Kottayam Style Fish Curry | Kottayam Meen Curry
Among the myriad of culinary delights, Kottayam Meen Curry stands out as a gem in the treasure trove of Kerala's traditional recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 kg King Fish or any fleshy fish
- 2 tbsp Chilly powder
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri Chilly Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds Uluva/Methi
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 5 nos Shallots Kunjulli(chopped)
- 6 nos Garlic cloves Crushed
- 1/2 inch piece Ginger Crushed
- 5 nos. Split green chilies
- 5 pieces Kukum star Kudam Puli
- 1/4 cup Coconut oil
- 10 stems Curry leaves
- 3 cups Water
- As reqd Salt
Instructions
For Preparing The Gravy:
- First, soak the kudum puli pieces in 1/2 cup of water adding little salt too. Keep soaked Kudam puli or Gambooge aside. Also prepare a mixture of turmeric powder, chilly powder and kashmiri chilly powder in half cup of water and keep aside.
- Next, heat about a quarter cup of coconut oil or vegetable oil in a frying pan or chatti.
- Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add fenugreek seeds and fry in low flame. Add chopped shallots, crushed ginger and garlic, few curry leaves, split green chilies and stir fry.
- Add the mixture of turmeric, chilly powder and kashmiri chilly powder to the pan and stir in low flame. Let the raw smell of chilly powder disappear.
- When oil begins to clear, add half a cup of `puli water` and sufficient additional water to make enough gravy to cover all the fish pieces when cooking subsequently.
- Add salt and cook until the gravy is thick. Keep the gravy aside.
For Cooking Fish In The Gravy:
- Take a fairly large frying pan.
- Prepare a bed of curry leaves.
- Arrange the pieces of fish on this bed.
- Pour the previously prepared gravy over this. The pieces of fish should be completely covered.
- Add the remaining curry leaves and kudumpuli pieces, cover with a lid and cook slowly. Do not stir.
- :- If necessary, you can lift the frying pan by it`s handle and give it a gentle rotating or rocking motion during cooking to spread the gravy evenly. Stop cooking when the fish pieces are cooked sufficiently and the gravy is thick.
- :- This kottayam style meen curry preparation is best after it sits for a day or two to allow time for the spices to get into the fish. The meen curry gets better as it stays in the chatty.
- :- Enjoy the fish delicacy with kappa or rice.
Notes
You can check this link for a tasty fish curry Fish Curry with Coconut. You can also check this link Fish Biryani.
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