Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Tandoori spiced Grilled Lobster Tails

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Tandoori spiced grilled Lobster Tails – Juicy and packed with flavour, try this easy and quick recipe on the BBQ

Although the past few days have been quite rainy and grey, we did manage to catch some sun on Sunday afternoon. It was a great opportunity to get the BBQ out and enjoy some grilled seafood.

Our back garden has a little area at the back which is perfect to fire up the grills, it has the benefit of being sheltered from the wind thanks to a massive pine cone tree.

Iceland Luxury Canadian Lobster Tails

I have been eyeing the frozen Luxury Canadian lobster tails in the freezer at Iceland for many weeks now and Sunday presented just the right opportunity to get them out from the freezer and onto the grill. Though I have cheated and used a ready-to-use tandoori masala mix for my recipe, it is dead easy to create the masala on your own. But when faced with only a 2-3 hour window when the sun is shining down on us, I had to act fast!

Iceland Luxury Canadian Lobster Tails

We are big fans of seafood in our family and last week I had worked on creating a very easy spice rub for grilled fish. You can use this spice rub for prawns on skewers or for dusting onto whole fish like those frozen sardines that you get at Iceland too.

Lobster tails on the BBQ

Now let me warn you that though it may appear that we had the perfect BBQ, it was right after a heavy downpour, which can catch you unawares, so it’s best to not wait for the sun to appear but stock up your freezer with your favourites from the frozen range that Iceland has to offer. I always have frozen kale, green peas, and some fish in our freezer. But the sheer variety of vegetables, fish, meat, and meat all ready to go on the BBQ will leave you spoilt for choice. From juicy prawns to succulent kebabs there is something for everyone to choose from. And if the weather does play spoil-sport then my recipe will give great results even when made using a pan indoors.

Iceland Lobster tails
Iceland Luxury Canadian Lobster Tails

Tandoori Lobster Tails

Manjiri Chitnis
Savour ataste of India with my easy to make juicy tandoori lobster tails, buttery andspicy all at once
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • BBQ

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pack from Iceland Frozen lobster tails
  • 2 tbsp Melted Butter –
  • 1 tbsp Ready tandoori masala mix
  • 1 Onion for the garnish
  • 1/2 Lime for the garnish

Instructions
 

  • Ideally, allow the lobster tails to defrost overnight in the refrigerator, but with our unpredictable weather try my easy method for an instant defrost – hold the lobster tails under running tap water to remove any ice clinging to the tails
  • Then place them into a zip-lock pouch and hold it under running water. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes and then repeat the process twice
  • Use a sharp kitchen knife or scissors and cut a u-shaped piece of the hard shell from the back of the lobster shell to reveal the vein. Ensure you remove the entire vein. Alternatively, after the BBQ, the shell comes off more easily and the vein is visible more clearly as it is dark black in colour and comes off very easily. Either way, just ensure you remove the vein before tucking in
  • Melt the butter in the microwave and add the tandoori masala powder into it
  • Use a brush to apply the spice mix generously to the fleshy bit of the lobster tail
  • Allow the marinade to work its magic while the BBQ gets going
  • Place the lobster tails fleshly bit down first
  • The tails begin to turn a bright orange colour when turned over, just ensure that you do not overcook as the fleshy bit will taste very dry
  • Hot off the BBQ pour some melted butter and squeeze half a lime over the tails
  • Serve with thin rings of sliced red onion and corn on the cob smothered in chilli butter
Lobster tails
Lobster tails

I would recommend serving grilled seafood like fish, lobster tails, or prawns on skewers along with grilled corn on the cob. Iceland freshly frozen mini corn cobs – 625gm for £1 is such a budget-friendly delight to have in the freezer.

Tandoori Lobster Tails Recipe by Manjiri of Travelsfortaste
Tandoori Lobster Tails Recipe by Manjiri of Travelsfortaste

The Power of Frozen gives you quality and value that is not expected for luxury seafood especially lobster tails. All the natural flavours are sealed in and when you bite into a juicy lobster tail you can rest assured that the nutritional goodness is intact.

Tandoori Lobster Tails Recipe by Manjiri of Travelsfortaste

To complete our seafood BBQ feast, I choose Iceland’s 4 haddock frozen fillets. It was a tough choice compared to the 4 boneless Atlantic salmon steaks but personally, I love haddock and how it takes up Indian spice rub flavours over other fish.

Iceland haddock fillets
Iceland haddock fillets

Find the recipe for my spice mix here

Tandoori spiced BBQ Haddock recipe by Manjiri of www.travelsfortaste.com
Tandoori spiced BBQ Haddock recipe by Manjiri of www.travelsfortaste.com
BBQ haddock fillets
This post was commissioned by Iceland. As always all opinions are my own.

