Nov 2, 2006

Pomfret ginger onion curry ( Alle piyav gashi)

Alle piyav gashi

Mangaloreans love fish. Sardines/peDvo, Pomfret/maanji, Mackerel/raaju are the mot popular fishes among the konkani's. The konkani fish curries are often made with coconut gravy, that makes it very different from other cuisines. They are a bit hot and savory taste. Alle piyav gashi one of them. In konkani alle means ginger, piyav means onion and gashi is a curry with coconut gravy.

Alle piyav gashi goes well with pomfret or crabs. This time I made it with white promfrets.

2 white pomfrets
1 cup shredded coconut
8 red chillies
1 inch cube tamarind
1 onion
2 green chillies
1/2 inch cube ginger

Clean the pomfrets. Cut of the fins and tail. If you prefer to keep the skull you may retain it. But I discard the head. That's how I was thought to clean the fish by my Mom. Discard the viscera/internal organs. Rinse thoroughly changing the water a few times. Cut the fish across the bones with 1/2- 1 inch width. Set aside

In a tsp of oil, roast the red chillies on low flame. Grind together coconut, tamarind and roasted red chillies to a smooth paste. It is very important to get a smooth paste, do not stop grinding when the coconut is coarse.

Chop onions and ginger finely. Slit green chillies

In a saucepan bring the coconut paste to a boil. Add water and bring it to the desired consistency. You can keep it to the consistency of the Dal. But not too thin. Add onions, ginger and green chillies. Boil the sauce for 5 minutes, add salt. Add the fish pieces one by one to the sauce. Cook it on low flame. Cook for about 10 minutes. Adjust salt.

Serve with rice.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite gravies. We call it alle kande ambat. Love it :)

Sangeeta said...

Thanks for this recipe. I usually grill/bake the Pomfret fish and this will make a wonderful change.

Chef Jeena said...

Hi Manjula, this sounds delicious, can I use mackeral instead of pomfret? Or any other white fish? Will coconut from a packet be OK to us? Thanks:)

Manjula said...

Jeena,
This curry is usually made with pomfrets or crabs. This curry gets light sweetness from onions, hence the choice is crabs or pomfrets, these are supposed to be sweeter seafoods. I have never made this with Mackerel. I don't think its a good substitute.

Packaged/frozen coconut is perfectly fine. Just taste the coconut and check its good without a sour taste or a bad smell before proceeding.

Chef Jeena said...

Thankyou for the advise:)

K.Boy said...

Manjula,
how do I make Sungata Randheyee? Is it the same Masoloo for Phompret you have described? Now a days Shrimp is very cheap and coming from South America in supermarkets and chinese 99-Markets.
I and my wife met you at Rajesh/Deepa's place 2-3 weeks ago.I have bowsed your blog many times whenever I feel like making typical Konkani dish.

Manjula said...

K. Boy,
It was a pleasure meeting you and your family. I am very excited to see your comments!!

The classic Sungata randai is 'hinga uda or hummana'. Make the basic masolu with coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind. Bring it to a boil, add shrimp and hinga uda (hing dissolved in water). Once cooked add a tea spoon of coconut oil to the curry.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Manjula,
that is very good tip. I have eaten many times prepared by Late my Mom in past and lately prepared by my Vanhi and younger brothers' wife while visiting mumbai but did not know how to make it. Most of the Konkani-Blog-Artists have not covered it. Our Kankani cooking is Gourmet and those who prepare are great artists who do thankless job like our mother, Mamama, Annama or Bapama, etc.
Vastevu