karwar Archives

Not your everyday chicken curry

Chicken curry is a popular dish in India, served at every household and restaurant. The preparation however varies from region to region. The Karwar version of the chicken curry includes coconut and a concoction of spices. These are not your typical out of the box seasoning and a visit to an ethnic grocery store would be required. However, you can prepared the spice mixture ahead of time and store it in an air tight container in the freezer for a long time.

Preparing the marinade:

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

5 to 6 whole green chilies

2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Pinch of salt

Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Add 2 tablespoon water to make a thick paste.

Marinating the chicken:

2 tablespoon plain yogurt

2 lbs chicken pieces (with bones)

Soak the chicken in yogurt and the marinade in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the juices get absorbed.

Making your own dry spice mixture:

12 whole cloves

3 whole cardamoms

12 peppercorns

6 red dried chilies

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

3 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon anise seeds

Place a wok or large fry pan on medium heat. Once hot, add all the spices and roast for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. The spices would release an aroma once roasted. Do not brown them. Let cool at room temperature. Then use a coffee or spice grinder to grind the spices into a powdery consistency. Store in air tight container until ready to use.

Finishing the spice blend:

3 medium onions, coarsely chopped

3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups grated coconut (unsweetened)

2 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

In a large fry pan, heat the oil. Then fry the onions and coconut lightly. Let cool completely. Then blend with dry spice mixture until thick paste in formed. All steps till this point can be completed ahead of time.

Cooking the chicken:

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

In a medium size pressure cooker, heat the oil on medium heat. Fry the finely chopped onion till brown in color. Add the marinated pieces of chicken and fry it for 3 minutes. Add the spice mixture and salt to it and fry for another 2 minutes. Add a cup of water and pressure cook for approx. 7 minutes on medium heat. If the whistle blows before 7 minutes take the pressure cooker off the flame.

Serve warm with steamed rice.

An undiscovered gem from southern India

Karwar is a small town on the western coast of India, just south of Goa. It was an ancient site of sea trade visited by the Arabs, Dutch, Portuguese, French and later the British. Karwar is still known for its pristine beaches and a bustling seaport.

Although a lot of information can be found on Goan cuisine, the cuisine of Karwar is largely a well kept secret. The two happen to have a few commonalities but still differ in taste, flavor and variety. You will not find any cookbooks revealing the regional recipes and the only way to get them is through a native. And so I did! One of my friends happens to be from Karwar. She has also lived in Mumbai and Goa, but is loyal to her Karwari roots. After months of persuasion, she finally let me into her classified kitchen closet in Atlanta where she showed me her stack of whole spices that I had never seen or heard of before. Among these was my new discovery – white kokum phool. Kokum is a small round fruit that has its origins in India. It has a sweet and sour taste, similar to tamarind. It is dried and sold in packet or made into powder. In Karwar cuisine, it is used as generously as salt and pepper.

During the course of the evening, we prepared shrimp fry, fish fry, and coconut chicken curry. The generous hostess had already cooked other side items to go with our banquet style dinner.

The shrimp and fish fry are prepared in the same manner and served as an appetizer.

Shrimp Fry

1 teaspoon garlic paste

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ lemon

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

½ cup vegetable or canola oil

½ cup semolina (known as Sooji at Indian stores)

Mix the first four ingredients in a small bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice into the spices and add 1 tablespoon of oil to make it pasty. Rub the spice mixture on the shrimps using the half of the lemon to coat. Leave aside for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a large fry pan on medium temperature. Spread the semolina on a plate. Lightly coat each shrimp with semolina on both sides, and then add to the hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve immediately.