As a Davie Village restaurant owner, Shiva Marahatta is looking forward to Vancouver Pride week. His restaurant, Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, is nestled right in the middle of the action, and like last year, Marahatta is planning on taking his dishes to the street.

“Pride week is really busy here, so we do a stall outside so people can try the food if they can’t get a seat inside,” Marahatta tells the Georgia Straight while seated on the restaurant’s back patio. “As a business owner, we like to help out however we can.”

Marahatta opened Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, which specializes in Nepalese and Tibetan dishes, in March 2012—nine years after he moved to Canada with his wife from the Gorkha area of Nepal. In Vancouver, Marahatta cooked at Café Kathmandu and owned a gas station in Victoria for four years before opening his own restaurant. He’s quick to point out the differences between his life here and the one he left behind.

“When I was young, I had to walk six to eight hours to reach my house from the bus station,” Marahatta says, referring to his family’s home in a remote mountain village. “It was an interesting time and I have a lot of memories, but it’s different now when I visit.”

As a child, Marahatta would go fishing with friends at a nearby river, and his mother would cook whatever he caught for dinner.

“We use a lot of cilantro. We use tomatoes, fenugreek seeds, and Szechuan pepper,” Marahatta says, describing the popular ingredients in Nepalese dishes, along with cumin and mustard seed.

When he isn’t serving Nepalese cuisine to diners at his restaurant, Marahatta enjoys re-creating some of the dishes from his childhood at home. To prepare his mother’s fish curry, he marinates cod in an aromatic combination of garlic, ginger, and spices. This mild sauce pairs well with fruit-forward white wines.

Shiva Marahatta’s Nepali fish Tarkari

Ingredients

2 lb (908 g) cod fillets
1 lemon
Fish marinade (see recipe below)
4 Tbsp (60 mL) olive oil, divided
1 tsp (5 mL) cumin seeds, divided
2 tsp (10 mL) mustard seed, divided
2 small onions, finely chopped
4 small tomatoes, diced
1 stick cinnamon
1½ tsp (7 mL) garlic paste
1½ tsp (7 mL) ginger paste
½ tsp (2 mL) ground turmeric
½ tsp (2 mL) coriander seeds
3 cups (750 mL) water
½ bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped, divided
1 bunch green onion, green part only, chopped, divided

Method

1. Cut the fish into 2-inch chunks. Place in a nonreactive bowl and squeeze the juice from the lemon over top. Add marinade, gently mix, and refrigerate for 12 hours.

2. Add 2 Tbsp (30 mL) of the oil to a large sauté pan, and pan-fry the fish over medium-high heat for 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove from pan.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 2 Tbsp (30 mL) olive oil, ½ tsp (2 mL) cumin, and ½ tsp (2 mL) mustard seed, and let brown spices. Add onions and cinnamon stick and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

4. Add ginger, garlic, and turmeric and cook for 1 minute.

5. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Then add coriander seeds, remaining ½ tsp (2 mL) cumin, and remaining 1½ tsp (7 mL) of mustard seed. Cook for 2 minutes.

6. Pour in water and cook for 3 minutes. Add fish and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

7. Add half of the cilantro and green onion and stir gently.

8. To serve, place fish and sauce in a large bowl and garnish with remaining cilantro and green onion. Serve with rice, Nepali roti, or steamed Tibetan bread.

Fish marinade

½ tsp (2 mL) ground turmeric
½ tsp (2 mL) cumin seeds
1 Tbsp (15 mL) coriander seeds
½ tsp (2 mL) Szechuan pepper
1½ tsp (7 mL) garlic paste
1½ tsp (7 mL) ginger paste
1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.