Fish Head Thoran.../Fish Head Stirfry.

Once every two months, I go thru a barbaric ritual. I go to the fish market and buy a whole King Fish, better known as King Mackeral here.
Earlier, I would get the fish cleaned and cut into steak slices. In the brief English that the fish monger knew, he would lift up the fish head and ask, "No head?" and I would make a disgusted face and shake my head signaling no. The guys there would look at each other and one would say something in Spanish, causing incredulous smiles from the others. They probably consider it a delicacy.
Did I mention the fish head and tail curry that was so relished by every one else during my last visit home? I just sat and stared in shock and awe.
Visions of parents and in-laws disapproving the wastage of good fish would clamor for attention but I would refuse to give in. Unless family was visiting, there was no one to eat the fish head, so why tag home with it only to stink up my waste bin?

Then my friend's mom visited and showed her a simple way to use up the fish head. My friend started taking the fish head home and making thoran with it. She suggested the same to me and I had a mixed reaction of curiosity and yuckiness. I got reminded of the Food TV's Next Food Network Star show, where the sole Indian contestant was shown the door when she couldn't handle raw fish.
Finally curiosity took over and I decided to try it. The first time I did take it home and followed her instructions and made the thoran....BUT I didn't eat it. DH ate it unsuspectingly and liked it. Of course he hadn't seen how it was made.

The next time, I made it and kept it in the fridge. Two days later, after the memory of the whole process had slightly faded from my mind, I tasted it and could appreciate why so many of my family loved fish head. It had a buttery rich taste to it, kind of like fish and crab mixed together. This is not a real thoran as I did not add coconut but you could add that too if you want.

Now the fish monger happily packs the whole fish in ice and I make a face thinking of the work after I get home. Why do I do this exercise in primitive cooking?
I like it but I have decided not to eat it the same day I make it. I wait for it to age in the fridge before setting it on the dinner table!!

Making the thoran, dealing with the fish's head, teeth and eyes.... is an experience in grossing out itself!! I am sure hardly any of my readers will try this out but still had to post it just for the fear factor value!!
You could even make this with any big fish pieces, doesn't have to be the head.

You Will Need:
Serves 2-3
King Fish Head or any large fish head-1
Ginger_garlic paste-1 to 2 tablespoon

Red Onion or shallots- sliced- 1 cup
Green Chilies- 3-4 slit length wise.
Turmeric-1/8 tsp
Red Chili Powder-1/2 tsp or more as per taste
Coriander Powder-1/2 to 3/4 tsp depending on taste
Black Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Kudam Puli or Regular tamarind- 1 tiny dry piece
Salt-to taste
Oil-2 tablespoon
Curry leaves-1 sprig

Preparation:
Wash the fish head pieces (add tail or any other ugly looking pieces) and put it in a non-stick or steel saute pan with the ginger garlic paste and salt. Take care not to heat the pan before adding fish. If the pan is hot, the fish will stick to it. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Open and if there is water let out by the fish, cook uncovered for 5 minute or more so that the water gets evaporated. After the fish cools down, take a deep breath and start removing only the meat from the fish. There will be eyes and teeth and all that but keep at it. Remove all the meat possible from all the nooks and corners. Keep aside and make sure you get rid of the waste immediately.
Heat oil in a pan( cast iron or non stick works best. Fish sticks to steel)and drop in the curry leaves. Then add the onions and green chilies. Saute till the onions start turning a little brown at the edges and add the red chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder. Stir a couple of times and then add the fish, one tiny piece of either dry kudam puli /tamarind and stir well. Continue sauteing on medium or low heat till the fish gets a little dry and crisp and then add the pepper powder. Add oil if you feel its too dry. Adjust salt as needed. At this stage, you could add a pinch of fennel powder, a tablespoon of coconut grated etc but I prefer it without it. Don't let the fish dry out too much. Serve with rice or chapathis.

Beef Tacos...

A couple of weeks just ran by. I stopped to look but it was too fast for me, running as I was to get all the crazy things that only moms think need to be done. My Hindi music craze has just come to an end, thanks to a virus that rode on my browser and hijacked into my computer. No more downloads. Karma, some people would say.:)
Anyway, I just could not get this virus out of my computer and finally had to reformat it. Lost some info and got setback momentarily but now I have a clean "new" computer.:)
Phew!Surfing is as dangerous as living in a war stricken zone. You don't know where and when you are going to get hit.

