Kerala Fish Curry (with coconut paste)

Kerala Fish Curry (with coconut paste)

It’s a delicious main curry in Kerala cuisine and it’s best with rice, fish fry, pappadam and  other side dishes.

Here’s an easy recipe of fish curry.

Serves; 4

Ingredients

For the coconut paste:

8 tablespoon grated coconut

2 teaspoon red chilli powder

One pinch turmeric powder

2 small onion, chopped

¼ cup water

Method

Transfer above ingredients into a  small mixer bowl and make a smooth paste. Keep aside.

 Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

10 – 12 shallots (chuvannulli), thinly slicecd

2 green chillies, slit lengthwise

½ - inch ginger, thinly sliced

6 curry leaves

1 lemon sized tamarind or 4 kudampuli or 6 thin raw mango slices

1 cup water (200 ml)

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

3 Ayala (Mackerel)  fish , cut into 2  (or any other good quality  fish - Nemmen, Aavoli ..)

Coconut paste

Method

Wash  and clean fish.

Soak lemon sized tamarind in ½ cup warm water  for half an hour and strain juice with the help of a good quality sieve. If using kudampuli, soak kudampulis in  ¼ cup water with ½ teaspoon salt for  half an hour. Remove soaked kudampuli and strain water. Use kudampuli and strained water to make curry

Heat oil in a kadai or meen chatty on a medium heat.

Add thinly sliced onion and  fry till golden color.

Add slit green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Fry for 2 – 4 minutes until crisp.

Add  fish pieces, tamarind juice / soaked kudampuli / 6 thinly sliced raw mango slices , 1 cup water  (up to the level of water) and salt to taste. Cover with a lid and cook on  a medium heat for 10 – 12 minutes until fish almost done / cooked.

At this stage, add coconut paste (Adjust extra ¼ cup water if required. Gravy should not be too thin). Mix well. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for another 10 minutes.

Consume this curry after 2 – 3 hours. Then the fish and gravy will absorb all the flavours. Serve with rice, fish fry …