Sunday, December 21, 2014

Fish Curry - Kerala style!

Kerala is a beautiful coastal state in the South of India abundant with food from the ocean, spices and coconut trees! Its cuisine is a unique combination of spices and coconut cooked in special earthenware combined with meat, fish or vegetables.
This is a most flavorful and aromatic fish curry which should ideally be cooked on an open flame in a mud pot on the beach! But oh well, not all dreams come true all the time, for now have this picture in your mind and create this magical dish in your very own kitchen!


For this you will need -
10 - 12 - Medium sized pieces of any fish (ideally ocean fish)
3 tbspns - Fresh grated coconut
1 tspn - Turmeric Powder
2 tspns - Red Chili Powder
3 tspns - Coriander Powder
1 tspn - Tamarind Concentrate diluted in water
1 tspn - Roasted fenugreek powder
A small piece of Onion or 2 pearl onions
Salt as per your taste
4 tspns - Coconut Oil


Method -

Take a teaspoon of oil in a small pan and roast the coconut till nice and golden. Make sure not to burn it :) It may take about 8 - 10 minutes.



To this add the turmeric, red chili and coriander powders and fry for a couple more minutes.


Allow to cool and grind to a fine paste with the onion.

Now take the vessel in which you want to make the curry and three teaspoons of oil. Once add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Add water to make it into a gravy consistency and let boil nicely. At least for about 10 minutes. Then add the fish pieces and cook for another 10 minutes. Once the fish is cooked and has taken in all the flavor from the gravy, add the tamarind water. Cook for a couple of minutes, add salt and the fenugreek powder. Allow the gravy to thicken to your liking. Turn off the heat and serve with hot rice.