FISH FILLET

Ingredients: 12 fish fillets (5"x2"), 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tbsp garlic paste, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp, oil, ½ cup flour, 1 egg (beaten) and oil for deep frying.

Method: Apply salt and the next 4 ingredients to the fillets and allow to stand for 2 hours, turning the fish off and on. Drain out the liquid. Coat the fillets with egg, roll over flour and deep fry in hot oil. Do not allow to brown.

HORVEM

Ingredients: ½ coconut (grated), 6 green chillies, 5 flakes garlic (peeled), 1 inch ginger (pealed), ¼ tsp cumminseeds, ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp tamarind.

Method: Grind all the above ingredients to a fine paste using a cup of boiled and cooled water. Serve uncooked, with rice and roasted salted fish.

POTATO BHAJI

Ingredients: 750 gms potatoes (peeled and cubed), 4 tbsps oil, ½ tbsps mustard seeds, 2 onions (chopped), 5 green chillies (chopped), 2 tbps chopped coriander leaves and ¼ tsp turmeric powder.

Method: Heat oil and fry the mustard seeds till they start crackling. Mix onion and fry till tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir-fry for 5 minutes or till potatoes are half cooked. Add salt to taste and very little water. Cook on slow fire till the potatoes are done.

BRINJAL PICKLE

Ingredients: 1 kg brinjals, 2 tbsps salt, 50 dry red chillies, 6 pods garlic, 1 ½ tbsps turmeric, 1 ¼ tsp mustard seeds, 1 ¼ tsp cumminseeds, 1 ¼ fenugreek seeds, vinegar, 500 ml refined oil, 4 inch ginger (sliced), 2 pods garlic (sliced), few curry leaves and 5 tbsps sugar.

Method: Wash and wipe the brinjals. Cut them into 2-inch pieces, apply salt and leave in the sun for 3 or 4 hours. Allow the water that collects to drain out. Grind the next 6 ingredients using vinegar, to a fine paste. Heat the oil in a large pan, add slices, ingredients and curry leaves, after a minute mix the spice paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add brinjal pieces, sugar and cook on slow fire till brinjals are soft. If required, add salt, sugar and vinegar. Cool the preparation and bottle.

All the recipes for Kitchendom come from the GOAN COOKBOOK, which is an indispensable guide on Goan cooking. It has been followed by hundreds of housewives, Goan and non-Goan. Even their husbands peep into it for reference. In the 96-page book, which was published in 1998, JOYCE FERNANDES explains in very simple language how a wide variety of delicious dishes can be turned out.