No one’s a guest here

The one thing about Goa I really adore and respect is that the whole State is like a ‘home’. Now I don’t mean it as squatting in the middle of the street and sleeping under the stars by the sea ‘home’ but on a more ‘People’ level. The State welcomes you with perpetually open arms and molly coddles you like a mother would to her only child. The people are exceptionally soft hearted and warm and you wonder where these traits come from, especially in a world where ‘people’ don’t even have time to introspect their own lives?

I had a desire to meet someone who was a true Goan right to the core of his heart, lived all his life there and of course had a vast knowledge of the cuisine of the coast. I did get a chance to meet a through Gentleman, Mr. Rui Madre Deus who changed the way I thought about coastal cuisine and introduced me to the wonderful world of cooking the coastal way. I had a chance meeting with him at his Resort right in the hub of South Goa with my cousin (an aspiring criminal psychologist, odd combination of people visiting someone for food, but she is a hard core foodie and has taken up cooking to mellow down from her psychoanalyst life and agreed to accompany me). We got talking and I expressed my desire to get my hands on some good coastal meat cooking. A chance I would never have in my home or any of the family homes back in Goa city as we were all pure vegetarians (as far as cooking it was concerned, outside, we were unbound from any restrictions per se).

Mr. Rui was more than happy to show us around and even packed me off with a collection of his personal coastal recipes. He invited us the next day and opened up his resort kitchens, complete with his team of chefs, well equipped tools and gadgets and a pantry which had all the makings of a chef’s gone wild series.

With this my tryst with meat begins and I had the opportunity to learn and lend a hand in the making of a coastal dish which was popular amongst the locals and called Prawns Rawa Masala. We made use of the Rechead Masala (pronounced Ray-shad Masala), a popular and traditional Goan spice mix as the core flavoring agent. Rechead Masala, Mr. Rui explained, is traditionally ground in a stone pestle, the ingredients added one by one till they are freshly minced, pounded and grounded to a thickset paste which can be stored in the freezer for over a month.

This recipe imbibes the coastal flavors perfectly using the fresh catch of the day – which were Jumbo Prawns. I felt a bit squeamish as they had just come in and I was seduced into learning to shell, de-vein, clean and prep them for the dish which was being prepared. I was slightly liquored up before the actual showdown in the kitchen by the ever thoughtful Mr. Rui who, I had categorically informed that I had never cooked meat in my life. The cookout turned out to be a breeze and I have thoughtfully documented some of my favorite recipes for Nonchalant on the Coast, which I am sure you would love to experiment with.

The recipe for Jumbo Prawns with Rechead Rawa Coat is simple and a quickie starter dish. As was explained to me that prawns are meant to be eaten with the least amount of additions, especially good large and juicy prawns make for an ingredient perfect with a simple butter, garlic, salt and pepper sauce. He also explained that the real taste of the prawn was in the head, most people chop off the head while making stews, soups or curries and the actual taste of a typical coastal prawn curry would be because of the prawn head.

We got around to spicing the Jumbo Prawn recipe up a bit with the Rechead as Mr. Rui had made a fresh batch (as also thoughtfully packed in a box for me to take back home, which he wistfully informed that I could use it with any vegetarian preparation) and converted this into a fantastic seafood starter.

Jumbo Prawns with Rechead Rawa Coat

Ingredients:

• 8 – 12 Jumbo Prawns (Shelled, washed, de-veined, slit in the middle, but tail intact)
• 3 tablsp Rechead Masala
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup Semolina (Rawa) to coat
• Vegetable Oil for shallow frying

For the Rechead Masala

(Makes about 500gms – which can be stored in the refrigerator)

• 150gms Red Chillies
• 1 tablsp Cumin Seeds (Jeera, slightly roasted)
• 1 tablsp Cloves
• 4” pc Cinnamon Stick
• 1 tablsp Whole Black Peppercorns
• 1 pod Garlic (skinned)
• 2” pc Fresh Ginger
• 150gms Tamarind (soaked in water for 15 mins)
• 1 tablsp Sugar
• 500 ml White Vinegar
• or alternately 10nos Lime
• 2 large Onions (skinned)

Grind the ingredients for the Rechead Masala in a wet grinder or a mixer only using the juice of lemons or white vinegar till it’s a fine paste. If grinding in the traditional stone mortar and pestle, grind all the dry ingredients first (ensuring the onions, garlic and ginger and cut up roughly before the grinding process), followed by spoons of vinegar or lime juice till you get a thick ground paste. Use as required or store in a clean glass jar for over a month in the refrigerator.

To proceed with the Prawns in Rechead Rawa coat, toss the prawns in a deep bowl with the Rechead masala till the masala coats the prawns well. Add salt to taste and mix well.

Heat about ½ inch of oil in a shallow fry pan till hot.

In a flat dish, spread the semolina evenly. Take prawns one at a time and open them up from the split till they are flat and press them into the Semolina (Rawa) till they are well coated (the Rechead masala helps as a good sticking agent for the Rawa). Directly transfer into the hot oil in the pan and shallow fry on each side for about two minutes or till they are golden brown.

Drain on absorbent paper towels and serve hot with onion slivers and lemon wedges.

Lookout for more meat laden coastal flavors, all courtesy of Mr. Rui Madre Deus and his team of chefs in the next few posts…