A Variation on a Theme: Gujarati Inspired Fish Curry

The inspiration for this wonderful dish came from a recent Facebook post by Poonam Bachhav.  We love curries in various guises and formats, and this recipe offered an opportunity to experiment.

Living in the Cape Town area in South Africa has its advantages.  In terms of food-related advantages, the Cape Colony was established as a halfway station for replenishment of shipping traffic on the spice route. We have a fusion of culinary arts known as the Cape Malay cooking style as a direct result, not to mention the availability of interesting herbs and spices. However, the availability is seasonal, and not all the herbs and spices of the Orient are available here.  We also tend to fall into culinary habits and stop experimenting.

In this case, the Gujarati Kadhi recipe really interested me.  While it is a dish on the sweet side, and vegetarian to boot, I thought that such a dish may serve as the basis for a fragrant fish curry.  I am a serious meat eater, but not averse to using purely vegetarian dishes as a side to a main meal of meat, especially as a side to meat done on the coals.  It is summer here and braais are the in thing.  This dish also goes easy on spices, stepping away from the big, bold flavors of the Cape Malay or Durban style curries that we are used to here.  It also provides a welcome change from the traditionally heavy meals that we eat here.

I was so excited about the possibilities of this dish that bought a fresh hake and had it filleted.  This fish is light and cooks to a flaky consistency, which presents a risk of disappearing into the dish when overcooked.  My thoughts went out to people living inland, who may not have access to fresh sea fish. This recipe will also work with carp or bass.  Carp also flakes when cooked.  All the inland fishes will work, but the skins need to be removed, else the food will taste muddy.  Carp and hake need to be firmed up, bass not so much, as it is a game fish.  Do this by thawing the fish to room temperature, then placing it on a paper towel and salting with coarse or rock salt to cure for at least an hour. The salt will extract some juices from the fish and the flesh will firm up.

This specific dish is made with curd, buttermilk, or yogurt as the main body of the sauce.  This sauce is flavored with spices of choice, then thickened with gram flour. I reckoned that such a thick sauce would be wonderful for poaching delicate fish.  The only problem that I had was that such a dish would be mushy, with no texture.  However, that problem was soon solved by the inclusion of peas and sugar snap peas.  These also cook fast and provide sweetness instead of the palm sugar in the original recipe.

As this was a new experiment, I decided on a simple flatbread made of yogurt, wheat flour, water, and salt to serve as a side dish. This is an easy dough and can be made earlier to allow time for resting.

Ingredients

For the curry

800 g - 1 kg fresh hake fillets, cubed

1 cup plain yogurt

2 shallots, roughly chopped

2 thumbs fresh garlic, grated

¼ bell pepper, diced

3 dried lime leaves

3 dried chilies

A thumb of fresh ginger, grated

Thumb length of cinnamon bark

½ - 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon turmeric

½ cup fresh peas

½ cup sugar snap peas

2x star aniseed

4 cardamom pods, bruised

1x finger length lemongrass stalk cut lengthwise and bruised

1 ½ teaspoon garam masala

Some cayenne pepper or chili powder to taste

Sprig of coriander leaves for garnish

½ lemon or whole lime for the zest and the juice

2 - 4 tablespoons gram flour to thicken the sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Water as required

For the bread

1 cup wheat flour

½ cup plain yogurt

½ teaspoon salt

Water as required

Method

Cube the fish, lay the cubes on some paper towel, salt it using coarse salt, then set it aside to cure for at least an hour, preferably longer.  Now the bread dough may be made and also set aside to rest.  Take care not to make the dough sloppy, as it will go softer as it rests. You need soft dough for this bread.

Fry the whole spices in a dollop of oil or ghee until fragrant.  Add the grated ginger, garlic, and dried chilies and fry until fragrant, then add the onions.  Fry until translucent, then add the yogurt. Lower the heat and add the turmeric, lemongrass, and lime leaves. 

This is where things may get tricky.  The thickness of the sauce needs to be adjusted by adding the gram flour.  Cornflour may also be used. This is the last time that the dish can be stirred.  After the fish is added, stirring will break the fish up into a mushy mess.  The salt should now be adjusted to taste, as well as pepper and spiciness using chili powder.  Add the garam masala, the zest from half a lemon or a whole lime at this point too.  The lemon or lime juice may be added later, just before serving.

Once you are happy with the taste and flavor profile of the dish, add the peas, sugar snap peas, then the fish. Make sure that the mix is boiling before adding the fish. Turn down the heat and wait five minutes, then shut the stove off. There will be enough heat in the sauce to cook the peas and fish to al-dente consistency.

