My Aai
What happens when you belong to two rich cultures soaked deep in its food history? You get a food historian and a storyteller. Occasionally I see folks mock the food habits of people who do not belong to their region. You don’t appreciate a certain food that’s alright but that doesn’t give you the right to critique a culinary legacy which is sacred to that region. You never know what funny bone is hidden in your food. 😉
Today I bring you the story of my magnanimous mother in law who is from Malvan situated in the Western coast of India. Even though she was born and brought up in Bombay she had her culinary roots deep-seated in her natives. If you actually wanted to see perfection in food preparation then how I wish I could get a snapshot from her kitchen. She never let her work interfere in her cooking precision techniques which to confess I lack to every bit. I follow my instincts and she follows her science.
Art of buying crabs
I am one of those weird food paradoxes existing on this planet earth who don’t eat fish but devours on crustaceans. I have always shown a certain amount of discomfort visiting the fish market but when you follow your heart you have to relent. We had such contradictory methodologies at arriving to the same end product that I termed that phase the food cold war. But you cannot keep two foodie souls at war for long. A simple meal of twelve crabs would be divided with great ease for our taste buds. She had six and I had six and little did we care for the people passing a judgement (Psst….FIL and hubby). Those satiated souls submerged in the remnants of extracted shells and claws. I have always used my teeth rather than claw crackers for eating crabs. While my MIL always preferred using the claw crackers.
With half closed nostrils I would tread behind her into the fish market and see her squeal like a toddler in a toy shop.
“Oh, the Pomfret look fresh give me 3 for 200” Poor fish monger would go haggling with her numbers and finally resort to the bargaining skills of my Aai.
“I think we can keep prawns for frying just a handful. Bai give me one bata kolambi (prawns)”.
If she saw live crabs arrive she would pierce her way through the crowd and be the first to queue.She always stressed on one point that the crab/kurlya should be alive and sporty during the purchase.It was during the monsoons that we frequently made these visits because the catch is the freshest during this tenure. That was also the time when she would get into the anecdotal mode and tell me stories of crab catching adventures holding lanterns on full moon days. (The story goes like on full moon days the crabs are fleshier, I haven’t pondered on the science so I leave it to the experts to decide).
I preferred the rice paddy field smaller crabs. She prefers the sea crabs which are meatier.She would ask the koli to tie a thread to the crab for easy handling but on homecoming it became my hubby’s crab chariot. (back in the 80s).
Always go for a female crab rather than a male. A male crab would have a triangular shape on the rear section of the bottom while a female will have a broad, round marking in the same area that does not have such a triangular appearance.The female crabs upon opening have the orange coloured mass called as Laakh and that attributes a lot of flavour to the gravy.
Aai with Kurlya
She would come home from office with her bag full of these clawed crustaceans.I write especially about her cooking technique because my way of doing it is a little different. She would give them a good wash and then carefully with all her acquired skills pull out the pincers and legs, occasionally being struck by its claws. As I watched her in awe, gaping at the divine agility. Carefully she would de-shell the crab and preserving all the essential juices. The thin legs would be crushed to smaller portions. Then remove the grey gills from the body, called ‘dead man’s fingers’ and the gravy prepared alongside in which she would toss the cleaned crabs and its juices. A ritual very integral to her cooking style which would be missing from my way. She said that the juices imparted the unique flavour to the gravy and I trust her entirely as I have tasted it too.
We are two distinct personalities each with their own legacy. Our food made us bridge the uniqueness and intensified into sharing relation beyond the table. I am here at London preparing the same curry I learnt from her but there is no one to share the excitement or rather keep a count of how many we have eaten. As I have always stressed food has a very subtle and harmonious undertone, with no significant ups or downs, clash or surprises. And the world is more than ready with such globalization around food. Please respect individuals and their culinary legacy.
The traditional elements to this recipe have been preserved and accounted to the minuets detail incase you have in doubts. Please free to write to me……
- For Fresh Coconut Vatap
- 1 cup fresh coconut
- 1 red onion
- 2-3 cloves
- 4-6 black pepper
- 1 black cardamom
- 1-2 Green cardamom
- 1 star anise
- 1/2 inch cinnamon
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- few sprigs of coriander leaves
- For Dry coconut Vatap
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 tbsp desiccated coccnut powder
- For Kurlya Rassa
- 2-3 Black mud crabs
- 1 tbsp Malvani red masala
- 2-3 dried Kokum
- 2 tbsp refined oil
- salt to taste
- Rinse the crabs well under running water. Remove any traces of mud on the crab.
- Remove the pincers. Preferably ask your fish monger to do it for you.Use rubber gloves to do it at home.
- Boil water in a pot with a tsp of salt and drop the alive crabs into the boiling water.
- Let it to get cooked for 10 minutes and they become bright orange colour shells.
- Then turn the crab and de-shell it and removed the grey gills and rinse the shell under water.
- In a deep bottomed pan heat 1/2 tbsp of oil. Then toss in the whole spices into the oil.
- The aroma engulfs the room within 5 second. then toss in the finely sliced onions.
- Once the onions get translucent add the poppy seeds.
- Finally add the freshly grated coconut and coriander leaves. Sauté for 5 minutes.Let it cool for sometime. Then grind it into a fine paste.
- This paste can be refrigerated and used in curries on a need to need basis.
- In the above pan just dry roast the onions and desiccated coconut.Allow it to cool.
- Then grind it into a fine paste with very little water.
- In a deep bottomed pan heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the ground fresh coconut Vatap and sautee for 2 minutes.Add the Malvani masala at this stage.
- Add the salt, crabs and 1 tbsp of dry Vatap.
- Coat the crabs with the masala properly.
- Then add two cups of water and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes. No need to cover.
- Then add your kokum in the penultimate stage of completion.The kokum lends tart to the curry.
- Just simmer for few more minutes.
- Serve and eat immediately over pipping hot rice.