Homemade Spice Rub

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Spice rub for everything from Vegetables to meat and seafood

Elevate the taste profile of your grilled or roast vegetables ( or seafood or meat) with this delicious homemade spice rub.

Now I have tried this spice mix on broccoli, kale, and roast potatoes and it always works wonders. But we have loved it most with fish. Grilled, BBQ’ed, fried, steamed, or baked – we love eating fish in our house and I have created my own recipe for an Indian spice rub. I used this on haddock fillets on the BBQ this Sunday and the result was very satisfying. Even with frozen fish fillets straight out of the freezer onto the hot grill, the spice mix hit all the right notes.

Spices - fragrant, warm and fresh

It was incredibly easy to create this spice rub at home using my Optimum G.21 Platinum blender, the panel has six pre-programmed functions which are a real no brainer and one of those functions is ‘Grind’. I try and use my Froothie blender as much as possible and not just for my morning smoothies, it has just made my life that much simpler!

Homemade Spice Rub

Manjiri Chitnis
Homemade spice rub – Versatilespice mix works perfectly well for vegetables like cauliflower, mushrooms,potatoes. Great with chicken chicken , lamb and seafood especially for fishsteaks and prawns
Print Recipe
Prep Time 2 minutes
Total Time 2 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • High-speed blender

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 tsp Peppercorns
  • 2 Cloves
  • 1 Dry Kashmiri Red Chilli
  • 1 Badi Elaichi or black cardamom
  • 3 Green cardamom – without the outer green pod
  • 2 cloves Garlic peeled
  • Cinnamon stick – roughly the length of the tip of your thumb
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp Cumin/ jeera
  • 1 tsp Amchoor powder / dried mango powder
  • 1 tbsp Kasoori methi
  • 1 Heaped tbsp fried onion
  • 1 tbsp Coriander seeds lightly roasted on a pan
  • 1 Whole round Red Chilli
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
  • a tiny pinch of Asafoetida

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients into a grinder and blend till you get a grainy consistency
  • Do not grind to a very smooth paste because the texture this consistency will lend to the fish, will hit the right spot on your palate. A finer texture I think would work better for meat
  • Though this spice rub is suitable for freezing, since it contains garlic and fried onion, I would not advise keeping in the freezer for over 10-15 days
  • If you make a small batch and little remains, try adding into your curry for a lift in flavour
  • If you do not deal well with spicy red chilli flavours, then rule out the whole round red chilli completely and instead add a small pinch of paprika just for a hint of flavour
Keyword Spice mix

Homemade spice rub for grilling vegetables, meat, and seafood

These quantities yield enough spice mix for 2 medium-sized fillets with a little leftover. If you want to use it for 4 or 6 fillets simply double the quantities.

Fresh spices

Why not try my recipes for Tandoori spiced grilled Lobster tails and Haddock fillets with this spice rub?

Homemade spice rub

*This post has affiliate links.

A slice of Costa Rica – Casado

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With summer firmly on it’s way out and Autumn settling in, the chilly nights demand some great comfort food. I wanted to try something different so I choose a popular Costa Rican dish – Casado. Why? Well, it’s the ideal comfort food, easy to put together and tastes amazing! Best part is it’s very easy on the pocket and if you plate it well, it looks like a posh meal – no one would guess what went into making it!

Costa Rican Casado

Costa Rican Casado

Casado literally means a ‘married man’ and it is said that the name probably originates from how the local men expected food to be served when they were eating outside so that it reminded them of familiar tastes of a home cooked meal. An authentic Casado which is served at ‘sodas’ or local cafes is accompanied by what is known as a Lizano sauce. The brand name Lizano is now generic and retails in N. America.  Since this sauce is yet to hit UK shores ( believe me I did a fair bit of looking around in shops that sell Mexican ingredients, Asian, Carribean and most of my local supermarkets) I finally decided to make my own ,which was a great decision – why ? Well scope to experiment and innovate for one, coupled with freedom to incorporate easy to procure, local ingredients – resulting in a deliciously moorish creation! A traditional root vegetables dish from Costa Rico called Picadillo is a popular side dish with rice and tortillas. You can safely say that the gravy sauce is a marriage of sorts between the Lizano sauce and the Picadillo. I have done a fair amount of customisation and the most interesting part of cooking Casado was creating the gravy sauce, combining it with root vegetables and serving it as a wholesome gravy side dish. Let’s get started with the sauce aka gravy as this will take the most time to cook of all the other sides.

Costa Rican Casado

Costa Rican Casado

Recipe is good for 2 with generous helpings.

