Netholi Varuthathu/Podimeen Varuthathu/ Kerala Anchovy Fry

Ingredients

Netholi/Anchovies - 1/2 kg

Chili powder - 2 1/2  tsp

Pepper powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Fennel powder - 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Oil

Method 

Combine the above ingredients with water to make a thick paste. Marinate the fish pieces using this paste. Keep this for 1/2 to 1 hour. Fry them in oil. 

Harpal's Amritsari Macchi/Fish Amritsari

Ingredients
White fleshed boneless fish - 500 gm

Lemon juice - 3/4 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 3/4 tbsp

Ginger paste - 3 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 1/4 tbsp

Vinegar - 1/4 cup

Besan/chickpea flour - 3/4 cup

Carom seeds/Ajwain/Omam - 3/4 tsp

Egg - 1

Thick yogurt - 1/4 cup

Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Chaat masala - to sprinkle

Marinate fish with lemon juice, red chilli powder, ginger paste, and garlic paste. Keep this for 20-25 minutes.

Make a paste by mixing vinegar, besan, carom seeds, egg, yogurt, and rice flour. Dip the marinated fish pieces in this paste and coat it well with the paste.

Deep fry till golden brown. Serve fish fry with a sprinkling of chaat masala, good squeeze of lemon, onion rings, and coriander leaves.

Varutharacha Mathi Curry/Sardines in roasted coconut gravy

Ingredients
Sardine/Mathi/Chala - 1 kg
Grated coconut - 1 1/4 cups
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Onion, sliced - 1 small sized
Green chillies - 2 Nos.
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Curry leaves
Oil
Gambooge/Kodumpuli - 2 pieces (Check how strong your kodumpuli is before adding. The taste differs widely. Add accordingly)

Clean and wash the sardines. Cut it into 3 pieces if they are big, and 2 if they are small.

Soak kodumpuli/gambooge in water.

Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a pan. Roast grated coconut. When it turns brown in color, switch off the stove, add coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and fenugreek seeds. Mix well. Let it cool. Once cooled, grind it to a fine paste in a mixer. Keep this paste aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Saute ginger and curry leaves. Now add onion and saute it. Once it is sauteed, add green chillies. When onion starts to turn brown, add the ground paste along with 1/4 cup of water. Saute them. When it starts to boil, lower the heat, add fish, kodumpuli along with the soaked water, desired amounts of water and salt. Close the lid and cook till the fish is done.

 When oil starts to appear on the surface, it is a sign that curry is ready to be served.

Note:- Adjust the amount of water during the cooking process depending on how thick you want your gravy.

Koonthal chemeen roast/Squid Prawn roast/Kanava chemeen roast

Have you heard of harrowing escapades? 

If only prawns knew it is no more a bait fish rather a privileged seafood. 

Even though squid prawn roast is a lot about squid, the controversial topic running in my family is all about prawns. It is in rarity that prawns reach my stovetop to be converted to a soul feeding prawn stock-locked pure bliss - prawn curry. It is not that we don't buy it. It is carted home more than few times in winter months straight to the refrigerator box by fisherman of the house, where it will be fighting with my frozen veggies to find a respectable place, often that ends in a tight squeeze. I feel so excited and starts dreaming about the innumerable ways it can be cooked, photographed, blogged, and then making a sensation in my small space. Before I know it, we are packing our bags for fishing trip, and even before my mind and brain come to consensus, prawns will be hanging as a bait in my hubby's fishing rod. 

Whew! Now I am free from the mind boggling situation of chopping, stirring, and cooking a curry - I tell myself as part of making harmony with the situation. 

As winter give way to blistering summer and fishing not a top priority for him anymore, he parted with his prawns and squids. So isn't it all about escape from his bait to my munchatti (earthern bowl used in Kerala style cooking).

I suggest you to combine prawns and squids especially if you are running out of prawns with increased number of squids on your hands. Not only is it a thrifty way of doing things, but you will be amazed by how little prawns can flavor the squid in an elegant way. 

Oh and the stock if any remaining, splattered on the plate (as seen above) is well worth a rinse with some boiled rice, going straight to your mouth, then again the ultimate lick.      

Disclaimer:-  I totally respect other people's hobbies and likes and in no way want to hurt anybody living near or distant.

Ingredients

To pressure cook
Squid/Koonthal/Kanava - 1 3/4 cup (after cleaning)
Prawns/Chemeen - 1/4 cup (after cleaning)
Green chillies, slit - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt

To Saute
Onion, sliced - 1 medium or pearl onions - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 tsp
Garlic - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Meat masala - 3/4 tsp

Method
In a pressure cooker, cook squid, prawns, green chillies, turmeric powder, curry leaves and salt along with 2 tbsp of water till 1 whistle.

