‘One half-fried!’ I ordered at the counter. As the girl at the counter turned to shout the new order at the kitchen, I stalled her. ‘Extra spicy with red chilli powder and salt sprinkled and the yolk should not be too runny.’
She gave me a puzzled look. ‘That is,’ I continued, ‘keep it on the flame for a few more seconds than usual.’ I smiled at her.
I love Wednesdays for the fact that that is the day I can have my favorite breakfast at office. One of my best friends always said that I am of a kind who eats with the 'eyes'. He always says I like the stuff which looks good and has colors. He would confidently state that he did not think I liked the TASTE of half fried egg (as he was disgusted by the runny yolk dripping from my spoon); but I liked it BECAUSE it looked like a lovely combination of slightly fried white and a sunny golden yolk in the middle.
I don't remember when I tasted half-fried for the first time. Ever since I started having it, I keep waiting for the days on which I could have non-veg. Once my plate of sunny side ups comes in front of me, I spend half a minute savoring how lovely it looks, then I pierce the yellow semisolid yolk with a fork and watch it running and flowing thickly. That is probably the reason I don’t like anyone joining me for breakfast. I need some alone-time with my favorite breakfast.
Now that Shraavan is imminent and I would have to stay away from non-veg for two painful months until Ganeshotsav is over, I am going to miss having non-vegetarian food. I have never been a fan of chicken curry, but being a Malvani I have always been a fan of fish; essentially home-made. I tend to avoid fish with a lot of bones as I am too lazy to handle it although it is said that the ones with more bones are tastier. I like my mom to keep it simple with the marination of only Kokam and salt. The pleasure of having bright orange fish curry with some Kokams floating on it along with the simmering fried fish coated with the mixture of Rawa and Malvani masala is something that only a Malvani would know.
If I say I like Bombay Ducks the most among fish, most of the fish lovers would scoff at me because Bombay Duck is the least famous. Again, making perfect fried Bombay Ducks is an art. This fish contains a lot of water that needs to be removed by squeezing each piece thoroughly. This prevents it from being mushy and gives it the crunchy and crisp texture after frying.
One of my favorite non-veg cuisines is again a simple one and typically Malvani; a simple gravy of prawns cooked in pieces of potatoes, tomatoes and a lot off fried cut onions. Odd that it may sound, but yes, the combination is superb and my mother excels at this one.
Cleaning prawns demands skill. Mom always says there is a blackish thread inside a prawn that has to be removed because it is not good for the digestive system. Spicy fried Kolambi (Malvani name for small prawns) coated with a little amount of Kokam and Rawa can always stir your appetite if you are one true fish lover.
Crab! There may be people who might do a ‘yuck’ at the sound of a dish made from crab. If you are a non-vegetarian, you should taste it at least once. I seriously don’t approve the ways in which we cook crab (:P), but I can’t help but dig into the crab curry. Breaking cooked crab claw with teeth is a painfully difficult task. If the crab is good, the claws are full of juicy white tasty flesh. (How to know if a crab is cooked or not: it’s claws turn orange from black once they are cooked as though by magic!)
I have been missing one dish ever since I came back to Mumbai. This one’s Reshmi Qababs I tasted in a good restaurant in Pune. Chicken pieces marinated in slightly sweet marinade of cashew and cooked to make a slightly crisp edges and the meat that melts in the mouth… I tried the same dish at some other restaurants but never had the fortune to have something like that elsewhere.
The last favorite of mine must be a favorite of many. Fortunately for vegetarians (if they are still reading :P) it is a vegetarian dish, again typically Malvani. The purpose of including it here is because according to me, an awesome feast of chicken curry and Vade is incomplete without it.
Thick white coconut milk and ‘Aagal’ of Kokam giving it a slight pink tinge with fresh green finely chopped coriander leaves and green chillis, it is a pure delight to even look at the Kokam curry. Merely thinking about it is making my mouth water.
My vegetarian friends are going to hate this post. (Sorry Akshaya! :P) Also I am sorry for some others who find crabs cute and innocent.