Root Vegetable Gravy Side

Prep & Cooking Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium juicy tomato – finely chopped
  • 2 small red onions finely chopped
  • 3 medium carrots chopped into tiny cubes
  • 3 small sweet fresh peppers finely chopped
  • A handful of cauliflower florets
  • A handful of very finely chopped sweet potato
  • 1 heaped tbsp of finely grated celeriac
  • A pinch of garlic puree
  • Half a dry red Kashmiri chilli
  • ½ tsp of thick tamarind puree
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
  • 2 tsp freshly grated black pepper
  •  1/2 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • Salt as per taste
  • A handful of finely chopped coriander

Method:

  1. In a large saucepan, heat oil and add the chopped onions, add the garlic puree and cumin powder and stir well.
  2. When the onion starts to reduce add the bay leaves, the chopped tomato and chopped sweet peppers, stir the the tomato & peppers around vigorously bit to get them to release their juices and reduce the flame to a minimum.
  3. Throw in the finely chopped carrot cubes, sweet potato, grated celeriac, tomato puree and add enough water to cover this mixture.
  4. Cook with lid on till the sweet potato and carrots begin to soften, then it’s time to toss in the cauliflower florets, season with the dry red chilli,tamarind,cracked black pepper, salt and sugar and give it a good stir.
  5. Let this cook on a low flame with lid for about 25 minutes.
  6. Keep opening the lid, stirring and adjusting the water if it becomes to run dry, we need a gravy like consistency.
  7. When it done, add some finely chopped coriander in the tamarind should give it a bit of tangy twist, while the dried Kashmiri chilli gives it colour and mild heat, the sweet pepper and tomato puree work their magic together and the gravy is delicious and wholesome what with so many veggies hidden inside!

Root Vegetable Gravy Sauce

Red Kidney bean side

Prep and Cooking Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of red kidney beans
  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 2 large tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp garlic puree
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. In a large saucepan, heat oil and sauté the chopped onions, add the garlic puree and stir well.
  2. After the onion has sautéed, add the tomato puree and stir then add the beans and mix well.

Red onions for Kidney Beans

Red onions for Kidney Beans

  1. Add some water to the mixture and reduce the flame to a minimum, cook with a lid on but check often so that it does not burn or run dry.
  2. 4.Since the canned and ready to eat red kidney beans are preserved in salty water, check the taste before adding in any more salt, chuck in some dry red chilli flakes for flavour and set aside.

Red Kidney Bean side is done

Red Kidney Bean side is done

Boiled white rice

  • Cook 1 cup rice using exactly double the water and a pinch of salt

Fried Plantain

  • Peel and chop the plantain into large chunks and fry in hot oil in a kadhai or wok until they are a light brown. It’s easy for them to char so get them out as soon as the colour turns a golden shade of brown, allow to cool on a plate on a bit of kitchen roll to soak excess oil.

Plaintains peeled

  • Don’t fret if like me you can’t peel the plantain I simply use a knife and remove the thick green skin, even if that means that the plantain pieces are hexagonal or cubes now, well I never was too good at geometry 😉

Frying Plantains in Kadhai

Fish

  • Casado can be served with meat, fish or chicken. Chop one large fillet of fresh salmon and pan fry both sides till done in about 1 tbsp oil.

Salmon Pan Shallow Fry

Cheese Tortilla

  • Heat a large flour tortilla –shop bought on a pan and adds a generous helping of grated parmesan cheese on tortilla. Just as the tortilla heats up and the cheese shows sign of melting fold the tortilla in half and flip over and toast each side till you have a crispy yum cheesy tortilla, slice into neat triangles ready to be served.

Tortilla on pan with grated cheddar

Cabbage Salad

  • Chop a fresh cabbage fine to get one large handful of cabbage, add half a red onion and a small handful of finely chopped cucumber, squeeze half a lime, sprinkle some cracked black pepper, a small amount of fresh finely chopped coriander and toss all these together. Easy-peasy right?

Folded Tortilla

Serve the steaming hot rice with the salmon on the side, topped with some of the root vegetable gravy. Mop up the beans with the cheesy tortilla and munch on the sweet fried plantain with generous bites of the tangy cabbage salad in between mouthfuls of everything else.

