Friday 5 July 2013

Thenga Aracha Meen Curry | Malabar Style Meen Curry | Easy Kerala Style Fish Curry

Fish in tamarind pulp & coconut-shallot paste



Most of the times the simplest of the recipes are the toughest ! Agree? With the minimum of ingredients we have to bring about the best flavor, aroma & looks.. I would say someone who can prepare a simple recipe with ultimate taste has mastered the culinary art ;) Don't you feel so?  Coz the addition of spices & herbs or a heavy seasoning can always bring about the best results. This recipe is definitely one of that kind. In all, just 2 or 3 supporting characters along with the hero 'fish' & the movie is a block buster hit :) 




 This is one of the masterpieces of my Mil. Every time she prepares this, we definitely have an extra helping of rice. Kuthari Choru, Theenga aracha meen curry, meen varuthathu & pappadam. If this is the menu for lunch, then that day an afternoon nap is a must, coz of the heaviness of the tummy & lightness of the brain ! I definitely have had my bad days trying to recreate that taste, but this time I was a winner. So without much ado, onto the recipe.. 

Recipe Source: Mil

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 30 minutes


I Used:


Fish - 250 gm
Tomato - 1 no - medium sized - cut into 8
Tamarind - A medium lemon sized 
Grated Coconut - ½ cup
Shallots - 10-12 no
Green Chilly - 2 no
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Red Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - A sprig
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - As Needed


The Way:

  1. Soak tamarind in ¼ cup water for 15-20 minutes. Then extract the pulp from the tamarind 
  2. Clean the fish & cut them into medium sized pieces
  3. Grind together coconut & shallots (4-6 nos) with 2 tbsp water, to a smooth paste & keep aside
  4. In a pan/earthen vessel (manchatti) mix together tamarind pulp, tomato, slit green chilly, chopped ginger, red chilly powder & turmeric powder along with ½ -1 cup of water. Adjust water to suit your needs of the gravy
  5. Cook this over medium flame till it starts to boil 
  6. Now add the fish pieces and cook until the fish pieces are done & the gravy becomes thick (almost reaches your desired consistency)  
  7. Add the ground coconut paste & curry leaves and mix well & cook for a minute or two until the coconut paste mixes well & the raw smell of the coconut goes away
  8. In another pan, heat oil. Add the remaining sliced shallots & saute till they turn golden brown in color
  9. Add this to the fish gravy. Serve warm with steamed rice !
Cheers,
Chitz

81 comments:

  1. He hee nap a must after thenga aracha meen curry and choru adu kurachu budhimuttallee.It was really difficult for me to break free from that habit.
    Meen curry looks adipoli!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe.. I know Meena :) Njanum kure paadu pettu.. But with meals like this, it becomes tough !! Thanks dear :)

      Delete
  2. Delicious meen curry..yummy..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mmm..luvly...v make exactly yhe sme bt add a little fennel seeeds too... Btw..i think u ve frgotten to add the coconut paste which u kept aside;-) it happens to me always until someone points it out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot for pointing out Hasna :) I have updated it now :)

      Delete
  4. Well that is true - If one can nail a simple recipe as is, then yes they know what exactly they are doing.
    And this curry looks yum, delicious and the perfect color, that you always get!
    Lovely shot, by the by the cinnamon looks super fresh, whatever I get here, sometimes doesn't smell like cinnamon, it kinda looks like a dark bark from some XYZ tree, heehee!! :) Where is the rice? Usually you have a pic with that on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohh, is it so?? I thought u get good spices in Bangalore.. These are from Waynad in Kerala :) That's y the authenticity ;)
      Haha.. I thought I will change my mode once, always I have a pic with rice.. U spotted it :)

      Delete
  5. wow i need some now...this looks so delicious

    ReplyDelete
  6. Adipoli chitra ... meen curryum chorum pappadavum... slurp!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am always attracted to simplicity. Maybe its true the simpler the recipe, the its needed for the perfection of flavors but........ certainly I can see how you have managed so well. We eat fish all the time and sometimes I am lost, what to cook with fish. Nice and interesting flavors and one I have to try out soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I totally agree with you that the simplest recipes are difficult to make. .. the fish curry looks wonderful and delicious chitz. Thank you for sharing the recipe sweety

    ReplyDelete
  9. I totally agree - sometimes, it is the simplest of curries that gets the hardest to nail! That particularly happens with my Grandmom's recipes. And Ooooh! "Kuthari Choru, Theenga aracha meen curry, meen varuthathu & pappadam" - Yum! A nap is indeed a must after that :) Loved those clicks Chitra :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Totally agree that it is much more difficult to master simple recipes. Loved the colour of the gravy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. delicious looking curry....agree with you,with some simple dishes,it is difficult to get the correct flavour.Specially with authentic recipes...

    ReplyDelete
  12. this totally makes me nostalgic ! yummy curry ! beautiful clicks chitz :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just love this curry...yummy

    ReplyDelete
  14. healthy curry and lovely clicks...

