TDG: The Perfect Pomfret

[Fat Guy]

Forget the $250 Neiman Marcus cookie recipe myth; this is Monica Bhide's $1,175.25 fish recipe reality . . .

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[alacarte]

What a great story, Monica. Thanks for sharing it.

Dumb question re: the "$1,175.25 fish recipe." What exactly is covered under that $1,175.25? Is that the cost of the ingredients? The cost of a trip to India?

I love "new bride" recipes. I think that's a food culture that's just about lost. Most "new brides" already have been cooking for years before marriage, if one gets married at all, and if one cooks at all. Besides, the household cook is as likely to be the groom as the bride these days.

[fresco]

Love those tats. The fish sounds pretty good too.

[Placebo]

One of the most fantastic fish dishes I've ever had was tandoori whole pomfet at a little restaraunt in Goa. Despite having gotten mild food poisening the 2nd or 3rd time I had it I continued to go back for more. Having just found decent-looking pomfret (albeit frozen) for the first time here in Seattle I'm gonna ned to try this recipe out.

Edited September 30, 2003 by Placebo (log)

[Monica Bhide]

The cost includes all the long distance calls home (about why the recipe was not working) and a trip i took to India in January -- where in addition to the online recipe, I did get to talk to her personally. That is why I was stumped when the dish did not turn out as I expected. I think food carries with it so many memories -- each time I cooked this fish, I guess I was looking for that new bride feeling that made it so special

I hope you will enjoy the recipe as much as I have

What do fellow egulleeters think of food and memories??

[FoodMan]

What an interesting article and a tasty sounding recipe. There is always a link between food and memories especially when one is far away from home, be it overseas or across a few hundred miles. A meal that one has as a child in mom's kitchen or on grandmother's bakcyard is very hard to duplicate in a different land. It just lacks that special something, the "homeliness" if that is a word. What I mean is that it lacks the same visuals, sorroundings, smells and sounds of that particular place.

When I make my grilled chciken with garlic sauce in my Houston home, no matter how hard I try it just is not the same. It always tastes good but I keep yearning for the hustle and bustle of my grandma's house, the smells of the orange trees in her small garden nearby, the company of my brothers and friends, the sounds of vendors from down the small street selling anything from fresh milk to cucumbers from their Toyota pickup trucks or even their donkey's load. This simpliy cannot be re-created. So what do we do??

We make our own new memories with our loved ones who are present, and enjoy what we have in hopes that on our next visit home we will re-live a small fragment of that childhood memory again.

EN

Edited September 30, 2003 by FoodMan (log)

[Anna N]

Wonderful, wonderful story, Monica. Thanks for sharing.

Anna N

[Wolfert]

Absolutely charming story. I think you should consider doing a book on food and memories. My advice: Use that story as a sample when you send in your proposal.

[Monica Bhide]

Absolutely charming story. I think you should consider doing a book on food and memories. My advice: Use that story as a sample when you send in your proposal.

Thanks Paula.. that is quite a compliment coming from you. I am a huge admirer of yours and a fan of your work. Thank you very much, I will take that suggestion to heart

[Fat Guy]

It's a good suggestion. The bits and pieces we've already seen of your life in your TDG pieces prove that being interesting is a condition with which you are afflicted whether you like it or not. So why not take advantage of your unique life and outlook? The introduction to your book is already written in your East Views West piece. And several of your other pieces (especially the Meals on Wheels, Indian Style one) would make good writing samples. I think you could approach a significant publisher about this -- not a niche cookbook publisher, but one of the really big houses.

[Monica Bhide]

That would be a dream come true. I would welcome any advice on how to proceed with something like this

[Fat Guy]

Write a proposal. Have your agent send it to a million publishers. Prepare for lots of rejections and hopefully one acceptance.

[Monica Bhide]

[Human Bean]

Monica,

Great story!

Could you possibly explain a bit more about kokum? Minimal web research suggests that it's exported as dried skins (or perhaps sometimes pods?) that are soaked in water (as your recipe mentions). Sounds like it might be hard to find.

I have at least three Indian markets within five miles of home, and fresh curry leaves and turmeric are always available. Maybe I can find kokum.

Thanks.

[Monica Bhide]

It is an amazing fruit, really, it comes from an evergreen and is grown in the SOuth of India. It lends a sour taste to dishes and adds a gorgeous purplish hue to the dish -- I have a tremendous recipe for a kokum soup that I can send you if you like. You should be able to get it at your local Indian grocer -- if you cannot find it let me know and I will see what I can do. It is usually sold sundried in stores here. (In appearance, kokum is dark purple to black, and it is a sticky fruit with curled edges.)

It can be stored in an airtight container for a year

I hope you find it.. it really is a treasure!

[Malawry]

Did you acquire the kokum and the pomfret around DC? If so, where? And will you please make this for me sometime?

Monica, thanks for a wonderful story. It's got me thinking back to my own newlywed days and the food we ate in Italy and England while honeymooning.

[Monica Bhide]

Yes Rochelle -- it was in DC. you can get all the stuff here. I would love to make it for you sometime!

Can you share some of your food memories from your newlywed days?