Costa Rican Casado

Costa Rican Casado

Whole Sea Bass steamed with a Rainbow side salad

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A delicious and healthy steamed fish recipe perfect for stay in #FishFriday night dinner or a lovely brunch on a lazy afternoon. The accompanying salad is colourful and full of fresh veggies that’s why I choose to call it a Rainbow Salad.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sea bass scaled and gutted
  • 1 large lemon
  • 2 sprigs of Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Chives
  • Garlic sea salt
  • Red Chilli powder

Whole Sea Bass

For the steamed veggies on the side

  • 2 small carrots per person
  • Handful of green peas person

For the Rainbow Side Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 fresh pepper (capsicum)
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1/2 a courgette
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 tbsp Red wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • Sea salt
  • Olive Oil

Beautiful whole Sea Bass seasoned

Method:

To steam the fish

  • Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C 
  • Wash the fish and place on the foil.
  • Stuff the lemon wedges inside the fish along with the Chives, rosemary and thyme.
  • Sprinkle generously with sea salt, red chilli powder and a drizzle of olive oil
  • Wrap the fish in the foil parcel and cook in the oven until it has cooked through, should take about 20-25 minutes.
  • Steam the veggies in a steamer.

To make the Rainbow Salad:

  • Chop all the vegetables into tiny bite sized cubes.
  • Place chopped veggies in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil and add the red wine vinegar.
  • Season well with sea salt and add a generous sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper.
  • Mix well

To Serve

  • Plate a portion of the fish and serve the steamed carrots and peas on the side.
  • Serve a generous helping of the crunchy veggies salad.

Whole steamed sea bass with a Rainbow salad

Here is another recipe to try if you are cooking sea bass:

Easy three peppercorn Baked fish recipe, Knorr Giveaway – Closed

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After the masterclass with Master Chef Marco Pierre White, where he cooked us steak in Knorr Beef stock cube and served it with a creamy three peppercorn sauce – I was hooked onto the taste of the Knorr three peppercorn flavour pot. This mix of 3 peppercorns will add a depth of flavour to your dishes. Whether used in a straightforward steak sauce or a luxury pork stroganoff, this little pot will instantly add a touch of indulgence to your meal.

Unilever has agreed to Giveaway TWO lucky winners a chance to WIN one of TWO goody bags PACKED to the brim with Knorr flavour pots and stock cubes. These stock pots have been created by Chef Cameron Healy who is part of a team of dedicated professional chefs, based at Knorr Headquarters, who work together to develop Knorr’s culinary creations, with good food, convenience and innovation as the main thought process behind these products.

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As you know by now I love seafood and I simply cannot resist buying fresh fish. Last week on my way home from work I saw fresh herring at the supermarket and just had to bring home some for dinner. I wanted a very light quick and easy fish dish which I could have with a heavy creamy soup so I rustled up this easy baked fish. Since we were already going to consume a creamy soup I wanted to avoid using single cream to make any gravy sauce.

This baked fish recipe is a super quick and easy meal idea with very few ingredients and makes for a delicious meal. Served with a fresh leafy baby kale and cherry tomato salad it makes a refreshingly light choice. No oil is used in this dish and though the butter is 2 tbsp it is the only thing that you will add other than the flavour pot. Besides Herring are very high in the long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, they are also a source of vitamin D.

A low – calorie meal for two readies in under 25 minutes – can it get any better? Think not!

I have used the Knorr three peppercorn flavour pot that was in my goody bag which all loggers received at the end of a day packed with masterclasses spent at the Unilever headquarter in the U.K at Leatherhead.

If you love cooking with the flavour of fresh herbs and spices, but prefer the convenience of dried, Knorr flavour pots allow you to create delicious meals infused with aromatic and fresh flavours in no time at all AND with the very same convenience that dried products offer.

Knorr three peppercorn Baked fish recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 whole herrings fresh – with the head and tail removed.
  • Smoked sea salt
  • 1 and half Knorr three peppercorn flavour pots
  • 1 large red onion finely chopped
  • 2 heaped tbsp butter
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Method:

  • Pre-Heat the oven to 180 °C. Keep the butter out so that it is not straight from the fridge
  • Wash the herring fish under running tap water. I asked the fishmonger to slit it through the middle and clean it from inside for me after removing the head and the tail.
  • Place the fish on baking parchment in a baking tray and sprinkle liberally with Maldon smoked sea salt.

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  • Wrap the parchment to make a neat parcel.

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  • Bake the fish in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 °C.
  • Meanwhile, heat a heavy-bottom pan on medium heat.
  • When the pan is at add 2 heaped tbsp of butter.
  • Add in the bay leaf and then finely chopped onion and finely chopped garlic with skins. Then add in the Knorr three peppercorn flavour pots and cook until the onion has gone soft.

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  • Once the fish has been baked, remove from the oven and allow for the steam to escape.

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  • When you can hold the fish in your hand without scalding remove the skin which should come of pretty easily and remove the bone, it comes straight off which is great, one clean sweep. Don’t worry if the fish falls apart, it will still taste amazing!
  • Plate each fish onto 2 plates.

