Chettinad Fish Curry Recipe / Indian Fish Curry / Kerala Fish Curry

Chettinad Fish Curry Recipe / Kerala Fish Curry is a staple food in Southern parts of India and this recipe is going to be Indian style Fish curry. There are several variants of Fish Curry recipe which involve combinations of tamarind, coconut and green mango. All of them have one thing in common that is when you make the fish curry perfectly the smell is going to diffuse and invite your neighbors.
Today we are going to see the traditional variation of this recipe also known as Indian Fish Curry / Kerala Fish Curry / Malabar Fish Curry.

For Recipe in Tamil:

Ingredients:
1/2 kg Red Snapper Fish

For Chettinad Masala:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp pepper corns

To grind:
3 cloves of garlic
5 shallots
1 tomato
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 cup grated coconut

For Curry:
2 tbsp oil
3 green chillies
1 goose berry size tamarind(juice)
salt to taste
curry leaves for garnishing.

METHOD
1) For the Chettinad curry masala powder, dry roast equal quantities of mustard,cumin,fenugreek,pepper and grind it into a fine powder. This powder can be stored in an air-tight container and be used for upto 3 months.
2) Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a pan and add 3 cloves of garlic and after a couple of minutes add 4-5 shallots and cook till the shallots turn translucent.
3) Now add one tomato and cook it till the tomato turns into a paste.
4) Add ¼ tsp turmeric powder 1Tsp of the chettinad curry masala powder. This powder imparts a unique smell to our recipe. Also add 2 Tsp Chilli powder and 1 Tbsp of coriander powder. For the fish curry it is essential to use slightly more coriander powder than chilli powder. Saute for 1 min and turn of the heat do not burn the masala.
5) Transfer this mixture to mixer and add 1 cup of grated coconut and grind it to a smooth paste.
6) Add 2 Tsp of oil to the pan and add 3 green chillis and the ground masala paste. Now add the tamarind extract and bring it to a boil.
7) Once the mixture starts boiling add the cleaned fish pieces and cook for 7 minutes. There are some variations where you can add the fish before the gravy boils. It all depends on the texture of the fish, for fishes with firmer meat you can add it earlier in the recipe and then bring the entire gravy to a boil. However for fishes with delicate meat you have to add the fish pieces at the end after gravy has started boiling. Other wise the fish pieces will start breaking down.
8) Add the curry leaves and turn of the heat. Allow the gravy to rest for 15-30 mins. Now our delicious fish gravy is ready to served with some rice.

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