Kerala Fish Curry- Meen Curry,Central Kerala Style

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To teach a Malayalee, how to cook fish curry, is like teaching a monkey, how to climb the trees ! It is such a basic recipe in any household, in the place where I come from. But it took a long time for me to post this here, even after so many repeated requests from the readers. If you blog, you know, the most common dishes you make might take the longest to get in your blog !

Growing up in Kerala - considered one of the top 100 must visit places before you die - is among the best things that ever happened to me. Fresh fish is aplenty and Keralites make maximum use of it. Since our house is a bit away from the sea, we always make it a point to get "fresh" fish whenever we pass by the coast. After moving to Hyderabad and then to Boulder, I realized how much I had taken all those for granted.

Fresh sea-fish is hard to find, and even if you find the fish you want, in stores like Whole Foods, it is quite expensive. The erstwhile “bicycle vendors” used to bring the best selection they can find and they would even chop the gigantic "vila"(Emperor fish) or "neymeen"(King Fish) according to your culinary needs. How much I miss fresh "netholi"(Anchovy),"mathi"(Sardine)and other small fishes. When I reach the end of my craving potential, I get them from the frozen sections in Indian/Asian groceries.However when I taste them, I promise myself to stay away from those, a promise that is kept only until the craving hits me next time.

The "kudampuli" or Gambogee that we use in this curry, makes it taste different from other fish curries.The curry gets its unique tanginess from Gambooge, which you will never get, if you replace it with tamarind or kokum. Though Gambooge is often mistaken as Kokum, it is a completely different fruit.You can read more about Kudampuli/Kodampuli here and about Kokum here.You may be able to find dried Gambooge in South-Indian groceries. I get my supply when I visit home, from my great aunt's Gambogee tree. Same is the case with Tamarind. I am at the verge of running out of my supply and I can't wait for this summer to go home and replenish it.

Gambogee/kudampuli gets balck when dried.Below is the Gambogee tree and a ripe fruit in Sunitha's yard, pictures I took during my last visit to India in 2010.

Just like any other authentic dishes, each household will have a different recipe for this fish curry, this being ours. My younger sis-in-law is an awesome cook and I can tell you without any doubts, she makes the best Kerala fish curry. This is her recipe and it is best when you make it in an earthen pot, which I never got around to do with my glass top cooking range. I poured the curry into a pot just for taking pictures, but if you have an earthen pot, I highly recommend that you make this fish curry in it. That makes a big difference !

Sending this to Indian Food Palooza, hosted by 3 great blogs Colors of Indian Cooking, Indian Simmer and Creative Culinary.Prerna, Kathy Gori and Barbara,so glad to be a part of this fun event !

Also sending to this month's Kerala Kitchen, hosted by dear friend Prathibha at Cook-Ezee

Preparation Time: 10 minutes if you buy fish fillet or cleaned fish
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

Fish,your choice- 1kg or 2 lbs,cut into pieces
Kudampuli/Gambogee- 4,soaked in 1/2 cup of water
Coconut Oil- 4 tbsp,divided
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
Ginger julienne- 3 tbsp
Garlic- cloves from one,cut lengthwise(~4 Tbsp)
Curry leaves- 4 sprigs,divided
Green chilies- 6-8,slit lengthwise
Red chili powder,Kashmiri- 3 Tbsp or more
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Black Pepper- 3/4 tsp
Fenugreek powder- a generous pinch

Method:

1.Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan. Splutter mustard followed by fenugreek seeds.Add green chillies,ginger,garlic and 2 sprigs of curry leaves. Saute well.
2.Make a thick paste of chili powder,coriander powder and turmeric powder, using a spoon of water and add this into pan. Saute it for a couple of minutes to get it cooked.
3.Add kudampuli and water that you used to soak it.Add 2-3 cups of water.Let everything boil and add salt.
4.Slide in fish pieces and boil.Add more water, if necessary. Reduce heat,cover and cook for about 10 minutes.Do not stir in between. If you feel like doing so, just lift up the entire pan and swirl it. This will prevent fish pieces from getting smashed.
5.Switch off the heat,add 1 Tbsp coconut oil,a sprig of fresh curry leaves and fenugreek powder. Check salt and add more if required.Mix carefully, so that fish pieces aren't disturbed much.Let sit for at least a few hours before serving with rice and your favorite sides.Also this is the best accompaniment for Kappa Puzhukku (Mashed Tapioca/Yuca)

Notes:

1.You can use any fish you like, to make this curry. I used Tialpia.But definitely the curry tastes better when you use king fish or emperor fish. And sardine gives a unique taste of its own when used in this curry.
2.This is spicy. If you would like to make it milder, reduce chili powder or green chilies or black pepper.Or if you like it extra spicy add more chili powder.
3.If you want to keep this curry more than a day, at room temperature, it's better to avoid coriander powder.
4.The addition of raw coconut oil and fenugreek powder at the end,does magic to the texture and taste of this curry. If you really like coconut oil,go ahead and add one more spoon and a little bit more fenugreek powder too.
5.If you want your curry to be watery, add more water when you boil all the spices.