Tuesday, October 18, 2011

CILANTRO RICE WITH TANGY GRAVY & SPICY FRIED FISH


The Mulligatawny soup with Toasted Bread and Pea Pesto was totally refreshing.....the sweet and tangy taste of the soup with the garlicy pesto was mmmm :) . Now lets move to the main courses and we will start with a FISH dish.

People say Bengali cuisine is generally related to fish and sweet---actually they are not wrong :D . Being from a Bengali Family, we ate fish everyday. Infact my Baba(daddy) cannot enjoy his food without it even if there are 5-6 courses still he would need a fish dish :) . Me and my sister are not inclined towards fish (not real Bengalies may be... :D ), when we go out to any party as a family and if we (me and my sister) didn't eat the fish dish....then coming back home Baba would actually take our case---Why did you eat the fish dish? ... his most common question. Although I don't like seafood so much but ones a month I get the craving for fish , we bengalies eat every part of the fish--head to tail. As I have noticed most part of the world people discard the head but we have a lot of awesome dishes with that too -- I know it may sound very unappetizing but for me its UUU LA LA LA...!! :) .


Well lets get to the story behind the dish. Recently I have developed a crazy of using fruits in savory dishes and you would be finding me doing that very often...honestly it does enhances the taste of the dishes. This dish is inspired by a cookery show in the TV called 'Twist of Taste with Vineet Bhatia' I like this series coz the chef Vinnet Bhatia uses the local dishes and re-creates a high class dish with the local produce.

As I have shared when I decided to make a dish I just have to make it , but unfortunately I could not find all the ingredients he had used and I had not even noted down the process he followed so I added my twist to the already twisted dish :D .  I wanted to use fish fillets for the dish so I tried cooking with Tilapia for the first time.....and I just loved the fish and will be using it in future too. For the gravy the chef used raw mangoes, but where do I get raw mangoes now...so I used star fruit. Well the star fruit we got in my hometown - Shillong would be so tangy that using one would be just enough and we mostly used it for pickle but the ones I got here was not so sour so I used almost 3 of them for the right sourness. 

I call my dish Cilantro Rice with Tangy Gravy and Spicy Fried Fish.


Star Fruit also known as Carambola is a type of tropical fruit. The fruit has ridges on its sides (mainly 5), in cross-section it resembles a star and that's how it got the name.The star fruit has waxy, green to golden yellow skin with a citricy flavor that resembles the lemon or pineapple.
The fruit is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidant. It has some amount of Vitamin B which helps to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks.The fruit is beneficial for blood and bones as it contains potassium , iron , calcium and magnesium.The star fruit is rich in soluble fiber, which can be useful to reduce cholesterol levels.

Tilapia is a fresh water fish.Its a mild flavored fish that holds the seasoning very well. The best methods to cook the tilapia -- grilling and baking but not that we cannot try out the other options.
Tilapia is rich in protein and low in calorie count. Its a great source of omega-3 fatty acid which helps to prevent blood pressure and heart disease.

Shared the dish with - Foodie Wednesday @ Frugal Wannabe Cooks ; Real Food Wednesday ; WFMW: An Awesome Tradition ; Welcome Wednesday ; Homestead Barn Hop #32 ; Domestically Divine Tuesday & These Chicks Cooked Link Party - Featuring Your Recipes from All Around Blogland #22

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FOR TANGY GRAVY 
Star fruit 3 numbers
Ginger(finely chopped) 1/2 tablespoon
Yogurt 2 tablespoon
Mustard seed1 teaspoon
Jaggery1 small cube
Salt As per taste
Oil 1 teaspoon


FOR SPICY FRIED FISH 
Tilapia fillets Fillet from 1 fish
Onion 1 small sized
Garlic cloves 2 numbers
Tomato puree 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder  1 teaspoon
Paprika 1 teaspoon
Salt As per taste
Oil1 teaspoon


FOR CILANTRO RICE 
Basmati Rice 1 cup
Onion 1 medium sized
Garlic 2 cloves
Cilantro 2 medium sized bunches
Milk 1 cup
Salt As per taste
Oil1 teaspoon



