A nonvegetarian Konkani thali

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Fish thali

Many Konkanis who live in the coastal areas are seafood lovers. This goes to such an extent that, some people call all seafood as “vegetarian” :)). I have seen some people who eat fish 6 days a week. One day -usually Saturday or Monday, are purely vegetarian. Some have started eating chicken from the last one generation, but still seafood wins hands down. I think it is mainly because we get very fresh river as well as sea fish as we live on the coast. Not that all the Konkanis are non-vegetarians, many are purely vegetarian, but today’s post is all about seafood lovers.

My Aayi was a vegetarian before her marriage. But after she got married, she started cooking as well as eating fish. Her fish dishes are just out-of-the-world. Usually all Konkani seafood dishes are served quite hot. At my home, we all love seafood. But SIL and I, not so much. Pappa and Aayi like it, but they won’t miss it if they don’t eat it for a while. My bro and husband are huge fans, so whenever they are at home, fish is cooked.

Everything changed for me after we moved to US. I have tried lot of different seafood here. But it is never the same. Our local Chinese grocery store has some “known” fishes but most of the time they are spoiled by the time I bring them home. Since they are frozen, the taste is never the same even if I buy the freshest looking fish. I thought it was because the way I cook them, but when Aayi visited us last year, she tried and the result was same. They just don’t taste good.

So when we visited India in March, we were all set to eat some of our favorite fish dishes. The day we reached Bangalore, my bro took us to “Fish Land” – An old style restaurant near Majestic, which serves Konkani style sea food. For the first time, I finished everything in my thali (that’s an achievement, if you know me). Then we went to seafood heaven. Our native. Aayi prepared us everything that we loved. So I decided to write this post and clicked few pictures.

This is one of the favorite Konkani seafood thalis which everyone loves. Writing about this is like a torture for me as I know I won’t be able to eat it until I visit India again :(. But anyway, I want it on this blog, so here it goes.

Fish thali

– Plain rice (some people like to serve boiled rice/matta rice but at my home, we always eat white rice)
– Alle kande ambat
Alle kande ambat
– Kokum kadi
– Bangde dhoddak
bangde dhoddak
– Bangde fry
Fish fry
– Mango pickle
– Onion rings and lemon

38 Comments for “A nonvegetarian Konkani thali”

says:

Shilpa, this post is truly a torture for me too. Firstly, the color color of the Alle kaandya ambat, dhoddak and that fish fry, and upon tht the mention of Fishland in B’lore :(…Am really homesick now …

Reply

says:

This is one of the prettiest thalis i’ve seen! The color just rocks, Shilpa! Btw, the lil’ sketches for you and Aayi on the sidebar are so cute 🙂

Reply

Chandrika

says:

🙂 Hi Shilpa,

I am a vegeterian but slowly through your posts I am getting tempted to try fish. 🙂

You and Aayi are really gifted. 🙂

Reply

Renna

says:

Hi Shilpa..

My first post on your blog…All your recipes are superb…Its been long since you posted a chicken recipe…Do we smell something of chicken in the next week?????????

Reply

says:

Even Bengali and Kashmiri brahmins eat fish and some meat in Kashmir too, still are vegetarians!! It comes from some history I think! 🙂
Thali looks wonderful.I still got to get used to cooking Sea food and certain kind of meat though, I call it Lingayat mentality!:D

Reply

Great Britain

says:

This is an absolutely fantastic website. Your recipes are such a joy to read, and I am certainly set to try some.

It is rare to come across someone so genuine in food writing, nowadays.

Keep up the good work.

—A Britain-based admirer of yours (and your mother’s) recipes.

Reply

Sudeepta

says:

Hey Shilpa – you inspired me to make this meal for lunch today. I couldnt make the dhodak but I made shrimp pickle instead and instead of bangde fry I made mhori fry. Delicious. Thanks for the awesome idea! It took a lot of time but well worth it. Hubby was very happy 🙂

Shilpa: Wow…Fish thali here in US. Thats great Sudeepta. Looks like I too have to try something soon.

Reply

says:

Shilpa

Good to hear you are a konkani vegetarian!
Delicious meal! and that bangda fry looks so good.
And do you realize bangda is very high in Omega 3s. Just what the doctor ordered! :-))

Sorry to hear that you will not be going home soon. Not to worry, i will be going to Kumta next month and will try these ‘fresh’ and report back! :-E

O, I’ll remember to bring pics too :-E

Kudos on a excellent post! and hats off to your mom!

O, I love those little cartoons of you and your mom you have on the side. Cute!

Shilpa: If you call chicken also vegetarian, I am a pure vegetarian :)).I wish I could find bangda here. Have to find out which other fish has high Omega 3.
:(( You are bad ..I know you will have good fish in Kumta :(( I feel so jealous.

Reply

Kamakshi

says:

Wow Shilpa. The non-vegetarian thali looks wonderful. I am a konkani too, living in US & so I miss all this fresh mom cooked seafood.Looking for some more konkani delicacies ahead.

Reply

says:

I belong to the clan of konkani brahmins that has remained vegetarian 🙂 my uncles eat… a couple of my aunts have started eating after marriage… but as a family, we’re predominantly vegetarian. I always get asked, ‘Oh you’re from Mangalore… then you must be eating fish!”

