Fish curry is best cooked in a earthen clay pot or “munchatti” as it enhances and retains the taste & flavours of the dish. In fact, it tastes much better after a day or two! My mother only cooked using clay pots and even the neighbours swear on her awesome fish curry!
Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients:
- 500 grams fish (i.e. King fish/ black Pomfret/ red mullet/ sea bass) – cut medium size pieces
- Fennel seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
- Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
- Curry leaves – approx. 10
- Ginger garlic paste – 2 tablespoons
- Shallots – 10 (whole without skins)
- Garlic – 10 pips (whole without skins)
- 1 Bombay onion – sliced thinly
- 4 green chillies – split halfway
- Ginger – a few thin slices
- 2 large tomatoes – fully ripe
- 1 big green mango or 2 small green mangoes- remove the seed and cut into 4
- *Lady’s fingers – approx 8 (whole or cut 1/2, saute with a pinch of salt & oil for 2 minutes)
- Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoons
- Tamarind paste – 1 heaped tablespoon or (as required)
Make a paste
- Chilli powder – 1 heaped tablespoon (or according to taste)
- Coriander powder or curry powder – 2 tablespoons (or according to taste)
- Little water
Grind
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Dry roast and grind
- Fenugreek seeds – a good pinch (dry roast slightly on very low flame or it will be bitter)
Garnish
Coriander leaves & curry leaves
Method:
- Heat oil in a pot (preferably coconut oil or olive oil). Add in fennel seeds. When it turns slightly brown, add in the shallots or sliced onions and fenugreek seeds.
- When the onions turn golden brown, add in the curry leaves and stir for a minute or two.
- Stir in the ginger garlic paste for a minute.
- Add in the mangoes, tomatoes, sliced ginger and green chillies. Sprinkle in some salt and turmeric powder.
- Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the flame to low and add in the chilly/curry powder paste and a few drops of oil to cook it until the oil splits at the side. Make sure you do not burn the masala/gravy as it will be bitter.
- Add approx. 1 cup water to cook the vegetables (except the lady’ fingers) over medium heat.
- When the vegetables are half cooked, add in the whole shallots, garlic and lady’s fingers.
- Then, when all the vegetables are well cooked, add in the fish and ground coconut paste diluted with a little water.
- Taste for salt and chilly heat and if it’s not spicy enough, add in a little chilly powder and if it’s not sour enough, add in a little tamarind juice.
- Lower the flame to very low and cook the fish for about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle a good pinch of roasted fenugreek powder and garnish the fish curry with coriander leaves.
Vegetables used for fish curry:
Drumsticks, white radish, mangoes, okra and brinjals (aubergines).