To make the bread, simply take golf-ball-sized dollops of dough and roll it out to resemble a pancake.  Fry this in a dry pan until done.  The yogurt in the dough gives the bread a roti-like consistency.

Dish up and serve with the chopped coriander leaves as garnish.

Bon appetit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last edited on 29 November 2021

Traditional Easter Fare

It is that time of year again. Easter. For some reason Easter is celebrated in South Africa almost like Thanksgiving in The United States; Lots of family gatherings and lots of food.

Perhaps it has much to do with being the end of the harvest season. Us city- and seaward oriented folks tend to get somewhat dislodged from Mother Earth and the seasons. But the religious festivals help to keep us in line with the seasons.

For one, I know this festival is very close to the first equinox of the year which falls on 21-22 March. That is when the sun crosses the equator on its way to the northern hemisphere for their summer. It is also the first star gate of the year for some religions.

But here it is Easter. Time for wonderful celebrations and always accompanied with good food and wine. The Cape is no exception and Mother Nature played along very nicely this year and provided lots of good fishing recently. This played magnificently into the tradition to have pickled fish and bread for a picnic lunch in the balmy autumn weather here in the Cape Town area.

I am not a fisherman, so I went to the local fish market by the jetty and bought a fish. Pickled fish appears to be like South African potjiekos, a very personal dish with jealously guarded recipes.

Luckily for us, not all recipes are so closely guarded and we have the famous Cass Abrahams, who published her recipe for pickled fish. This one is special also because it is one of the very traditional Cape Malay dishes, steeped in history.

For me, this was the perfect opportunity to test the Cape Malay style spiciness. The spice mix is simple, the preparation easy and the waiting time forever. I did not even bother doing an internet search, as I had a proper reference handy right on my bookshelf: Cass Abrahams cooks Cape Malay, by Cass Abrahams. The book is available from Amazon books. This recipe is adapted from this book.


This dish is normally made using cheap fish.  The book calls for snoek, which in other parts of the world is called queen mackerel.  However, any fish will do. Especially game fish as they have firmer flesh. The recipe may be made by frying the salted fish in butter or in a light batter. It does not make a difference. I opted for the plain frying in light oil as per the recipe. The dish also calls for vinegar, for which I used apple cider vinegar. This gave a very fruity taste to the dish and I had to add a little regular vinegar to get the acidity levels up. The sugar is added to your own taste, so take care. It is easy to have too much sugar. You can always add some later when the dish has cured for a day or two.

The solid ingredients need to be submerged in the pickle. If not, add a little vinegar and turn the whole lot around. This will get the bottom pieces to the top and allow the top ones some better soaking and curing. Be careful not to break the pieces of fish, else you end up with flaked fish in brine.


Very important: The skin needs to be taken off game fish. The brine or pickle will not penetrate the skin and thus leave your fish not cured and tasting bland. I tend to always skin the fish. You may do this by soaking the cuts in boiling water for a minute or so. The skin will then come off easily. The size of the cuts does not matter. However, I like to have all the cuts with at least one dimension under my control. This means I cut all the pieces to the same thickness, which, in my case, is about 20mm or ¾ inch. This will ensure a similar curing time for all the cuts. Over-curing does not matter, but under-curing does. And make sure the onions are properly cooked, otherwise you end up with very crunchy bits! The onions may be fried in butter before adding to the pickle, if one so prefers.

So here goes.

Ingredients

1 kg game fish. I used yellowtail
2 large onions, sliced into rings
5 thumbs garlic, mashed
250 ml vinegar
125 ml water
10 ml coriander powder
10 ml cumin powder (jeera)
15 ml masala
5 ml turmeric
2 bay leaves
4 pimentos
4 cloves
1 ml peppercorns
Sugar to taste. I used brown sugar

Process

Salt the fish and fry until done. I did mine in batches. Keep these to the side and keep the frying oil. Add the fluids and the dry ingredients, except the sugar, to a saucepan and set to boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes until the onions are translucent but still firm. Add sugar to taste.

Pour the hot sauce over the fish and ensure that every piece is properly coated with the pickle. Allow to cool and set into the refrigerator for three to four days. This will allow the flavours to develop and help the fish and onions to cure. Turn the lot every day to get the pickle soaking in properly.

Simple.

This dish goes well with an artisan loaf of bread, real butter and an off-dry white wine.

Bon appetit!



Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2015-03-29

Day 32: Crossing The Equator And A Seafood Curry

We crossed the equator today. 00 degrees 00 minutes latitude. From now on, we are in the northern hemisphere. There is about twelve odd days left of our voyage.

The navigation calculations now changes, as the sun is now in a different hemisphere than ourselves. And almost all the angles measure are large, due to our proximity to the sun and the equator. The other reason for the large angles is that there are simply too many clouds on the horizon to allow a lower angle measurement.

The fair winds and current that we experienced during the last three days have now subsided and we are motor-sailing along. We are now crossing the Amazon river delta, some 450 nautical miles ( about 1000 km) across. Three days' sailing at six knots. If you please. The delta makes a bit of a bay inland, so we are further offshore than a day or two ago. This means that the effect of the land is much less and probably accounts for the drop in the current and the wind.

We are expecting a change in the wind direction as we travel further into the northern hemisphere. The prevailing wind in this neck of the woods is normally north-east. We are now sort of in an intermediate zone, depending on local weather patterns. Hopefully we don't hit the doldrums.

Today was my turn to cook. Not having had a chance of a seafood curry, this was the dish of choice for dinner. Our provisions are running low, so I had to make do with perhaps an eclectic selection of ingredients. Frozen Thai style stir fry vegetables from the supermarket in Cape Town, fresh dorado from the sea. Coconut powder and other spices from my stash.

The spicing for this dish is from a mix of Indian and other spices. But all from the Far East. Which, for my South African friends, is further east than Germiston lake.

This dish can be prepared in many ways, but a fusion of Thai and Indian style processes works wonders. The fish is marinated in the masala paste, then fried in light butter. Then put aside to rest while the rest of the dish takes shape. It helps a lot with flavour to cut the fish into smaller cubes. This allows better penetration of the marinade spices.

I also added some vegetable stock. I had a choice between chicken stock and vegetable stock. The veetable stock won the argument. However, the fish rather resembles chicken, both in taste and in texture, so chicken stock will also work. The stock is there mostly as a thickener. You don't want a watery soup. Most of the flavour will end up in the sauce, so a thickener is in order. Use corn flour at the end to get the sauce to the right consistency.

The next part is to fry the rest of the spices in the buttered pan, then the onions, then the thawed vegetables. The vegetables need to be al dente still, else they will cook to a porridge. Add the coconut powder mixed with water, some vegetable stock, then simmer this for five to ten minutes. Then add the fish back into the dish, simmer until everything is cooked through. Thicken the sauce to taste, then allow thirty minutes of repose for the flavours to develop.

The garum masala at the end is a very Indian tradition. I use this as a last boost to the flavours, as some will peter out during the cooking. It adds a little cumin, cinnamon and pepper to the dish. Don't overdo it, this dish needs subtle flavours to add to the safron, not kill it.

I used some brown lentils in the rice to bulk up the dish. This time I used basmati rice to add to the flavours. And because I think the basmati rice rather goes better with this dish than brown rice, which was the other option.


Ingredients

For the curry

600g dorado fillets, cubed

500 g frozen stir fry vegetables

1 1/2 onion, chopped lengthwise in Chinese style

1 teaspoon masala paste (Recipe here)

1 teaspoon masala/curry powder

1 can coconut milk or cream or, in my case

60 g (2 oz) coconut cream powder

1 piece cinnamon bark

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

seeds from two cardamom pods

1 dessert spoon vegetable stock

1 teaspoon saffron essence

1 teaspoon garum masala

salt to taste

1-2 cups water as needed



For the rice

1 cup basmati rice

½ cup brown lentils

1 teaspoon aniseed seeds

salt to taste

3 cups water



Process for the rice

Add all the ingredients in a pot and set to boil. Then lower the heat and allow the rice to simmer until the water has been absorbed. Add salt to taste. Add water if necessary. I had to add about two cups, a little at a time. Check the water level frequently, lest the rice burns. You will not be washing it.


Process for the curry

Marinate the cubed fish in a little cooking oil and the masala paste. Set aside for 30 minutes or so while preparing the rest of the ingredients. Small cubes will suck up flavours quite fast.

Proceed by toasting the coriander seeds and cinnamom bark, then the cardamom seeds in a dry pan. In that order. The cardamom seeds are small and will burn long before the coriander begins to feel warm. The cardamom seeds will toast in a few seconds.

Then add some butter to the pan and the chopped onion. Fry the onion until translucent and beginning to brown, then add the dry masala powder. Fry this for fifteen seconds, then add the marinated fish. Add some butter if the dish is too dry. Fry the fish until about medium done, then remove the fish from the pan and set aside to repose.

