Vegetarian’s Fish Curry – Arusuvai Arasu’s Recipe
- 15
- November
- 2009
Saiva Meen Kuzhambu:(Chettinad Style)
Vegetarian’s Fish. Vegetarian’s Fish Gravy. Saiva Meen Kuzhambu. Dhall-Machchili ka Saalan. Pappu-Chappalu Pulusu.
Auntie told that she learnt this recipe from The Famous Chef ‘Arusuvai Arasu’. When the crew cooked for the family function. And its a big hit.:) This curry was too good and the sentiment was shared by all (Vegetarians and Not so Vegetarians).
Did I ever tell you’ll that many(80%) of my relatives are all hard core vegetarians!! One of my Auntie said that ‘she never had a chance to see an egg’ until the day she got married to my uncle:( Although its hard to believe, I have to respect her feelings. I generally don’t talk about my food expeditions to her.
At the same time…I feel pretty bad, when people make faces at non-vegetarians! Come on, its just a food! Well…I am this person who doesn’t mind what is cooked, but do care a lot ‘how it is cooked, presented and eaten! Get the point? I expect hygiene at every level (right from procuring the produce, treating the stuff in the kitchen, the presentation and the table manners). I have a cousin who eats plain ‘curd rice’ in a very disgusting manner (with all her 5 fingers going in and out each time, yogurts running till her elbow and the slurping noise exceeding 1000 decibels). I don’t mind whether it is a ‘crab meat or quail feather or frog leg or bat tissue’, all I expect is…it should be well done, neatly presented and if people enjoy it…wish everyone learns to respect them! Yeah, this will make me very happy.
Ingredients:
For Vegetarian’s Fish Fillets:
Dry whole thuvar dal (cow peas, I guess), Muzhu thuvarai in Tamil.
Salt
Ginger 2″
Garlic 2 cloves
Dry red chilies
Fennel seeds
Curry leaves
Oil for shallow frying
Banana/plantain leaves
Skewer
Steam cooker.
For Curry:
Garlic 1 fistful, peeled & crushed
Red onions 2 finely chopped
Tomatoes 2 chopped
Salt
Turmeric
Chili powder
Tamarind paste 1 spoonful
Sesame oil few spoons
Vadagam (Tempering spices of Tamils)
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon
Fenugreek 1 pinch
Peppercorns 2
Asafoetida
Curry leaves
Dry red chilies.
Method:
Soak and wet-grind the lentils, along with spices to a thick batter.
Now clean the banana leaf, sprinkle water…place the skewer stick. Now mount a fistful of batter on the top, pat them into fish shape, you get it??
Now repeat the same for all the batter, oh yeah each time in different leaf with skewer placed, okay. Maybe you chop the leaves accordingly.
Now carefully place them in your steam cooker (idly cooker, if you have one), I used bamboo steamer here (yes Chinese one, very good indeed).
Once they are done, probably took 10 whole minutes for me. Then remove the skewers gently.
Then I also shallow fried them for brief time, to get that nice reddish tint up there, sounds cook, huh.
Again…should I even talk about making the curry…you’ll know!
Once the curry is thickened, drop these fried vegetarian’s fish and cook over medium heat for few minutes…never overdo here, they may tend to disintegrate.
Serve warm to go with your rice.
side idea…looks lovely
Ohhh superb …So different and muouthwatering…Never heard about this dish. Exellent clicks and preparaion dear..
Very interesting one…loved all the pic and the dish too..must try this veg fish once…
WOW!! That’s a very creative. I never heard of a veg fish. Looks yummy!!
Dear Malar
Congratulations! for making a fish out of Dal (lentil), the cute fish on banana leaf speaks great about your skill.
I really appreciate your feelings for the vegetarians, As a principle I generally refrain from discussing about non-veg food in front of hard core vege friends, who feel uncomfortable..
I am going to make it for my non veg friends with the name ” Vegetarian fish curry or fry”, put a cute tail to it (if technically feasible with a egg based binder). I shall make the curry if any fish survives on the plate after frying:-)
Wow! Cute veg fish. Nice and different dish ! Due to health reasons I have stopped eating non-veg dish, but I cook for my family. I never care about people who make ‘faces’.
I was excited to see when i saw Vegetarian fish curry , since it sound like an oxymoron…Excellent recipe dea..!!!
Veg fish looks totally awesome, probably my better half should love this veggie fish curry!
The title initially confused me
The recipe sounds truly awesome and i surely will give it a try and let u know
This is so new to me!!..looks yummy and delicious!
Sounds interesting….would love to try sometime.
Nice clicks…
Hello, thanks for the visit and kind comment. Your blog is beautiful and your recipe is really delicious! Congratulations. Greetings
Wow.. What a great alternate for vegetarians!! Must-try!
Ya, I understand your feelings; though I don’t eat non-veg myself, I respect other’s choice and I am totally comfy with people eating along with me! And ya there are some sick minds that need to change!
Oh, I really love this amazing idea! All the step by step pics look fantastic. The recipe sounds a little bit complicated for me but I’d love to give it a try, thanks for sharing your auntie’s secret recipe!
Very delicious dish, heard about this dish in chettinad cuisine, never tried out yet…thanks for sharing this fabulous dish..
making this vegetarain fish curry and appreciating it as much as a non-vegetarain dish, wow wow wow, THAT’S the spirit of a true gastronome!!!
you see, I totally agree with you on this feeling about this peculiar reaction of the vegetarians towards the non-vegetarains or their food!!
