Similar to Goa, Kerala is renowned for its scenic beauty, intense spices and delicious seafood. It's almost as if the three sensations just feed of each other, making Kerala that much more memorable. But today I would like to tell you about one meal in particular; the grilled tiger prawns and Malabar fish curry that I had at an outdoor restaurant called Café Cuba in Fort Kochi.
Grilled Tiger Prawns
The grilled tiger prawns were medium sized and came served dry on a plate with six full pieces, carrots and lime. They appeared to have been lightly marinated in a tandoori type of masala, similar to the masala used in tandoori chicken up north. After spending thirty seconds admiring the appearance of the perfectly glazed tiger prawns, we took our first bites. The subtle tandoori marinade with the lime juice squeezed on top made the prawns a delicious appetizer. The fact that they were perfectly cooked made it that much better. One could easily be content with this as his or her main course meal, but the prawns seemed irrelevant once we tried the next dish.
Malabar Fish Curry
In school our teachers always told us "Don't judge a book by its cover". Although, if you're Indian then at home your mom probably changed this to "Don't say anything about your meal until you try it" (or something along those lines) like mine did. This phrase is very apt when describing the Malabar fish curry at Café Cuba. Compared to the prawns, the large whole fish soaked in a thick red curry didn’t seem very appealing but I soon benefited from those childhood lectures. With the first bite (and every one that followed) came an intense rush of flavours that can only be described as "abundant yet balanced". It had intense spice (that is common in most Malayali dishes) but it was balanced by the sweetness of tomatoes. It was somewhat tangy, yet bitter at the same time. I couldn't quite make out how they achieved that. Perhaps the use of Malabar tamarind (different to normal tamarind) is what caused this. The fish was grilled before being added to the curry so the flesh was soft and came off the bone with ease. We started with roti and finished it off with coconut rice.
I can't explain just how much flavour there was in the fish curry. Both my friend and I had to take breaks from eating (partially due to the intense heat of Kochi but also) because we actually couldn't believe how good it was.
My favourite meals will always be nihari/paya and Bihari kababs, but it has to be said… the Malabar fish curry was probably the tastiest dish I have ever eaten.
Below: a video showing the tiger prawns and large whole fish being grilled on the hot plate and a view of Cafe Cuba, a small outdoor restaurant with approximately 5 or 6 tables.
Below: The well-presented grilled tiger prawns
Below: Perhaps not the prettiest dish, but it was probably the tastiest dish I have very had. You can see the Malabar fish curry is full of onion and Malabar Tamarind (those small black chunks).
Below: The ancient Chinese fishing nets (10 minute walk from Cafe Cuba) that were used to catch fresh seafood used by nearby restaurants
