Mackerel "thoran"

A simple and flavourful preparation of mackerel.

Serves 4 to 6
Preparation and cooking time: 30 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

1. "Ayla" or mackerel (or any firm and fleshy fish) - 250 gms
2. Fish tamarind or "kudumpulli" - 1 large piece or 2 medium pieces
3. Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Salt to taste
5. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Coconut grated - 1/4 cup
7. Ginger chopped - 2 teaspoons
8. Garlic chopped - 1 teaspoon
9. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
10. Onions or shallots chopped - 1/2 cup
11. Oil - 2 teaspoons

Method

1. Clean and wash the mackerel. To the fish, add items 2, 3, 4 and 5. Add 1 cup of water and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Crush in a mortar or grind without any water the items 6, 7, 8 and 9 to get a coarse mix. Gather into a ball.
3. When the fish has cooled, take each piece and remove all bones. Discard the bones, skin bits and fish tamarind. There is no need to flake the cooked fish in this step.
4. In a wok, heat oil and saute the onions for a few seconds. Add the cooked, boneless fish and the crushed coconut mixture to the onions. Add a tablespoon of water and make a tight heap of the whole thing. Cover with a lid and lower the flame to simmer and steam through.
5. Occasionally, give everything a stir, flaking the fish. Adjust seasoning.
6. When the fish has been heated through and infused with the taste of the coconut mix, take off the flame.
7. Serve hot with rice or "roti".

Tips

If, like my family, you find the taste of mackerel to be chalky or bland usually, then this is a good dish to try out.

Mackerel is called "bangda" in Hindi and "ayla" in Malayalam.

The fish tamarind has to be cleaned under running water to rid it of any grit.

Care should be taken that all big and small bones are removed in step 3.

Good dish for a buffet as there are no bones to handle.

"Thoran"

The term "thoran" is a standard Malayalam name for any dry vegetable dish flavoured and garnished with grated coconut. It is an integral part of Kerala cuisine and no lunch or dinner will be deemed complete without a "thoran".  There are as many "thoran"s as there are vegetables that can be finely diced or shredded, and that includes leafy vegetables too.( Besides, vegetable "thoran"s, there is fish thoran also.) Only vegetables that are firm textured may be used in a "thoran". They could be french beans, cabbage, beetroot, long beans, carrots, unripe green bananas and the such. Here, I have described the basic method of making "thoran"  and this method can be used with different vegetables.

The vegetables are prepared and washed well before the slicing or chopping is done.  Beans (french or long) have to be topped and tailed and if possible the fibrous string on the sides may be pulled away. Cabbage needs all outer and bruised leaves and the thick stalk removed. This can be done by slicing the cabbage through and cutting deep around the stalk on each half. Beetroots or carrots need to peeled. Unripe green cooking bananas need to peeled and immersed in water to stop discolouration or oxidation.

Once the vegetables are prepared, they are chopped very finely. The method used can be any. In the villages, women would spend a good part of their cooking time chopping veggies for "thoran" by hand. However, I like to do this either using a chopping board or a food processor. The resulting shredded or chopped stuff should be very fine.

The method to make a "thoran" is very simple. There is a tempering done and to this is added the shredded or chopped vegetables and the coconut. It is allowed to steam for a few minutes and voila, it is done!  Of course, this is too simplistic, so here is how I make this nice refreshing dish.  This is how I make beans "thoran".

Serves  4 to 6 persons
Preparation and cooking time 30 to 40 minutes

Ingredients

1. Beans (french or long) - 1/4 kg

2. Onions or shallots finely chopped - 2 tablespoons

3. Green chillies - 3

4. Coconut grated - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

5. Garlic flakes - 3 to 4

6. Curry leaves (washed) from 1 sprig

7. Cumin or jeera - 1/2 teaspoon

8. Oil - 1 tablespoon

9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

10. Black gram dal or urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon

11. Dried red chillies - 2 (torn into 4or 5 smaller bits)

12. Uncooked rice - 1 teaspoon

13. Salt to taste

14. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Method

1. Top and tail the beans. Wash and drain them. Hold a bunch tightly in your hand and slice through the beans on a chopping board to give very fine almost translucent slices.

2. In a mortar or a coffee grinder, place items 3 to 7 and no water. Pound or grind very well to get a coarse and fragrant masala mix. Gather into a lump.

3. Heat a wok. Add the oil. When the oil is getting hot, add items 9 to 12. The mustard seeds will pop and the rice will swell into little white things. As soon as the black gram dal turns a golden brown, add the chopped onions or shallots. Saute for a minute.

