Kottayam Fish curry

It took some time for me to learn Kottayam style fish curry preparation (with Kudam puli). But now I could say confidently that I am an expert. Thoughts about fish curry takes me back to my childhood days when I used to spend hours and hours with my mummy watching her doing the cooking effortlessly and me waiting impatiently to get the dishes off the stove, especially the fish curry so that I can taste it. Being a fish lover and great admirer of Kerala foods, it was a must for me to learn kudam puli fish curry. So here I am today with my version of Kerala fish curry.

Let’s see the ingredients first

1. Marinate ½ Kg of fish pieces with ½ tsp ginger garlic paste,1/4tsp of turmeric powder , ½ to 3/4 tsp of chilli powder, salt and keep it side.

2. 1 piece of Gambooge (Kudampuli) soaked in water

3. 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

4. 1 tbsp of coriander powder

5. 1/4tsp of turmeric powder

(Mix the ingredients from 3 to 5 with little water to make it a paste)

6. 1 pod of garlic crushed

7. 1 piece ginger crushed

8. 4–5 pieces shallots crushed

9. 1 tsp fenugreek

10. Green chilli 1or 2 according to your spice level

11. Curry leaves

12. Coconut oil

13. Salt

Method:

· Heat oil in a clay pot, splutter the fenugreek, add crushed shallots, ginger, garlic, green chilli and curry leaves. Saute it well till the raw smell goes away. I used to add salt at this point, so that the shallots and other ingredients get browned easily.

· Lower the flame and add the masala mix (ingredient from 5 to 6) and keep stirring until it starts to oil up and also the color of masala mix changes from bright red to dark red. Those who are impatient at this point and don’t wait for these changes to appear may end up preparing a fish curry with raw smell in it. So be patient!!

· This is the time to add the Gambooge soaked in water , give it a good mix

· Add 1 to 1.5 cup of warm water and bring the masala mix to boil

· Add in the marinated pieces of fish .Make sure that the fish pieces are fully immersed in the masala mix.

· Cook it with a closed lid for 10–15 minutes in simmer .In between rotate the clay pot , once the fish is in the clay pot try not to use a spoon ,as it may damage the delicate fish pieces.

· Wait for the oil to surface up and the color change which can be noticed at the end once the fish is done

· Garnish with fresh curry leaves and serve hot with puttu or appam or rice

· It tastes better on the next day .You need not keep the fish curry refrigerated for next day use. Just boil it at night and the next day morning .That’s it J