Crunchy Bombay Duck Fillets

by Trisha Vaz
UPDATE: Just wanted to let you guys know that Bombay Ducks are actually a type of fish and not meat. They are called Bombil in Hindi and Marathi. You can get more information here.

As a child, I hated fish, or so they thought. My mum and nana would try everything they could think of to try and get me to eat fish. Of course, I wasn’t a stubborn child except where eating fish was concerned so they had their work cut out for them. Eventually they realized that the reason I wouldn’t eat fish was that I was okay with eating fish but what I actually hated having to debone the cooked fish before eating. Ironically I didn’t mind eating fried sardines and fried karli (silver barfish), the boniest of the varieties available here, go figure! So my loving grandma would patiently sit and debone the fish on my plate, which I would very willingly eat up. Oh, the memories.

Anyway, moving on to the current day scenario, I love fish. And one of my current day favorites are crunchy (fresh) bombay duck fillets. The best part is, my husband, Ashley, is a genius at filleting these guys. Lucky me!!! Nothing could be simpler that making this dish. You really should try this. I want you to enjoy something this delicious. This is not so much a recipe, but simple pointers to making the fillets. Please adjust flavors to your liking

Crunchy Bombay Duck Fillets


Bombay ducks, cleaned and filleted
Turmeric powder
Red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
Lime juice to taste
Apple cider vinegar, to taste
Besan (chickpea flour)
Bread crumbs, to coat
Oil, for frying

Wash the fish and pat dry. Lay the fillets out flat on a plate.

Sprinkle the salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, lime juice and apple cider vinegar over the fish. Gently, turn over to make sure that both sides are seasoned. Its hard to give you quantities for the spices, since everyone has different preferences. I make sure that there is a little sprinkling of the spices on all the fish on both sides. Handle lightly as this is a delicate fish.

Sprinkle some chickpea flour over the fish on both sides till lightly coated. You can add a few drops of water to help you with this. The chickpea flour will help the fish stay together so please don’t omit it. Since this is a delicate fish, leaving it out will result in the fish breaking up while you try to move it around in the pan. You don’t want a thick layer or a chickpea batter coat, just a light sprinkling to bind it.

Keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan.

Dredge the fillets in breadcrumbs to coat them well. This will give you a crunchy fillet.

Shallow fry on a medium flame. Do not move the fish around in the pan, till a crust has formed on the bottom. Moving it to early will break the fish up. Once the bottom side has formed a nice brown crust, turn over and cook on the other side till done.

Serve hot.

This recipe has been linked to –
Delectable Tuesday
Whats Cooking Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Fun with Food Friday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Seafood, Sides

Bean and Spinach Bake

by Trisha Vaz
This is a baked dish that I really enjoy. I’ve been making it for about 4 years now, though I don’t make it very often. I’ll bet you’re wondering why. Let me start by telling you that this is one tasty concoction, however, my husband isn’t fond of baked beans. He isn’t a very picky eater and he’s had to sample some of my not so good creations as well, and I must say he does that without complaining. But his opinion of whatever I make means the world to me. And to make up for it, I try and keep his not so favorite stuff to a minimum. So if I’m having folks over for dinner or I’m cooking a bunch of other stuff as well, thats when I sneak this one in. This is a recipe from Nita Mehta’s Continental Cooking for the Indian Kitchen.  

 
 
Bean and Spinach Bake
Serves 8
 
200 gms mushrooms, sliced
100 gms baby corn, cut into 1/4″ thick round slices
3 tbsp. butter
4-5 cups spinach leaves, finely chopped
1 cup tinned baked bins
1/2 tsp. red chilli flakes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. bread crumbs
50 gms mozzarella cheese
For the sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. cornflour (Sometimes, I use all purpose flour and it works just fine)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3-4 flakes garlic, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Crushed black peppercorns, to taste
In a pan, add 1 tbsp. butter and cook the spinach till all the water dries out.
Stir fry for a couple of minutes, till it appears fried.
Add bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. The bread crumbs prevent the spinach from turning runny.
Transfer to a shallow baking dish.
Layer the baked beans over it.
In the same pan used to cook the spinach, heat 2 tbsp. butter.
Add the mushrooms and baby corn and sauté for 5-7 minutes till it starts getting brown spots. 
 
Add red chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
 
Arrange this over the baked beans.
 
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in the same pan used to cook the veggies and cook stirring till it thickens and begins coating the back of the spoon. 
 