  TANGY GRAVY:-
  1. Blanch the star fruits. Remove from the boiling water within 2-3 min.
  2. Blend the star fruit without any extra water as it would give out a good amount of water.
  3. Heat a pan and add the star fruit puree to the pan and let it cook over low heat.
  4. Remove the pan from heat after 5 min, whisk the yogurt and pour it to the pan.
  5. Stir the star fruit puree, yogurt and salt till it is properly incorporated. 
  6. Place the mixture back on a very low heat and let it cook for not more then 5-6 mins.
  7. Strain the liquid sauce using a muslin cloth. 
  8. Heat a clean pan, add oil and mustard seed. After the spattering has stopped add the chopped ginger. 
  9. Add the fresh strained liquid in the pan and cook for 2 min. Then add the jaggery and stir till the jaggery is mixed thoroughly.
  SPICY FRIED FISH:-
  1. Blend together onion and garlic.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the onion-garlic paste with tomato puree , turmeric powder , cumin powder , paprika and salt.
  3. Clean the fish fillets and place it in a zip pouch bag. Pour the marinate on top of the fish fillets and mix it up. Let this stand for 1/2 hour.
  4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the fish over medium heat just 5 min on each side or till the either sides get caramelized.
  CILANTRO RICE:-
  1. Pressure cook the rice till it is parboiled. Finely chop the onion and the cilantro.
  2. In a large pan, heat oil and add the chopped onion. 
  3. Fry the onion till it turns translucent, then add the chopper cilantro and salt and cook f0r 3-4 min.
  4. Add the parboiled rice to the pan add cook it for another 5 min.
  5. Pour in the milk and cook again for 5 more min or till the milk is totally soaked in.
  6. The dish is ready to be served. 
                         
      A wonderful dish that was ready in a few minutes . Totally enjoyed it .. :)       

      Priyanka







      20 comments:

      Wat a delicious spread,makes me hungry..

      Yummy drooling looking at the platter,..

      Yummy Platter..Drooling here..
      Am your happy follower :-)
      Thanx for dropping by my space ,I would appreciate if you follow my space too..

      vey yummy, interested preparation....... keep ur posts...

      Makes a deeeliicious meal!!!
      Prathima Rao
      Prats Corner

      I need to eat some breakfast...makes me hungry. It looks delish!
      Newest follower and i would love a follow back!
      have a super week!
      Isabelle
      http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.com

      Well, when you decide to make a fish dish, you do it well! This is beautiful and delicious~

      I love rice mixed with greens like this cilantro rice; the sauce sounds exotic and intriguing, love these fruity flavors and the fish is excellent and spiced to perfection! A meal to test asap.

      Fantastic combo and looks so yum!


      http://treatntrick.blogspot.com

      I just found your blog and I'm so glad I did. I love Indian food, and this dish looks wonderful. I cook tilapia a lot, and I'm really excited to try this, the flavors sound really intense.

      we use the star fruit as a souring agent in our cooking too. But it's usually with broth therefore it doesn't look as vibrant as your dish.
      Happy weekend,
      Malou

      The rice drenched in the gravy is so tempting. YUM!

      It is very healthy to eat a lot of fish. I enjoy it very much. I like the spices in this fish and in the rice. I enjoy very much reading about your traditions and your family. I am sure that you must have many delicious fish recipes. My father used to make soup with the heads of the fish.
      Thank you for visiting. I look forward to your visits very much. Blessings, Catherine xo

      In our culture we call Grandma Baba, but I like it used for Daddy too. I'm trying to eat more fish, I would have to say I would enjoy it fixed this way. Thank for your sweet comment, will have to come back soon and see what's new.
      -Gina-

      the cilantro rice is truly delicious. I've had it a few times. No matter what you pair it with, it's super nice.

      A beautiful dish! I love fish and cilantro.

      Cheers,

      Rosa

      sounds absolutely delicious :)

      delicious....
      rosesandgifts.com

      Nice recipe.Thanks for sharing such a beautiful blog.
      www.puneflowersdelivery.com

      Thanks for sharing this. I enjoy reading it. Keep it up!


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