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  • Place the onion onto the fish and serve with baby kale and chopped cherry tomatoes. If you wish to sprinkle some sea salt on the salad leaves.

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WIN one of TWO goody bags PACKED to the brim with Knorr flavour pots and stock cubes

Each GOODY BAG from KNORR contains :

  • 2 x Mexican Flavour Pot
  • 2x Garden Herbs Flavour Pot
  • 2 x Paprika Flavour Pot
  • 2x Ginger and Lemongrass Flavour Pot
  • 2x Curry Flavour Pot
  • 2x Garlic Flavour Pot
  • 2x Mixed Chillies Flavour Pot
  • 2x Fish Stock Cube
  • 2x Pork Stock Cube
  • 2x Ham Stock Cube
  • 2 x Chicken Stock Pot
  • 2 x Beef Stock Pot
  • 2 x Veg Stock Pot

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How to enter the giveaway:

You too could WIN ONE of TWO of these GOODY BAGS from KNORR PACKED with exciting products from the flavour pots and stock sauces range, all you have to do is :

  1. Follow me on twitter – @manjirichitnis
  2. Like my Facebook page and leave your Facebook name as part of your comment.
  3. Follow me on Instagram
  4. Tweet out the following –  with 1 of 2 GOODY BAGS with Flavour Pots & Stock Cubes, Baked fish recipe
  5. Leave a comment below telling me which is your favourite herb, your Facebook name used to like my FB page, your Instagram handle. I will find you on twitter via the hashtag so it’s not required for you to mention your twitter handle in the comments. Do not share your email id in the comments, please.

Knorr_Flavour Pots_Mixed Chillies (Copy)

Please have a read through the Terms and Conditions below:

  • Winners will be picked using Random Number.
  • Deadline for entering this contest is 15th January’ 2015 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K except for Scotland and Ireland.
  • All entrants must be 18 years old and above.
  • Two lucky winners will be chosen using a random number generator.
  • The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post. Neither Knorr or I am liable for any damage of hamper and / or contents in transit.
  • Please allow a minimum of 15 days for delivery of the prize, which may reach earlier or later. The goody bags will be sent directly by Knorr.
  • The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
  • I retain the right to DISQUALIFY any entrant who does not complete all the 3 steps mentioned above.
  • The winner will be notified on 16th January’ 2015  on Twitter by me and here on my blog post. I shall tag the 2 winners on Twitter via their twitter ids. If you are declared as the winner you agree to allow me and Knorr to contact you via email id to arrange for the goody bag to be sent out to you.
  • If the TWO winners fail to respond by 18th January’ 2015   then other winners will be chosen.

*With thanks to Unilever and the Knorr PR team for arranging the fabulous gifts for the two goody bags. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. References Wiki.

While you are here why not have a look at the other giveaways on my blog and increase your chances of winnings cool freebies!?!

  • Win one beautiful Hotel Chocolat gift bag with fabulous cocoa cuisine products, to participate click here.
  • CLOSED Win a box of Chef Inspirations Saveurs Du Monde Box of 16 chocolates from Godiva, to participate click here– CLOSED.
  • CLOSED Win 5 delicious sauces from the WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces, to participate click here – CLOSED.

1-Knorr flavour and stock images

Low calorie, baked white fish, ready in under 30 minutes

CKP style King Fish fish curry

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CKP style King Fish fish curry

Leaving your home country and more importantly leaving behind your near and dear ones is never easy. I sorely miss a lot of things about my life back home and one of the things I miss most is lazy Sunday afternoons at my parent’s place. Like any typical teenager if you do move out from home during college years you would be better off dealing with moving out your parents after you get married but I never lived away from my parents and it was only after I was married that hubster and I moved into our own place, which happened to be very close to my mum’s!

CKP style Seer Fish Curry recipe

So most Sunday afternoons we would make our way to mum’s and Baba would be helping Aai cook our favourite Sunday meal of chicken curry and rice, or sometimes when he was in a mood for seafood he would go Supekar’s fish market and queue up for fresh Surmai (Marathi Surmai /सुरमई चे कालवण, Indo-Pacific king mackerel or popularly spotted seer fish-Scomberomorus guttatus), Pomfret and my fav fresh prawns Ummm!

Fresh Fish Market – Pune, Maharashtra, India

CKP Surmai Kalvan Recipe

This recipe for Surmai/Kingfish /Mackerel curry is his favourite and I love how Aai (means mother in Marathi my mother tongue)makes it so very delicious using a traditional hand me down recipe typical to the CKP community (Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP), is an ethnoreligious community of South Asia). We call it Surmaiche Kalvan (सुरमई चे कालवण) – Kalvan means curry in Marathi. If we were in Pune today I would most certainly have surprised Baba by cooking up a feast for him and Aai. Baba this post is for you and for Aai thank you for being the most parents anyone could ever ask for, the best childhood ever and for believing in us, for being the strong presence every girl wants her father to be. I love you more than words can say Baba and I miss you heaps and tons!

