Goan green Chutney |

My weekly basket from Teamwork CSA has been overflowing with fantastic organic produce; cobs of corn, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, onions, radishes, and the most perfect bright green coriander. Throughout the summer the following three recipes have made their way onto my plate at various separate meals. However, this past week they all finally met, introduced themselves to each other, mingled on my thali and in my mouth resulting in a flavourful, light and immediately satisfying meal. In an effort to try and keep summer from leaving us I plan to make this meal at least a couple more times in the following weeks.

Grilled Chaat Masala Corn

Serves: 4

The great thing about walking the streets of Delhi is happening upon a random roadside food stall. Typically it is either someone selling some variation of chaat , chai or cooking something over coals. There was one vendor I would occasionally visit who would change his simple menu with the seasons. Most memorable was his winter dish of boiled sweet potato which caramelized as it was reheated over the coals. A close second was his monsoon special of aromatic bhuna bhutta (roasted corn). He would take fresh cobs of corn and slowly roast them until the outside was a deep brown. He would then dip a wedge of lemon into a chilli/salt mixture and liberally spread it all over the cob. I loved getting the heat from the spices and the smokiness from the grilling. I always anticipated the juicy tender kernels of the sweet corn that my family would buy from the Mennonite farms in our area (when in Ontario) but would find the kernels from the street vendor slightly chewier than I would prefer (due to the variety of corn grown around Delhi).

Ingredients

1 or 2 cobs of corn per person, shucked and well cleaned
3 tbsp chaat masala
¼ wedge of lime per cob of corn
finely chopped coriander
salt, and pepper if desired
dental floss for afterwards!!

Instructions

Preheat grill/ barbeque until very hot. Place cobs of corn over medium high heat and grill for 10-15 minutes. The corn needs to be periodically rotated so that it all cooks evenly. The kernels should be nicely browned or even just lightly blackened. As the corn cooks, mix cayenne, cumin and smoky paprika in a shallow bowl. Cut limes into quarters. Remove the corn from grill and set aside. Take a lime wedge and lightly press each cut side into the spice mixture.

Quick Homemade Chaat Masala

If you do not have chaat masala you can simply make a quick spice mixture with the following spices:

Tbsp cayenne (reduce cayenne if you prefer less ‘heat’)

Tbsp ground cumin

Tbsp ground paprika

Notes

If you prefer, you can pre boil the corn and then grill, if desired. But the grilling times will be reduced to about 5-8 minutes.

Goan Green Coriander and Coconut Chutney

Serves: (makes 1 ¼ cup)

The best version of this recipe that I tasted was shared with me by Aggi, the owner of The Cozy Nook Resort on Palolem beach in South Goa. I’m not sure if it was the slow burning sunset, the bottles of beer or the conversation of remaining longer on this paradise beach but the balance of flavours of Aggi’s chutney were well balanced and fantastic. The chutney is typically served with Portuguese inspired bread rolls, pau, a buttermilk-like soft roll. On occasion, I reduce the amount of coconut and increase the amount of coriander to make a somewhat looser chutney. I then spread it in the opening of a small fish, like red snapper, then broil or grill it for a simple meal.

Ingredients

2 cups coriander leaves
½ cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen (unsweetened desiccated can be used in a pinch)
2 green cayenne chillies
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp ginger
4 tbsp tamarind liquid or chutney
1 tsp jaggery or sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Roughly chop the coriander. Place all ingredients in a blender. Puree for a minute. Scrape down the sides of the blender bowl with a spatula to incorporate all of the ingredients. Puree again. If you find that the mixture is not becoming a fine paste, add some water, a tablespoon each time, to get the ingredients to blend well. You may need to add up to 3-4 tbsp of water depending on your blender. The texture of the chutney should be similar to a pesto. Refrigerate for 2 days.

Tomato, cucumber, radish and herb salad. Also known as kachumber or Indian chopped salad

Kachumber Salad

Serves: 4

Kachumber (or kachoomber) salad is typically a small dice of cucumber, tomato and onion accented with some chile and ground cumin, occasionally mixed with yogurt raita style, and served as a side dish to a meal- whether a simple paratha, dal, biryani or curry. There are many regional variations all over India. I love eating salads, but slightly chunkier and perhaps more ‘Western’ in style.

Ingredients

1 cup tomatoes (preferably heirloom), cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
¾ cup red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup bell pepper (preferably yellow, red or a mixture), cored, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 green cayenne chile, finely chopped
1tsp cumin seeds, toasted, finely ground
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of 1 lime (2-3 tbsp)
¼ cup coriander leaves, roughly torn or chopped
2 tbsp cup mint, roughly torn or chopped

Instructions

Place cut vegetables, chile and herbs in a large bowl and season with ground cumin (to your taste), salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lime juice and toss well and serve immediately.

NOTE: This was originally posted on my blog India On My Plate September 21, 2011

This is the first blog from our trip around the south of India where we hope to find some of the rapidly disappearing foods of the area. As a result of the huge social, environmental and economic changes taking place across India, many of these traditional recipes, ingredients and methods of preparing food are vanishing. This blog will document our travels in the south of India.

