Chili Chocolate: December 2008

What does the term 'Malvani Cuisine' bring to mind? To me it's rich and spicy coconut-curried fish sitting on rice, with some crisp, fried prawns by the side along with a glass of tangy 'sol-kadhi'. And what if it is accompanied by the soothing sound of waves and a mug of chilled beer on Tarkarli beach? What does one say? It's not just food... it's an experience to be savored, the complete Malvani experience.

Sindhudurg and Tarkarli had been on my wish-list for a long time. So when the invitation to join a group of picnickers came in I readily accepted it. In a couple of hours I was in the chartered bus on an over-night journey from Bombay to Malvan.

I think it is now necessary to give my readers some geographic clarity. Sindhudurg is a district in the state of Maharashtra on the Maharashtra - Goa border. Malvan is one of it’s eight talukas (taluka : an administrative division, akin to a city). Sindhudurg, the district gets its name from Sindhudurg, the sea-fort. Tarkarli is a fishing village in Malvan with a beach so beautiful that it is locally known as the queen of beaches.

Tarkarli Beach

Waking up to a mild, rising sun and abundant greenery is the best part of such over-night bus journeys to the countryside, especially to a concrete jungle-dweller like me. It is a cool morning with a bit of fog. The hilly, gently undulating terrain is clad with varied shades of green – paddy fields, shrubbery covered slopes, palms, banyan trees, even an occasional river.

The sign of things to come: En route to Tarkarli

It’s late in the morning when we arrive at Tarkrli. We check-in at the MTDC resort which is an okayish place. There are some lapses in cleanliness, but our cottage is adjoining the beach and with a view so heavenly, worldly things like a bit of sand on the floor, not-too-clean towels or shoddy service can sometimes be overlooked.

Our boat-shaped cottage

Sitting on the sand, staring into the waves of the sea is such a stress-buster. And with a beach like this it is as good as it can ever get - clean and uncommercialised. The Sawantwadi sea-fort at a distance, on the horizon and the casurina trees gently swaying in the resort behind. I spent a lot of my time lazing on hammocks, listening to the music of the sea.

(photo courtesy: Rajan)

Tarkarli, as I mentioned before, is primarily a fishing village. Peak fishing activity happens early in the morning, but some action is on through-out the day till the sun sets in the Arabian Sea. And some fisher folk are always at work on the beach – singing as they heave the catch out from the sea, gathering their nets together.

All in a day's work

The variety of sea-food is awesome and so is the size of the tiger prawns in the catch. The prawns are nothing short of irresistible. My dad had once told me that the way to determine the freshness of prawn is the ‘straightness’ test. I.e. Freshness is directly proportional to the straightness and the staler they are they tend to curve inwards. But here in Tarkarli, (my vegetarian readers, please excuse me!) the fish is so fresh, it jumps and also, the prawns are not exactly straight, they bend backwards!

Prawn Basket

Our 'friendly, neighborhood fisherman'

How I wished I could do a ‘Madhur Jaffery’ and cook the catch then and there on the beach. Since that wasn’t possible, we took the second best option. There are a many houses in Tarkarli village that offer home-cooked food. We arranged for our basket, with the variety of sea-food to be cooked for dinner in the characteristic Malvani style in one such place.

That is a dinner that I can put down on my list of 'memorable' meals. Succulent prawns, crisp on the outside. Authentic Malvani- style fish curry with spice levels perfectly adjusted to our urban palate and the digestive, tasty ‘sol-kadhi’ to wash our food down. As a matter of fact this was the combination that we had for lunch and dinner during our course of stay here. Did it get repetitive or tiresome? No way. On the contrary it left us all craving for more.