Monsieur Poisson Chettinad Dans LA’ Hollandaise

by Shaheen Ali

‘Chefs Across Boundaries’ is a group of Chefs who set up challenges every month to encourage the participants to innovate, think out of the box and explore the culinary world.

This month, one of the Members Hetal Kamdar (http://hetalkamdar.blog.co.uk/) hosted the challenge and her theme was Pondicherry cuisine. The Union Territory of Pondicherry boasts of a sumptuous cuisine that shows strong French and Tamil influences.


Puducherry formerly known as Pondicherry is a small charming Union Territory on the east coast of India consisting of four small regions namely Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. Whereas Pondicherry and Karaikal is in Tamilnadu, Mahe is part of Kerala and Yanam is a part of Andhra Pradesh.

Franco-Pondicherry or Pondicherry cuisine, has been union territory’s best-kept secret. The flavors are mild and the fusion between the French and Tamil is what makes this cuisine unique and different from rest of India. There are plenty of options when it comes to this cuisine for vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians. Since it was a former French colony it’s not surprising that the cuisine is heavily influenced by the French way of life. Few typical French dishes have been adapted to suit taste buds used to spicier Indian food yet with minimum use of spices. Pondicherry is best known for its beaches, ashrams ,museums ,scuba diving and churches . The sea-food is very well known here and at the same time staples like idli, wadas and dosas are part of their day-to-day indulgence. Coconut makes its mark in a good number of dishes. As with French cuisine, accompaniments like onion soup, salad and bread are served with the meal. 

Fusing the two proved quite a challenge as I had very little knowledge of both Tamil and French cuisine. After a lot of internet research and book readings i finally landed up picking the two exclusive dishes from both ends. Chettinad Fish Fry from the Tamil cuisine and Roasted Onion, Corns, Carrots and French Beans with Hollandaise Sauce.

The word “Chettinad” means a social caste specializing in the preparation of food. Consequently, the Chettinads are considered master chefs, and Chettinad cuisine is one of the most aromatic in India. 

The Hollandaise Sauce  is an emulsion of egg yolk and liquid butter, usually seasoned with lemon juice, salt, and a little white pepper or cayenne pepper. In appearance, it is light yellow and opaque, smooth and creamy. The flavor is rich and buttery, with a mild tang added by an acidic component such as lemon juice, yet not so strong as to overpower mildly-flavored foods.

Hollandaise is one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. It is so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce for the King of the Netherlands’ state visit to France. Hollandaise sauce is well known as a key ingredient of Eggs Benedict, and is often paired with vegetables such as steamed asparagus.

I have tried to keep the recipes simple and easy so that anyone can cook an international cuisine with ease and perfection. The fusion carries three major dishes and the recipes of each has been given one after the other.

Print Recipe
CHETTINAD FISH FRY , ROASTED CORN, ONION AND CARROTS WITH FRENCH BEANS & HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Course side dish
Cuisine tamil
Prep Time 120 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Special Chettinad Powder :
ROASTED CORN, ONION AND CARROTS WITH FRENCH BEANS :
HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Course side dish
Cuisine tamil
Prep Time 120 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Special Chettinad Powder :
ROASTED CORN, ONION AND CARROTS WITH FRENCH BEANS :
HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Instructions
CHETTINAD FISH FRY :
  1. Squeeze lemon juice in a bowl, ad red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt as needed. Make a paste.
  2. Clean and wash the fish pieces.
  3. Now add the paste to the fish and mix well. Marinate this for 1 hour.
  4. Dry roast the ingredients given under "----Special Chettinad powder----" and grind them into a fine powder and keep aside.
  5. After 1 hour of fish marination, take the fish pieces and coat them well with the roasted powder and keep aside.
  6. Heat oil in a skillet and place the fish on the skillet one by one and fry from both sides to golden brown and crisp.
  7. Adjust the flames for better results.
ROASTED CORN, ONION AND CARROTS WITH FRENCH BEANS :
  1. Bring the water and 1 tsp of the salt to the boil In a medium saucepan. Add the French beans and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove from the water and put into an ice water bath. Drain.
  2. Heat the grill or the gas burners and dry roast the corn kernels. Keep aside.
  3. Add the oil to a large saute pan over a medium heat, after 30 seconds add the onions and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the French beans, roasted corns, carrots and garlic. Saute for 4 minutes.
  4. De-glaze with the balsamic vinegar and honey, season with salt and pepper and add the butter.
  5. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.
HOLLANDAISE SAUCE:
  1. Melt the butter slowly in a small pan.
  2. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds.The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.
  3. Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.
  4. Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should taste buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. Note: If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water.
Recipe Notes

For the platting i have pilled the Chettinad fish fry piece teamed with Roasted onion, corns, carrots and beans. Drizzled with Hollandaise sauce.

Serving Suggestions:

The dish can be served with rice or bread accompanied with your favorite wine.

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