Caldine (Goan Fish Curry)

Ingredients

2 Coconut (regular sized)
5 Kashmiri Chilies
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
1 tbsp Raw Rice
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 inch diameter ball of Tamarind ( 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste )
1/2 handful Cashews
2 regular sized Onion
2 regular sized Tomatoes diced
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
3 Long Green Chilies Split
1 tbsp Sugar

Preparations : As usual I break up the recipe into 3 jazzy stages

1. The Vein Pain

De-vein the prawns. !!!!

Why ??? ...you may ask, do I recommend such an arduous exercise. Well ...The answer is "fresh" or as Jaime Oliver calls it "naked". Fresh prawns or fresh fish taste best in such a lovely dish. If you are lucky enough and live by the sea this should not be a problem but if not frozen prawns though less succulent works as an alternate.

Add a bit of salt to the de-veined prawns and set aside for 30 mins

2. The CJ (Coconut Juice)

Grate Coconut , Using a food processor grind the coconut along with the Kashmiri Chilies, Cumin Seeds, Coriander Powder, Raw Rice, Turmeric Powder, Tamarind juice and cashews

Once you have a decent paste strain the juice into a bowl using a cheese cloth or muslin cloth or any fine


Try and get 1 run only . that is grind the coconut with al the sauces with just a little bit of water and try and extract all the juice you can. You should have a bout 2 cup full. You can add some more water to the residue in the cheese sloth and do a second run but that will not be as good as the first run. My mother in law does not use the second run. though in her hey day her mother , my wife's grandmother used to use the 2 run method of extracting coconut Juice ( she had to feed her six children and I don't blame her. )


3. The Easy Flourish at the end.

Chop the onions finely and dice the tomatoes . In a Large sauce pan ideally (wide but not too high ) sauté them. Once onions are lightly browned add ginger garlic paste and mix thoroughly
Add prawns and cook until the translucent prawns become opaque ( don't’overcook them, they become hard )
Add the strained coconut juice with all the lovely spices into the sauce pan

Bring the mixture to a boil
Add the sugar , lower the flame and let it simmer for 7 minutes

Serving :

Garnish with a dash of cream and green chilies
Serve with steamed rice.

I have also tried them as an accompaniment to Appams as part of a brunch menu and not surprisingly it went down very well. The coconut milk ties these two into a perfect combo.