Heat oil in a kadai, saute sliced onions along with ginger and garlic. Once it is sauteed well, add chilli powder, pepper powder, and meat masala. Fry for a minute. Now add the pressure cooked ingredients. In medium heat, allow the gravy to thicken or to reach your desired consistency. Squid prawn roast is good to go with rice. Enjoy! 

Mathi thilapichathu/Chala thilapichathu/Sardine Curry

Oooh! how we love sardines. One month back, we were abstaining from meat, and my hubs reported he had this strange bouts wherein his nose sniffed involuntarily for the awesome taste of fishy fishy sardines. Hearing this do you think the sardine lover in me could drift to alpha level and retreat. No! soon we rushed to the fish market and the inexpensive fresh sardines were gleaming all silver at us. Undoubtedly, they traveled home with us sheltered in my fisherman's icebox.

I feel sorry for sardines seeing how underrated they are nowadays even when the world is running for all expensive omega 3s and vitamin Ds. This is for all the sardine lovers/chala lovers hanging around www who are not ashamed of eating it, can stand the smell of sardines, and even sweat it out ........... Enjoy your meal and always eat in moderation.

Ingredients
Sardine/Mathi/Chala - 1 kg

Pearl onions - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 2 Nos.

Ginger chopped - 2 tbsp

Garlic chopped - 4  small cloves (Optional)

Curry leaves - 2 stalks

Kashmiri chilli powder - 6-8 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

White Vinegar - 2 1/2 tbsp - 3 tbsp

Salt as needed

Water - 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups

Method
Heat oil in a munchatti. Saute pearl onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic, and curry leaves. When onions turn light pink in color, add kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric powder. When the raw smell leaves, add water, vinegar, salt, and fish. Close the lid and cook for 5 mins or until the fish is cooked.

This is an addictive curry best eaten with rice, tapioca, etc.

Lastly, don't forget to check on my popular meen paalu curry.

Varutha meen/Kerala fish fry/meen varuthathu

I have always heard Keralites say a plate of rice and a fish fry is enough to satisfy rumbling tummies - if you can stretch yourself more - a Moru kachiyathu/moru curry ...... and how many thumbs up for this menu. Yeah, I can see ....a lot. I believe fish fry is out of fashion as health freaks in us love to indulge in fish parcels and the types. Now back to my roots with glamorous meen varuthathu/fish fry after house smelling all meat.

Ingredients
Fish - 1/2 kg
Coconut oil
Salt to taste

To Grind for the marinade
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic - 4-5 small cloves
Vinegar/lemon juice - 1 tsp

Method
Grind red chilli powder, turmeric powder, peppercorns, ginger, garlic, vinegar/lemon juice to a fine paste. Marinate the fish pieces with the fine paste. Fry fish pieces in coconut oil and transfer to a kitchen towel. Serve with raw onion rings squeezed with lemon juice.

Chemmeen ularthiyathu/prawns ularthiyathu/prawn roast

Ingredients
Prawns - 250 gm
Coconut cuts/thenga kothu - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1 medium
Onion chopped - 1 medium
Green chillies - 2
Ginger chopped - 1 small piece
Garlic - 4 cloves
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coconut oil
Curry leaves
Salt

Method
Clean the prawns. Heat oil in a pan, saute onions. Add ginger, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves. When the onion turns light brown in color, add chilli powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder. Saute them for a minute. Add tomato. When the tomatoes are all mushy and oil starts to float, add coconut cuts, prawns, salt, and 1/4 cup of water. When it starts to boil, lower the flame, close the lid. Stir occasionally. Reduce the water. Switch off the stove and serve hot with rice.

Care should be taken not to overcook the prawns.

Fish Cutlets - Welcome December

Hello rainy December,

UAE is all drenched and dressed up for its 41^st National Day. Long live UAE.

December always bring me surprises in some form or another. This year was no different. To me it often paves a tone for the New Year to come. Thank you God all the more.

I love every bit of December right from decorations, presents, carols to everything mulled.

Hope December is going to be action packed. After all who can say no to festive feasts and stagnate.  

Ingredients
Raw King fish - 2 cups, cut into cubes
Onion - 1 big
Potatoes - 1 big
Green chillies chopped - 4-6
Ginger chopped - 1 tsp
Garlic chopped - 2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 1/2-2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped  - 2 tsp
Mint leaves, chopped - 2 tsp
Salt
Oil for deep frying
Eggs - 2 whites
Bread crumbs - as required

Method

Clean the fish and cut them into small cubes. Cook fish cubes in little water along with turmeric powder and salt. Allow water to dry out completely, then mash the fish cubes. Boil the potatoes and mash them. Keep them aside.

