Indian Cooking Recipe: Kottayam Style Fish Curry
The following are the instructions on how to cook delicious Indian food: Kottayam Style Fish Curry
Ingredients:
1. King Fish 1 kg
2. Chilli powder 2 tbsps
3. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
4. Fenugreek (Uluva or Methi) 1/2 tsp
5. Mustard seeds(kaduku) 1 tsp
6. Red onions 4 cut pieces
7. Garlic 3
8. Ginger 4 pieces
9. Kudam Puli (Kukum star) 5 pieces
10. Coconut oil 1/4 cup
11. Curry leaves 10 stems
12. Salt to taste
13. Split green chillies 6
14. Paprika 1 tbsp
15. Water 3 cups
Method of Preparation:
King Fish stakes are easy to clean and cut in to small pieces. Be sure to remove all skin and wash. If Kerala King Fish is not available, Groupa or Mahi Mahi or even Salmon will do equally well.
The cooking procedure can be divided in to two stages. The first stage is preparing the gravy and the second stage is cooking the fish pieces in the gravy.
In preparing the gravy you use a frying pan, heat about a quarter of a cup of coconut oil or vegetable oil until the oil is hot enough to break a few mustard seeds. Now add the chopped onions, few curry leaves and split green chillies and stir fry. To this add a mixture of turmeric, chilli powder and paprika powder in half a cup of water. Cook. When the oil begins to clear add the remaining spices previously ground, half a cup of 'puli water' and sufficient additional water to make enough gravy to cover all the fish pieces when cooking subsequently. Add salt as necessary. Cook until the gravy is thick .Put this aside.
Next to start the second stage and the actual cooking use a fairly large frying pan. Prepare a bed of curry leaves. Arrange the pieces of fish on this bed. Pour the previously prepared gravy over this, the pieces of fish should be completely covered. Add the remaining curry leaves and 'puli' pieces, cover with a lid and cook slowly. Do not stir, if necessary you can lift the frying pan by it's handle and give it a gentle rotating or rocking motion during cooking to spread the gravy evenly. Stop cooking when the fish pieces are cooked sufficiently and the gravy is thick. This preparation is best after it sits for a day or two to allow time for the spices to get in to the fish.