Pour the sauce over the baby corn and mushrooms. 
 
Grate cheese on top. 
 
Bake at 200ºC for 15 minutes.




This recipe is linked to – 
Tasty Tuesdays
Tasty Tuesday
What’s on the Menu Wednesday 
Real Food Wednesday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes, Vegetarian

Scrambled Cottage Cheese – Paneer Bhurji

by Trisha Vaz
Today I’m going to share with you one of my all time favorite super-quick meal recipe. This takes about 10-15 minutes to throw together and is a vegetarian alternative to scrambled eggs. Don’t let that deceive you. Even though it is a vegetarian option, if you love cottage cheese like I do, you will love this. For all you egg lovers out there, just substitute the cottage cheese with eggs. And within sheer minutes, you will be sitting down to a warm, hearty and healthy meal.

Scrambled Cottage Cheese – Paneer Bhurji

(Serves 4)

250g Cottage Cheese / Paneer
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped (Adjust the amount of spice to your liking)
1 small tomato, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
2-3 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. oil

Heat the oil in a pan.

Saute the onions and green chilly till onions turn soft and are lightly colored.

Add the turmeric powder and stir well.

Add the tomato and let it cook off for a minute or so.

Now crumble the cottage cheese into the pan and stir well to mix with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook uncovered for a few minutes till the liquid has dried up.

Lastly, add the coriander leaves and stir well.

Serve with hot chapatis or bread.

This recipe has been linked to –
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent @ Ceo a’s draiocht
Fun With Food Friday @ Paisley Passions
Whats Cooking Thursday @ Feeding Four

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Breakfast, Mains, Recipes, Sides, Vegetarian

Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice

by Trisha Vaz
Folks, one of my fondest childhood food memories is when my Mommy used to whip up this Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice for us. I ♥ prawns in any form and in the days to come, I will share a few more of my prawn recipes with you. I have wanted to try making this dish forever, but did not get around to it till a couple of days ago. I picked up some gorgeous, fresh prawns and I knew that I just had to finally whip this up. There was just one little problem, I didn’t have my mother’s recipe and my parents were on holiday and I really didn’t want to bother her by calling. So I decided to put it together from memory, trying really hard to remember what the flavors were like. And boy,oh boy! I was thrilled with the result. This meal is going to make many more appearances in my home, for sure.

Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice
(Serves 3-4)

For the Rice  – 
1 cup basmati rice
1-2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 cardamom pods
6 peppercorns
1″ cinnamon
1-2 tbsp. Ghee or clarified butter
Salt, to taste
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped (This will be used while assembling the meal.)

Heat the ghee in a vessel and add the whole spices.

When the ghee had released the aroma of the spices, add the washed rice. Stir gently just until the rice is coated with the ghee.

Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste and stir a little. Make sure you don’t stir it too much as the grains of rice will breakdown.

Cover and bring to a boil on medium heat. On low heat cook till all the water has been absorbed. Make sure you don’t stir the rice during the cooking process.

Once all the water has been absorbed, use a fork and loosen the grains of rice and make sure that all the water has evaporated. Keep covered.

For the Prawn Chilly Fry – 
250 gms. fresh prawns, shelled and de-veined
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 curry leaves
1 large tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 green chillies, cut into 1/2″ pieces (Please adjust this to taste. We like our food spicy.)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
3/4 tsp. red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
A dash of lime juice
2-3 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Marinade the prawns with a little salt and a dash of lime juice and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the curry leaves and when they release their flavor, add the onions and green chilly. Saute till the onions are light golden brown.

Add the turmeric powder and chilly powder. Stir well.

Once its mixed well, add the tomato and stir well.

When the ingredients in the pan have been sauteed well and you see the oil starting to separate, add the prawns and cook on medium heat. Still well and cook uncovered till the prawns are done.

Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and stir till combined.

To Assemble – 

Layer about half the rice on the serving platter on in individual plates.

Spoon the prawn chilly fry over it. 

Add another layer of the remaining rice.

Sprinkle generously with the chopped coriander leaves. Don’t be shy while topping the rice with coriander leaves. Its a generous sprinkling of the coriander leaves that brings the elements of this dish together and makes it one finger-licking meal.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

This recipe is linked to –

Fun with Food Friday
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent

Herbs and Flowers in my Platter” – Coriander leaves/Cilantro

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Seafood