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Food talk
Go bananas
The fish-like appearance and taste of kele ki machhali is sure to
delight food lovers, says Pushpesh Pant
 SARDAR
Avatar Singhji came to Patiala from Rawalpindi on the eve of
Partition. He left behind all he possessed like most other refugees.
But what no marauder could snatch away from him was the treasure trove
of Pindi recipes that he carried in his head. Thanks to these, he
could treat his family to many a memorable meal in those hard times.
His son, G.S. Channi, an acclaimed theatre artiste and TV producer,
recalls how the kela Rawalpindi, cooked by Pitaji, fooled everybody
with its fish-like appearance and taste.
Pitaji lived up to the
ripe old age of 106, and bless his soul, cooked almost to the last
months of his peaceful life. Channi has managed to pass on the recipe
handed down to him to Sudha, who now in charge of the kitchen,
according to family members approximates the original closely.
Sudha is a gifted cook
and whatever she touches tastes great. We were diffident about trying
our hand with this family heirloom. Channi encouraged us to do so as
he felt that Pitaji was happiest when people enjoyed what he cooked
and the legacy should be shared with as large a number of food lovers
as possible. We are glad we followed his advice. We feel that kela
Rawalpindi that mimics the jal ki raani so well deserves to be
identified with an unambiguous name. Hail kele ki machhali.
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Kele
ki machhali
Ingredients
Unripe bananas
(medium sized) 4-6
Medium tomatoes
(eyes removed and chopped fine) two
Medium onion one
Ginger (scraped
and chopped very fine) 1 inch piece
Garlic cloves
(crushed) 2-3
Green chillies
(deseeded and chopped) 2-3
Ajwain 1 tsp
Zeera powder 1 tsp
Dhania powder ½
tsp
Kashmiri lal mirch
powder ½ tsp
Methi seeds ½ tsp
Mustard seeds ½
tsp
Limejuice 1 tbsp
Oil (preferably
mustard) ½ cup
Salt to taste
Method
Peel the bananas and
cut lengthwise in diagonal slices about three inches in length
and half an inch thick to resemble fish fillets. Heat oil in a
non-stick shallow pan to smoking point. Then reduce the flame to
medium and fry the banana fish fillets till lightly brown.
Remove with slotted spoon and place on kitchen towels to remove
excess oil. Reheat the oil in the pan and put in the ajwain,
sarason and methi seeds. When these begin to splutter, add onion
paste, along with chopped tomatoes, ginger and green chillies.
Stir-fry for a minute and add the powdered spices and salt.
Blend well when the fat begins to leave sides, add the fried
fillets and turn over gently to ensure these are evenly coated
with spice paste. Sprinkle limejuice and serve hot.
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