Now add the stir fry vegetables and fry until al dente. These will simmer some more in the saauce, so don't overdo it at this stage. Add the coconut milk or -powder dissolved in half a cup of water and the chicken stock. Turn the heat down and simmer this for ten minutes, then add back the fish. Simmer for another five minutes, then add the saffron and the garum masala. Mix thoroughly and check for salt.

At this stage you should check for thickness of the sauce and thicken as required using cornflour.

Allow the dish to repose for thirty minutes or longer before dishing up. This one is actually self-organising: The thick sauce will retain its heat for a long time,aking the dish effectively too hot in temperature to eat.

But I think these warnings are fruitless anyway...

Bon appetit!

　

　

Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-10-26

3rd Leg Day 6: A Flare Over An Oily Sea and Sticky Spicy Fish

The day again dawned sweltering hot. A portetn of things to come. The breeze that sprung up yesterday petered out to nothing during the night. We had just over seven hours' worth of sailing, saving us some diesel.

Today we motored the whole day. There was a lot of intermitttent counter currents. Rather like a snake coilining and uncoiling, writhing on the ground, with us on top. Or perhaps us floating on a gigantic saucepan of water that is just short of boiling. The water in turbulence, but not so that you get bumped around, just slewing the boat here and there. And adding to our diesel fuel consumption. Very worrying when you consider our diesel supplies.

From an artistic aspect, the sea has this oily, lazy look. The water is an indescribably blue colour and crystal clear. Towards afternoon, when the sun was before the mast, the aft deck gave some shelter against the blaze and we took some comfort there. At least you could feel some breeze there. We took turns to sit on the starboard pontoon aft deck in the shade offerered by the bimini top. The aft portion of the deck is just clear of the water and you can hang your feet in the water. The water has this tepid temperature, much like lukewarm tea. But it does provide some modicum of cooling. But more, it provides a soothing foot massage, as the boat is rocking gently in the small swell, so your feet get pulled out of the water every so often. A very calming effect, somewhat therapeutic.

Surprisingly, there is not much traffic in this vicinity. This in spite of being a relatively narrow seaway. The skipper says it is normal and that one sees a little more traffic in the Bahamas channel hugging the north coast of Cuba.

During late afternoon we saw a rocket flare against the clear sky. We diverted to render assistance. After three hours we resumed our voyage. There was no radio traffic, no response from other vessels and the sea is flat calm. We assumed some pranks from fishermen or a ship over the horizon. In any event, we found nothing. A bit perturbing experience in this neck of the woods with the threat of piracy too.

Yesterday we started the last big clean-up and did the stainless steel spit & polish thing. We also washed some of our mooring lines that got very dirty on the mooring at St Maarten. We soaked them for a few hours in fresh water and some washing powder. Then we scrubbed them using a scrubbing brush we bought for exactly this job. Then the lines were streamed in the wake for a rinse, turning them around after a few minutes. By this morning they were dry. Now they are as white as anything, causing a glare on the aft deck.

Goodness, I am sounding like a cheap TV ad!

The sea is flat calm and by this afternoon we had left behind the last of the counter currents for the next day or so. Rather, we hope so. It chewed our diesel. We get the idea that there may be lots of eddy currents from the bays on the island next to us, where the Dominican Republic and Haiti is situated. I think the island used to be called Hispaniola.

It was my turn at the galley again. We are on the last legs of the freezer's contents, so in the dying throes of the voyage all the dinners are last legs dishes. The choice of ingredients is dimishing very fast to a binary situation. Makes for interesting creativity. Today was no exception. I made sticky spicy fish with plain rice and caramel butternut. No sauce or gravy with the rice. The spice mix is from National Foods in Karachi. I obtained this from my local spice shop in Gordon's Bay. Your local spice shop catering for the Muslim community will have it.

Sticky Spicy Fish

Ingredients

For the fish

400g fish fillets, cubed into lsrge cubes. I used Dorado. Mahi mahi for the Caribs.

½ packet of fried fish mix.

1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic

dollop of lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup water

½ cup flour. I used white bread flour, as this is what I have.

Some cooking oil or ghee, as required. The recipe calls for deep oil, but we have a dearth, so I used shallow oil in a wok.