सुरमई चे कालवण

CKP Style King Fish curry Recipe

C.K.P Style King Fish curry Recipe

Manjiri Chitnis
Heirloom reipe for an authentic recipe from Maharashtra, India from the C.K.P community – King Fish curry Recipe
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 medium-sized Surmai ( King Fish/ Seer Fish) fillets
  • 3 tbsp Coriander and Green chilli paste
  • 2 tsp Ginger – Garlic paste
  • 2 tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • 4 cloves Garlic cloves with skin on
  • 3 tbsp Grated Coconut
  • 1 small pinch Asafoetida/Hing
  • 2 tbsp Refined Oil
  • 1/4 Lime Juice
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh coriander a tiny palmful washed and finely chopped for garnishing

Instructions
 

  • Wash the Surmai/Kingfish /Mackerel steaks/ fillets
  • Marinate fillets with red chilli powder, turmeric, salt, ginger-garlic paste, coriander – green chilli paste and set aside for at least 40 minutes
  • Heat oil in a saucepan, add a pinch of asafoetida and then add the crushed garlic cloves with their skins on and as they start to brown
  • Add the marinated fish and toss around in the hot oil for 30 seconds
  • Add the finely grated fresh coconut, stir in enough water to ensure that the curry is the right consistency, not too thick and cook on a low flame with lid for about under 5 minutes.
  • Fresh fish cooks very quickly, do take care not to over cook the fillets
  • Add salt as required bearing in mind that when the fish was marinated salt was used
  • Squeeze the lime juice into the curry
  • Garnish with finely chopped fresh green coriander (cilantro) leaves
  • Serve with steaming hot boiled rice and allow yourself to enjoy this simple yet classic fish curry
Keyword Surmai Curry

Washed fresh fillets of King Fish or Surmai or Seer Fish


This is another fabulous recipe that originates from the western coast of India, the Konkan coastline, dotted by beautiful coconut trees, the coastline is abundantly blessed with fresh seafood and natural scenic beauty read beautiful beaches with soft sands and plenty of sunshine. A lot of people would also add tamarind paste to the curry but we do not. Tamarind trees are also found in abundance

If you are looking for fresh Kingfish in London the best place to find it is at supermarkets like H-Mart. The Kingfish that you will get here is from the North  Atlantic waters. You can also buy Wahoo steaks from Wing Yip but the taste is not as pronounced and the flesh is not as tender, besides wahoo steaks are bigger and need more seasoning and should be consumed on the same day to enjoy flavours which are at their best in a freshly made fish curry. I’d say they taste better in a curry than fried and if you do fry them do add a large squeeze of lime after you have fired them. Since the Kingfish belongs to the Mackerel family, the mackerel will take all these marinade flavours beautifully and works well both fried and in a curry Konkani style.

My traditional CKP Surmai kalvan/curry recipe works well with pomfret too.

EXPLORE MORE RECIPES FROM MAHARASHTRA, INDIA:

Healthy Baked White Fish with a mint and spice dressing

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Ladies this one is to be bookmarked and is perfect for any day when you want to treat  your taste buds and yet not load on the calories.

Serves:2  Prep Time:5 Minutes Marination time :20 minutes In the Oven: 15 – 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

  • Fry Lite or olive oil 4 tsp
  • 2 thick white fish fillets – I use Haddock
  • 2 tbsp mint and coriander dressing
  • 2 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 2 tsp red chilli  powder
  • 2 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • Handful of finely chopped spring onion
  • Handful of chives finely chopped
  • Freshly cracked black pepper to garnish
  • sea salt for garnish
  • 1/2 lemon juice for garnish

Method:

  • Wash the fillets and place on a large dish to apply the marinade.
  • Sprinkle the red chilli powder, turmeric,coriander,cumin,salt and along with the ginger garlic paste and mint and coriander dressing mix well and totally coat the fish.
  • Marinate the fish for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to seep in and develop.
  • In a baking tray use just 4 sprays of fry lite and spread evenly across the tray, add the chopped spring onion and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
  • Place the marinated fish on this and sprinkle the finely chopped chives on the top.

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  • Pre heat the oven to 200°C and bake for 15- 20 minutes.
  • Garnish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
  • Serve with a side of salad leaves and cherry tomatoes and a soft crusty baguette.

