Selected Recipes from Niloufer Ichaporia King's My Bombay Kitchen
3. Seafood Ragout / Patia
Dhan dar patio
Patia, or patio, is one of the cornerstones of Parsi menu planning. It’s part of the trinity of dhan dar patio—white rice, plain yellow dal, and this richly flavored seafood ragout—served on a saro daro, auspicious day, or on any day at all.
The traditional Parsi method is to cook the fish or vegetables along with the tomato and onion base for at least a half hour, but we prefer to fry the seafood components separately and add them to the patia slightly underdone, finishing the cooking just as it’s time to serve the meal.
Patia is usually served with plain dal and boiled rice, or rice and red lentils cooked together as khichri. Serves 4 to 6.
MASALA
6 dried red chiles
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
RAGOUT
Prawn patia
1 pound shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined; or fish fillets or steaks
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or Indian chilly powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 green chiles, slit to the stem
1 to 2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 to 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves and stems
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons jaggery or brown sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp or lime juice
For the masala: Using a wet-dry grinder, grind the red chiles, garlic, cumin, and turmeric together into a paste (or see the note below).
To make the ragout: Rub the shrimp or fish with the cayenne pepper or chilly powder, the turmeric and the salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green chiles, allow to sizzle for a moment, and follow with the onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden. Add the masala paste and stir over moderate heat until the aroma rises. Add the tomatoes—skin, seeds, and all—and the fresh coriander. Cook over low heat to the consistency of marmalade. Add salt to taste, the jaggery, and tamarind or lime juice to get a good sweet-sour balance, adjusting to suit your own palate.
Fry the shrimp or fish separately in as little oil as possible until tender. Add to the onion and tomato mixture. Cook together just enough to heat through and make the seafood part of the composition.
Note: If you haven’t got a grinder, you can still make patia masala in a food processor or blender. Pound the cumin seeds first in a sturdy mortar or pulverize them in a spice grinder, then add them to the food processor bowl along with the garlic, chopped first to make grinding easier, 1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, and the turmeric. Dribble in just enough water to turn the mixture into a paste.
Sue's Comments on the Recipe
One of my all time favorite dishes, which as part of dhan dar patio is the kind of thing I would be happy to eat day after day after day. I was keen to try Niloufer’s version, and I was not disappointed. Like many spicy dishes, this one improves overnight, so it’s worth making it a day before you are entertaining. Niloufer says not to bother peeling the tomatoes, but I think if I had the time, doing so would make this dish even better. Lastly, she also gives instructions for variations of this basic seafood ragout - for squid and shellfish, shad roe, and vegetarian versions. I had an eggplant version once and found it extremely tasty.