For the butternut

½ butternut, cubed

Some cinnamon bark

2-3 dessert spoons sugar

Process

For the fish

Mix the lemon juice, salt and some of the masla mix. Marinate the fish in this for 30 minutes. Make a paste of water, ½ teaspoon of salt and the flour. Dip the fish cubes in the flour paste to cover it completely, then fry it in the oil. I put the fried cubes on a plate with a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

For the butternut

Cut the butternut into cunes after peeling it with a potato peeler. Put this in a pot withabout 1- 1½ cups of water. Add the sugar and the cinnamon bark. Simmer until the water has boiled off and the sugar has caramelised.

The rice you boil as normal.

Bon apettit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12

3rd Leg Day 3: Headwinds, Counter Currents and Fish Curry

We battled through the night against the wind and against the currents. I have not experienced anything like this before.

We passed into the North Atlantic Ocean again via The Narrows late yesterday afternoon, en route to Puerto Rico. We came close to the island, then encountered a head wind tht forced us to furl away the sail completely and motor along. Suddenly we were moving at one knot. I checked the engine revs, checked behind us in the wake for anything that maight have caught on the rudders and dragging along. Then I put the engine in idle and out of gear. Then we were moving sideways at a knot. Quite disconcerting in the middle of the night. The engine revs were put up to a decent nick and then we managed to move along at just over two knots. And so we motored laboriously for most of the day.

The verdict was a heavy current out of the North Atlantic into the Puerto Rico Basin. This current dominated our day until after lunch. Our daily run came to the princely total of ninety nautical miles. I write it in words to make it sound a bit further. Dismal and enervating, but there you have it. The words “head winds” and “counter currents” take on a whole new meaning. Being in sight of the land doesn't help much either. You start off on your watch looking at a lighthouse on land. Then, at the end of your next watch nine hours later, you are still seeing the same lighthouse. Not funny.

The day was quite nice otherwise. Discussing the heat of the day seems a bit bland, as it is still very hot. We still have to check the engine fuel filters for water, as well as the coolant, every three hours. And we still get water in the fuel. Fiddlesticks!

The weather seems to be clearing a bit and the wind is veering into the north-east sector of the compass, which suits us to a T. We may just be able to raise the mainsail in a few hours' time if the wind veers some more. It has been freshening all through the day, which is also good. Perchance we may be able to sail at over six knots again.

Our bit of excitement came from a naval exercise by the US Navy. We had to motor around the exercise area. Also we were entertained by the US Coast Guard and their frequent bulletins on VHF channel 16, giving the co-ordinates of the exercise area for us civilians to stay clear.

Today was my turn at the galley again. The choices of meals are beginning to be very narrow, verging on almost binary. As in take it or leave it. This shows the voyage is drawing to an end.

We still have some fish, so it was fish curry and rice.

Last Legs Fish Curry

Ingredients

400 g fish fillets, cubed. I used Dorado, also known as Mahi Mahi around these parts.

1 onion, chopped

2 small Jamaican hot pepper chilis, chopped. I got these in St Maarten, as ours from Cape Town had started fermenting and had to be ditched.

1 dessert spoon masala powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds

1 star aniseed

¼ teaspoon aniseed seeds

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 small stick cinnamon bark

½ cup lentils. Brown or black lentils are good. This is for some bulk in the fish part of the dish.

1 envelope coconut powder

some salt

1 teaspoon gharum masala

½ cup frozen garden peas

dollop of cooking oil

1 dessert spoon butter

1¼ cup rice

½ teaspoon saffron essence

Process

Cook the rice in enough water to just absorb all of it. Add a ½ teaspoon of saffron essence and some salt as requied.

Start with a dry frying pan, Fry the whole spices until the flavour comes out, then add a dollop of cooking oil and the butter. Heat the oil and butter to medium hot, then add the onion and the chopped chilis. Fry the onion until it is glassy, the add the dry powder spices. Keep the gharum masala for later. Fry for a minute, then add the fish. Fry the fish until it is nice and brown, then remove from the pan. Add the coconut powder, dissolved in half a cup of water, and the lentils. Simmer these until the lentils are almost done, then add the fish back to get the flavours mixed properly.

Lastly, add the garden peas and the gharum masala and simmer for another five minutes, before turning off the heat.

Let the dish rest for a few minutes before dishing up.

Bon appetit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12

2nd Leg Day 27: Full Sails, a Barber Shop and Thai Fish Curry

The wind stayed constant during the night and the swells subsided sufficiently for us to put up the mainsail for the first time on this voyage. Today is the first time that we had the wind on the beam and small enough seas to enable us to use the mainsail. Much excitement on board!

