Fish with Coconut and Chilli Relish

This is not a southern Indian recipe but  a similar one from a health kick diet I went on recently. It is so reminiscent of many fish dishes we had on our recent tour. Chilli and coconut, lime juice and mustard seeds all ingredients that are used constantly in southern Indian cuisine.
This dish is beautiful and light on calories. The fish can be panfried or grilled depending on the type of fish used.
If you use a thick oily fish it will lend itself to chargrilling or barbecuing beautifully. If a white fish that is small fillets like whiting or flathead then flour and pan fry.
This recipe will feed 4 and is very easily increased

1 piece of fish per person ( I used flathead )
1 tablespoon of plain flour per fish piece
40 grams shredded coconut
1 red onion finely chopped
2 teaspoons crushed ginger
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1/2 geen chilli ( more if desired )finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1 teaspoon castor sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 bunches asparagus
250 grams green beans
Rylstone olive oil


Place the fish pieces in a plastic bag with the flour and add some salt and pepper. Toss the fish around in the bag until it is coated very lightly with the flour. Set aside.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions with the mustard seeds. Add the coconut and toast lightly. Set all aside to cool.
Once cool add the green chilli and chopped coriander to the mixture.
Mix the lime juice with the crushed ginger and castor sugar  Stir together until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the lime juice dressing to the coconut mixture and set aside for serving.
Steam the asparagus and green beans.
Heat the oil for the fish in a shallow pan and gently fry the fish until it is white rather than opaque meaning it is cooked. This doesn't take long if using flathead or whiting , so be vigilant. If you are using a thick cut of fish it will take longer and you could do this on the barbecue.
Place the steamed asparagus and beans in a mound on the plate and cover with the fish pieces.
Drizzle the coconut lime dressing over the fish and around the plates.

Culinary Tour of Southern India

Old Rice Barges converted to stunning luxurious houseboats

Kumakoran Lake Resort

We have just been on another tour of India to the south this time.
From Kerala to Tamil Nadu we learnt about the ancient spice traders and the cuisine that the locals
are so proud of. Quite different to the north in many ways but fabulously interesting in different ways.
So many of our favourite spices are grown in this rich land with pepper being gold
Lush plantations of tea adorn the hillsides and palm trees are abundant on the coast.
Coconut is used in many of the dishes and seafood is prevalent.
We started our trip in Mumbai and had our first street food of the south at Chowpatty Beach.  We sampled the most delicious snacks and my mouth still waters at the thought of them.
Pav Bahji Vada Pav and Pani Puri to name a few.

Nutmeg freshly picked

We then flew down to Cochin the queen of the Arabian Sea. An active port and the commercial hub of Kerala. We enjoyed a cooking demonstration and dinner of Syrian Christian cuisine.
A tour of a couple of farms Thomas Chettans and Phillipkuttys had us captivated by the size and quantity of fruit vegetables and spices that grown there.  Beautiful tropical greenery everywhere
They both entertained us with a wonderful lunch of organic home grown produce

A night on a houseboat cruising the enchanting  backwaters of Kerala was a highlight for many. The houseboats are converted rice barges and were equipped with every modern convenience of a beautiful hotel. Animals at dawn feeding at the waters edge were a plenty.

The next night we spent in the Kumakoram Lake Resort another glamourous tropical hideaway.

We ventured to the Chettinad area of Tamil Nadu. Not the opulence of the north but grand and amazing architecture never the less. The Chettinad region became a focus of internationalised tastes. As well as the food , the Chettiars constructed  palaces or forts of teak and marble sometimes running to 50 rooms adorned with chandeliers and richly patterned tiles for their families. Times have changed and the families have now ventured to other parts of the world to make their fortunes and the houses sit abandoned. They are used for wedding ceremonies if at all.

Abandoned mansion of Chettinand

Ready for anything on the early morning boat cruise 

Thanks to Unesco, these villages and the vast number of old mansions, are being preserved.
We were lucky to stay at the beautiful Bangala hotel . This heritage hotel builds its menus around the basic Chettiar cuisine and adds from a variety of cuisines from countries the Chettiars have travelled. The food is influenced from the late 18th century when they established businesses in  Burma French Indo China, Dutch East Indies, Malaysia and Singapore

We stayed at the Bangala in the town of Karaikudi near Madurai The hotel is a family owned building originally and has an exotic collection of antiquities gathered by the owner. We enjoyed another cooking class here and loved it so much we all purchased the cook book.
Chettinadu had an old village of  300 mansions that now sit abandoned. The homes of old traders.....
The french town of Pondicherry was so different you could imagine you weren't in India. Our cooking class was with Shyama who entertained us through the food and flower markets. This was prior to a fabulous and informative cooking class in her home

Some of the gals and our favourite cooking teacher Shyama

Spice markets of Pondicherry

House boat luxury

At the Taj Hotel in Mumbai

Pru at the beautiful Bangala Hotel

So many memories, so much beautiful food and new friends made. Another wonderful group and fabulous tour. The people and the guides we meet along the way help to make the trip an unforgettable experience. A big thank you to our gorgeous kind and entertaining driver Ajeesh who looked after us all so well from Kerala to Chennai.
Just planning the next tour !!!