Red Fish Curry

Red Fish Curry — Meen Vevichathu

Ingredients

Serves 4

450g fish, cleaned, sliced or cut into chunks (I used seer or kingfish known as aiyakoora or neymeen in Malayalam)

2 tablespoons oil, divided (preferably coconut oil)

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

¼ cup sliced shallots

2 sprigs curry leaves, plus few extra leaves for tempering

1 medium tomato

2 small green chilies

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

½ teaspoon fenugreek powder

3 ½—4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder 

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

4 pieces kodampuli, rinsed

1 cup water

salt, to taste

½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

Directions

In a manchatti or clay pot, heat 1 ½ tablespoon oil over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add fenugreek and cook until the seeds crackle, about 15 seconds. Add shallots and curry leaves, and gently fry until shallots are tender, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend tomatoes, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, fenugreek powder, chili powder and turmeric to a smooth paste in a grinder or food processor.

When the shallots are tender, add the paste, kodampuli, enough salt to taste, water, and bring everything to boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Gently tip in fish, stirring to coat the pieces in the sauce. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily, and the gravy is thickened and reduced to your taste. Gently swirl or shake the pot to mix the flavors, taking care not to break the fish pieces. Adjust seasoning as needed; remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the remaining oil (½ tablespoon) until shimmering. Tip in mustard seeds and cook until they crackle, about 10 seconds. Add the remaining curry leaves, and remove from heat. This cooking technique is called tarkha or tempering. Now quickly fold the toasted ingredients into the hot curry.

Serve hot with steamed rice and yoghurt on the side.