Fish Fry-Kerala style/Naadan meen varuthathu

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Kerala is a southern state in India bound by the Arabian Sea on its west. The sea coast historically brought the state traders and invaders.  When one enriched the other plundered. All the same, the coastline dotted with tall coconut trees and the blue waters beyond lend to our culture and cuisine. Every bit of the coconut tree its leaves and fruit are all used for food and shelter. The variety of fish we enjoy from the sea are myriad and obviously holds an important part in cuisine. It is not my intention to expound further on the subject but I hope you see why our food has so much coconut gravy and seafood. This will also help you understand why 84 % of the population is non-vegetarian, unlike most of the other states in India.

Talking about being vegetarian reminds me how I stopped eating meat and fish listening to some weird stories from our maid. She made such an impact with her stories that I stayed a vegetarian for almost 8 years of my life. When I left for college and had to stay in a hostel; I realized that it is hard to remain a vegetarian in a hostel run by nuns. There I decided to try non-veg dishes. I am so glad about the decision now. The food in that hostel was the best I had compared to the hostels I would stay later in my life during degree and post graduation. The fish fries, chicken curry, beef fry, beef curry, beef cutlet, everything was fantastic. Thereafter I have remained a non-vegetarian till date :-)

Today I want to share one of my favorite fish recipes; the fry. Its crispy outside and juicy inside will leave you wanting more. Fish ,like I said, holds pride and a very important place in our cuisine. I know some of you are vegetarians and may not want to switch places like I did but you can try the marination as explained below on brinjal sliced in one inch rounds and shallow fried. Hope the taste will transport you to the breezy, coconut swaying coastlines of Kerala.



Ingredients:

Fish pieces(Preferably big fishes like, Kingfish (neymeen)) - 1lbs
Chilli powder- 3 Tsp
Pepper Powder- 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Powder- a pinch
Ginger- Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Salt
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Coconut oil/any other cooking oil- 3-4Tbsp

Method:

1.Make a thick paste of all the powders with salt and ginger-garlic.
2.Mix well with fish pieces, by taking each piece and applying the marinade on it and marinate for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.
3.Heat oil in a non stick frying pan.
4.Throw in the fish pieces along with curry leaves and fry until fish is cooked well and the pieces turn brown in color.If you cover this with a lid, it will reduce the mess in the kitchen and also avoids the smell from frying to certain extend.
5.Serve warm with rice and curry or mashed tapioca.



Notes:

1.You could add lemon juice/vinegar if you like the tanginess. I do not add these.
2.For those who want it more spicier can add more pepper powder and chilli powder.
3.Coconut oil gives the authentic taste :-), but you could use any other oil.