We woke the skipper at 07h00 this morning to make his usual Monday morning call to the office in Cape Town. I prepared the mainsail while he was doing the administration thing with the office. Then it was time to hoist the mainsail. The boat was pointed into the wind and we started hoisting, but got some lines twisted. After these tangles and twisted lines were sorted, we hoisted and set the sails, turned back on course and voila!, we were sailing merrily along at around eight knots. The boat has a totally different motion through the water with a lot less banging of the water against the underside of the bridge. The sailing experience is all the more enjoyable.


Today I took what is probably my penultimate sextant sun sights for this voyage. I normally take two sights and plot both to get an idea of my own errors. Today the two lines of position so obtained coincided. While one may think this is good measuring practice, bear in mind that the sun moved for two minutes between the sights, so there should actually be a slight difference. In spite of this, I still have a warm feeling about these sights.

It is shower day today, so we decided to open the barber shop before we took our baths. Some idea in the back of our heads not to look like the ancient mariner or a bunch of dirty scruffy Caribbean sea gypsies, I guess. I have cropped heads before, but not on a bobbing and heaving boat. One needs to be very alert with the clipper and be sitting down when using it. We all had a turn to be cropped. The results appear to be quite presentable, despite the conditions and our level of proficiency.

Or lack thereof.


We now look like scruffy Cape Town sea gypsies that took a crop and a bath.

Today was my turn at the galley again. I made Thai fish curry with savoury rice. I used a mix of half a cup of brown and wild rice and some long grain rice. Just for the texture and to use up all the leftovers. It makes sense and is suited to the dish. Next time I shall bring basmati -, bimri - or jasmine rice or all of the aforementioned. The dish also contains some fresh garden peas. This is in lieu of some exotic Thai green stuff, whatever the description. Call it chef's license.

Thai Fish Curry with Savoury Rice

Ingredients

For the Fish

400 g fish fillets

1 onion, chopped

1 dessert spoon green masala (Recipe here)

1 dessert spoon masala powder

½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds

1 packet coconut powder

½ cup warm water for the coconut powder

1 cardamom (elachi) pod, shelled

1/4 teaspoon coriander (dhania) seeds

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

small piece cinnamon bark

1 teaspoon gharum masala

½ teaspoon saffron essence

½ cup fresh garden peas

½ teaspoon salt

dollop of cooking oil or ghee

For the Rice

1 cup of long grain rice.

¼ cup of lentils. Texture again.

½ teaspoon aniseed seeds

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

Process

Put the rice, lentils, water, aniseed and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the rice is done and all the water boiled away or absorbed. You may add a little water every now and then as required. You don't want to rinse the rice, as you will lose the aniseed.

Marinate the fish in the green masala for 20-30 minutes. Start with a dry frying pan or wok. I used a wok. Heat the wok and add the whole dry spices. Fry the dry spices until the flavour comes out, then add a dollop of cooking oil or ghee. Reduce the heat and mix the spices and oil to ensure proper flavouring of the oil. Then add the chopped onion and fry until it goes glassy. Add the dry powder masala and fry until the flavour comes out, then add the marinated fish and fry until the fish is nicely done. Add the coconut milk which you made using the cup of hot water, the coconut powder and the saffron essence. Add the garden peas. Reduce the heat and simmer for another five to ten minutes, then add the gharum masala. If you happen to have fresh coriander leaves, you can add some at this stage as a garnish. Turn off the heat and let the dish rest for ten minutes to develop flavour.

Bon appetit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12

2nd Leg Day 24: Sweetcorn Rye Loaf, Navigation and Sweet & Sour Fish

Today the wind returned and we are able to motor sail. The wind is not that strong yet.

Dawid started coastal navigation lessons yesterday and got some homework, which he actually did. We reviewed it this morning. Another tutorial or three and he will be ready to do his practical work for real when we pass Barbados and reach the Windward Islands.

He followed on by preparing, kneading and baking his second loaf. A rye loaf with sweetcorn, as was his wont. He is turning out to be a real student. His surname is Schoeman, Dutch for shoemaker, but we are considering to change it to Bakker, Dutch for baker. However, with the navigation lessons also progressing nicely we need to think up a new pseudonym for him. Perhaps Dawid the Charter. Or perhaps Dawid the Plotter. The options remain open for the time. For Renier we have reserved the title Numero UNO, after his unbeatable performance to date.

Sweetcorn Rye Loaf

Ingredients

3 cups rye flour

2 cups white bread flour

1 cup brown bread flour

1 can sweetcorn

2 teaspoons salt

1 packet instant yeast

1 ½ – 2 cups lukewarm water. The quantity will depend on how much moisture comes from the sweetcorn. This dough will be quite soft and may soak up additional flour from the kneading board.

