Thank you so much for all your feedback and comments last week.
This week I am also starting a partner Instagram account, where I plan to post (amateurish :-)) pictures of the recipes.
If you are using any of the recipes, feel free to take pictures and share with me on Instagram or tag our account
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Fish on your plate
Recent times have seen a dramatic increase in fish consumptions. This is primarily because of the richness and the diversity of the nutrients that it brings to the plate. Eating fish healthy and is known to reduces risks of a wide variety of disorders including cardiovascular.
The doctors and nutritionist alike, recommend eating fish at least twice a week, as a part of heart healthy diet. This gives you the right amount of Omega -3 fatty acid, Vitamin D and B2, phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium and potassium.
Various research and studies have indicated that people who consume fish twice a week have lower rates of heart attacks.
The increase in demand of the fish has resulted in fish farming. The fish farming involves raising fish commercially in pens or tanks within the lakes or oceans and the water bodies or raising them in large tanks of plastic in green houses. While this began as a recreational activity in USA with rainbow trout, it has now grown into the norm for the industry, contributing to more than 50% of the seafood consumption of the world. Such practices of breeding have made fish more affordable and readily available to the consumers.
What is better ? Farm Raised Fish or Wild Caught Fish ?
Differing opinions emerge on the issue of breeding of fish with substantial arguments in favour of each view point.
As a result of an ever increasing demand of fish, the stocks of wild fish had begun to diminish, and there was a dangerous decline of some species like cod, sea bass, red snapper etc.
Fish farming is supposed to avoid environmental damage caused by the over hunting of fish besides providing source of employment to large section of people involved in food processing industry, transport and restaurants and hotel industry it has succeeded in providing the fish at a reasonable price to the consumers.
However, there have been serious concerns about the consumption of the farm raised fish, especially because of higher susceptibility to diseases and also higher concentration of chemical agents, drugs and antibiotics.
As a chef, my prime responsibility is to provide a safe meal to my guests, which does not cause any detriment to their health. Unfortunately, not a lot of information is available in the present scenario about the source and conditions under which it has been raised , or even the nutritional value
My personal experience cooking for last 35 years has led me to believe that farm raised fish is in no way a match for the wild catch. So, wild caught fish will always remain my favourite and I would continue to support the systematic and intelligent wild catch.
Now - over to my favourite fish dish -
Whole Grilled Sea Bass
Ingredients : Sea Bass (2 - each about 400gms)
First Marinade : Salt (2tsp), Lemon Juice, Garlic Paste (1tbsp)
The Stuffing : Sweet Lemon Pickle (3tbsp)
Second Marinade : Chilly Flakes (2tsp), Mustard Paste (1tbsp) , Mustard Oil (3tbsp)
Fresh Coriander, Fresh Green Chillies (4)
Remove the scales and the fins of the fish wash and pat dry .
Give about half inch deep cuts along the breadth of the fish - three on each side.
First Marinade - Rub salt, ginger garlic paste and juice of lemon into the fish and leave aside for 15 minutes.
The stuffing - Make a nice paste of the sweet and tangy lemon pickle and fill the pickle in the cuts given on the fish.
Second Marinade - Mix mustard oil and mustard and chilly flakes together and rub this mixture nicely into outside and inside the fish.
Fill the stomach cavity with fresh coriander and split green chillies and leave aside for about two hours.
Heat a griddle plate to medium hot and cook the marinated fish for about 2 minutes on each side till the skin is nice and crisp.
Heat the oven to 375 F.
Cook the grilled fish for about 10 to 12 minutes.
Serve hot drizzled with some lemon juice.
#OnePotRecipes - Chicken Pulao
Continuing with the easy to do recipes - this week we do Chicken Pulao. You can follow the same steps to do a vegetarian version.
The Spice and the Chicken Mix
Ingredients : Chicken drumsticks (6), Oil (2tbsp), Chopped onions (200 gms), Cloves (3-4), Cumin (1tsp), Ginger garlic paste (1tsp), Green Cardamom and Mace powder (1/2 tsp) or Biryani masala, Yoghurt (100gm), Salt, Fresh Coriander (15gms), Ginger (5gms), Green Chillies - chopped (1/2 tsp), Crush black pepper (1/2 tsp), Fresh Mint.
Put all the ingredients together in a pressure cooker and add chicken drum sticks.
Close the lid and cook on medium heat for 1 whistle.
Simmer for 2 minutes.
Turn of the heat and let the steam inside the cooker subside.
Open the cooker and turn on the gas again.
Cook the prepared masala on slow heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
The Rice
Ingredients : Rice (300gms), Water (2cups), Milk (1cup), Juice of Lemon, Saffron
Wash rice and add rice , water, milk salt and lemon juice to the pressure cooker.
Add saffron.
Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on medium heat till one whistle.
Turn down the heat to minimum and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the steam inside the cooker subside.
The Finale
Ingredients : Coriander, Butter or Ghee (1tsp), Browned Onion (1tbsp - optional), Ginger Juliennes (1tsp - optional)
Open the pressure cooker and garnish with chopped green coriander and drizzle with 1tbsp desi ghee or butter .
Serve hot
Tip of the Week
Bloom your whole spices for the maximum extraction of flavours.
Blooming is heating oil to medium hot and make sure its not smoking. There after, adding whole spices and cooking them till such spices crackle and make sure they dont go brown.
Hot oil helps in the extraction of maximum flavours from the spices.
That’s all for this week. Don’t forget to like and share if further with your friends and family - also reach out to tell me what else you might want to see here.