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Something fishy: How invaders influenced cooking in Puducherry
Puducherry has always been home to a lot of fusion cooking. It’s not just French cuisine that can be found here, but a beautiful blend of Tamilian flavours with influences of Portugal, Vietnam and Italy.
Chennai
All the invaders, who passed through Pudukay (a Roman port in the third century BC), which is what Puducherry was called back then, left their traces in terms of architecture, religion and food so one can find a treasure trove of recipes here that are safely preserved by families in older parts of this Union Territory and Karaikal. Most of them can claim to have ancestors who settled here in the 1770s. Many of these recipes date back to that period and were handwritten in an obscure form of Tamil that has to be decoded. It seems like the locals learnt French dishes but gave it a twist by adding local masalas, which caused a burst of flavours in the mouth.
Puducherry may have been segregated as the ‘white town’, where Europeans lived and ‘black town’, where Indians resided. But even these strong walls were broken down by our ancestral cooks and chefs, who through their own genius, created a whole range of dishes, taking the best of French dishes and combining it with aromatic Indian ingredients.
Even to date, most of the Tamil/French homes dish out the best of fusion food. A few spices are used in these dishes and they’re not hot but flavourful. Cloves and cardamom are a favourite and are in use as a whole instead of powders. Rich ingredients such as ghee, coconut milk, almond milk, poppy-seed paste and cashew-nut paste are used to balance the taste.
Seafood bouillabaisse (kadal rasam) made with sea bass, cod, mussels and clam is one such fusion dish. Attu kari porichadhu i.e., braised lamb shoulder in curry de Pondicherry and classic sole or pomfret meunie’re, locally known as yeh meenamma are much-loved by the locals. They may not be found in restaurants across Puducherry because it’s still a well-kept secret in homes. Here’s a chance for you to try making one such dish yourself!
Yeh Meenamma
- Preparation time: 25 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Serves: 4
- Calories: 190 per serving
Items required
- Fish slices [pomfret/sole]: 750g
- Chilli powder: 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder: 1/4 tbsp
- Turmeric powder: 1 tbsp
- Garlic paste: 1/2 tbsp
- Ginger paste: 3/4 tbsp
- Crushed shallot: 3/4 cup
- Mint and green
- coriander paste: 1 tbsp
- Lemon juice: 1/2 cup
- Salt: to taste
- Green chilli paste: 1/4 tbsp
- Coconut/sesame oil: 1/2 cup
- Cumin and fennel seeds powder: 1/2 tbsp
- White sesame seeds
- powder: 1/2 tsp
- Rice flour: 1 tbsp
Method
- Clean and wash the fish pieces. Drain water and marinate with salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, add chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin and fennel powders, white sesame powder and ginger and garlic paste. Add the crushed shallot and salt, mix well and make a smooth paste.
- Grind the mint, coriander and green chillies. Add this paste to the fish.
- Coat some rice flour lightly on the pieces.
- Marinate the fish in the rest of the masala paste and set aside for one hour.
- Heat oil in a pan or tawa, shallow fry the fish pieces. Turn over on both sides so that it’s cooked evenly.
- If roasting, then do so in a non-stick saucepan or tawa.
- Serve hot as a side dish.
Kitchen tip
- The fish should be fresh so opt for pomfret if sole is not available readily
- Always store fish in air tight containers, while keeping in the fridge to avoid a foul smell
- Use fresh limes to clean the vessel and your hands after cooking and cleaning fish to removes all odour
- Butter can also be used for grilling or shallow-frying
— The writer is a chef and author of Festive Offerings to the Gods
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