Cheema Pulliyittu Thenga aracha meen curry

Was talking to my friend Archana over phone the other day and as usual, we talk everything under the sky and sun  and one major topic of discussion is ..." whats cooking today".  I told her I had some Salmon Fish and was wondering what to make with it. Didn't want to make the usual kudam pulliyitta meen curry and didn't want to fry fish too, so it was Archana who suggested this curry. She said she usually makes this with mangoes but at her home in Thiruvananthapuram, they make it with Cheema Pulli also. I had plenty of unnangiya ( dried ) cheema pulli and decided to make it with some freshly grated coconut . It was so good, my darling hubby when he ate it said, "Fish curry is outstanding"  ;) .

So, I guess, you should try this too... if you don't have unnangiya cheema pulli, you can try it with mangoes , I'm sure it will still taste awesome.

Ingredients

Fish - 2 lbs
Coconut - 1/2 a coconut, freshly grated and ground into a smooth paste.
Green Chillies -3-4
Tumeric Powder - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger - 1 " chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
Shallots - 3-4 sliced
Chemma Pulli unnangiyathu or mango slices -  according to your taste.
Oil - 3-4 table spoon
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds -  1/2 teaspoon

1. Heat oil in a meen chatty . When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds, when it splutters, add shallots, green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves and sauté well.

2. Add turmeric, sauté and then add the coconut paste.

3. Add the Pulli / mango slices and enough salt, let it boil.

4. Add the fish pieces, and cover and cook well.

Enjoy it with some hot rice or chappathi.

Fish Biriyani

This is second best to nothing. This is an absolutely fantastic main dish for any seafood lovers. To make this use Salmon or Kingfish.

Here is the recipe

FISH MARINATION

Salmon (King Fish)  - 3/4 kg
Salt - to taste
Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice 1 tablespoon

Marinate the fish and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Then, fry them and keep aside.

INGREDIENTS FOR MASALA

Onions - 2 large
Shallots - 7-8
Curry leaves - 1-2 sprigs
Green Chillies 5-6
Tomatoes - 3
Pudina (mint) - a handful
Corriander leaves - a nice bunch
Chilli powder - 1 table spoon
Perum jeerakam (fennel seeds powder)podi - 1 teaspoon
Tumeric
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tablespoon
Curd - a little less than 1/4 cup
Whole garam masala - Patta (cinnamon) - 2 sticks, Elachi - 2-3, Cloves - 4-5, Perumjeerakam - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - 2-3 table spoons
Salt
Make a paste of 5-6 Almonds, 7-10 Raisins, a table spoon of poppy seeds and keep aside.

GRAVY PREPARATION

Deep fry one and a half onions (bista) and keep aside.
In the same oil that you fried the fish, add the whole garam masala spices.
Add the remaining onion and the sliced shallots.
Add ginger garlic paste.
Add curry leaves.
Make a paste of Tomatoes, green chillies, Pudhina and three fourth of coriander leaves bunch. Add this paste to the above. Saute well.
To this add chili powder, turmeric powder and fennel seed powder.
Add the ground paste of Almonds, poppy seeds and raisins.
Add Curd to this.
Add the fried fish pieces, bring down the flame and add lemon juice.
Check for salt.

RICE (4 cups)
Cook the rice with some spices in the water while its boiling , Drain it and spread the cooked rice on a flat pan so that it doesn't get mushy.

Optional
In 7-8 tablespoons of milk, add a few drops of food coloring and 2 table spoons of vanilla or pineapple essence and keep pouring it in between layers.

Then layer the rice and the masala, garnishing the layers in between with Bista, chopped coriander leaves.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree F for one hour.

Enjoy it with some Raita and pickle, that's two trips to heaven and back !

BEHIND THE SCENES ;)

Fried the fish...

 Gravy prepared...

Layered it...ready to go into the oven

Opening it after taking it out from the oven....

Ready to pounce on it....

Kottayam Style Fish Curry - Jolly Sunny

Kottayam Style Fish Curry

Fish - 1 kg
Red Chilli powder (Kashmiri) - 4 tablespoons
Tumerics - 1/2 tablespoon
Garlic - 4 -5 cloves ( crushed)
Ginger - 1/4 cup (crushed )
Kudam pulli - 7 medium pieces ( wash well & soak in 1/4 cup  water)
curry leaves - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Pearl Onions - 5-7 sliced
Mustard Seeds - 1 tablespoon
Coconut Oil -  4 tablespoons


Method

1) Heat Oil, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter, add the fenugreek seeds
2) Add the crushed ginger garlic, sliced pearl onions, curry leaves and sauté well
3)Add the chili powder and turmeric and stir well bring down the flame so that it is not burnt.
4) Add the pulli with the water
5) Add salt.
6) Add the washed Fish pieces and cover and cook till it boils. Once it boils, bring down the flame, let it cook for another 5 minutes and switch off when you get the gravy in the required consistency.

