Meen Vevichathu (Molaketta meen Curry)

I am in  a mood to have some nice spicy and tangy dish and  here I go with  one of my favorite fish curry and we all love at home.

My lovely neighbor Rekha Susan Mathew when she returned back after her summer holidays,  got me this beautiful urli sparkling like silver. My sincere thanks to Rekha for this wonderful gift.  I wanted to inaugurate this urli by  making this fish curry J.  Remember to get the authentic  fish curry it is always better to prepare in manchatti.

Kodampuli or cambogia or Kokum also known as Gambooge is an essential ingredient in all the seafood loving kitchens in Central Kerala, the coastal South Indian state. As the name suggests (Puli = sour in Malayalam), the dried fruit is used as a souring agent in Kerala’s famous fish curries and other seafood preparations.

Kodampuli is known for its medicinal values in Ayurveda. It helps to promote digestion, and a decoction (kashayam) made out of it is used against Arthritis and some uterine deceases. It is also known to cure ulcers.

 

Ingredients

500gms  fish, cleaned, sliced or cut into chunks (I used  fingfish)                                                        1 medium tomato                                                                                                                             ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 small green chilies 
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste                           
½ teaspoon fenugreek powder                                                                                                          2 tablespoons coconut oil                                                                                                                ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder                                                                                                           4 pieces cleaned kodampuli (and soak it in little water so that they turn soft)                                        1 cup water                                                                                                                                
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds                                                                                                            
¼ cup sliced shallots                                                                                                                        2 sprigs curry leaves, plus few extra leaves for tempering                                                                 3 ½—4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (spice up to your level)      
salt, to taste

                                              

Method

In a manchatti or a pot, heat 1 ½ tablespoon coconut oil over medium-low heat. Add Mustard and fenugreek and cook until the seeds crackle. Add shallots and curry leaves, and gently fry until shallots are light brown. Reduce the flame.

 

Meanwhile, dunk all these to your blender tomatoes, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, fenugreek powder, chili powder and turmeric to make a smooth paste and let this be aside.

When the shallots are light brown, add the grounded paste, kodampuli, enough salt to taste, water, and allow it  boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Gently drop in the fish. Simmer the flame until the  gravy is thickened and reduced to your taste. Gently  shake the pot and ensure that the fish pieces do not break. Check the salt and adjust to your level and remove from heat. Garnish with curry leaves.

Serve this with hot steamed rice or else nice kappa ularathiyadhu.

Latha