Goan Escapades (Part 1) - Prawn Balchao

My trip to Goa last month was my first there. Many find it hard to believe, especially after knowing that I spent 3 years in Mumbai and 2 years in Pune. The fact remains that there are so many great destinations short of goa along the Konkan coast that you just cannot reach goa. They hijack you with their charm and virgin beaches.

Apart from one of the best training interventions in the last few years, the trip to goa was a great culinary adventure. The hotel we stayed in, Park Hyatt Resort & Spa, is a fantastic property. The hotel beach is amazing and their food is lip smacking. I would though give their Italian restaurant a pass.
One of the restaurants that I made a beeline to almost everytime was Casa Sarita. It is named after Chef Sarita who heads the restaurant and literally translated means "House of Sarita". Chef Sarita is an amazing cook and has designed all the dishes on the menu. She has been featured on various food shows on NDTV, IBN and has even had Karen Anand take recipes from her (You can hear that in the video). What is even more interesting is to note that she is self taught and has not been to a cookery course or college. What came as a pleasant surprise was the fact that Casa Sarita has been featured in the Conde Nast Hot List Tables 2008 in Indian category. This annual list names the best in the global dining scene and this is one of the four Indan restaurants featured. One bite of the food and you wonder why not ...the food is great, the staff fantastic and the chef great.
Chef Sarita was extremely obliging in letting me record her while she cooked and let me post those signature dishes on this blog. This recipe for Prawn Balchao is the first one in the series. Since it was not a planned event, the videos have been recorded on various digicams available to the group that was along with me. I am still sourcing out various other videos containing recipes and pardon the noise in the background (you can hear my irritating voice trying to make small talk with chef Sarita) and me trying to capture every little nuance of this cuisine.

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Achari Chicken Tikka

It's been a jet setting year so far ...I mean I have traveled more in the last 2 months than I have in 2007 & 2008 combined. Going by the writing on the wall, it's only going to increase. One thing that travel surely does is expose you to different cuisines. You miss cooking, but your palate gets more global and you gather new dishes to cook in your kitchen arsenal. Last to Last week I was in Goa, and though we were all busy on company off site, the food was out of the world. I took time to visit all the restaurants in the Hotel we stayed in and the Goan restaurant blew me away.
I managed to sweet talk the chef in parting with a few recipes and even take a video of them. Sadly, the video is in bits and resting with colleagues who, since we have come back, are either on a vacation or out sick. More on that in the posts to follow.
The recipe featured here was tried when my direct reports had dropped in for a friday night bash a few weeks ago. The night was wild as it is always when guys get together and there is booze flowing like water. Don't read too much into it and do not let your imagination run wild. It was nothing like a freaked out bachelors party. Wild, as in, everyone was relaxed and speaking their mind out.

Achari Chicken Tikka Ingredients:
Chicken, Boneless, cut into 1" dices - 200 gm
Ginger garlic paste - 2 Tblsp
Onion Paste - 2 Tblsp
Lemon Juice - 2 Tblsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 Tsp
Yogurt, whisked - 1 Cup
Green Chili, finely chopped - 1
Mustard Oil - 3 Tblsp
Black Salt - 1 Tsp
Salt -To Taste

Achari Masala
Fennel (Saunf) - 2 Tsp
Corriander Seeds - 2 Tsp
Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Dana) - 1 Tsp
Black Cumin Seeds (Shah Zeera) - 2 Tsp
Onion Seeds (Kalonji) - 1 Tsp
Mustard Seeds (Rai) - 1 Tsp

Method:
1.Roast the achari masala ingredients slightly. Cool and powder coarsley in a grinder or with a pestle.
2. Make a marinade by whisking yogurt, mustard oil, red chili powder,ginger-garlic paste, onion paste, lemon juice, chopped green chillies, black salt, salt and the powdered achari masala.
3. Marinate the chicken dices in this mixture and leave aside in a cool place for an hour.
4.Pre-heat oven.
5. Skewer the marinated chicken dices and roast in the oven.
6. Rotate the skewers as much as possible. This will ensure even cooking at all sides.
7. Baste with oil frequently. This prevents chicken from drying and makes it more juicy.
8. Serve hot with onion rings and lemon wedges.

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Pickled Carrot Relish

I have been away for most of the time this month and no post got updated for more than 2 weeks. Well, the real reason for this was the visit of the stork to our household. Yes! we were blessed with a baby boy on 15th Dec'07 at 11:56 AM. Both Mother and child are OK and doing well. This birth completed our family and really tied me up. Since we planned to do it here itself in Hyderabad and not at either of our parents home, it meant that I would need to don another cap...that of being the mom-pop to our elder son. It was a real challenge and I am still grappling with it as I write. The first thing I cooked up after the birth was Poha for breakfast yesterday. Nothing fancy, no experiments, no presentation razzmatazz ...just plain, simple, tasty Poha ...err! the tasty word was added after I got a thumbs up from my mom, who's here taking care of Subha and the new kid. My elder son, as usual did not want anything to do with it and preferred to just drink milk.
Talking about posts, a real big thanks to Vegeyum, for posting my beet thing on her blog ( with some nice variations). It was great to read it in print. Actually, all credits to my wife for making it. This is her trademark recipe. I must say, vegeyum did a brilliant job with the photos. If anybody does not have an apetite, make them browse this site. The photos will surely work up anybody's apetite.
While I 'm thanking my wife for her variations, here's another of my wife's amazing creations. It is easy to make and really adds that zing to the everyday food. You can also have it as a dish.

Ingredients:
Carrots, julienned - 2
Capsicum, julienned - 1
Onion Seeds or nigella seeds (Kalonji) - 2 Tsp
Mustard Oil - 10 ml
Mustard powder - 2 Tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) - A Pinch
Fenugreek seeds powder - 1/2 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder -2 Tsp
Salt - To Taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok, add in the masalas and cook till done.
2. Blanch carrots and capsicum juliennes.
3. Add in the Capsicum and carrots to the oil and masala mixture. Add salt. Cook till done.
4. Serve Cold.

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