Hi all !!! Presenting Kerala fish curry for Mother's Day special.
This fish curry has a unique Kerala style of preparation. Prepped with coconut oil, onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chilli, Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, the fish is then cooked in tamarind extract (preferably n Malabar tamarind) and coconut milk giving you a delicious melange of hot and tangy flavours that linger on your palate endlessly.
Fish, as we all might know, is a high quality protein food, rich in omega 3 fatty acids, with abundant nutrients making it felicitous to any well balanced diet plan.
Prep work : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 30 - 40 mins
Servings : 8 to 10
Ingredients:
Fish of choice - 1 kg
Small onion (shallots) - 20 to 25 medium size
Tomato - 3 medium size
Green chilli - 3
Garlic pods - 12 to 15
Ginger - 1 inch size
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Curry leaves - a few
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Coconut milk - 1 ½ cup
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Urad dal - ½ tsp
Fenugreek - ¼ tsp
Salt - 2 tsp or as required
The ingredients I have mentioned below are adequate to cook 1 kg of fish. I would recommend that you adjust the proportions accordingly.
Prep work :
Clean the fish and wash it thoroughly several times with clean running water and cut into desired sizes.
Marinate the fish with 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of red chilli powder, ½ tsp of turmeric powder and keep aside.
Soak the tamarind with 2 cups of warm water and after few minutes extract tamarind juice and keep aside.
Slice the onions, ginger, garlic - very finely
Slit the green chilli and chop the tomatoes into smaller sizes and keep aside.
Now let’s get into the cooking steps 😊
Heat a large size pan. Pour 3 tbsp of coconut oil. Once it has heated up add the mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek and allow it to splutter. Then add the curry leaves.
Next, add the sliced onions, ginger, garlic, green chilli and sauté until the onions turn translucent (for 3 to 4 minutes) over a medium flame.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for 3 minutes until it becomes soft.
Add 1 to 2 tsp salt, or as required and 4 tsp of Kashmir red chilli powder and sauté for a minute.
Now add the 2 cups of extracted tamarind juice along with 1 cup of plain water and pour it to the pan and allow it boil over a high flame. This usually take around 3 to 4 minutes.
Next add the fish pieces one by one and allow it to cook for 10 minutes over a medium flame with the lid closed.
In the mean time extract the coconut milk from the grated coconut by adding appropriate amount of warm water in a mixer in order to yield a thick extract coming upto about 1½ cups - usually requires doing this twice.
Now add this extract to the gravy and give it a gentle mix. Close the lid and allow it to cook for another 5 minutes over a medium flame and then to simmer for another 5 minutes to obtain the desired gravy consistency.
Finally add 1 tsp of lemon juice, give a gentle stir and turn off the flame (lemon juice is optional, use according to individual preference).
Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy this tasty, lip smacking, delicious Kerala style fish curry with cooked rice.
Tips :
The time taken for cooking depends upon the fish you choose. Some require less time. We need to check the fish at regular intervals during the cooking process, so that the fish does not get broken or over cooked.
Health benefits:
High quality protein essential for maintaining a healthy body.
Rich In Vitamin D and calcium , maintaining healthy bones.
Rich in omega 3 fatty acids, providing a healthy brain and heart function, growth and development.
Maintains vision function and mental health.
Delays ageing.
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