King Fish in Rich Indian Spices. Super Hot Fish in spicy-tangy Curry. Chettinadu Meen Kuzhambu. Chapalu Pulusu – Chettinadu Cooking. Machili Curry in Chettinad Style. Araithu Vitta Meen Kuzhambu. Meen Masala Kuzhambu. Vanjiram Masala Kuzhambu. Vanjiram Meen Kuzhambu.

I don’t know how many of you’ll will agree….when it comes to dicing the veggies or selection of fish fillet. I go by this thumb rule….buy them in uniform size! Or just make sure of chopping them uniformly! My brother was scolding me on the other day….when I asked him to pick all the eggplants of same size! My pappa went nuts when I asked for all the fillet in uniform size for this curry! Anyway….to me cooking is basic science! If you plan for these minor details then the results are marvelous! Yeah….uniform heat to a uniformly diced/sliced veggies/meat will result in thorough cooking of all the veggies/meat in the same fashion. Although…selection of vessel and quantity of stuff used….plays a key role! Well…if you concentrate on science….everything comes out handy!!!

Ingredients:

King Fish Fillets 6-8
Green chilies 3 slitted
Curry leaves few few
Fennel seeds 1 spoon
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 spoon
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Coriander seeeds powder 1 spoon
Tamarind paste 1 spoon(whole pods-lemon size squeezed into puree)
Sesame oil 1/4 cup.

To be Fried in Little Oil & Wet-Ground to Paste:

Fennel seeds 1-2 spoons
Peppercorns 1-2 spoons
Shallots 100 grams
Garlic 10-15 beads
Country Tomatoes 2
Coconut half shell.

Method:

In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat oil. Add fennel, fenugreek, curry leaves and chilies. Wait till they pop up. Reserve them for garnishing!

Now add wet-ground paste to the same oil. Fry real good…maybe fry till its raw odour leaves the pan.

Now add salt, turmeric, chili and coriander powders. Fry real good for about 2 minutes.

Now add tamarind puree and 2 cups of water. Cook them over medium heat without lid.

Let the curry thicken and oil show up on top.

Add washed and cleaned fish fillets. Allow this to cook over medium heat for about 2-4 minutes. Better….cover the fish with curry.

Never use lid after adding fish.
Remove them from stove and immediately transfer them to display vessel. Even slightest conduction heat will make the fish go flaky! I like them full, firm, well-cooked! To have more juicier fillets….allow this curry to sit for a while before serving. Probably about an hour or so!!!