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Chef Shilarna Vaze aka chef Chinu runs the Gaia Gourmet in Mumbai and has always been pretty active on Instagram with her recipes. Most time she along with her baby girl is seen having fun on social media she whips up something really exotic. Hailing from a family of fabulous cooks, she always had the luxury of been exposed to brilliant seafood as well as other cuisines. She strongly believes being a chef means who have to learn to take risks. Most time on Instagram you can see her playing and experimenting with different ingredients and bold flavours.
She cooked the CKP Kalvan that is made with pomfret. For the uninitiated CKP is Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu , an ethnoreligious community of South Asia). Kalvan means curry in Marathi.
She took to Instagram and writes a long post saying-
This is the flavour of my childhood.
Not the red Goan curries.
Not the peppery Saraswat Kalvan.
Not the fiery Malvani curries.
But this subtle, light yellow CKP Kalvan made only with Pomfret of course.
And this is my aunt. I call her Mau. Eldest of the three sisters, she definitely is the main reason I got into food (basically through eating).
Not only is she a fantastic source for all things Maharashtrian, what’s in season, which mirchi to use, what is the secret to that person’s ghati masala, why you need to use this kind of turmeric, all those things that make the food taste extra.
She was also the most well-travelled of my aunts and brought back fondue & raclette from Switzerland and made tacos with real refried beans (not the baked beans New Yorker version 😂 who remembers those!).
Now to the Kalvan. This is my maternal grandmum’s recipe. She was obsessed with seafood. She woke up planning what to cook and what to eat. I’m quite a bit like her. She also had amazing hair 😂
CKP POMFRET KALVAN/ CURRY
1 kg pomfret sliced on the bone
2 tbsp salt
Marinade for fish-
2 tsp haldi
1 1/2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 1/2-2 tbsp coriander seeds
20 big garlic cloves
1” pc ginger
12-13 long light green chillies
Fine Grated coconut (not coconut milk)
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup hot water
Tamarind pulp
1/4 cup tamarind + 1/2 cup hot water-
Kalvan
2 tbsp oil
7-8 garlic cloves
Add fish + marinade.
2-3 cups of hot water
1 cup grated coconut
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 tbsp coriander
Method
- Make marinade & put on 1 kg pomfret + 2 tbsp salt
- Grind coconut with warm water (be careful the mixer lid might pop out!). Make tamarind pulp and squish with your hands. Thecho whole unpeeled garlic cloves with a knife/ pestle
- To make Kalvan- in a large patila, put oil, add garlic. Add the fish + marinade. Add hot water and bring to 1 boil. Add grated coconut, tamarind pulp. Finish with chopped coriander.