Process

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the sweetcorn. Mix thoroughly, then add some of the water. Keep on mixing and adding water until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a ladle, then turn the dough out onto the floured kneading board. Knead until the dough gets smooth. Then wet the surface and cover the dough to rise. Put the dough in a nice and warm place to rise for an hour or two until it at least doubled in size. Anywhere on the boat will do today, as it is hellishly hot.

After the dough has risen to the requisite volume, turn it out onto the kneading board and knead it back to the original volume. Shape the loaf and leave to rest for another 20 minutes. Cut 3/8 to ½ inch (1 cm) cuts into the top of the loaf to allow even expansion in the oven. Put the loaf in the cold oven, switch on the heat to 190ºC/375ºF and bake the loaf for 40 minutes. Then turn the heat off and leave the loaf in the oven for another twenty minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for fifteen minutes, then hold back the crowds before they devour it all at once!

This was Dawid's second loaf, so we kept it simple yeastwise with a variation on the ingredients and some slight complication in the quantity of water. It worked out well enough.

We are now just under 500 miles from the island of Barbados and just a tad over 800 miles from St Maarten. The weather is still holding up and we have resumed our sports fishing activities. The fish, however, has not yet.

Today was my turn at the galley again. I made sweet and sour fish with savoury rice. I exchanged dinner ingredients with Renier, who has an aversion to fish. He will eat it only when prepared in an edible way that disguises the fish taste.

Sweet and Sour Fish with Savoury Rice

Ingredients

For the fish

400 g deboned fish fillets, cut into thumb size pieces

1 dessertspoon green masala (Recipe here)

1 dessertspoon dry fish masala powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ hot chili, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Dollop of cooking oil

The fish itself has a mild flavour, so be careful with too harsh ingredients

For the glazing sauce

¼ cup vinegar

2 dessertspoons water

2 dessertspoons sweet chili sauce

2 dessertspoons sugar

For the rice

1¼ cup brown and wild rice mix

1 teaspoon aniseed seeds

1 small piece cinnamon bark

½ teaspoon saffron essence

1 cardamom pod, shelled

1½ teaspon salt

1½ cups water. Enough to cook the rice without having to rinse it.

Process

Marinate the fish in the green masala for 30 minutes. Fry the chopped onions in the dollop of oil until they go brown, then add the chopped chili. Fry these for a minute, then add the marinated fish cubes and the cumin powder. Fry the fish cubes until they are nicely done, then add the glazing sauce made from the vinegar, sweet chili sauce, sugar and water. Simmer this until the sauce has the required thickness, which may be almost caramelised. Then remove from the heat and leave to rest until the rice is done.

The rice can be set to boil before the fish is started. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the rice is nice and tender. Be careful not have too much water, lest you end up with a batch of watery rice. You can add a little water every now and then.

Dish up when everything is done to your taste.

I served this with a coleslaw as it is a fitting accompaniment to the main dish in these hot conditions.

Coleslaw

1½ cup finely chopped cabbage

1 cup mix of fresh sprouts. I had lentils, mung beans and fenugreek sprouts.

½ finely chopped carrot

½ chopped onion

½ cup raisins

½ hot chili, chopped.

3 dessertspoons mayonnaise.

All mixed and cooled.





Bon appetit!









This blog also linked to Yeastspotting!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12

2nd Leg Day 6: Cheese & Onion Loaf, Squalls and Fish Curry

Today is Monday, 6 August. We have been at sea for six days since leaving St Helena, and 22 days since leaving Cape Town. We have about 35 days of the voyage left, depending on the weather.

Dawn saw an overcast sky, gray and rainy. Renier got his the first dowsing from a squall on the voyage during his 00h00 to 03h00 watch slot, I mine on the 06h00 to 09h00 slot. Dawid was spared a dowsing for this round. The weather was cool enough to warrant a T-shirt and a rain jacket. Later in the morning the clouds cleared somewhat and blue sky was to be seen all over. But the squalls stole our wind and we had to motor along. Needless to say, in these conditions we did not catch any fish.

There was just enough clouds to prevent me from taking sun sights. No problem, as we motored and thus the dead reckoning is quite easy and accurate. I am still pondering the problem of the differences in position obtained from the sights taken of the moon and of Venus.