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I know the photographs here look terrible but honestly by the time I got the fish ready on Sunday it was almost 3pm, had a lazy start to the day and by then the light was gone so even after cleaning up the image it is quite sorry looking and is no way doing justice to this awesome dish! I do hope that I can get better pictures next time!

I do hope you enjoy this recipe and share your thoughts if you make it! Cheers!

Just in the nick of time, I have entered this original recipe creation in the #Cookingwithherbs challenge by Karen Burns-Booth on her blog Lavender and Lovage. The theme for January 2014 is citrusy and herbs, this fish definitely has it all and a citrusy bang! I wonder why I haven’t entered this challenge in the past, most of the dishes use so many herbs especially lime, oh well, here’s to a fresh start!



Cooking with Herbs








Tasty Fish Dish in £1 – ready in 10 minutes – Raising awareness about extreme poverty and hunger


 by  6 Comments 
Hearty home-made fish dinner on a tight budget? Yes, it is possible!


Recently, I read about living below a line challenge. The challenge is to feed your family by spending not more than £1 a day for 5 days. Why? To help put conservation around poverty into perspective. How the world views hunger, extreme poverty and issues related to poverty is an important conversation to have. For example, reading a hard-hitting fact like this one helped me understand how bad the issue of global hunger really is – ‘Hunger kills more than aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined’.


Please do visit The Hunger Project website to read about the challenge in detail. You can also donate, help fundraiser and do your bit to help end world hunger. World Hunger Day is on the 28th of May.


This recipe is basically to support some blogger friends who along with their families which includes their young children took up this tough challenge. But honestly, if someone told me I could make a fish main in £1 I would laugh aloud and make them a cup of tea to help them feel normal again. But trust me on this one you really can make a very delicious side dish and serve it with a spicy rice main for 2 adults for 2 main meals. Yes, it is possible to be thrifty and yet feed your family for less without compromising on taste.


When my friend S told me the easy-peasy recipe I just had to buy myself a pack from my new fav supermarket. This is probably the easiest recipe for a side dish ever.


Total prep time: Under 10 minutes Serves:2 adults as a side for 2 main meals


Ingredients:


    

  • Sprat Fish pack – contains about 20-25 fishes and costs around 90p to 95p
    • 

  • Turmeric powder 1 tsp
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  • Red Chilli Powder -1.5tsp
    • 

  • 2 small hot green chillies sliced in a slant
    • 

  • Salt to taste
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  • a pinch of Asafoetida
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  • Oil – 2 tsp
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  • 4 tsp Colmans Mustard
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  • 1 tsp hot BBQ Mustard – don’t worry if you don’t have this just add half a teaspoon of paprika to 1 tsp of any mustard that you have lying around and mix half tsp of  BBQ sauce into this for a smoky flavour.
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Recipe:


    

  • Wash the fish well under tap water and handle gently as it’s a small delicate creature and needs some fawning over but hey not much fuss I tell ya! But its all worth it because even my hubby apprehension that this fish has loads of tiny bones were all gone as he clicked his fingers after the meal 🙂
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  • Heat a saucepan and  add 1sp oil, add asafoetida and the turmeric powder and salt and then the washed Sprat fish
    • 

  • Gently sautee them for about 1 minute or until you see the skin start to come off, don’t overdo it as they need to cook with the mustard in the next step.
    • 



Sprat has been sauteed 


    

  • Remove the fish into a clean bowl and in the same sauce on a very low flame add another tsp oil, both the mustards pastes, chopped green chillies, red chilli powder and then the fish.
    • 

  • As it is a delicate fish it will cook quickly and as it does the big bone that runs lengthwise inside this tiny fish will be easy to remove and so you can get the head off to, I am not squeamish but my husband is and he refuses to eat the eyes but they are supposed to be packed with iron and fish itself is high on Omega 3 fatty acids, the good stuff your body needs. Mothers who breastfeed and consume fish are said to help give the baby better eyesight which is due to the high content Omega 3 fatty acids. Not only that as this recipe contains turmeric it has a heap of health benefits especially the fact that it helps people struggling to cope with psoriasis. If anyone has seen that episode of The Food Hospital on Channel 4 where a young mother and her son struggled with psoriasis, one of the big changes that they did to their diet was adding turmeric to even stuff like scrambled eggs.
    • 

  • A word here about the Le Range Mesurier BBQ Mustard, it’s one of the few things I purchased at the Cake & Bake Show 2013 apart from the sweet stuff. I also got a jar of zesty lime mayo from the same brand, they had a super offer of 4 jars at a great price!
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  • I slant the green chillies slanted just because it looks posh 🙂
    • 

  • Ok, so I managed to remove most of the big middle bone with the heads and the fish cooks very easily in under 3 minutes.
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  • Add a small helping of very finely chopped coriander for garnish.
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  • Serve hot with steaming hot rice or khichadi, click here for a posh khichadi recipe from one of my older posts.
    • 

  • Do leave comments below and let me know what you thought of this recipe!
    • 



Sprat fish side is ready to serve!


