POMFRET RACHEADO

More fish for today. And a recipe from India, from Goa. Delicious. Very easy to make, too. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

2 pomfrets

3 tablespoons Racheado masala

Some salt to taste

Some flour

Some drops of extra virgin olive oil

2 papadums

To start with our recipe you will have to prepare the fish. Pomfrets are easy to clean. Remove the insides of the pomfrets. The fins and the tail too. You can leave the head if you want.

Once the pomfrets are clean, make some cuts on the sides.

The next thing is using that wonderful masala. Racheado masala. You can find it easily in Asian stores. Put the masala inside the pomfrets and through the cuts you made to the sides.

And now to the grill. Heat the grill and drop some extra virgin olive oil. Cook the pomfrets for some minutes. Both sides. Make sure they are not overcooked.

You can serve them with pappadums. To prepare the pappadums first you have to heat a pan. When it is really hot, put a pappadum and let it cook. You have to be careful. Be alert so that the papadum does not get burned. When you see the papadum is changing colour, turn it and cook it for some seconds on the other side. Remove it from the pan and let it cool. Repeat the procedure with the other papadum.

And now you will have everything ready to serve. Serve one pomfret per person along with one papadum. Good fish. Enjoy!

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GOAN CROQUETTES

Let’s go back to Goa today. Goan Croquettes. So delicious. Let’s cook them.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
½ onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 dried red chili
1 jalapeno
7 cloves
Some vegetable oil for sautéing
½ pound ground beef
1 slice of bread
Some breadcrumbs
Some vegetable oil for frying the croquettes

First we will prepare the vegetables. Peel the onion, the garlic and the ginger. Remove the seeds of the chili. Cut the jalapeno, the garlic, the ginger and the chili.
The next step will be to sauté the onion, the jalapeno, the garlic, the ginger and the chili. After a couple of minutes, we will add the meat. Cook for a while so that the meat loses all their liquid.
Blend that preparation but make sure it is not too much.
Soak the slice of bread for ten minutes and after that, try to get rid of all the water from the bread. Beat one egg. Mix the egg with the bread and then with the blended meat and vegetables.
Prepare some breadcrumbs and beat the other egg.
Now we will start frying our croquettes. First heat some oil in a frying pan. Make the croquettes with the blended mixture. Soak them in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs and then put them in the frying pan with the hot oil. Make some at at time but not too many at the same time. Get them brown in both sides and when they are done, let them get rid of some oil on kitchen paper towel. Serve hot.
A perfect appetizer. Enjoy!

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PORK VINDALOO

Let’s come back to Goa! We will make a delicious vindaloo today. Vindaloos are dishes with meat, some vegetables and vinegar. Yes. Vinegar. It gives the flavor to this dish. A dish with influences from Portugal. A mixture of Portuguese and Indian cooking. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

10 Kashmiri red chilies
1 pound pork, cubed
4 green cardamom pods (without the pods)
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
8 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground Kashmiri red chillies
3 cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
Some salt to taste
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 potatoes
Some vegetable oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 bay leaves
Some red wine vinegar
Some basmati rice

To make our Pork Vindaloo first we will have to prepare our vindaloo paste. To do this, soak the Kashmiri red chilies in warm water for about half an hour. The next step is grinding the spices. Grind the cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, ground Kashmiri red chillies, cloves, turmeric and black mustard seeds in a mortar.
Then we will put the soaked Kashmiri red chilies, garlic, ginger, vinegar and the mix of the mortar in a blender. Blend everything well to get the vindaloo paste, adding some water if necessary.
Once we have the vindaloo paste, we will have to mix it with the meat. Mix well and let it marinate for some hours. Doing it overnight it is a good idea.
When ready to start cooking, first we will peel and cut the potatoes in little pieces. We will bring to a boil but do not cook them completely. Reserve them.
Next we will put some oil in a wok. Once is hot, add the chopped onion. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the bay leaves. Then add the pork with the marinade. Cook for some minutes and if we see we need to add more liquid, add some vinegar or a little water, depending if the acidity you want for your vindaloo. But just do this, if it is necessary. We do not want too much liquid.
When the meat is almost ready, add the potatoes and mix well. Let it cook for a while so that the potatoes get the vindaloo flavor. Serve with cooked basmati.
A very delicious dish. Indeed. Enjoy!