WORDS by Cameron Stauch, IMAGES by Jason Taylor

We made our way from Mumbai to Goa and stayed with some good friends of Jason. Aggi shared with use two different versions of the Goan style chorizo sausage which had some nice heat and texture to them. He also shared with us a simple green coriander coconut chutney and some local bread to spread it on. It tasted absolutely fresh and was addictive!

Driving along the highway, just before you cross the border into Karnataka we stopped along the side of the road for some chai and breakfast. Our driver, Sanjay, said they made a good potato samosa. The potato filling was delicately spiced, yet well balanced, with turmeric, onions, green chillies, mustard seeds and fresh coriander. Unlike in the north where a flour dough is wrapped around the potato filling, this filling was made into balls and then dipped into a chickpea flour batter and deep fried. Once we all tasted Suresh’s fantastic Potato Dumplings we each devoured a few more. This simple meal had been the best we had eaten in days.

We arrived in the north coastal port town of Karwar. I had read about the good Konkani dishes served at Amrut Hotel so we ventured in to meet the owner, S.R. Neelavar. Fortunately for us his grandson, Bhaarath, was in charge that day and we explained to him what we were doing in Karwar. As he made some phone calls his kitchen sent out a lovely clam sukhe (clams lightly dressed in a red chilli coconut sauce). The clams were tender and every once in a while a small sweet chunk of coconut would counterbalance the heat from the red chillies.

Bhaarath introduced us to Satish, manager of Riveredge Retreat about 19 kilometres outside Karwar. Little did we know how knowledgeable, hospitable and helpful Satish could be. He led us to daily fish market where we saw the wives of local fishermen selling clams, mackerel, crabs, oysters, shrimp, shad and tiny white fish. The seafood seemed too good to pass up so we bought some for dinner along with some local amaranth greens and fresh coconut. That night we had some lovely seafood and a great dish of sautéed amaranth greens with grated coconut and tiny shrimps.

Satish had arranged for us the next day to visit the home of a highly regarded cook in the village of Hankon. As we arrived Rukmani was just finishing her morning pooja. Rukmani guided us through several traditional dishes. It was amazing to see her work the stone masala grinder. She would move the large stone rhythmically counter clockwise while at the same time using her right hand to push any masala which came out of the grinding hole back into it. Although using the stone grinder takes longer than a modern mixer she feels that the flavour of a dish is far superior. She felt similarly about the fuel she cooked with. Rukmani used the gas burners in her modern kitchen only for making tea or if she was late getting the food together. She much preferred cooking over coals at the back of the house, as again, she felt the masala cooked more gently and resulted in a much tastier dish. Rukmani made us a light morning snack of rice gruel with a dried clam, chilli and coconut chutney. We followed this with some tea and a great coconut peanut laddoo delicately flavoured with fresh cardamom made by the mother of Nisha, her daughter in law.

Rukmani in her kitchen serving up one of the two fish curries.

Using virtually the same masala ingredients but in different quantities, Rukmani made two fish curries: one with mackerel and the other with a river fish. The mackerel was unique in that the sauce had a lovely citrus aroma to it due to a local dried berry, pepper-anise. The river fish curry on the other hand tasted much sweeter due to the flavour of the fish and the use of more grated coconut. Lunch was finished with a unique mung dal coconut jaggery dessert. Rukmani and her family were extremely hospitable and she was happy to share some of her culinary secrets with us. We felt very honoured to have been welcomed into their home.

Two plates with the ingredients for the mackerel and the sweet water fish curries.

After preparing the Mackerel, Rukmani washes the fish with sweet water from her garden well.

The following day we met Sailash who invited us to go and collect clams in the brackish water (a mixture of salty sea water and sweet river water) outside his village. Sailash, along with two of his fishing friends, taught us how to use our feet to find the river clams two to three inches below the sandy bottom. We met several village women also collecting clams in the low, thigh high, tide. Sailash then took us to the mangroves along the shore to collect the much larger black clams.Shailesh spends much of his time wading through the shallow waters of the estuary using his feet to find clams buried in the sands.

By using the heels of their feet and walking backwards, local fishermen are able to lift the clams from the warm shallow waters of the rivers estuary.

Taking the clams back home for lunch.

We then returned back to his home for lunch where his wife, Seejal, made a spicy clam and crab curry with our fresh catch. Her version of mackerel rava fry (fish coated with a semolina crust) was particularly tasty.

Clam and crab being cooked by Sejal, Shailesh’s wife, before adding a coriander, onion and chilly curry.

Mackerel fry.

As we have travelled along the north coastal region of Karnataka, we met and talked with many people. Many agree that traditions must be shared – and that biodiversity begins in the kitchen.

and some more images.

Mackerel being sold in Karwar fish market. These locally caught fish are part of the west coasts staple diet and are either used dry fried or in a curry.