Heat oil in a pan, saute onion, green chillies, ginger, and garlic. When the onion turns translucent and the raw taste leaves, add pepper powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala. Saute them for 1 minute. Now add mashed fish. Mix them well so that the masalas coat the fish nicely. Check for salt and if required add salt. Now switch off the stove.  Add mashed potatoes, coriander and mint leaves to this and mix well. Keep them aside.

Now make lemon sized balls out of this and form desired shapes with your hands. Dip them in egg whites (properly coat the egg whites on all sides or else the result will be cracked cutlets). Now dip them in bread crumbs. Deep fry them in oil to get a dark golden brown color as shown in the picture. 

Serve cutlets with tomato ketchup or traditionally kachumber.

Meen Paalu Curry/Fish curry in coconut milk

This curry is very famous among Christians living in and around Fort Kochi. Very mildly spiced and bursting with flavor, Meen Paalu curry is often served on Christmas day and Kochiites love this. Kochiites pick thirutha/grey mullet, kanambu/red mullet or avoli/pomfret for this curry where these fishes taste best any given day. 

Fresh catch converted to Kochi style meen paalu curry

Ingredients
Fish - 1/2 kg (I used fresh Pranjil/long rayed silver biddy)
Onion - 1 big, thinly sliced
Ginger - 1 piece
Garlic - 4 cloves
Green chilli - 6 nos
Curry leaves
Coriander powder - 4 tbsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Coconut Oil
Coconut milk, thin - 11/2-2
Coconut milk, thick - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Directions
Wash and clean fish. Soak coriander powder, chilli powder, and turmeric powder in little water. Heat coconut oil in a munchatti, saute onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic, and curry leaves. Once it is sauteed well,
add previously soaked powders to this. When the raw smell leaves, add thin coconut milk. Now add salt, vinegar, and fish. Allow the fish to cook in low flame. When the fish is cooked and gravy starts to thicken, add thick coconut milk and switch off the stove. Meen paalu is best served with rice.

Meen Peera (Fish and grated coconut)

My husband's fishing expedition is going strong with good yields .....don't mistake me for shoals of fish. Seems his future is bright as a fisherman ...... definitely he has started dreaming about  shoals of fish..... and I am sure he will one day because he is so passionate about fishing. So boooy....blessings again ....... to reach for big fishes. 

Catch of the day

Considering we are not much of fish lovers (fisherman hesitates to eat his own catch), we make it a point to distribute the whole catch among friends. He got some crabs so thought about sipping on some hot cuppa of crab soup, but thoroughly discouraged after an unsuccessful attempt. Again it is a return to Mommie's munchatti for some easy deliciousness. 

Ingredients
1. Sardines -  1/2 kg
2. Grated coconut - 1 cup
3. Green chillies, chopped - 4-5
4. Shallots, chopped - 1/2 cup
5. Garlic, chopped - 4 cloves
6. Ginger, chopped - 1 small piece
7. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Kokum (kudampuli), soaked - 1-2 small pieces
10. Salt 
11. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
12. Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Directions
Clean the sardines. If the sardines are big, cut it into 2. In an earthern pot/munchatti, mix all the ingredients from 1-11 with your hands. Pour 1/2 cup of water to this. Place this on stove and let it boil. Then, lower the flame. Pour oil into the meen peera. Close the lid. Shake the munchatti to mix the curry thoroughly and don't stir with the spoon (This is to avoid meen peera going mushy). When the water is evaporated, switch off the stove. Serve hot with rice.

Unakkachemmeen Varuthathu (fried dried shrimps)

Hooray, a week of marathon cooking finally came to an end! We had friends for lunch and dinner on Onam day, followed by more friends for post Onam lunch on Friday. I was very glad to see the cheerful  faces of well fed people. The spirit of Onam truly breaks all the barriers of religion and reminds us we all are one big happy family.

I have become one lazybone after the marathon. We were mostly dependent on takeouts post Onam. We  tried biriyanis, schezuans, shawarmas, fried chickens, but all of these didn't quite tickle our taste buds. Nothing appealed to us. So decided on a return to Mom's good old Pineapple Pulissery and unakkachemmeen varuthathu (dried shrimps fry).

Ingredients

• Dried shrimps - 1.5 cups
• Shallots - 1 cup
• Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Coconut oil
• Salt as needed

Directions
Dry roast the shrimps and keep them aside. Pour oil and saute the shallots well. Once it is sauteed well, add chilli powder and fry for a minute. Now add the dry roast shrimps, which is kept aside and fry them well. Use coconut oil again if necessary. Care should be taken not to burn the shallots.

Alternative:- First, fry shallots with chilli powder, keep them aside. Fry the shrimps. Now mix the fried shrimps and shallots.