A lot has changed in my life since the last time I wrote a blog. Well, not a lot but quite a bit. In my previous post I had mentioned that I was dealing with my weight issues and that it was kind of troubling me mentally. To be honest, there was not a lot that I actually did about it other that cribbing about my weight. An old friend of mine read my blog and suggested me to go on a Keto diet as he himself was on a Keto for a month and managed to lose a considerable amount of weight. I spoke to him and thought of going into Keto myself but I knew the road was not going to be easy. I researched, read a lot of books, saw videos till 4 am in the morning and spoke to a couple of people I knew who had done Keto before. I had heard of Keto diet in the past but never took an effort to know about it or study it in detail. It is often considered to be a very hard and bizarre diet, mostly because one has to give up on carbohydrates and sugars when in Keto.
Today is my 8th day on Keto diet (pats myself on the back). I know its too soon to pat my back but for a person who can hardly give up on anything sweet, this indeed is a great achievement. I mean, who am I even kidding, this is the longest that I have been on any diet in the past 25 years and guess what?? I still have 22 days more to go!!!! I'll tell you all about the results once I get done with this 30-day Keto diet. It is too soon to comment anything on it as of now. The amount of self-control that I have when it comes to food is astoundingly quite less. I am surprised that I could pull this diet off for 8 days straight. Well, this time I have made up my mind, no matter what I am going to complete my target. Also, I walk 10,000 steps a day along with the diet to make the process of weight loss more effective. Let me know if you guys would like to know more about my Keto diet. The upcoming recipes on the blog this month will mostly be Keto friendly but the ones not on Keto can have it as well.
I made this dish today as I was missing the coastal areas a lot, the breeze, the salty sea water, the sand, pretty sunsets, beach walks and the seafood of course. I have spent a lot of time in the Konkan belt and learnt a lot about their ingredients and cuisines. It is my humble effort to pay a tribute to the ever giving and bountiful coasts of our country.
I have started to believe in the "Art of Minimalism" in cooking and am taking it very seriously. Whatever I cook, I make sure to use the freshest ingredients, mostly straight from my farm or sourced locally and try to limit the use of condiments which lets the hero of the dish shine through without overpowering its taste. The fish that I have used today is "Rohu" (Labeo Rohita), a species of fish of the carp family, found in the rivers of India and other parts of South Asia. The fish was marinated with ginger, garlic & green chilly paste and a few spices and then pan fried in cold pressed virgin coconut oil. The chutney is made of part fried and part raw curry leaves, green chillies and tender coconut. The ingredients which any day will remind you of the coastal flavors of India. The cold pressed coconut oil is a must use for this dish for maximum and best flavor results.
Ingredients :
For the Tender Coconut & Curry Leaf Chutney :
Tender Coconut - 1 cup
Curry Leaves - 1 cup
Black Mustard seeds - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Green chillies - 3
Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4th tsp
Salt to taste
Water - 50 ml or as required
Others :
Fish (Rohu or any other firm fish) - 1/2 kg
Ginger, Garlic & Green Chilly Paste - 1 tbsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil- 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Wash the curry leaves, chop the tender coconut in 1 inch pieces, cut the green chillies in half. Marinate the fish with ginger, garlic and green chilly paste, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt for 15-20 mins.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a pan. Once hot add 1 tsp of mustard seeds. Switch off the flame when the seeds start to splutter and add half the curry leaves. Stir.
3. In a grinder, add the chopped tender coconut and around 10 ml of water. Grind till the coconut turns into a coarse paste consistency. Add more water and grind till smooth. Add green chillies, fried curry leaves + fresh curry leaves (reserving 10-12 leaves for garnish) and grind to make a chuntey. Add some water if required.
4. Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a non-stick pan and fry the fish in batches till golden brown (on medium flame) on the outside and plump and white on the inside. 3-4 mins on both sides.
5. Take a tadka pan, heat 2 tbsp coconut oil on low flame, add the remaining 1 tsp mustard seeds, once it splutters add the red chilly powder, the 10-12 reserved curry leaves and instantly switch off the flame. Stir immediately to make sure not to burn it. This will be your red chilly, curry leaf & mustard seeds infused tadka oil.
6. Take a serving dish and spread the tender coconut and curry leaf chutney, place two fillets of fish on it and finish it off with a drizzle of red chilly, curry leaf & mustard seeds infused tadka oil. Serve.
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