In another twist,a family friend lost all their belongings in an apartment fire that started in their neighbor's apartment.They escaped unhurt due to another neighbor's timely warning. Cause as yet unknown. What escaped the fire got damaged by the fire fighter's water. They had time to just grab their kids,documents and jackets. So all the past few years of weekend shopping and parties and birthday gifts etc all got reduced to what you can hold in your hands and leave. The only thing my friend really worried about was the kids photo albums and videos.:)I agree with her...memories are hard to find and rebuilt.

If you had to leave everything and go, other than yourself and the kids, what would be the one thing you would really want to take? Needless to say, we first organized our documents into a grab-and-go bag over the weekend. My little one chose the DS as the indispensable treasure (The game cube needs the TV to work, so DS is more portable.)

Our friends are slowly getting rehabilitated in another apartment. The insurance will cover most of the stuff but how can you put a value on certain things? Makes you get a reality check in this recession period. There was a time after we came here and started earning that every weekend was an exercise in consumerism..and now that we reduced shopping due to myriad reasons, the Govt is saying "economic stimulus, go spend some money...":))




well, anyway, this is my foolproof dinner to appease all kinds of appetites at home..Spicy, has NV, has veggies and is wholesome. A taco is the Mexican equivalent of Chapathi/roti. We eat the chapathi with our hands, breaking a piece and scooping up the curry and vegetable. The taco is eaten simply as a roll or folded in half and stuffed with the fillings. The fillings can be grilled chicken, ground beef, or anything you can think of. Here I used ground beef, cheese, avocados, yogurt cream and shredded lettuce. You could substitute the avocados with guacamole and the cheese with shredded carrot too.

You Will Need:
Lean Organic Ground beef-1 pound
onion -1 chopped finely
Garlic -3 cloves, minced
Jalapeno peppers/Hot Green chili -3, chopped
Chili powder( Paprika/Kashmiri Red Chili Powder)-1 teaspoon
Roasted and Powdered Cumin-1 tablespoon
Oregano(Fresh/frozen)-1 tablespoon(Use less if using dried oregano)
Fresh cilantro-2 tablespoons
Cayenne pepper/Paprika-1/2 teaspoon
Your choice Salsa-1 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of oil
Lime juice-1 tablespoon

Preparation:
Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and peppers, and saute for about 5-8 minutes. Add the meat and let it brown evenly, taking care to keep breaking up the lumps. Add all the other ingredients including the salsa except the lime juice and cilantro, stirring occasionally until meat is browned.
Cover the pan/skillet, turn heat down to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The whole mix should be semi-dry with not too much of the liquid left. Add the lime juice and the cilantro and mix well. Adjust salt to taste.

Note:No salsa? Substitute with the following mix: 2 chopped tomatoes, one green bell pepper chopped finely, 1 teaspoon of vinegar and one bunch of scallions chopped finely.

To serve: Heat a tortilla on a skillet till it puffs up. Spread either the guacamole or yogurt cream, place some of the beef, and fold in half and top with cheese and lettuce.


Yogurt cream: Just a substitute for sour cream. Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth or line a handled sieve with a paper towel and hang over a deep bowl. Keep this in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or even over night and you will get thick creamy yogurt. Add 1 crushed garlic, a bit of salt and 1/2 tsp olive oil for a yummy spread.

Guacamole:
One ripe avocado, mashed
1 tbsp Lime juice
3-4 green chilies or 1 jalapeno
1 small Red onion, finely chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
1/2 cup Fresh cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped
Sea salt
The avocado is ripe when it is dark and soft to press. Mash the whole avocado into a bowl with a fork . Take 3-4 green chilies or jalapeno peppers, 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 cloves of garlic. In a mortar, crush this with a pestle or heavy stone till it is all mixed in. The sea salt helps in crushing it finely. Scrape this mix into a bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients and taste. You may want to add more lime juice or salt or adjust the amount of tomato, onion, etc.
Once you do this once, you will be able to change the taste to your liking.. less spicy, more sour, no onions, ..whatever.
If you add some of the yogurt cream to this, it becomes a dip for the tortilla chips.