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| South Indian Fish Curry or Meen Kuzhambu (with S.E. Indian Green Mango Chutney) |
I have been exploring food differences in south India, after years of being stuck in the north, the "Mughlai" style of cooking that most restaurants have showcased. I love that food, those flavors. Do not misunderstand. But as I have this fascination with spices, I discover new ones and need to see how they are used. This has led me, in the last 6 or 8 months, to look more closely at southern India and the flavors that are used there. Outside of knowing that foods are highly spiced with chilis, that Panch Phoron is a common mixture to use from Mumbai on down, and that seafood and coconut are much used - there ended my knowledge of the entire rest of that country.
Part of the reason I became interested in knowing more about southern India was because I read Padma Lakshmi's memoir, "Love, Loss, and What We Ate." Padma is from Tamil Nadu, down at the southeastern tip of India. That's about as far from the Mughlai north as possible in India, and as she reminisced about the foods she grew up with and things she has made, some of these recipes and foods and techniques were absolutely unknown to me. And therefore, most intriguing!
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| South Indian Fish Curry or Meen Kuzhambu |
After reading about her mango chutney or "pickle," that she called Kanchanomer Tok, I found the differences from the British style of mango chutney quite interesting. I played with the recipe just a little. For starters, it is hard to find sufficiently green mangoes up in the frigid north (or for that matter, the hot sun needed to "cook" the "pickle" in the sun!), so I use ones as green as I can find, but not totally authentic. Still, what I ended up with as my recipe for South Indian Green Mango Chutney is one I have made repeatedly, as I just love the flavor combo.
After this long-winded wind up, what I am getting to is that while I researched the spices for the last 4 blog posts on spices, I also was running across recipes that sounded interesting. Southern Indian recipes. As it happened, last evening I wanted to make some white fish. I had a couple of halibut filets. I looked at a lot of southern Indian fish curry recipes. And then took them and made my own spin. The biggest change I made was the addition of extra vegetables pureed into the sauce. This is because I continue to incorporate extra vegetables into my husband's diet anywhere I can get away with it. Particularly things like cauliflower, which is easily hidden or disguised and the flavor is not noticeable, among the abundant mix of spices and flavors.
A fish curry in southern India, as I found in quite a few blogs, is called Meen (fish) Kuzhambu (curry).
So, finally, what I came up with turned out truly wonderful, and completely acceptable for my husband, but because of the addition of the extra vegetables, I had far more sauce than needed for two fish filets. I believe it would be best to use 4 servings of fish in the recipe, and then the sauce would be the perfect amount.
South Indian Fish Curry, or Meen Kuzhambu
Serves 4
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| South Indian Fish Curry or Meen Kuzhambu |
FISH MARINADE:
4 white fish filet portions (I used halibut)
1 tablespoon coconut milk powder, optional
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon salt
a squeeze of lime juice
SAUCE:
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup finely grated cauliflower
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 green chili pepper, chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
¼ cup dried, grated, unsweetened coconut
1 (15 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
TEMPERING:
1 tablespoon cooking oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
10 to 12 fresh curry leaves
12 - 3 tablespoons sliced shallot
½ teaspoon asafoetida
OTHER FLAVORS:
3 tablespoons tamarind puree (or 2 teaspoons tamarind in paste-like concentrated form)
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
½ teaspoon black cumin
½ teaspoon ground fenugreek seed
Mix together the coconut milk powder, turmeric and salt and sprinkle over the fish filets, then squeeze on the lime juice. Turn to coat the filets evenly and set aside while preparing the curry.
For the sauce, heat the oil in a large skillet and add the fennel seeds, tossing until very aromatic. Add in the onion, cauliflower and red bell pepper and saute until the vegetables are soft and the onion and cauliflower are golden and beginning to brown a little. Add in the green chili pepper, garlic and ginger and cook for an extra 3 to 5 minutes or until very fragrant. Stir in the dried coconut and the can of tomatoes (can use 2 cups of fresh tomatoes). Heat together, then pour this mixture into a blender or food processor and puree to a fine sauce. Set aside.
For the "Tempering," wipe out the skillet and heat the tablespoon of oil. Add in the mustard seeds until they begin popping, then add in the curry leaves, shallot and asafoetida and saute until the shallot is softened. Add in the pureed sauce, along with the other flavors: tamarind, coriander seeds, Garam Masala, black cumin and ground fenugreek seed. Stir well to disperse all ingredients evenly, then nestle the fish filets into this curry sauce. spooning sauce over top of the filets. Cook the filets until they flake easily with a fork, turning once during cooking. The cooking time will vary, depending on type of fish and thickness of filet. The halibut filets cooked in about 15 minutes.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
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