I am entering this dish into a wonderful linky challenge called £1 or less recipe challenge started by Michelle Rice who blogs at Utterly Scrummy , with so much fresh and yummy fish made into a delicious dish and served with plain steamed rice its a thrifty budget dream dish full of flavour and ready without too much of labouring in the kitchen. Do link up and help spread the good cheer around in times of gloom when many families are struggling to make ends meet and feeding families with healthy food on a shoestring budget is a very real challenge for many.


one pound or less logo


Tasty Fish Dish in £1 – ready in 10 minutes !


Pomfret Fish Curry


 by  12 Comments 


Flavours of Konkan





When anyone asks me what I would like as my LAST meal,I always say I’d like some fried pomfret so naturally, when I go Indian grocery shopping I always check for this fish. Though I must admit, nothing beats the flavours one gets from fresh fish. But well, just have to make do with frozen fish as the one I love is a Pomfret local to waters of the Indian Ocean.





This is a relatively simple recipe and does not require much effort but the marination is key as it can really give depth of flavour which is what we need.





I had 3 of these beauties to cook and couldn’t resist getting them to pose for my camera all dressed with the dangerously delicious spices that I rubbed into the fillets.






Pomfret with all the spices that are used in the curry.




Okay, it’s relatively easy making fillets after this fish has thawed thoroughly as it has very few bones, I like to remove the bit in the front with the eyes and the tail and also remove the fins then make fillets the size fit for a curry or fry.





    



Pompfret Fish Curry







Heirloom recipe, a traditional CKP style fish curry




5 from 1 vote





	 Print Recipe
	
    





 






	

    	
 

		
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian

    

    

        
 

		
Servings 4

    





Ingredients
  
  • 3 medium-sized Silver Pomfret
  • 2 tbsp Coriander and green chillipaste
  • 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
  • 1.5 tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 3 – 4  Cloves  Garlic withskin on
  • 2 tbsp Grated coconut
  • 1 small pinch Asafoetida/Hing 
  • 2 tbsp Refined oil
  • 1/4 Lime – juiced
  • Salt to taste


Instructions
 
  • Wash thoroughly and marinate with redchilli powder, turmeric,salt ,ginger- garlic paste,coriander-green chilli paste and set aside for at least 40 minutes.
  • After the marination is done,heat oilin a saucepan,add asafoetida just a tiny spritz and throw in the crushedgarlic cloves with their skins on. As soon as they start to brown add the marinatedfish n toss it around for about half a minute.
  • Add enough water to cover the fishand cook on a low flame.
  • As the water begins to boil add inthe finely grated fresh coconut and stir in well till the curry is nice andthick.
  • Simmer till the fish is cooked andsqueeze the lime into it.
  • Serve with steaming hot riceand allow yourself to enjoy this simple yet classic fish curry, an everydayfare in the houses along the coast of Konkan and a great treat in ours.







 


Keyword CKP recipe, fish curry, Pompfret








These beautiful flowers are on stalks of fresh spring onion!! Unexpected, I know right?!! My ma (in-law) very patiently chopped these stalks and created this cute little spring onion floral display and the whole idea of this photograph with books we are currently reading is hers.






Spring Onion Bouquet




Bengali Bhaja with spring onions and potatoes





I was so excited to see them and had to buy myself two bunches and look for a Bengali Bhaja or bhaji (Marathi) sabji/sabzee (Hindi). Found a lovely food blog called ‘Hamaree Rasoi’.






Peyajkoli Batata bhaja





Spring Onion and Potato Bhaji




Needless to say, the meal was supremely satisfying and we all slept with gentle snoring now and then …TMI- oh yes, totally 😉






Pomfret curry with steamed rice and pejaykoli bhaja
Prawn and Samphire in butter and chives


 by  5 Comments 
I first came upon this delightfull crunchy and salty coastal plant –Samphire -when I went into a tiny  shop which sells some amazing fresh sea food on Marylebone Street on my way to the Daunt Book store ( click on the hyperlink to read that blog post)


I found it a supermarket aisle and had to bring it home! I had a few prawns remaining and it was a great way to use them and create a side dish which is no fuss and really quick.


Simply saute the Samphire on a pan when it’s not very hot on a low flame in butter, then add another dollop and saute the prawns add a tiny bit of salt and sprinkle with Chives, Serve by squeezing some lime to add a zing, easy and quick isn’t it? Just what one needs to create good tasty meals without the fuss !


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