Kerala Fish Curry and Indian Spice Mix

What the FISH !!!

Fish is one ingredient my husband cannot live without , trust me he can leave me but Fish oh my never. I fell in love with fish exactly when I fell in love with my husband,Raakesh , sometimes I feel if it wasn't for fish we would have never been together. It's amazing how sharing food with each other can simply enhance your love life and S** life ( ladies only)

We are exhaustive travellers and coastal region is our weakness. No wonder, my man belongs to kerala so his DNA sparks when he smells coconut oil in fish curry and he simply looks happy and content. I can tell this is true because he looks so happy.

If you are a seafood lover or a wife whose husband is in mad love with seafood or if you are a spinster who loves to entertain his friends and his girlfriend this recipe is for you my reader. Food is something that connects us. So today I share my recipe of Authentic Kerala Fish Curry which I prepare in chetty ( Gifted by my lovely Mother-in-law)

First make your own spice mix - I always insist my husband to buy pure spices whenever we are on holidays especially kerala. You get the purest and authentic spices there. I always say its better to invest money in pure things rather wasting money on impure products.

I recently visited spice plantation farm in kerala and what fragrance of spices. It wasn't cheap but since when pure things have been cheap. It's worth every single penny. I really pushed him for buying me these authentic spices and it costed us nothing less then 1000 bugs / kg. And for the first time in my life I bought spices worth 10 k . YOU MUST BE THINKING THIS LADY IS CRAZY BUT i'M NOT.


I can assure you that my friend, The difference between the so call packaged spices available in your store and the spices which are available from farm or field is that - THERE IS NO CONTEST.

Let me share the most amazing Indian Spice Mix Recipe with you

INDIAN SPICE MIX


Ingredients :

2 tbsp cumin (Jeera)
2 star anise
3 Cloves (Laung)
5 Cardamoms ( Ilaichi )
1 Cinnamon Stick ( Daalchini )
2 tbsp Fennel seeds ( sauf)
4 Black Pepper
1/2 Nutmeg
1/2 Roasted Coriander Seeds
2 Bay Leaves ( Tej Patta)

Mix all the ingredients together and store it in a cool and dry place.


Now for the Fish Curry 

I always request my husband to get me fresh sea fish because its tasty and takes much less time to cook and the spice mix adds another level of perfection to it. Simply put, it really matters if you have spices. So spend your hard earned money in this area. 

For Fish Curry You would be needing marination and paste both.

Marination

2 fish fillets ( Its your choice, fresh is the only key to flavour)
1 teaspoon white vinegar ( Something I learned in Goa )
Pinch of salt 

Rub salt and vinegar and keep it aside for 15 min , do cover it with transparent foil or just put the lid on.

Paste

1 Green Chilli
2 Onions 
Turmeric 
Salt
Red Paprika
Coriander 
Spice Mix - which is mentioned above 


Mix all the ingredients together in a mixer. Remember this is your quantity so accordingly choose how much salt and chilli you want to add in your paste. 

Important - If you are making a paste use very less spices or no spices here after in your recipe.

Curry


1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 Bay Leaf 
1 whole line of Curry Leaves ( Good for Cholesterol) , So have more
1 Lemon
2 Tomatoes Chopped
1 Onion sliced
1 Banana Leaf
1 tbsp - Imli paste ( Tamarind )


Tadka

1 Tbsp Ghee
1 Stock of curry Leaves
Rai
Jeera - Optional

Spice Paste which you prepared 

Method - 

Heat the coconut oil to a high temperature , Place your Chatty and observe if it's ready , add onion, bay leaf and cook until golden brown.

Add the contents of the paste , and now if you wish to add more masala then its your choice else this would suffice.Cook this paste until you observe the oil getting collected over curry. Now add tomatoes and saute till it all forms and looks like a thick curry paste. Add imli paste and mix well.

Once this is done arrange the fish steaks or fillets over the curry.

Prepare the tadka in a tadka pan. Add ghee, rai,jeera, curry leaves ( you can also add more sliced onion) it really adds caramelised flavour.

Pour the tadka over the curry and let it soak in the ghee for 5 - 10 min. Once done Serve it over fresh Banana Leaf and Hot steamed rice.

Pic - Google search

Do prepare and let me know how it turns your world around. Subscribe to the link and get update from my secret recipes.

Share your recipes and don't forget to comment below. I really love when I see comments. I appreciate you for reading my recipe. Thank you and God Bless

Take Care,
Priyanka