My ajji used to make the most amazing shengachi aamti, a tangy sweet-sour dal with drumstick that is typical to the Sawantwadi Ratnagiri region. It was so delicately flavoured that later I wanted to incorporate it in my menu. I thought it would work very well with sea bass, which is a delicate fish. The bok choy gave it another textural element and the pickled radish added a pop of flavour.
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Serves
4
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Cook Time
01 h 00 m
Plus 4 hours for pickling radish. You can omit it if you’d like.
Ingredients
For Sea Bass
- 4 sea bass fillets, around 120 gm each with skin on
- 20 gm butter
- 20 ml olive oil
- 20 ml lemon/lime juice
- Salt and pepper
For Shenganchi Aamti
- 1 cup tur dal
- ¾ cup onion, chopped
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup tamarind, soaked in water for 1 hour
- 1 shenga (drumstick), deveined and cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1 whole green chilli
- Salt to taste
For Bok Choy
- 8 bok choy, cored and blanched
- 15 gm garlic, chopped
- 15 ml clarified butter or olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper
For Pickled White Radish
- 100 gm white radish, julienned
- 25 gm sugar
- 5 gm salt
- 5 gm coriander seed
- 150 ml water
- 50 ml white wine vinegar
- 6-8 black peppercorns
- 1 small cinnamon stick
For Garnish
- 1 cup scallion greens
- ½ cup fresh coriander leaves
Preparation
For Shenganchi Aamti
- Bring tur dal to a boil in 2-3 cups of water or till a frothy scum forms on surface. Spoon off the scum and add chopped onions. Continue to cook.
- Toss in whole chilli, salt to taste and continue to cook.
- When dal is soft and mushy, add drumstick pieces and continue cooking.
- Meanwhile, macerate tamarind in its water and pass through a sieve.
- When drumsticks soften, drop in the tamarind pulp and then coconut milk. Continue to simmer for 5 more minutes. Hold warm till service.
For Pickled Radish
- Stuff julienned white radish into a sterilised glass jar.
- Toss the remaining ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Pour this hot pickling liquid over the julienned white radish and seal the jar. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate for at least four hours before using.
For Bok Choy
- Heat butter or olive oil in a pan and sauté garlic till it turns golden brown.
- Cut the blanched bok choy heads down the middle and sauté till they almost dry out and the leaves just start to char.
- Squeeze the juice of a lemon on the greens and season with salt and pepper. Hold warm.
For Sea Bass
- Lightly score the skin of sea bass fillets, making sure not to cut too deeply into the flesh. Pat dry with a paper towel and rub a little salt, pepper and lemon juice on flesh side. Keep skin side dry.
- Heat some oil in a nonstick frying pan and sauté the fillets, skin side down, on low heat. When the edges of the flesh above the skin start turning white, the fish is almost cooked.
- Drop in butter and a sprig of thyme and with a tablespoon, keep basting the flesh-side of the fish. The skin should get crispy.
- Remove from heat, flip the fillet in the pan, and hold while you start plating.
To Serve
- Fold four bok choy halves over on themselves in the centre of a plate and place sea bass on top.
- Garnish with a salad of pickled radish, coriander leaves and scallion greens tossed in a bit of the pickling liquid. Spoon the shenganchi aamti sauce around the fish.
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