Steamed Dhoma

Steamed ढोमं or Croaker. 

Since I have started eating fish. I mostly made fried fish or curried it. Today since these Dhomi plural for Dhoma were whole and ideal for steaming I tried it. 

I was not sure how they would taste? In the back of my mind I was thinking of the phrase नासकं ढोमं which in Koli is used for people who are not accepting to love. 

The croaker lent well to this treatment. The flesh was tender yet flaky. Will use this idea more often instead of frying ❣️

Here is this super simple recipe. 

Ingredients 

2 Dhomi / Croakers

1/4 teaspoon of Koli masala

2 teaspoons of mustard oil

Salt

Salt the fish. Leave to absorb for 10 mins. 

Steam on a porous plate so the excess water doesn’t make the fish soggy. 10 mins is good. 

To serve: place the steamed fish on the plate. 

Heat the mustard oil until smoky. Remove from heat. Add the Koli masala. Mix with a spoon to avoid burning and lumping. Pour quickly over the fish. Squeeze a lime over the fish to brighten up the flavours. 

Here you can do many variations with garlic, spring onions, curry leaves, cilantro and what not !

On the side add a salad. Today I just added lettuce. 

There is also a lovely sprouted masoor usal for a wholesome meal. 

Enjoy ! 

My cousin Akshay had brought these for me. They were extremely fresh. He delivers seafood so sharing his number here. Call 📱 98193 84328

The Usefulness of the Uselessness !

As a child who grew up in SOBO specifically in Colaba and Fort. I have always seeked the vastness of places. Holed up in a small home through the week meant spending weekends playing on Bombay Gymkhana lawns.

The seashore of Thal. Vastness of sea and serenity like no other place. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder truly.

I read something powerful on a post. 

The Usefulness of the Uselessness ! 

I understand now well why I did not like the Coastal road from Marine drive to Worli. When man builds in concrete while you marvel at the Engineering. It does NOT warm your heart. 

While wide expanses of land which we call wastelands are so useful. They are habitats for migratory birds and home to several species of animals. 

Everything need not be built up. I don’t even like manicured gardens. I rather soak up in the beauty of an unkempt garden. 

We can have a Balance like Odisha. Manicured gardens on the sidewalks of Bhubaneswar and wilderness of the Chilika which is protected. They have got it right 👏🏽

 Good example to emulate.

How it heals the soul !

No need of ghats or wharfs 

Shankar Mama’s 80th Birthday

आज माझ्या शंकर मामाचा ८० वा वाढदिवस साजरा पाहून मला निखळ आनंद झाला ❤️✨ मी त्याशी फोन करून बोले. 

एकेकाळी एक अतिशय यशस्वी व्यापारी होता. सर्वात श्रीमंत शेंवंडी / लॉबस्टर 🦞 पुरवठादार. त्याचा क्लायंट दुसरा तिसरा कोणी नसून ताज पॅलेस होता. माझ्या आईचा सर्वात धाकटा भाऊ पण तिच्यापेक्षा मोठा होता. माझी आई त्याच्यापेक्षा ४ वर्षांनी लहान होती, म्हणून ती जिवंत असती तर आता ती ७६ वर्षांची असती. 

तो शिक्षित होता पण त्याने सीफूडचा व्यवसाय करणे पसंत केले. शंकर मामा आणि द्वारकानाथ मामा माझ्या आईला शिक्षणासाठी प्रोत्साहित करत असत, ६ दशकांपूर्वी कोळी लोकांमध्ये ही एक दुर्मिळ गोष्ट होती. खरं तर, त्या काळात ते माझ्या आईला घरी शिकवत असत आणि तिला गृहपाठात मदत करत असत. माझी आई नेहमीच तिच्या दोन्ही भावांबद्दल कृतज्ञ असायची. ते ५ भाऊ होते तरीही हे दोघे सर्वोत्तम होते. 

आज शंकर मामाचा वाढदिवस आहे आणि तो माझ्यावर करत असलेल्या प्रेमाबद्दल मी त्याचे आभार मानते. 

मी लहान असताना त्याने मला शेंवंडी / लॉबस्टर 🦞 आणल्या की मी गुरुवारचा उपवासही सोडून ते शेंवंडी / लॉबस्टर 🦞 खात असे.

गेल्या दशकात त्याला अर्धांगवायू झाला आहे पण त्याचे दोन्ही मुलगे सर्वेश आणि शुक्लेश त्याची खूप काळजी घेतात. तो आणि कमू मामी आहे म्हणून थळला जाण्यात मला आनंद वाटतो.

******

Seeing my Shankar mama’s 80th birthday celebrations today gave me pure joy ❤️✨ I called and spoke to him. 

Once upon a time he was a very successful businessman. The richest Lobster supplier. His client was none other than Taj Palace. My mother’s youngest brother yet older than her. My Aai was 4 yrs younger than him so she would have been 76 yrs now had she been alive. 

He was educated but chose to deal in seafood. Shankar mama and Dwarkanath mama encouraged my mother to study, a rare thing 6 decades ago among Koli people. Infact as was common back then He taught my mother at home and helped her with homework. My mother always was in gratitude for it to both her brothers. They were 5 brothers yet these two were class apart. 

It is Shankar mama’s birthday today and I take this opportunity to thank him for all the love he continues to shower on me. 

When I was younger he brought me lobsters and I would quit even my Thursday fasts to eat those lobsters. 🦞 

In the last decade he has been paralysed but his two sons Sarvesh and Shuklesh take great care of him. I am blessed to have him and Kamu mami to go back to in Thal.