    ReplyDelete
  15. love the color of the gravy. stop by at my space too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yummyilicious and fingerlicking gravy, love to enjoy with a bowl of rice.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am not sure if I over looked it, but what fish did you use. Kingfish or rock fish maybe?
    Your curry is so bright yellow and it looks super tempting. =)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Estupenda sopa la pasta de coco debe ser una delicia excelente plato muy bonito,saludos y abrazos.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Un piatto veramente delizioso, complimenti, un abbraccio

    ReplyDelete
  20. I can try for hubby sounds intresting.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love the colour of your curry.. We also use shallots for preparing most of our curry..

    ReplyDelete
  22. I am a fish lover and loved your recipe..you have an amazing blog with very nice clicks..i am happy to follow you..please do visit my blog too http://taste-and-talk.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete
  23. This looks absolutely delicious !

    ReplyDelete
  24. WOW, look at the colour :) Yummmmm :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Chitz! hope you are doing great. Love the deep color of this curry. nice clicks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup dear, I am good.. And thanks Swasthi for ur lovely words :) HOpe u too r doing great !

      Delete
  26. wjhat a perfect sumptious meal! this looks delicious, Chitz:-)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yummy curry and beautiful clicks dear..

    ReplyDelete
  28. Delicious meen curry chitra, very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  29. This is one pretty and colorful fish curry!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi Chitz,

    Cooking this dish seems to be quite a technical challenge and you nailed this so well! Well done!

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  31. Truely said dear..... and your fish curry just makes me feel hungry again , loved it :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hello from France
    I am very happy to welcome you!
    Your blog has been accepted in Asia India_____N°376 a minute!
    We ask you to follow the blog "Directory"
    Following our blog will gives you twice as many possibilities of visits to your blog!
    Thank you for your understanding.
    On the right side, in the "green list", you will find all the countries and if you click them, you will find the names of blogs from that Country.
    Invite your friends to join us in the "directory"!
    The creation of this new blog "directory" allows a rapprochement between different countries, a knowledge of different cultures and a sharing of different traditions, passions, fashion, paintings, crafts, cooking,
    photography and poetry. So you will be able to find in different countries other people with passions similar to your ones.
    We are fortunate to be on the Blogspot platform that offers the opportunity to speak to the world.
    The more people will join, the more opportunities everyone will have. And yes, I confess, I need people to know this blog!
    You are in some way the Ambassador of this blog in your Country.
    This is not a personal blog, I created it for all to enjoy.
    SO, you also have to make it known to your contacts and friends in your blog domain: the success of this blog depends on all Participants.
    So, during your next comments with your friends, ask them to come in the 'Directory' by writing in your comments:
    *** I am in the directory come join me! ***
    You want this directory to become more important? Help me to make it grow up!
    Your blog is in the list Asia India_____N°376 and I hope this list will grow very quickly
    Regards
    Chris
    We ask that you follow our blog and place a badge of your choice on your blog, in order to introduce the "directory" to your friends.
    http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2012/09/06/12090603083012502810288938.gif
    http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2012/03/19/120319072128505749603643.gif
    http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2012/07/12/12071211040212502810092867.gif
    http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2012/03/28/120328020518505749640557.gif
    http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2012/03/15/1203150723211250289584870.png
    http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2012/09/21/12092110155912502810343002.gif

    If you want me to know the blog of your friends, send me their urls which allows a special badge in the list of your country
    I see that you know many people in your country, you can try to get them in the directory?
    Please! Actively support the "Directory" by making known to your friends! Thank you! "Unity is strength"
    Not need an invitation to join the Directory. Any person who makes the request is entered
    WE ASK YOU TO FOLLOW OUR BLOG "DIRECTORY"
    New on the site
    Ranking of Countries
    Invite your friends know made ??
    the website to raise your ranking in the Country



    PLEASE IMPERATIVE !
    Registration for the "Directory" blog, are free.
    We only ask you to follow the blog. Thank you for your understanding

    ReplyDelete
  33. This fish curry looks absolutely delicious....i always had little luck making that perfect fish curry when i did it for that first time....this recipe is like a guideline for me so that i can come up with something better. Thank u for sharing this recipe and thx to ur MIL for passing this recipe to u........ u ve taken some mouth watering pics , may b i try this recipe with the easily available pollocks over here.... wish luck to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for those lovely words Sushmitha.. It should taste great with any kinda fish.. All the very best.. Lemme know how it came out !!

      Delete
  34. Looks Superperfect. I don't remember whtr I have visited our page earlier or not.. but now, got time to visit few of your recipes. they are look stunning and slurp super...Thanks for visiting my space and leaving a kind comment....I am your 100th follower :-) Hope to visit your space often...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot Uma for being the 100th follower & ur sweet words.. AM an ardent follower of ur space.. Lets meet often then :)

      Delete
  35. Vibrant color......

    Thank you for visiting my space & giving your lovely feedback and trying my recipes

    ReplyDelete
  36. I cant try this as a veggie. But i have BM ur previous post pavakkai puli kuzhambu , will try n let u know ..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot Chitra.. Lemme know how it came out :)

      Delete
  37. Kuthari Choru, Theenga aracha meen curry, meen varuthathu & pappadam. Perfect menu :)) Love the pictures dear. This coconut based fish curry is one of my favorite too. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by !! I am really happy that you take time to let me know how you feel :-)