Snapper Biryani, fishermen can cook!

Biryani, although originally a Persian dish, is an Indian equivalent of Paella but more refined in flavor and texture It can be cooked with chicken, beef, lamb or sea food. Basmati rice is the best rice to use in this dish. This is my version of whole snapper biryani. I never follow a recipe therefore I hope the pictures are self explanatory .

Fish is sliced and marinated for 1 hour with spices.

  If you are into Indian curries, I recommend buying SHAN spices which can be found from any Indian grocery store across the city.

 Pan fry snapper slightly (2 min) and leave to rest.

On the same pan stir fry onions, garlic and ginger until golden, add vegetables, a can of tomato and an entire packet of Shan biryani masala. Stir fry until the oil separates.

  Rice is soaked for 1 hour in water + 1 tsp salt, boiled for 5 min (half cooked), drained and washed with cold water.

  Plenty of butter, ghee or oil in the hot pot and in goes a naan (can also used flat slices of potato). This will protect the rice from sticking to the pot and also is a nice crispy and oily Persian delicacy which goes well with the rice itself.

 A layer of rice is followed by a layer of veggies and so on.

 Some butter and the snapper go on top

 Simmer until rice is cooked on very low flame

 Plate up and enjoy a spicy meal

Around Pakihi on Mirage 580

A few quick phone calls to work meant that I could take a day off and go to Kawakawa bay and paddle around the Pakihi island. Fishing was not really on the menu but I could not resist taking a rod along. Got stock in the motorway for quite a long time but managed to get to Kawakawa at about 11am. I saw Kev on the way and I knew when Kev heads home early, fish are on bite .

Started to paddle towards Mccallum bay where wind direction was most helpful but wind against tide made her choppy at times. I had no problem cutting through the waves in my razor sharp mirage

 The other side of the island was calm and the scenery was amazing

Fish came in quick succession. First time bagging the limit on Mirage with 3 more released. I was back at 4 pm, thankfully the traffic was not as bad as in the morning on the way back

Matheson bay

Day started early, as soon as I launched just outside the bay I could see a pod of Orcas making their way along the bay. First time here so decided to head straight out where the boaties were. Very quiet day on the water. Had a good string puller but did not attach for some reason. Lost a few more in the early hours. Would it be the new Barkley jigheads????

With no signs on the FF decided to go near the rocks in 6-10m waters, some activity there but nothing major. Decided to call it a day with one KY for some mouth burning curry and a snapper to fry.

Mint place this Matheson bay, would go back again to catch a big one soon.

To sum up, a great day off work and a good day on the water.

Converted to sea kayak

I was well and truly inspired by the documentary film Solo: Lost at sea. I knew I have to do something. 10 days later and here I am with my first ever sea kayak picked up from TM. Not surprisingly the same model as one paddled by Andrew Macaulay.  This bad boy is versatile and will allow me to cover a good distance and have ample storage for fishing in mind.

Boat needs very little maintenance (could wait for warmer months) and few bits and peaces to be modified to a trolling killer machine. Looking forward to try it out on the water sometimes this week. Have no clue what to expect as this would be first time in a real kayak for me. So might just take it to mission bay or somewhere for a quick paddle.

This is my shopping list to get things started.

-Bilge pump
-Railblaza accessories
-Some kind of flat catch bag or anything to fit on the bow for storage
-looking for ideas for under deck storage
-A catch bag for storing fish
-Anchor and running rig

Missing anything?

 

What a beautiful documentary and what a legend him Andrew McAuley. I am inspired.

Watch it if you haven't.