Meen Kuzhambu is a very popular and traditional south Indian fish curry. It is very spicy and it has rich flavour. Traditionally it’s cooked in clay or earthen pot, where the fish is cooked in spicy gravy of onions, tomatoes, tamarind and spices sautéed in sesame oil. It’s a classic dish with intense flavors. Eating this would never stop them from licking their fingers 😉 Really!!!!
Cooking this dish in earthen pot is the highlight of the dish and it really enhances the taste. But I don’t think I can do that from Canada. So if you are from India or any place where you can do with the earthen pot, please do so 🙂
The dish is usually rested for some time and then eaten as it helps the fish in absorbing the flavors into it and makes it more juicy and soft.
On healthy note, fishes are rich in iron, calcium; provide good vitamins with less carbohydrate and cholesterol. It makes wonderful addition to any nutritious diet and is always better than eating meat or poultry.
I have another fish curry homestyle which is one of my famous recipes in the blog.
Taste great with rice and spinach with lentils (Spinach dal). Take a cup of hot rice and warm fish curry, mix well and serve with fish fry as side dish or spinachdal or spinach molagootal.
- Marinate:
- Fish – 7
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- salt – 1 tbsp
- Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
To grind: - Small onions -6 chopped roughly
- Tomato – 2 Chopped roughly
- Coconut – ¼ cup
- Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
- Poppy seeds soaked in water – 1 tsp
- Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
- Garlic – 4
- Ginger – ½ inch
To temper: - Oil – 1½ tbsp
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Fenugreek – 1 tsp
- Red chilli – 1
- Asafetida - a pinch
- Curry leaves - 6
- Shallots/Small onion – 5
- Big onion – 1 chopped nicely
- Garlic – 5 chopped
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
- Tamarind – Lemon sized
- Soak tamarind in warm water (around 1 /2 cup), extract pulp and keep aside.
- Clean fish and marinate the fish in turmeric, salt and lemon juice under “marinate” section. Keep aside.
- Take the “to grind” ingredients and Sauté the chopped onion, when its translucent, add the chopped tomatoes. Grind the sautéed onions, tomatoes with other ingredients in the “to grind” items. Keep it aside.
- Add oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, and allow it to splutter. Then add fenugreek, red chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida, onions and garlic. Sauté for two - three minutes, then add the blended paste, chilli powder and coriander powder. Sauté for a minute.
- Now add the tamarind pulp. Add some more water, I added 2 more cups (adjust according to the thickness you want) and add required salt. Allow it to boil for 20-25 minutes.
- When oil gets separated, add the marinated fish pieces. Allow it to boil for five minutes.
- I usually don’t boil for more than five minutes. You switch off the flame the fifth minute and serve after an hour at least. That will help the fish to get cooked well.
- Garnish them with coriander leaves.
2. Give resting time for at least an hour or two. It even taste better the next day.
3. Try to use sesame oil as it gives great flavours to this curry in specific.
It goes extremely well with any rice, dosa and rotis.