[Malawry]

The best food memory from my honeymoon comes from the night we ate at Joia in Milan. This is a vegetarian haute cuisine restaurant, one of very few I've ever heard of actually. I remember we were so tired, jet-lagged, we'd been in Italy for almost 3 days and were barely acclimated. It was so so sunny everywhere and we didn't speak the language at all, and we'd been surviving mostly off of what we could grab at quick cafeteria/bars until then. Normally before such a trip I would have studied up on restaurants, picked up a phrasebook, and learned about local dining customs before taking off, but with the wedding we had no time.

Anyway. Joia. We ordered tasting menus. I remember one dish was a gelee, like a cylinder stuffed with a single flawless piece of asparagus...the gelee was infused with the most vibrant herb flavor, mostly basil. And there were thin pieces of what looked like dried asparagus on the plate, each topped with a tiny dot of real balsamico. I loved those little pieces, they were a little chewy and the dark green color looked cool against the herby gelee.

In England I remember going to an Indian restaurant that stood out. It was a vegetarian place that specialized in Keralan cuisine...Rasa W1 was the name of it. One standout was an appetizer of some sort of unusual banana dredged in chickpea flour and fried.

At the time of my honeymoon I ate fish but no meat or fowl. In London we relied on a guidebook we purchased entitled Vegetarian London by Alex Bourke and Paul Gaynor. In Italy we consumed mostly pasta, cappuccino, and gelato. Lots and lots of gelato. Gelato twice a day each of the four days we were there.

I kept a daily journal on our honeymoon, including everything we ate that seemed relevant at the time. I'm sure this journal will make for enjoyable memory-rejuvenation in the future.

[BBhasin]

Monica,

Always love your articles and thanks for sharing your wedding picture with the henna, now we know you are beautiful ' top to bottom'!

This was a wonderous tale, beautifully woven with with fond memories of good times and great food, I loved the old lady and the soil from the 'motherland'. Thank you again for sharing the story. How about a story on your 'Wedding feast'.

Do you remember all the things that were served there, was it kind of a fusion regional Indian meal , since you and your groom came from different regions and communities?

Reminds me of a wedding we catered, the bride was Mexican and the Groom from Scotland. They were into yoga, meditation and Indian religion so we were asked to do vegetarian but when we arrived there we found that both the parties had brought food from their cultures to suppliment ours, so you had a choice between mango lassi, carona and some whisky from scotland just to give you an idea.

BTW in your narration you mentioned that the fish was stuffed with raw mango and tamarind, which appeared a very intriguing combination. Your reciepe, however does not mention tamarind.

Time you wrote that book, as someone suggested on this thread, on your experiences.

[BBhasin]

The best food memory from my honeymoon ..............I kept a daily journal

Does your spouce know?

[Monica Bhide]

Bbhasin thanks for your comments. SHe used to make it with either tamarind and green mango or kokum. I have had it both ways and I prefer the kokum version... since it adds a nice unique tanginess to the dish.

[fifi]

I want to add a potential reader's vote for a book. Your stories are really from the heart to a heart. We really don't know enough about Indian culture and food in this country. That is a shame. Your book is NEEDED!

[Malawry]

The best food memory from my honeymoon ..............I kept a daily journal

Does your spouce know?

Yes, he was sitting next to me in bed as I scribbled, or across from me at a cafe (he'd be reading a book in either circumstance). Now you've inspired me to drag out this diary.

I drew little pictures too, and I'm not much of an artist. I drew a diagram of a typical Milanese cafeteria (these are narrow shops with long counters with premade sammiches, some pastries, a cappuccino bar, wine, and liquors on one side, and seating on the other side. My favorite was standing at the back by the cappuccino, people stand there to drink and gossip with friends and coworkers for long breaks.)

In London I drew a picture of our table in a tiny nook at Food for Thought when we ate dinner there. It's a little vegetarian eatery in the Covent Garden area. The table was almost totally private and we sat on cushions rather than chairs and shared bowls of vegetable stir-fry over brown rice. Groovy. From another page, here's a list of items I noticed at the mini-Sainsbury's supermarket near our hotel: meringue nests, 3 varieties of King's syrup, at least 8 real butters including at least 1 from Normandy, unrefrigerated eggs, tinned beef, hard liquor, beer singles, jam-filled donuts, and premade sandwiches ranging from ordinary ham and cheese to baps with chicken tikka. Since then I've made a vow to visit a grocery whenever we're in another country.

It's not all food, I drew pictures of contemporary art we saw in Italy and England, wrote details about people I observed in Hyde Park, documented shopping for shoes for both of us, etc etc.

[Pan]

I agree with the others. That's way more than a recipe with an introduction; it's a beautiful story. Which part of India are you from, Monica?

Edited October 1, 2003 by Pan (log)

[Suvir Saran]

Great story Monica. Maybe you can lead the Indian forum.... just a thought.

You have much to look forward to...

Thanks for sharing your tale with us members of this site.

Your legs and feet look great with mehndi. It is a blessing in the part of India wher I come from. A dark and rich color of mehndi. Means your mother-in-law loves you. I am sure that is the case.

Wishing you years of happiness, culinary adventures and hope you will continue to share your tales.