I have eaten this fish fry … my cousin is married to a GSB from Karwar and she made this for me once. It is the only way I can eat fish 🙂 on the rarest of rare occasions that I do 🙂

The thali looks so inviting. I just got back from home… had ambya sasam, chowchow, dali saar etc. Bliss!

Reply

Anitha

says:

Shilpa, I believe u live in Kansas, u might find Bangda in Surya grocery store in Olathe. The fresh ones are available in chinese stores, they are called Jack mackeral or Indian mackeral. By the way the thali looks awesome.

Reply

Meenal

says:

Vow Shilpa….very presentable..Ths thali is a feast for d eyes of all Seafood lovers like me..it luks so mouthwatering..!!..With ur wonderful recipies..U make me feel hungry every time i visit ur blog 😉
Btwn,il b tryng ur Chicken tikka masala recipie soon..its v.appealing..thnks for sharing 🙂

Meenal

Reply

MAITREYEE

says:

HI SHILPA,
BUT I THINK A NON VEG KONKANI THALI IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT A SUNGTA/BANGDYA KISMOOR.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM ORIGINALLY A KOKNASTHA MARRIED TO A GOAN GSB,BUT IM SO USED TO THE GOAN FOOD,THAT MY OWN PEOPLE ARE AMAZED AT THE WAY I HV BEGUN TO EAT SEAFOOD,AND NOT JUST EAT ALSO PREPARE.:)THNAKS TO U AND UR WEBSITE.

Reply

Uma Wagle

says:

Shilpa….I am from Mumbai, but we are goan GSbs, so naturally I am sea food lover, Now I am in canada n missing fish badly. I do get fish here but as u have said the taste is never same.
Thanks a ton for sharing this recepies…i refer to ur site whenver cooking typical amchi food.. 🙂

Reply

Ram

says:

I am a konkani guy and i used to eat lot of fish, but finally i thought we should leave eating non veg as we are brahmins.

Reply

jayanthi

says:

hi shilpa..
i recently logged into this sie..im so happy to c that someone is promoting konkani food..im a student now but will be getting married in 3 months time…my fiance is very fond of chicken dry items…so i want to learn them before 3 months…some easy ones…could u suggest me some good dry items for its my first ime in cooking chicken

Reply

puja

says:

its a great reciepe….alle kande ambat and bangde fry …
im also a konkani and living abroad…so miss eating the typical sea food here…anyways thanks for these great recipes..i always check aayis reciepes for tryin konkani food..at home

Reply

Goan_konkani

says:

Hi Shilpa
I agree with you. Most konkanis used to eat fish not so much meat.
Even in my village we both hindus and catholics ate fish not meat so much. I remember bhangda yummy…..yummy.
also clams. as far i my grandma remembers she says every caste ate fish. it seems Saraswati gave that advice- now thats a good healthy advice. OK. that aside let me get to the point. you must try great wall of china stores in US if they exist near ur place in US. My husband uses cocunut and we use a mixie to get course masala – its never the same but a lot of variety of fish u can find in these store. I go to the wall of china store in somerset NJ.

Reply

Buchun

says:

Hi,
Thanks, Where is this wall of china store in somerset, nj ?. I live in Somerset. I am missing Goan food as well. Wish there was a konkani restaurant here. The closest is the Udipi cuisine.
Thanks,
-Buchun

Reply

Deepali

says:

Hi I love your website. The fish thali was sooo tempting!! wanted to bite my computer I have always loved goan biryani.. chicken, mutton, prawns. Could you please post those receipes.

Thank you!!

Reply

paras nerurkar

says:

मला मांसाहारी जेवण खुप आवडतं
GSB असल्यामुळे आठवद्यातले फक्त 6 दिवस मी आणी माझ्या घरातले मांसाहारी जेवण जेवतो.
आमच्या घरात बनावल्या जाणार्या पदार्थांची नावे मी सांगतो
भात सगळ्यात आवडता म्हणून त्याचं नाव पहिलं
डाळीची आमटी
भट्टी आमटी
वरण्
मुगा गाठी
आंबट बटाट
आंबट भेंडा
सासव
फन्ना गोळे
कारल्याची कोशिंबीर
ही झाली शाकाहारी. सगळी सांगितली नाही पण जी स्पेशल आहेत ती सांगितली
आता मांसाहारी
बांगड्याचं धोड़क
तार्ल्याचं सुकं त्रिफळ आणि हळदीचं पान घालून
पेड़व्याचं आंबट तिखट त्रिफळ आणि हळदीचं पान घालून
मोरी चं मसाल्याचं
कुरल्या म्हणजे खेकड़ा
कोलंबी ची आमटी
हलव्याची आमटी
पाप्लेटची आमटी
सुरमई ची आमटी
रावस ची आमटी
बांगडयाची आमटी त्रिफळ आणि हळदीचं पान घालून
सुक्या बांगडयाचि आमटी त्रिफळ घालून
तिखलं
कोलंबिचं लोणचं
भरलेलं पाप्लेट चटणी भरून
तिसऱ्या
सोडे
बोम्बिल चं भुजण
सोलकढ़ी
आणि बराच काही

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