of "Cooking Rice Starch Free/Vanu ghalnu SheetHa", where the Rice is cooked and the water is drained off to remove excess starch, Please follow the link given below ….
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