Like you, I love to discover and taste new things, eat everything that tastes fine, good and enjoyable, whether it is meat or a vegetarian dish and I respect people who love to eat something I don’t like too, I have an example at home too, my husband and son love to eat Sashimi ( a japanese dish which consists of different types of raw fish); it would be foolish and rude of me if treated them like untouchables….on the contrary I leave them the liberty to love and eat what they like, that’s how I live…. my upbringing and my culture taught me to respect others like myself…….unfortunately, there are some who are simply not fit to live in a respectful community!!
In anyways, if the green peas have a subtile and unique taste of their own that might never be substituted, then mutton and fish too; The taste of a fish is the taste of a fish, right? It can never be substituted, or even if it comes to be, then, it would never taste the same!!!
I’m sure the steamed channa (fish) would have tasted good in the delicious tomato curry
cheers!!!
Wow.. lovely idea and creative dear! Fish looks so cute! Yummmy curry!
கலக்கலோ கலக்கல்…சூப்பராக இருக்கின்றது மலர்..
கண்டிப்பாக ஒரு முறை இதனை செய்து பார்கிறேன்.
முழு துவரை இங்கு கிடைக்குமா…என்ன பேர் எழுதி இருக்கும்.அல்லது துவரம் பருப்பினை உபயோகிக்கலாமா…நன்றி.
Great work! I will definitely try this one. Thank you for sharing.
Love the idea, i was really curious when i saw the title, looks delish.
Yes Vino, as we spoke about it erlier…I totally agree with you on this regard. Wish people change their attitude. Few of my relatives simply couldnt digest the fact that we all(3rd generations) started cooking chicken and meat in our kitchens.
Ha ha, thats true my friend…peas can never taste like fish, I agree…but this curry has an unique taste…no where can be compared to exact fish tho’! But truly it was palate kicking and I liked it too:)
Oh wow, this looks delicious! Very impressive!
this is something new to me…great way of disguise!!!
Wow Malar…saiva meen kuzumbu sounds superb…I have to make this for my hubby…this is healthy also right? good one dear
xllnt and unique recipe malar!!!Veg fish sounds interesting & looks amazing..would love to try.Thanks for sharing.
Veg fish sounds interesting..very creative, and SOOO adorable! xllnt and unique recipe malar..would love to try this.Thanks for sharing.:)
Pakumbothe sapdanum pole iruku!! Used to have these back in Singapore dear.
interesting recipe and a new version of what we make ….bengalis have a version too.. called dhokar dalna ( cheat’s curry) my version is in my archives on my banaras blog…made with besan.
i think this dal you used is whole masoor daal n not tuvar dal…you have shaped the fish very nicely n this whole dal version will be tried soon at my place…….
Nice Variety Veg Kozhambu Malar..
THIS IS SO CUTE! Coming from a vegetarian…you shouldn’t feel bad for anything. You are who you are and forget what anyone else thinks
If we were all the same then the world would be a pretty boring place dontcha think? :p
Unique recipe and festival to the eye…thanq once again for stopping by
Sanjana, thanks for this comforting comment, it sure makes lot of meaning now:)
what a thoughtful dish MAlar. trust me the curry looks like made with real fish. My family and friends say that am not a true bengali as I dont eat fish…but now will make anb eat it to get into their team….:-)
ahh…. never heard of Saiva meen kulambu….creative one. Looks spicy and colorful.
Never heard of this malar… sounds like a very healthy vegetarian dish too…
Vegetarian meen kulambu looks so lovely da. I am sure it is a very unique dish . Want to try it pretty soon.
“with all her 5 fingers going in and out each time, yogurts running till her elbow and the slurping noise exceeding 1000 decibels” =)) Omg, I couldn’t help but laugh so hard when I read this as I have seen it happen! Awful
) And when I first read Vegetarian’s Fish Curry I didn’t know what to expect, but it really sounds delicious!
Hey malar,
Fabulous idea- dis will help a lot of ppl who follow certain mnths of the year eating only vegie food – Like me- hence i always look for recipes which replace my urge of meat n fish with real veges..kind off cheating myself..but then everything is fair.
Thanks gal for sharing dis one, will try n get back.
cheers.
Geetha Achal,
I used whole dry thuvar dal (muzhu thuvaai in tamil), it has unique color…so thats why I prefered it. Can use thuvaram paruppu…but I don’t think it will turn crispy, plus the color wont match that of fish, right:) It is called ‘cow peas’ in English…worth trying in international market.
Meeso, thanks for your lovley comments…yes its hilarious, hope my cousin is not reading this part…he he.
This is quite an innovative approach to bring in peace between the polarities of veg-nonveg
. Nice site…enjoyed visiting here!
Interesting one, looks wonderful and yummy.
That lentil fish is just too cute! Especially the “pea” eye. I’m the “other” 20% of your readers then, but I’ll probably draw the line at bat tissue!
Looks so cute and mouthwatering… really by looking at the pic cannot say it is a vegetarian dish… too good Malar
Thank you girls:)
The fish is so cute!
Thanks for sharing so many yummy vegan and vegetarian recipes!
Oh that’s really cute … and very creative! Looking at the finished dish, I would never have guessed it was purely vegetarian.
The name is interesting…veg. fish curry….but it’s sabut masoor or whole tur dal…..totally agree with u on tratment of food…from buying to getting on the table…and of course eating it…I know i have seen that all 5 fingers in the mouth…& once i had to get out of the room b’coz i couldn’t look at that & eat my food…..
Romba nalla erruku malar,nanum try panren
this recipe is fantastic and the presentation too I can’t wait to try it for my son who is vegan