Udupi on my plate

Chandra Kanchan started Amma`s Kitchen in December 2020 to share recipes that she learned from her mother at their Udupi home. Pic/Sameer Markande

The lush green Konkan belt of India, spreading across Daman, Maharashtra and Goa, and meeting the Canara coast of Karnataka, offers a plethora of cuisines. The food tastes similar, and yet it is different. So when this Konkani writer with roots in Ratnagiri got a chance to try the neighbouring Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) cuisine, she was all game.

GSB, or Amchi food as it is called colloquially, has been influenced by the cultures the community embraced on its migratory sojourn from Kashmir to Karnataka. Hailing from upper Punjab, the GSBs are said to have lived along the banks of the River Saraswati. But when the river began drying up, the community decided to move. It was during the Portuguese rule across some parts of India in the 16th century that most of them moved to Karnataka's Udupi town. Today, a majority of their ingredients match that of Maharashtrian and Goan kitchens. We have been encouraged to learn more about GSB food after ordering a meal from a "lockdown venture" called Amma's Kitchen.

As a young girl out of school, Chandra Kanchan wanted to pursue a career in hospitality. "While I come from a vegetarian Brahmin family, my paternal grandparents used to make fish once in a while. Slowly, I turned pescatarian. We also had a Mangalorean Catholic landlady, who served us meat dishes like pork. I have a rakhi brother who is Muslim, so I learned to cook biryani, too. My mother never stopped me from trying novel eats. So, while growing up, the food scene was pretty eclectic. However, I ended up studying diabetics and nutrition at Nirmala Niketan College," remembers Kanchan, 53.

But when last year's pandemic restricted Kanchan to her Andheri home, she turned to her old love. "My kids encouraged me to start sharing Udupi recipes on Instagram. Our friends and family welcomed it because they've enjoyed my meals over the years. Slowly the idea turned into a proper weekend kitchen, and I began regularly delivering meals. For the younger lot at home, I am, Amma. And so, Amma's Kitchen seemed like the right name."

Kanchan puts up a menu by the weekend, and accepts orders till Thursday. Deliveries are only for Saturday lunch and dinner. "I reserve Fridays for prepping and shopping. At Amma's Kitchen, we offer a wide range of authentic Udupi food, including traditional Mangalorean pork curry, appam and stew, meen vevichatu or red fish curry, breadausli (bread upma), kori ghasi (chicken curry), chicken ghee roast and mutton sukka," she adds.

We ordered the Goan prawn curry (Rs 575), kori ghasi (Rs 425), bafat pork (Rs 450), pomfret masala (Rs 575), surmai naked masala (Rs 375), halwa rawa fry (Rs 450), sannas (Rs 100), neer dosa (Rs 150), rice rotti (Rs 50) and red rice (Rs 100) along with sol kadhi (Rs 100) and madgane (Rs 200).

The well-packed containers arrived with generous helpings. Amchi food uses tamarind, grated coconut and kokum as a souring agent. All these flavours came together beautifully in the Goan prawn curry, best had with red rice. Bafat pork, also known as dukra maas, went well with sannas or spongy idlis made with rice and urad daal. The curry was not extra spicy, at least not as per Konkani standards. Kori ghasi, made with abundant coconut milk, lime, curry leaves and garlic had a flavour reminiscent of Malwani chicken curry, albeit less spicy.

We finally moved to seafood and started with pomfret masala and surmai naked masala. Since we were told Kanchan pounds the masalas at home, the delicious flavours it left on the palate did not come as a surprise. The halwa rawa fry was a standout seafood dish.

Our next order is going to be the chicken ghee roast, a top selling item, with Kanchan having delivered 70 portions already.

Halwa Fry

Ingredients
6 pieces halwa fillets
3 tbsp Byadgi chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp hing /asafoetida powder
1 lime
Salt
Semolina/Rawa to coat the fish
Coconut oil to fry

Method
Clean, wash and pat dry the fish fillets and keep aside. Mix the chilli powder, turmeric, asafoetida and salt.

Add the lime juice and mix to make a paste. Coat the fish fillets with the masala and marinate at least for an hour.

Heat 1/4 cup of oil on a tawa. Roll the marinated fish fillets in rawa so that they are lightly coated. Place in the hot oil and fry on both sides until the fish is cooked through.

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