Surmai Che Kalvan

Surmai Kalvan, a typical Konkani Seer fish preparation dish that is quite a regular in a Konkani household and forms part of our comfort meal when accompanied with steamed rice.

My tryst with cooking happened out of necessity. When I moved out from my home city due to job requirement I had to rely on tiffin services for my daily survival. I soon figured out, in the long run, tiffin services couldn’t be relied upon. Food from any tiffin service that seemed so delicious and wonderful during the first week would begin to taste bland and insipid by the end of first week. It was then I understood the significance of cooking and began taking it seriously.

During the initial years, when I had surpassed the beginners level and was attempting to graduate into intermediate levels of cooking, I began attempting dishes made from Chicken, Eggs and mutton and figured out that handling it was relatively easier than seafood. Being a Konkani, this fact was a bitter pill to swallow.

I recall having a conversation with my Mother over the telephone in which I admitted my fear of cooking seafood and how I felt cooking seafood was very elusive. I faced difficulty on two fronts- purchasing fresh fish and then handling and cooking fish. I lacked confidence at both these fronts.  My mother cajoled me into thinking how taking small risks and embracing failures could help in overcoming them and it shouldn’t act as a deterrent in my cooking adventures.

Bearing her words in mind, I began with seafood again with cooking prawns. Fortunately, it was successful attempt! Fish curries are equally loved with fried fish in my home. Then I tried my hands on round fishes like mackerel, seer fish and Pomfret cooked in coconut based gravies, flavored with spices, and balanced with just right sourness. In the beginning I ended up overcooking fish resulting into its disintegration. For my reader’s benefit who have just ventured into cooking, let me mention about a dichotomy- mutton or chicken falling off the bone, are sometimes considered to be a delight and can please many but a fish cooked to similar levels is a cardinal sin. It should never fall of the bone (an error that I would commit in the initial years) and if it does, you have overcooked it and you would end up angering many.

I think when you learn from your mistakes, the learning are etched in your memories forever and you do not repeat those mistakes in future.

Today’s recipe of Surmai Kalvan or Surmai Gravy preparation is my heirloom recipe. A unique quality of this recipe is the usage of fennel seeds in masala paste. I remember quizzing my Mom on numerous occasion why do we need to add fennel seeds to a Konkani gravy and the only answer that she could manage was “it just tastes good”. Later when I went to pursue my Post Graduation in Culinary arts the mystery became clear to me. In the classes of ‘Global Cuisine’ while we were discussing about various classic combinations of ingredients, our professor educated us that fennel pairs up beautifully with fish and then suddenly all those years of practical learning began to make sense.

I proudly told my professor that I was aware of the practical usage of this combination and how we use fennel in our Konkani Cuisine in fish curries.

Surmai Kalvan, a typical Konkani Seer fish dish that is quite a regular in a Konkani household and forms part of our comfort meal when accompanied with steamed rice.

Do try it and share your feedback in comment section below.

Click to watch recipe video