Fish filler

THE tawa is a greatly under-rated piece of kitchen equipment. Most of us think that the poor iron griddle is just good enough to make roti and parantha on. In South India, a special tawa is used to prepare dosa and the virtuoso breadmakers in Awadh and Delhi, Bhopal and Hyderabad reverse it to delight the diners with roomali roti or ulterior tawe ke partake and true that some maharaja use it to serve an assortment of seasonal vegetables in different spices and once in a while the taka-tin symphony attracts us to tawe ke tikke but that’s about all. The cast-iron Cinderella remains humbly invisible.

Seldom do we notice that it is the tawa that provides an unending supply of tikki and pav bhaji masala. But there is no need to beat around the bush. What has triggered this stream of consciousness is a mouth-watering, lip-smacking delicacy we tasted in Chennai recently.

In a small eatery off San Thome, we were served a bass fish that was tawa-fried. Fried, perhaps, is to put it a bit sternly, the highly spiced bass was more of a pan-grilled rendering. There was just a hint of batter that gave it a texture of very lightly crumbed. The fillets were succulent and one could taste the freshness of the fish.

It remained pleasantly firm and had a healthy scarlet blush on the exterior. The crust was dark brown and crisp and the joy of discarding the knife and fork and enjoy the dish using one’s fingers was sheer bliss. The fish flakes tasted divine, and paired with the green salad, which served as the bed, made a beautifully balanced meal.

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