COOKING FROM - Gunpowder: Explosive Flavors From Modern India

Saregama · May 23, 2024, 1:14am

PATURI MACCH / FISH COOKED EN PAPILLOTE IN A MUSTARD & COCONUT SPICE PASTE

This is a version of the Bengali mustard fish I have become mildly obsessed with for how easy and flavorful it is.

A spice paste of grain mustard, fresh or desiccated coconut, ginger, garlic, green chilli, lemon juice, mustard oil, red chilli powder, turmeric, and the mysterious addition of a stock cube is slathered over cod fillets which are left to marinate for a while.

The fish is then wrapped in banana leaves, parchment, or foil, steamed for 25 mins, and finally charred on a pan before serving.

I used salmon, a mix of dijon and freshly-ground (soaked) black mustard seeds, skipped the stock cube (why even?), wrapped in parchment, then steamed in a shallow pan for 7 mins and charred in the same pan for a minute on each side. (I think my fish was 2 mins overcooked, so I don’t know how thick those cod fillets that need 25 mins + char time are.)

The coconut yields a milder flavor profile than I am used to, but this is a lovely preparation, one of my favorites (second only to Parsi Patra-ni-macchi, which is very similar but swaps fresh cilantro and mint for mustard.)

I ate it with rice, turkish-style green beans stewed in tomato sauce, and mixed dal loaded with vegetables.

A vegetarian version of the recipe (using paneer) is in the Google books preview under Chhena Paturi.

Saregama · May 23, 2024, 1:33am

Looks fantastic! What happened to the marinade you scraped off?

Amandarama · May 23, 2024, 1:45am

Some of it found its way into the pan anyway, but most of it I discarded. I am seeing other versions of this dish online where the fish is wrapped with the tomato marinade in a banana leaf and then roasted. I might try it that way next time!

Amandarama · May 23, 2024, 1:48am

This one has been on my list to make! I bought a jar of whole grain Dijon almost right after I got the book and then put it in the pantry and forgot it. I am going to have to get to this one soon. Thanks for making it and reporting!

BierMonk · May 23, 2024, 4:56pm

Looks great.
This Dish was usually wrapped in Banana Leaf and grilled when I encountered it in Kerala.
There was also a “dry” preparation that resembles what you made called Meen Varuthathu.
Either way bet is was good.

Amandarama · May 23, 2024, 7:36pm

Yes! I was wondering if they were the same/similar. Thanks! The cookbook noted that this recipe was inspired by a dish on the menu at Jai Hind (Mumbai small chain of seafood restaurants, if the internet is pointing me to the right place). I can’t seem to get any of the menus to open for me though.

Saregama · May 23, 2024, 9:55pm

Here you go.

Amandarama · May 24, 2024, 12:20am

Thank you! I kept clicking the menus and getting redirected to the top of the page! Now that I have read over the menu, I am intrigued by the hot and sour pulimunchi dishes. I like ambotiks.

It seems like he must have been referencing one of the fried fish dishes for the pollichattu?

Saregama · May 24, 2024, 12:24am

Yeah, I couldn’t figure that out. Fried at these places in Bombay is usually rava-fried. But it may be a special that’s not on the menu — I’ve had banana-wrapped fish at the seafood place I go to more often.

(Btw there are a couple of different types of Ambotik too)

Amandarama · May 24, 2024, 12:31am

Oooo! I must look into this!

Saregama · May 24, 2024, 5:14pm

There’s the Konkani one I was originally familiar with, the Goan one I learned from the Maunika Gowardhan COTM, and I think there’s one from Karnatala too. (Of course each of those has their own variations.)

I think the primary differences are souring agent (tamarind, tomato, kokum) and type of chilli (red vs green). Ambot-tik or Amot-tik or Ambat-tik means sour-spicy (amot/ambat/ambot = sour, tik = tikhat = spicy).

Amandarama · May 24, 2024, 5:48pm

Got it. I’ve made the fish one from Maunika Gowardhan (I think she also has a shrimp one). I will look up the Konkani and Karnatalan ones. I actually have all of those items in the house right now. Thanks!

Amandarama · May 26, 2024, 1:55pm

For anyone who may be interested in cooking some recipes from this cookbook, but are unable to find it in their library or by purchase, here are a few recipes published online to get you started:

LulusMom1 · June 6, 2024, 1:42am

SAVORY FRENCH TOAST

I’ve been thinking about this since I read this review, and for once actually got it together to make it. And it was delicious and a hit with the family. Couldn’t find any tomato chutney (and no time to make any), so I gave everyone a dollop of mango chutney. Probably better with the tomato one, but still wonderful. Served with a cucumber and avocado salad. Thanks to @Saregama for the recipe!

Amandarama · June 6, 2024, 2:33am

Yay! I’m so glad you liked it! It looks delicious!

Saregama · June 6, 2024, 2:38am

That looks really good! I’m going to have to remember to make it for my mom soon, and I love the salad accompaniment to balance it out.

Saregama · June 7, 2024, 4:18am

I used some of the extra paste I made to coat a piece of salmon before roasting it.

I think I may have preferred it this way vs the steamed version.

Amandarama · June 7, 2024, 11:14am

Yum! What temperature did you roast at?

Saregama · June 7, 2024, 5:30pm

I was hungry, so I did 400F for 7 mins. Probably a minute more than needed, but still moist.

Usually I slow roast at 250-275 for 10-15 mins depending on thickness.

Amandarama · June 8, 2024, 5:55pm

DARK CHOCOLATE AND CINNAMON BAR WITH PASSION FRUIT SHRIKHAND
p. 148

Ok, so this is one of the few recipes in my copy of the book that is not accompanied with a photo. The opening paragraph of the recipe describes it as a “melt-in-your-mouth truffle turned cake”. A search of the internet turned up this photo from Facebook from the Gunpowder restaurant:

Well, the version I turned out definitely got the “melt” part of the description correct:

I mean, at the end of the day, it is a decadent, delicious, creamy chocolate dessert. But, more pudding slab than truffle bar. I blame the inclusion of eggs and milk in the recipe. Eggs = custard = pudding. Even thought the custard is barely cooked, really just tempered by a hot milk and cream mixture, this is definitely a pudding. Dose it out into ramekins and let it set up. Eat it from the ramekin. Thank me later.

The shrikhand probably would have benefitted from me letting the yogurt drain longer. It called for Greek and I used Fage, which is already pretty thick. I gave it six hours instead of overnight. Then mixed passion fruit puree, ground cardamom, and sugar. You can stop right there and just eat it, as far as I’m concerned. As a topping, I thought it competed with the chocolate more than complimented.

I garnished with candied ginger, because I didn’t have crushed honeycomb. Lots of stuff in my pantry. No crushed honeycomb. Go figure.

I think if you want this to be a truffle bar, just make a chocolate (and a little cinnamon) ganache and let it set up. Otherwise, prepare for pudding.