I still have such fond
memories of my holidays I used to spend at my grand parent's home. The man on a
black ferry (vanji/vallom) would paddle by the small river at the backside of
our home selling fish and other goodies. We even used to travel by these ferries
to homes on the other side of the river bank. I still remember running out of
bed with tousled hair and a puffy morning face with other children to catch
fish from this little river. They had a very fascinating method of fishing. It
was called "Kudukka" which were coconut shells filled with bait
sealed with cloth and a tiny hole in the middle. These were placed at different
spots in the river and within a few minutes these "kudukka" 's would
be loaded with a myriad of fresh water fish. Of course there were other kinds
of fish too (caught by the hook or net) like mackarel, sardines etc...
I was also very
fascinated by the way this fish used to be cleaned. My ammachi's (that's what I
call my paternal grandma) help (Pennamma) used to sit on a low stool (called
korandi) and clean the fish under ammachi's supervision and I would be squatted
nearby listening to ammachi's interesting stories and closely watching them
trim the fins and tail dexterously off the fish and laying them into a clean
pot nearby. There would be so much cleaning, rubbing it on stone and then
tossing it around in the pot with rock salt. Of course, nowadays we get
all our fish cleaned, skinned and filleted as per requirement and making a fish
curry these days is one of the easiest tasks one could do.
Meen Vevichathu or
this style of fish curry is the most sought after dish at every home in Kerala.
As you already know I am a huge fan of fish in any form and thus decided to
make a nice spicy Kottayam style Fish Curry for lunch today. Meen
Vevichathu, I must say makes me feel instantly at home. Here is a simple yet
delicious fish curry my family makes often. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Ingredients
Fish - 1/2 kg (cut
into medium size pieces)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek powder - 1/4
tsp
Ginger (finely
chopped) - 1 inch piece
Garlic (finely
chopped) - 8 to 10 cloves
Shallots/Small/Pearl
onions - 10 to 12
Cocum/Kudampuli - 1
piece soaked in a little water for cleaning fish + 3 to 4
pieces (depending on sourness) soaked in 1/4 cup of water for cooking
the fish
Turmeric powder - 1/2
tsp
Red Chilli powder -
1/2 tbsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder
- 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut oil - 1 to 1
1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Method
Wash and clean the
fish with 1 piece of cocum/kudampuli soaked in water and keep aside. Mix
turmeric powder and chilli powders with water to make a watery paste and keep
aside. Heat the meen chatti (earthenware) or a pan and once hot pour oil into
it. Splutter mustard seeds. Add chopped shallots/small/pearl onions, ginger,
garlic and curry leaves and saut'e till onions become soft and the raw smell of
the aromatics disappear. Now, add the masala paste and saut'e. Add about 3 to 4
splashes of water into this and keep frying till oil surfaces. Add a little
more water and mix well. Then, add the soaked cocum/kudampuli along with the
water and mix well. Add salt and bring it to a boil. When it starts boiling,
add the fenugreek powder and stir well. At this time, add the fish pieces into
it and cover and cook. When the curry starts boiling, cook for 1 or 2 minutes
on a high flame and then reduce the flame to sim and cook the fish till done.
(20 to 25 minutes approx) Make sure the gravy is thick. Serve with Rice or
Kappa. (Tapioca)
Notes: The fish curry
has to rest for a few hours before it is kept in the refrigerator. This helps
enhance the flavour of the curry.
Source:
Mom
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