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BOMBAY DUCKS

They are not ducks. Bombay Ducks are fish. This is a recipe that comes from India. A different and particular dish. An acquired taste too. I have not tasted fresh Bombay Ducks. I have only tried dried and preserved ones. People that have tasted the fresh ones say they are different. I will have to stick to my preserved Bombay Ducks by now. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

1 small chopped onion
2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ chopped green pepper
1 small chopped tomato
Some Reichada Masala
½ lb Boneless Masala Bombay Ducks, shredded
Some vegetable oil
Some water
Some salt to taste

First we will put some oil in a saucepan and we will heat it. When it is hot, we will add the onion, the potatoes and the green pepper. We will sauté these vegetables for a couple of minutes and then we will add the tomato.
We will cook for one minute and then we will add the Reichada Masala. The amount of masala will depend on the brand of the Reichada. Some brands are stronger than other. So, it is a good idea to be careful about the amount of masala we use.
We will add the shredded Bombay Ducks now. We will cook for two minutes and then we will add some water. Not much. We will have to add more but it is better to do it little by little.
Now we will only have to keep on cooking. The fire must be low. And we will have to add water if we see that our Bombay Ducks need it. Do not forget to stir it from time to time. Your Bombay Ducks will be ready when the potatoes are tender.
You can serve them with some basmati rice. Enjoy!

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MACKEREL RACHEADO

Let’s go back to India today. In fact, we will go to Goa. A paradise in India, with an important Portuguese influence. We will cook some fish today. Mackerel. A cheap but delicious fish. You can cook it in many ways. We will cook it with a masala today. Racheado.

Ingredients:

2 mackerel
3 tablespoons Racheado masala

I normally use prepacked Indian Racheado masala. It is very convenient and not very difficult to find. But of course, you can try to make it at home. To make your own masala grind five red chillies (kashmiri, for example), two cloves of garlic, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon coriander, three cloves, five peppercorns and a piece of ginger. Then mix all that with vinegar and two tablespoons of tamarind water. With this you will get a paste that will be a good masala for your mackerel.
Racheado, or recheado, in fact, is a Portuguese word that means “stuffed”. So what we will do is stuffing the mackerel with this wonderful masala.
First we will prepare the fish. We will clean it thoroughly. We have to be sure it is well cleaned. Remove the bones of the fish. The fins too. And of course the head. Once the fish is cleaned, we will have to stuff the mackerel with some of the masala. Apply some masala outside also. Then we will let the mackerel marinate for a couple of hours.
And after that we will only have to grill our Mackerel Racheado. Grill the fish for 4-5 minutes on each side. Do not overcook.
And now, enjoy your Mackerel Racheado!

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PORK BALCHAO

The perfect mixture. That is what Goa is. This is a dish with influences from very different worlds. Pork, vinegar, Indian spices: Goa.

Ingredients:

1 inch cinnamon stick
1-2 dried red chillies
3 cloves
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 green cardamom pods (without the pods)
8 black peppercorns
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound pork, cubed
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ cup warm water
1 small chopped tomato
1 teaspoon ground chilli powder
1 small chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons wine vinegar

Grind the cinnamon, red chillies, cloves, cumin seeds, cardamom pods and peppercorns in a mortar.
Heat half the oil in a wok and add the ginger and garlic. Fry them slightly for half a minute, then add the mortar mix and fry for another half a minute stirring constantly.
Then, add the pork and the turmeric and raise the heat a bit. Fry for five minutes stirring regularly.
Add the water, tomato, chilli powder and bring to a boil. Cover the wok and cook gently for 20 minutes. Stir from time to time.
In another pan, heat the other half of oil and fry the onion till it is golden, stirring regularly.
When the onion is almost done, add it to the wok with the pork. Add the salt, the sugar and the vinegar too. After stirring a bit, cover the wok and simmer till the pork is done.
It is possible to cook the balchao with more vegetables but I only would add some carrots, finely chopped.
Serve the pork balchao with some basmati rice, cooked separately.
It is a good idea to prepare this dish in advance. In fact, it tastes better if you eat it the following day. It is safe to keep it in the fridge for several days.

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