4. Add the beans, turmeric powder, salt and the masala lump. Cover the masala with the beans. Press from all sides to make a nice tight little heap. Cover the wok. Set the flame on low.

5. After about 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir the beans and masala well.  Check to see if the beans are cooked. I like to stop the cooking when the beans are just a little wilted but still has a crunch to it. If the beans are not cooked enough, gather in a heap and cover and let cook for a few more minutes. I avoid adding water because the beans have a lot of water in them and this forms adequate steam to cook the "thoran".

6. When the beans are done, serve hot with rice or even with "roti".

Tips

This is the basic method to make this dish and can be used for other firm vegetables also.

I like to shred cabbage, beetroot or carrots in a food processor. 

If the vegetables are not cooking satisfactorily, add some drops of water to create more steam.


It is acceptable to have slightly larger pieces after the slicing or chopping, the only requirement being that the pieces should be easily steam cooked. If the pieces are larger then, some water may have to be added to aid cooking.


There are many combinations of veggies to give a different sort of  "thoran". Like beans and carrots may be combined, green gram and cooking bananas may be combined, so on and so forth.

If I have really fresh coconut at hand, I like to garnish the "thoran" with some nice creamy white shavings just before serving.

Fresh green spinach or red amaranthus ("red cheera") makes for delicious "thoran" too. When making a leafy "thoran",discard  the stems and wash the leaves well. Hold a large bunch of leaves  and chop into fine shreds. Also, add more chopped onions in a leafy "thoran". The rest of the method is the same. Never add any water while cooking this "thoran".

"Chhole" - South Indian style

I have made "chhole" with this kind of masala often enough, and also whenever I have cooked these beans in Kerala. Recently, my friend Anita, asked me for this recipe. This "chhole" has a coconut based masala and tastes similar to the sort we get in restaurants when we go down South.

Serves 4 to 6 persons

Soaking time 6 to 8 hours

Cooking time 45minutes

Ingredients

1. "Chhole" or white "chana" or dried garbanzo beans or chick peas - 1 cup

2. Onions sliced - 1/2 cup

3. Onion chopped roughly - 1/2 cup

4. Ginger - 1/2 " piece

5. Garlic flakes - 6 to 8

6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

7. Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon

8. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

9. Green chillies - 2 or 3

10. Cumin or jeera - 1/4 teaspoon

11. Fennel seeds or "saunf"- 1/4 teaspoon

12. Coconut grated - 1/2 cup

13. Tamarind water - 1/2 cup (from 1/2 a lime-sized ball)

14. Oil - 2 tablespoons

15. Salt to taste

16. Curry leaves - 1  or 2 sprigs

Method

1. Pick, wash and soak the garbanzo beans or "chhole" in enough water to cover the beans. The beans are likely to soak up a lot of water, so adding 3 or 4 cups of water more after reaching the level of chhole is good. Soak for at least 8 to 12 hours or overnight.

2. Drain the water from the swollen beans and put them in a pressure cooker with a little salt and enough water to reach the top of the beans. Cook for at least 5 whistles or for at least 15 minutes after the pressure builds up. Take off the heat.

3. Carefully dry roast the coriander powder in a hot pan. It should only change colour slightly and not be burned at all. This is done so that the raw taste of coriander does not overwhelm the final result.

3. Grind items 3 to 12 including the roasted coriander powder, with some water to get a fairly smooth masala paste.

4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok and add the sliced onions or item 2. Brown well but not to a crisp.

5. Add the masala paste and saute for 2 minutes.

6. To the cooked beans in the pressure cooker, add the tamarind water and the sauted masala. Add salt if needed.

7. Close the cooker and pressure cook for another 15 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool so that the lid can be opened. Add the washed curry leaves and stir it well. (If the gravy is more watery than required, boil the "chhole" again after opening the cooker. Conversely, if the gravy is thick, add a little water and boil well to get a thinner gravy.)

8. Serve hot with fresh "poories".

Tips

Garbanzo beans soak up a lot of water, so it is better to add more water while the beans soak.  Some of this water may be used for cooking the beans.

I have not added tomatoes only because there is tamarind water in this recipe. But, feel free to add 1/2 cup of tomatoes instead of the tamarind water. If doing this, add the tomatoes after the onions are browned, saute for a couple of minutes, just before adding the ground masala paste.

This recipe can be used with bengal gram or "kala chana" also.

"Poories", a type of fried Indian bread goes best with this dish. Otherwise any Indian bread may also do.

You may garnish with chopped green coriander leaves and lime slices if you wish.

This recipe can be done in stages. I like to do till step 6, cool and store in the refrigerator, and pressure cook it only towards meal-times. Thus reducing a lot of work at lunch or dinner or even breakfast time.