Friday, November 14, 2014

The Gutless Foodie's Surmai Rawa Fry



This is a guest post.

I have interacted with her over mails just a week or so. She sent me an order and I shipped it to her. I thought I'll check with her if she needs a recipe. Instead immediately after she received the masalas she was on a roll. First came the intro mail, then the experiments and results. Then this one saying she was trying to post to the Words Power Us section on this blog. I have been wanting to invite people to do guest posts and I find one right in my inbox.


The Gutless Foodie is a FB group run by Natasha Diddee. A trained chef, a by product of IHM Mumbai and Sophia Polytechnic. I was sobbing uncontrollably when I read this, "I lost my entire stomach to two bleeding ulcers and a tumour growing around my stomach. But, God is great and our bodies wondrous, it adapts. :)" So you see how her group gets the name. Yet from what little I know of her presenting to you the emoticon and hashtag junky, sunshine girl! 
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My only knowledge of a part of the Koli community came from Sona, our fisher woman. Those were the days, when fisherwomen came to your doorstep, with the fresh catch of the day. They'd ring the doorbell and assure you, that they'd kept the freshest seafood, only for you. They'd sell to you and then promptly ring the next doorbell and tell them the exact same thing! One day, I caught Sona in the act! #NatashaISTheFoodMafia #TGFMafia

She laughed nervously and said she truly sold us the freshest seafood. I sneered, she snorted. She knew she'd lost. #TGFIsFierceInAStaringMatch


We cackled and started chatting, whilst I covered my nose #FisherWomenHaveFierceFishOdour
Whilst we were chatting, she told me why fisher folk were known to have fierce tempers. She said, they eat really spicy food, using a special masala and the temper is the spice's fault!
#ThatLogicallyExplainedWhatLoudAsAFishMarketMeant


Over the years, I have lost count of how many times I've eaten chicken & seafood Koliwada. In my pea-sized brain, Koliwada must be koli style food! But, I realised that Sona had duped me! This food wasn't as spicy as she'd made it out to be! #TGFsBrainMayBeSmallerThanHerGutlessGut

I was at a friend's house recently and tried a fish dish. It was FooFoo type spicy, but very flavourful. His mom told me, that she had used Koli Masala! I refused to believe her because, I had just eaten a stellar fish curry and it was not that horrendous scary red colour, that most things we know as Koliwada style dishes are!!

I was terrified she'd not give me more food if I countered her so, I let the yummies shut my mouth. I promptly forgot, till one day I overheard someone talking about Koli Chicken Curry. My ears perked up. Now, I HAD to get to the bottom of this!!


So, I asked all the Koli foodies I knew and the unanimous verdict, was to use masalas from Annaparabrahma. Anjali runs this masala business and I was excited to know you could buy all kinds of Koli goodies from her! I ordered several masalas and they came yesterday, along with a few small free samples!
#GottaLoveWomenEntrepreneurs

I never, ever recommend a masala I've not tried myself so, I kept it to myself till this post. Last night I had some super fresh Surmai/Kingfish, so I broke into Anjali's Koli Masala.

It was excellent! I suddenly understood what Sona had meant!! The best part, she hadn't duped me. The masala is very robust and super flavourful but also really spicy. But, not in an alarming way. Would I reorder this masala? I'd be losing out if I didn't. Can't wait to try it in curries next! 


Ingredients : 

1. Surmai/Kingfish - 4 pieces, skin on, bone in, 1/2 " thick slices
2. Oil - to shallow fry
3. Garlic paste - 1 tspn
4. Salt - 1/2 tspn
5. Coriander leaves - a small fistful, chopped
6. Anjali's Koli Masala - 1 tbspn
7. Rawa - to coat




Method:

1. Marinate everything together, excluding the oil and rawa. I kept it for about an hour.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. While it's heating, roll the marinated fish into a plate, lined with rawa. Coat each piece properly.
3. Place the fish into the pan and on a high flame, sear each side. Lower the flame, cover and cook till done.
As usual, I squeezed some lime juice on it and dug in.

☆ The rawa coating took away some of the spiciness, but the flavour was incredible

☆I would normally also fry fish without the rawa and then recommend the masala if I liked it, but I would then be depriving you of a yummy

☆I haven't been able to figure out what is different from other FooFoo masalas but there is a distinct flavour, which I haven't identified other than yummy

#IShallCookMoreToLearnMore
#IShallKolifyMyself
#GoodGodPleaseHelpMySenseOfHumour
#TaDaaa Koli Surmai Rawa Fry
#1MinuteEveryDay
#BussEkMinute
#PayItForward
#YouCanDoIt
#YesYouCan
#JustDoIt
#TheGutlessFoodie
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Tell me readers who would not LOVE this overwhelming bundle of energy! She needs our love and blessings for a long healthy life. Say तथास्तु after me!

Dear Natasha, 

Anjali and everyone at AnnaParaBrahma loves you and GOD BLESS you with a fulfilled life. Keep eating, feeding and spreading this warmth! BIG HUG!!

1 comment:

  1. Yayyyyyyyyyy #Taaliyaan :-D
    Thank you for the kind words. The best part of the whole message for me was " Tathastu" :-) I happily accept all blessings!

    More power to you and your masalas! On second thought, your masalas have just the right amount of power.... more power will have me FooFoo-ing like a train lol
    #IndianRailwaysCantTakeOnCompitition lol
    Stay Blessed

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