fish gravy Archives - MyEdibleCravings

Generally, I am big fan of any food items that has tamarind as one of the ingredients like puli kuzhambu (tamarind gravy), puliyogare (tamarind rice) etc. On those lines, one other dish that I like so much is the Meen kuzhambu/Fish gravy and this gravy also has tamarind as one of the ingredients. Fish gravy is one dish which literally took a lot of my effort in getting it right. Every time I try making this gravy, something or the other didn’t come together. I always suspected that the variety of fish I buy was the reason. So when I visited India recently, this was the dish I had on the top of my list to learn 😉 I tried fish gravy as soon as I returned home and voila! It turned out to be one of my best creations ever 😉

I always liked fish since my childhood. I like its texture and taste. The meen kuzhambu that I have given here is one of my mom’s signature recipes. The main ingredients that are used here, other than tamarind, are tomato and green chilli. Fish in general absorbs too much of hotness from the ingredients that we use (chilli and homemade sambar powder). So you need to add extra chilli and/or sambar powder to the gravy. Also, the addition of sambar powder gives thickness to the gravy (you can substitute coconut milk as well here).

One lesson that I learnt from this successful attempt of preparing meen kuzhambu/fish gravy is that if you have the right recipe, you don’t have to worry about the fish you use. So people do try this wonderful recipe and let me know your equally wonderful experience!

Other things that I have learnt,

Add extra oil while making fish gravy – enhances the taste.
Right amount of tamarind – gives the kick to the gravy.
Add extra spiciness – fish absorbs more spice.
Fish cooks real fast, so do not stir the gravy often once the fish is added – So that you don’t break/mash the fish.
And finally, like biriyani and pizza, fish gravy tastes excellent when had the next day! 🙂

Fish Gravy

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

A traditional and authentic fish gravy recipe made using tamarind extract and spices.

Ingredients

to marinate:

Homemade sambar powder or kuzhambu podi – 1 tbsp
Salt – ½ tsp
King or seer fish – 1 pound (5 pieces)

other ingredients:

Gingelly oil – 3 to 4 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Shallots, cut to rings – 6 nos
Garlic cloves, cut to rounds – 5 nos
Tomatoes, big, finely chopped – 1 ½ nos
Green chilli – 1 no
Salt as required
Tamarind - Big gooseberry size
Jaggery - a very small piece (a generous pinch)
Homemade sambar powder or kuzhambu podi– 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Grated coconut – 1 to 2 tbsp (optional)

to crush and temper:

Shallots – 1 no
Garlic cloves - 1 no
Ginger – 1”
Oil – 1 tbsp (oil used to fry the fish)

Instructions

Clean and wash the fish with a tsp of turmeric powder and marinate them with the above given ingredients. Cover and leave it for at least half an hour.
Soak tamarind in a cup of water and extract the juice or blend them in a blender to a thick paste.
Grind coconut and a shallot to a fine paste (this step is completely optional).
Heat oil in a kadai or any wide open deep pan and add fenugreek seeds. When they start to sizzle add chopped shallots. Sauté until the onion turn translucent and then add chopped garlic and fry for a minute until it turns golden brown.
Add chopped tomatoes and a slit green chilli. Cook until the tomatoes are mushy. It takes 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in the tamarind extract/paste and allow them to boil. Add a pinch of jaggery at this time.
Now reduce the flame and add sambar powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well and cook until the gravy leaves oil.
When the gravy starts to boil, check for salt and spice and add the marinated fish to the gravy. Cook until the gravy leaves oil. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes – Do not stir the gravy once the fish is added. Just slightly tilt around the kadai if you wanted to.
Meanwhile crush shallots, ginger and garlic in a motor and pestle.
If you are making a large batch, add coconut paste to the gravy five minutes after the fish is added to the gravy.
Heat a seasoning ladle and fry the crushed ingredients until light golden brown and pour them in to the fish gravy.
Enjoy the tasty fish gravy with hot rice and fish fry and experience the heaven! 

Notes

1.Here I have used king fish. You can use any variety of fish of your choice. I heard red snapper tastes excellent for fish gravy. 😉
2.I usually don’t add coconut paste to the gravy if I am making for just the two of us. I recommend adding it when you are making a large batch.
3.Adding jaggery enhances the tanginess of the fish gravy
4.If you are making fish fry on the same day, season the crushed ingredients in the left over oil. My mom always does this because it adds more taste to the gravy.

Nellore Chepala Pulusu is a non vegetarian delicacy from Nellore, a coastal town in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Chepala Pulusu means fish curry in tamarind sauce. After numerous misadventures with fish, this is the one that I was satisfied with. I came across this recipe during one of my diligent searches 🙂 for a fish curry recipe.

Nellore Chepala Pulusu is usually made using seer fish but I used catfish (you can use other fish varieties as well). As the name suggests, this curry tastes tangy because of the tamarind and goes excellent with rice. We had Achari fish as the side dish, which is another dish that tastes equally awesome (you can find the recipe for Achari fish here). Also, mango is added as one of the ingredients but the recipe that I have given below does not include it.

Do try this tangy and tasty fish curry in your kitchen and let me know your thoughts.

Nellore chepala pulusu

Ingredients

To dry roast and grind:

Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:

Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
Garlic cloves, roughly chopped – 10 nos
Tomatoes, medium sized , roughly chopped – 4 nos
Big onion, finely chopped – 1 or 2 nos
Curry leaves – a sprig
Tamarind, big gooseberry size, extracted – 1 cup
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 1/2 tbsp
Green chilli , slit – 1 or 2 nos
Sheer fish, boneless, cubes – 1/2 kg
Ground powder – 1 tbsp
Salt as required

Instructions

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic and stir it occasionally.
Meanwhile puree the tomatoes and keep it ready.
When the garlic turns brown, add in chopped onions and sauté well. Add curry leaves and cook until the onions turn translucent.
Add in the tomato puree.
While the gravy is getting cooked, make the Nellore koora powder as given below.
Heat a small flat pan and add fenugreek seeds. Dry roast until they turn golden brown and remove it from the pan. Next add mustard seeds and dry roast them separately. When they start to crackle, remove it from the pan. Next add cumin seeds and toss them for few seconds until the nice aroma spreads. When cumin seeds seeds are well roasted, remove it from the pan. Allow them to cool and grind to a fine powder.
When the tomato gravy is well cooked add enough water and tamarind paste and allow them to boil.
Add all the powders and mix well. Add the slit green chilli and give it a stir. Cover and simmer the gravy until the raw smell disappears. It takes around a couple of minutes.
Now add the fish to the gravy. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Finally add the ground powder and enough salt to the gravy, mix well and cook for another couple of minutes. By now the gravy would have released oil on the sides. Sprinkle loosely crushed fresh curry leaves lavishly and switch off the flame.
It tastes excellent with steamed white rice.

Note:

Do not roast the ingredients too much otherwise the entire dish will be spoiled as they give bitter taste when roasted too much. Always to make the Nellore chaapala pulusu powder make the ratio as 1:2:3.
Try to make this powder just before adding to the gravy and so the fresh flavor retains.

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