Enjoy it with some Kappa Vevichathu or Rice !

How about eating something healthy ? Baked Fish with Roast Potatoes and Carrots . Takes 5 minutes to prep and 1 hour baking time. There you go ! Hot, Healthy, Yummy dinner !

Recipe

Ingredients

Fish ( Any Fillets preferable, makes it easy on the kiddos ) 4-5
Garlic 4-5 cloves ( just take the skin off no need to chop it, just throw it in)
Potatoes ( I used red potatoes 5-6 small ones )
Carrot 3 medium sized ones
Onion - 1 Medium
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt - to taste
PepperOlive Oil
Parsely ( optional )
Red Wine ( optional ) 3-4 table spoons 

Method :
Marinate the fish with salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Splash olive oil in the baking tray
Arrange the fish fillets
Add the chopped Potatoes Carrots and Onions
Add 1 cup of water
Add the lemon juice and the red wine
Check salt
Bake for 1 hour

Enjoy !!!

29th Jan - Special Day !

So, today it was mood for some Mediterranean food... Googled, and saw this recipe on a website. - Sayadiyah - Arabic Fish and Saffron Rice. Looked very tempting and also easy. Easy to make and tasty too ! Finished it off with a coconut pound cake. Awesome !

Tomato Rice & Fish Roast

Tomato Rice recipe : I have been following Vahrehvah's for years. You could never go wrong with it and its absolutely tasty.

The Fish roast, I made it like a traditional mutta roast in kerala, except that I substituted 3/4 fried fish to the masala and let the rest of it cook in the masala.

Fish Molee with Appam

This was quick Christmas dinner I pulled off for a friend & family. Made Fish Molee ( King Fish ), Appam, Chicken Biriyani , Tuna Cutlet, Pappodom, Pickle and Raita.

Aavoli Meen Pollichathu

Tuna Cutlets

Those are tuna cutlets. Made when my dear friend S visited. The simplest of all cutlets. Made with canned tuna. 

What you need

Canned tuna - 2 no.s
Onions - 2 medium
Ginger/Garlic - finely chopped 1 teaspoon ( i don't add too much else it will over power the taste of the tuna)
Green Chillies - 3 long ones finely chopped
Curry leaves - finely chopped
Potatoes - 2 medium sized
Egg yolk - 1 used during binding
Egg white - 2 , used for making the outer layer
Breadcrumbs
Salt
Oil

Kodampulliyitta Meen Curry (Kerala Fish Curry)

I have to tell the truth here. This is such a common recipe that we make almost everyday in every home in Kerala. I don't use measurements. It just comes so natural. Almost like saying, we are not aware of the amount of oxygen we breathe in every time we breath. Well, I will try to make it as clear as I can.

Meen - 1 kg
Pulli - 3 pieces ( depends on the amount of pulli you like, wash well)
Ginger - sliced 3 table spoons
Garlic - sliced 3 table spoons
Pearl onions - 3-4 no.s chopped
Curry leaves - a nice sprig
Chilli powder - 2-3  table spoons ( depending on the spice tolerance level)
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil- 3 table spoons ( coconut oil is good here )
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Salt - ofcourse !


Method :

1) Wash the fish well. Make sure that sliminess of the fish is almost nil. If you want to , you may also wash with some rice flour or vinegar.
2) Take a non stick pan, add oil, once its hot, add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add chopped pearl onions, sauté well, curry leaves, then add the ginger garlic thinly sliced, sauté well.
3) Add a table spoon of water to the chili powder and turmeric mixture and make a paste. ( This is done so that you will not burn the chili powder when you add it to the oil. ). Let the paste cook well in the oil, till oil clears on top. Make sure you stir, so that you don't burn the mixture. Add fenugreek. Now switch off.
4) Take the traditional meen chatty, if you have one. Add the fish pieces into it. Then add the masala that you just made along with the pulli over the fish. Mix well. Add around 1/2 cup water. Switch on the stove.
5) Cook on medium high with a closed lid. You will have to check in between to make sure, its not getting burnt and getting stuck to the bottom of the chatty. After around 15 minutes, lower the flame and take the lid off and cook for another 10 minutes. Switch off the flame. Let it stand half open for some time.

Eat it with some hot rice, Morr curry, thoren, mezhukkuvaratty. Hmmmm...! Don't know what to say. Its so good. Some people like the fish curry the next day, after its cooked. For me, I always like it hot, while the steam is still flying . If you like Kappa, enjoy it with some Kappa !