Three recipes from My Thali: fried tilapia, vada, boondi mango raita

Make the Ottawa chef and restaurateur's fried tilapia, vada and boondi mango raita

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Our cookbook of the week is My Thali: A Simple Indian Kitchen by Joe Thottungal with Anne DesBrisay. Read an interview with the author.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

Jump to the recipes: fried tilapia, vada and boondi mango raita.

All three recipes chef and restaurateur Joe Thottungal shared with us from his second cookbook are part of his "Off to Sea" thali (pictured, top left), which was inspired by his home state in southern India. Kerala stretches along the Malabar Coast, bordered by the Arabian Sea to the south and west. The region is known for its seafood, which Thottungal highlights in the thali's fried tilapia, salmon vattichathu and Konkan shrimp curry.

"We cook it at home all the time," he says of the fried tilapia. "It's not too much work because it comes filleted already and you marinate it for a day or two. Then, the beauty of the dish is the onions."

Thottungal is a believer in making the most of your food, even the last drops of marinade. His wife, Suma, uses sliced onions to soak up the leftovers, and adds them to the pan a few minutes before serving. "Onions go very well with the fish and that gives a little bit more body and volume to the fish. It's a beautiful touch."

The tilapia can be frozen in the marinade, he notes, which is what they often do at home. That way, you’re a big step closer to dinner.

The second recipe, vada, is a savoury fried snack from south India. Made with white lentils (urad dal) scented with curry leaves, ginger and cilantro, and studded with green chilies, onion and carrot, they’re gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan by nature.

"It's a very popular snack. And a lot of people don't get it right because they don't soak (the lentils); they don't ferment it a little bit," says Thottungal.

Vadas are usually enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack with afternoon chai. As part of a thali, they’re akin to a pre-appetizer — a small bite to whet your appetite. In the book, Thottungal recommends serving the fritters with his heirloom tomato chutney, but you can mix it up with any kind you like.

Here, the vada are doughnut-shaped, with a small hole in the middle. This allows the fritters to cook all the way through. "When you have a big piece of dough frying, it doesn't cook in the middle. That's why the hole was invented," says Thottungal, adding that you can shape the dough with two spoons, like a quenelle, if you prefer. Either way, make sure they cook fully. "For a good vada, it should be nice and crispy."

The third recipe, boondi mango raita, has a special place in Thottungal's heart. Mangoes are among the things he misses most about India. "We always get good mangoes, and Kerala is famous for mangoes, which people don't think…. Mangoes are very dear to us, and we grew up with five or six varieties of mangoes. Some are cooking mangoes. Some are for (eating) ripe only. Some are very sweet. Some are very fleshy."

Thottungal arrived at the idea of using the fruit in a savoury side dish when he considered mango lassi's popularity. (He offers a dark and stormy-mango-ginger mashup in the book, called the Old Monk Lassi.) "Mango lassi is very popular. It's like, why don't people eat it with yogurt?"

If you don't have mangoes, you can use pineapple or peaches for a similar sweet-sour flavour, he suggests.

For crunch, Thottungal tops the raita with boondi, a chickpea-flour puff. "As chefs, we always think about the textures. We cannot have everything soft. Yogurt is soft, the mango is soft. I wanted to add some crunchiness to the raita, so that is why I added some boondi on top."

2 lb tilapia (about 4 fillets) 1 large shallot, finely chopped 2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste (recipe follows) 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder 2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp fresh lime juice 1/4 cup coconut oil, plus extra if needed 1 large onion, sliced 1 lime wedge, for garnish

To serve: Rice Chutney

Cut each tilapia fillet in half lengthwise. Pat dry with paper towels, then place on a baking sheet or in a shallow bowl.

Using a food processor or a mortar and pestle, combine shallots, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, black pepper, turmeric, salt, and lime juice. Process or pound into a smooth paste. Spread the paste on both sides of the fish. Cover fish and marinate in the fridge, for at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. (Fillets can also be frozen in their marinade.)

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, until oil is shimmering. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, add fish to the pan (reserving excess marinade) and fry for 3 minutes on each side, adding more oil if necessary. Set cooked fillets on a serving plate and keep warm.

Meanwhile, add onions to the leftover marinade and mix well. Add a little more coconut oil to the hot frying pan if necessary, and add the onions, sautéing for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and wilted.

Scatter onions on top of the fish fillets. Serve with a lime wedge on a bed of rice with a side of chutney.

Serves: 6

1 (4-inch) knob ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped and patted dry 10 cloves garlic

Transfer ginger, garlic, and 2 tbsp water to a mortar and pestle or mini food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as required.

The paste can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes: 1/2 cup

1 cup white lentils (urad dal) 1 tsp salt 6 curry leaves, finely chopped 2 Indian or Thai green chilies, finely chopped 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 small carrot, finely chopped 1 (1/2-inch) knob ginger, peeled and finely chopped 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro Neutral oil such as vegetable oil or peanut oil, for deep-frying

To serve: Plain yogurt or Basic Raita (see recipe) Chutney

Soak the lentils in cold water for at least 4 hours. Drain, then rinse under cold running water.

Place lentils and salt in a small food processor and grind into a fine paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as required.

In a large bowl, combine curry leaves, chilies, onions, carrots, ginger and cilantro. Add lentil paste and mix well. Cover, then set aside at room temperature for 2 hours.

Heat enough oil in a deep fryer or deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan to cover the patties (about 3 inches deep). Oil should reach a temperature of 350F.

With damp hands, scoop a golf-ball-sized dollop of the dough and make a donut shape. Insert a thumb in the centre to make a small hole. Gently lower each donut as you shape it into the hot oil, a few at a time, and fry for 2–3 minutes, until golden brown on each side. If necessary, work in batches to avoid overcrowding. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vada to a plate lined with paper towels and drain excess oil. Repeat until all the vada are made.

Serve immediately with plain yogurt (or basic raita) and a bowl of chutney.

Makes: 8

1 qty Basic Raita (recipe follows) 1 ripe mango, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1/4 cup boondi (see note), for garnish

Combine basic raita and mango in a bowl. Stir well. Garnish with boondi.

Makes: 3 cups

Note: Boondi is a crunchy besan-flour snack, available at Indian groceries.

2 cups plain yogurt 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely ground using a mortar and pestle 1/4 tsp chaat masala Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Combine yogurt, salt, crushed cumin seeds and chaat masala in a bowl. Stir well. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

This basic raita can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

Makes: 2 cups

Recipes and images excerpted from My Thali: A Simple Indian Kitchen by Joe Thottungal with Anne DesBrisay. Photography by Christian Lalonde. Copyright ©2023 by Thali Restaurant. Excerpted with permission from Figure 1 Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Women-powered sexual health products are now commonplace in major retail stories

Two experts break down what makes the U.S. and Canada different, and what makes Canada safer

Could these trendy celebrity perfumes be love at first scent?

Bring your wallet, but Apple impresses with sci-fi-like wearable device, unveiled at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)

'The focus of Welleree is to offer gold jewelry that doesn't sit in a box for special occasions collecting dust but instead worn from morning to night, whether in your sweats or out for dinner with friends.'

For the rockers, gamers and more

Say goodbye to greasy hair days and hello to voluminous locks