Housewives create five-star menu

This city restaurant owes its new seafood menu to closet chefs all across the four southern states.

Seafood might not be your first choice of food during the monsoon, but a city restaurant is trying to change that. Chef Rajdeep Kapoor has chosen a rather unusual time to launch a seafood menu at Dakshin, ITC Maratha because he thinks it’s a myth that you should keep your dining preferences above sea level while it’s raining.

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What’s unique about this five-star menu is that all the recipes are sourced directly from housewives in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, as Kapoor wanted to bring secret home-cooked recipes to the fore.

Food trail
“We have done extensive research and met with housewives from all over these regions because we wanted to find food that wasn’t available at any commercial establishment. Each home has a different style of cooking and uses different ingredients, and we wanted to incorporate that into our menu,” he explains.

The creation of the menu took plenty of trials-and-errors, and the results were first presented to a core group of regulars for approval before being introduced into the main menu. The set of dishes features such tongue-twisting, taste-bud tempting items like Mallae Yetti Bezule (fresh lobster marinated in red chilli with ginger, garlic and lime) and Clams and Nandu Sukka (clams and crabs tossed in spicy tomato and kokum masala).

Ask Kapoor why the Karnataka coast finds maximum representation and he responds, “More than all other states, the cuisine of this area remains unexplored. I also specifically wanted to stay away from Goan food because that’s already popular.” Despite the season not allowing for steady supply of expensive fish, Kapoor isn’t worried and assures that his recipes are dynamic and can be adapted to use any fish as the main meat.

Given that the creators of these recipes have been perfecting their secrets for generations, Kapoor insists that he owes them credit for sharing.

He adds, “All those housewives are part of our team. Even now, I have a lady working for us round-the-clock to add Maharashtrian dishes to the menu. The recipes all belong to those women, only the presentation is ours.”

Nandu Sukka
Ingredients
Medium sized crabs 1
Chilli powder 70 gms
Coriander powder 70 gms
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Saunf powder 1 tsp
Lemon 1 tsp
Onion 2 nos.
Tomato 150 gms
Ginger-garlic paste 200 gms
Grated coconut 100 gms
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a vessel, add onion, sauté till golden brown

Then add ginger-garlic and cook till the raw flavour is gone.

Add chilli, turmeric, saunf, dhaniya and garam masala and sauté

Add the chopped tomatoes, tamarind and coconut paste and cook further till the masala leaves oil.

Add curry cut crabs and saute and cook for 10-15 mins.

Finish with lemon juice and coriander leaves.

Serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander