for the love of Authentic food
Asha Shetty is now a proud owner of a seafood speciality restaurant in Pune ,Coconut Grove and a hospitality division , Coconut Grove Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai, India. All the recipes in her restaurant are authentic and original from the coastal areas of the south of India namely Mangalore.
Some of the recipes are modified with different spices related to specific coastal areas coupled with her own innovative cooking technique. She is the reciepient of the prestigious award for the Pune Times Best Seafood Restaurant consecutively for the past 4 years. She is sharing the recipes of her signature dishes from her restaurant called Kundapur chicken curry /Gassi and Fish Bhatkal.
She is so passionate about cooking and food . We chatted for 3 hours about Food and Restaurants and didnt get bored at all! She wanted to learn about arabic food ..her zest for learrning was so evident at this age too.
She would go now and then to the kitchen to see if all was prepared and was making idlis while talking to me..
I am honoured that she could part with her two recipes that are very famous at her own restaurant and I do hope to visit her in Pune in the near future.
Kundapur Chicken
This originates from the coastal town of Kundapur in Karnataka , South India, is fiery and is relished with rice, Neer Dosa(Rice crepes) or Kori Roti( a traditonal dish of the Tuvulas , tulu speaking people, served at special occasions ,similar to crisp dry wafers)
Ingredients
1 kg chicken
10 Red chillies, Byadagi(Known for their red colour,less spicy, used in Sounth Indian cooking)
6 Madras chillies(large , deep red colour chillies, very spicy)
2 tblsp coriander seeds, dhaniya
2tsp cumin seeds, Jeera
1tsp pepper
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds ,methi
2 tsp turmeric powder, haldi
12 cloves Garlic
4 medium sliced and browned onions
1 onion , finely chopped
½ grated cocount
1 tblsp Tamarind Paste,imli
2 cups thick coconut milk, fresh
2 tblsp oil
Salt , to taste
Tempering:
I small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps ghee
10 nos. curry leaves
To prepare:
1. Roast chillies and Remove. Roast the coconut till half brown and keep aside.
2. Heat oil and brown the onions.
3. Grind together 1 & 2 along with all the spices mentioned above to a fine paste .
4. Cut the Chicken into medium sized pieces .
5. Add 1 onion finely chopped along with the ground paste to the chicken with 1 cup water and salt to taste . Keep it on a high flame for 10 minutes after which cook on slow flame .
6. After chicken is cooked add 2 cups of thick coconut milk and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Seasoning /Vagar - Heat ghee and add finely chopped onion and curry leaves . Brown the onions and add it to the curry .
The Chicken is take out of the curry and served sperately and the curry is relished separately with neer dosa or kori roti.
Tip: Use Kashmiri Red chillies if you dont get Byadagi chillies.
Kundapur curry
Kundapur Chicken Sukha (dry)
Neer Dosa with Kundapur Chicken Curry
Fish Bhatkal
Spicy fish curry
Ingredients
3 pomfrets each cut into 3 slices .
For the Paste:
½ coconut
10 red chilies, Byadagi
2 tblsp coriander seeds, dhaniya
1 tblsp cumin seeds, jeera
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds, methi
1 tblsp pepper corn
3 pinch of carom seeds,ajwain
1 tsp turmeric ,haldi
8 small cloves of garlic
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 nos. green chillies
1 inch ginger
2 cups thick coconut milk , fresh if possible
2 tblsp tamarind paste , imli
Salt to taste
Method :
1. Roast all the spices for the paste(as above) and fry the onion till translucent ,then grind to paste with the roasted spices
2. Mix the paste with salt and half cup water. Add chopped 4 green chillies and 1 inch ginger and bring to boil . After one boil add sliced fish and cook .When fish is cooked add the coconut milk and cook for 3 minutes and remove . Adjust seasoning and stir in the tamarind paste.
Serve hot with steamed rice .
Italics /bold: are the Hindi names of spices
served with Neer Dosa
Soft fluffy idlis in the making
Vermicelli Kheer ,south Indian style ..to finish off our meal
