Meen Kuzhambu or Fish Kuzhambu is a very popular dish in the south. Fish consumption is more in coastal areas. In my parents house they do not make fish often. But my in-law's place is Pondicherry. So, fish is a definite food atleast 2 to 3 times aweek. I learnt all the fish recipes from them. Especially my sister-in-law makes good shrimp and fish fry. will surely post her pictures when I make a trip to India. I usually get my sambar powder from my in-law's place. Anyway, here is my MIL recipe... Ingredients:
tilapia - 6 pieces
methi seeds- 1/2 tsp
Onion- 1 (medium,finely chopped)
garlic- 5 pods(minced)
curry leaves- few
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
tomatoes-1(big,finely chopped)
tamarind paste- 2 tsps
sambar powder- 3 tsps
vadagam- 1 1/2 tsp
coconut milk-1 tbsp (opt)
Procedure:
Wash fish with turmeric and set aside. Heat oil in kadai and fry methi seeds, onions,garlic and curry leaves. When it turns golden brown, saute tomato,turmeric powder and sambar powder. When the raw smell goes add tamarind paste,salt,coconut milk and required water. Bring to a nice boil. Check for seasonings. Add fish when the gravy is boiling. Close and cook for 10 mins. Then open the pan and reduce the gravy to desired consistency. Careful. Do not over-cook and break the fish. Finally fry vadagam seperately and add to gravy.
Note: This recipe was posted earlier. But I'm reposting this with a better picture and an alternative to use sambar powder. You can use 1tbsp corriander powder + 2 1/2 tsp chilli powder. I ran out of sambar powder and I tried this way. It worked out really well. Want some??? Here is a plate with plain rice mixed with meen kuzhambu and fish fry.
21 comments:
I love the color of that gravy.Gorgeous.Wish I could come over miss!:))
Looks like u had a greatttt virundhu... very tempting..
Dear Asha,
Thanks. I know that you don't any other meats other than chicken. Actually, you can add vegetables like drumstick, brinjal, black channa or potato. The same procedure works for those vegees too.
Yes Revathi, I'm a fish lover. It is always a virundhu whenever I have meen kuzhambu. Glad you liked it too.
Kribha dear, u keep cooking all these non veggie dish & make us drool!!! Will it taste good if I use salmon ? I cant wait to try the kolumbu Kribha :-)
Kribha,
Fish curry looks lovely. Will try this soon. I've been searching for something in the foodblogs for quite sometime now. And today located it in your blog.
You must be wondering 'Now, what is Mathy talking about?'.
Well it's vadagam.
I had the good fortune to visit a friend's family in Karaikal quite often and their meen kari is quite different. And I was that 'vadagam' is the secret. It seems they make it at home. And gave me some. I've been kicking myself eversince for not asking the recipe or the way to make it.
Could you kindly write about it, if you could?
Talking about vadagam, let me say something that came to mind. In Shoba Narayanan's book, she has an extensive chapter for vadagam. She is a brahmin and stayed with her grandparents in Kovai. And the way she describes the whole process is quite enjoyable.
Thanks Kribha.
-Mathy
hey lot of non-veg recipes. pls dont mind if I dont comment dear. thay all look lovely.
Hi Aruna,
Thanks dear. It is comment like yours that keeps me want to blog more. Actually, salmon does not work well for this curry. But you can use other fishes like red snapper, cat fish, butter fish and much more. Try it if you get a chance. you will surely like it.
Dear Mathy,
I'm so happy to get another tamil friend. You are so right about vadagam. I never knew about this ingredient before marriage. My MIL is the person who unlocked the doors to this one.
Right now, I do not have the exact measurements for the ingredients. But I know how it is made.
My MIL crushes small onions,garlic and curry leaves in a ammikallu. Then she adds methi seeds, mustard seeds and some turmeric. After this she makes small balls out of them and dries it in the hot sun. When it is dry, she would put the onion balls back in the onion juice left behind when making them into balls. Back again it goes to dry. This is done for about a week. By then the onion changes color. When it is all dried up, the onion balls are broken into smaller bits and stored in air-tight container.
I'll try to get the measurements ASAP. Thanks for stopping by. Please come back for more.
Dear Sharmi,
Being a veggie it is hard to comment on non-veg dishes. It happens the same to me when I have to comment on beef or pork. But, that's ok. I'm glad that you could stop by.
Thanx for sharing this recipe Kribha...
thanks kribha!
I'm going to try to make them Pls take your time. I'll keep visiting your blog.
[oh.. my mouth's already drooling. :D]
-Mathy
Hay this is looking YUM!....Mouth watering one. I love it....
Kribha,
Meen Kulambu kalakala iruku.
cocnut milk eppo add pannuveeinga?
What is vadagam?
Dear Mathi,
Thanks for your kind words. will post more about vadagam during my India trip.
Hi Sukanya,
I'm happy that you liked it. This is my favorite dish. Hope you give it a try.
Dear Rashmi,
Mikka Nanri. Thanks for pointing that I forgot about coconut milk. You should add coconut milk before adding fish. I have made the change in the post now. Thanks again.
Dear Inji,
Vaduvam is like a readymade seasoning.It is used in both vegetarian and non veg dishes. Vadagam imparts a special flavor to the dish it is added. It has many ingredients like chopped onions, garlic, methi seeds, curry leaves etc which are soaked in oil & sun dried.
My MIL crushes small onions,garlic and curry leaves in a ammikallu. Then she adds methi seeds, mustard seeds and some turmeric. After this she makes small balls out of them and dries it in the hot sun. When it is dry, she would put the onion balls back in oil and onion juice left behind when making them into balls. Back again it goes to dry. This is done for about a week. By then the onion changes color. When it is all dried up, the onion balls are broken into smaller bits and stored in air-tight container. Will post a picture of vadagam soon.
Please also post how to make it in detail. It would be a great post if you can make it and post it...We need to preserve such great knowledge! Thats what food blogs do.
Dear Inji,
That's a really good idea. I will take pictures of my MIL doing vadagam and post about it soon.
Whoaaaaah...I was searching for a good recipe in yahoo search for mean kuzhambu...and I stumbled upon here!!....by the way who are you??? ;))
(The curry looks sooo good)
Hi Bharathy,
Thanks for your kind comment. Hey, don't you know me? I've been visiting your site regularly and I have known you for quite a while. Have you forgotten me?
Hi Kriba
Meen kozhambu looks delicious. I am from pondicherry too, but missed out on all the fish because my mom is veg. But my dad and I enjoyed all wonderful restaurant non veg food. Next time u go to pondy, definitely try the restaurant Appachi if you havent already. They make yummiest biryani and crab curry.
Yay...happy to meet another person from Pondy. Gosh....you love appachi too? I'm a big fan of their food. I love the look and feel of the restaurant too. Kinda homely. Really happy to know you dear. will keep in touch.
Post a Comment