I was up early for my morning watch slot, at 05h30. Raring to finish the cheese and onion loaf that I kneaded yesterday late afternoon and left to rise overnight. The lively starter sponge gave me hope for a proper rising of the dough. The dough proof, that is. I was not disappointed. The dough had more than doubled in volume overnight. I had some difficulty in extracting the dough ball from the plastic bag that it was stored in. I did my best and did not really lose any of the dough.

Cheese and Onion Rye Loaf

Adapted from a recipe in Classic Sourdoughs Revised by Ed Wood and Jean Wood

Ingredients

1 cup sourdough culture proof

1 tablespoon butter, melted

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup finely chopped onions

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour. I don't have access to this, so I used white bread flour.

Process

Combine all the non-flour ingredients, then add the the sourdough culture proof and mix. Now add the rest of the flour a little at a time and mix until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a spoon.Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead in more flour until the dough is smooth and satiny. This dough is quite wet from the onions, so it may take up more flour than anticipated.

The dough of my mix was a bit soft, so I kneaded in another half cup of flour. I then kneaded the dough for another five to eight minutes before cutting it into two sausages and shaping these into two long loaves. These were put in the oven to rest for another two hours before I lit the oven and baked them for 50 minutes at 190ºC/375ºF. I made a number of slashes diagonally across the loaves to assist expansion before the oven was lit. After ten minutes in the oven, I basted the tops with water to assist crust forming. I won't chance spritzing the oven with water, as we have to clean the oven back to factory mint condition before delivery. A mammoth task when there is some scale or other residue in the oven. After the allotted baking time the oven was switched off and the loaves left to cure for another twenty minutes. The loaves were then removed from the oven to cool.

They came out magnificent. All my fears allayed, I cut the first slice. An onion aroma filled the saloon and the first loaf was consumed within half an hour. We all sat there savouring the taste. The crust was nice and crisp, not too thick. The crumb was full of irregular sized holes and elastic but soft. The taste was exquisite. A firm favourite with all aboard.

The loaf constituted lunch. No two minute noodles for lunch today. Dinner was my affair, fish curry by popular request. I made fish curry, using the Dorado we caught, with lentils and coconut milk, served with saffron rice. There was a lively game of backgammon going on while I prepared dinner. Our curtain raiser for the main event, the Uno after dinner . League. Tonight we closed the card games with a round or two of Black Jack, until the bank went bust.

Fish Curry with Lentils and Saffron Rice

Ingredients

400 g fish fillets. I used some of the Dorado that we caught.

½ cup brown lentils

¾ to 1 cup of fresh garden peas. I use frozen peas, the canned ones do not taste as good.

1 envelope of dried coconut powder dissolved in a cup of water or a can of coconut cream or -milk.

1 dessert spoon dry masala powder

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds

½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 star aniseed

½ stick cinnamon bark. This is about a tea spoon's worth of bark.

1 cardamom pod

1 onion, chopped

1 dessert spoon green masala (Recipe here)

½ hot chili, chopped

½ tea spoon chopped garlic

1 tea spoon garum masala

Some salt

Dollop of vegetable oil. Not olive oil.


For the rice:

1 teaspoon saffron essence. Or three saffron strands, soaked in half a cup of hot water.

¼ tea spoon aniseed seeds

Some salt to taste

Process

Cut the fish into thumb size pieces and marinate them for 30 minutes in a dollop of oil with the green masala. Then start with a dry pan. Add all the whole spices except the whole aniseed seeds and saffron, to the pan and fry them until the flavour starts to come out. Peel the cardamom pod and discard the pod skin. Then add some oil and the chopped onion and chili. Fry the onion until it goes translucent or glassy, then add the chopped garlic, the marinated fish and the dry masala powder. Fry the fish until it is done, then remove it from the pan.If you don't the fish may cook to bits. Now add the lentils and two cups of water. Simmer this until the lentils are almost done, then add back the fish. Add the coconut milk. You need to watch the quantity of fluid in the pan, that it does not get too runny. The lentils will absorb water up to a point, but if the dish goes too dry, the lentils will burn. Then you start over. Lastly, add the peas and the garum masala and simmer for five minutes. Then switch off the heat and let the dish rest for ten minutes.

To prepare the rice, add a cup of rice to cold water with some salt and the dry aniseed seeds. You can use cumin instead of the aniseed. Bring to the boil and simmer until the water has reduced somewhat. Add the saffron to the pot and simmer until the water has boiled away completely. Add more water if necessary; the rice may still need cooking when the water has boiled away.

Then dish up!









This blog also linked to Yeastspotting!

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12