Puli Meen

From the Keralite cuisine , Fish in *Kudam Puli- infused Spicy Gravy.

This is a household recipe for many Keralites. Kerala is a state in Southern India , blessed with a very long coast- line. Because of the proximity to the sea and subsequent availability of a variety of fish , majority of Keralites are fish-lovers. Most of our households are blessed with wonder-cooks ( also called "mom"s) who have myriad marine-recipes up their sleeves, to include fish in our daily-diet without causing much boredom to the palette.

My method of making Puli-meen has evolved from a combination of my mom's and my mom-in-law's methods. My mom has been making Nei-meen ( Indo Pacific King Mackarel/ Seer Fish) curry like this from the time I could remember, and we used to call it **Mulaku-Curry , maybe because of its red-hot-colour. After I got married, I heard Joe rave about his Amachi's (mom's) Puli-meen, and the way he described it , I was sure it was the same Mulaku-curry with a different alias. I had the original recipe from my mom; so during one of my trips to India , I convinced Amachi to let me help her make it. Puli-meen , as Joe claims, is a very Syrian-Christian way for preparing fish with with ginger, garlic, onions and some spices. For the tangy part, Kudam-puli is added instead of tamarind. After couple of attempts, I managed to make a version of Puli-meen in my kitchen, which Joe certifies as " the closest in taste to the authentic one".
Traditionally in Kerala , fish curries are cooked in clay pans ( called "man-chatti"). It is amazing how this can change the flavor of the curry, and keeps the fish moist even with very little gravy. I managed to get a chatti from one of the Indian grocery stores here in the Bay-Area couple of years back and have been cooking fish in it eversince.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbs cooking oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  
• 1 tbs grated ginger ( approximately 1/2 of medium knob)
  
• 1 tbs minced garlic ( approximately 4 large cloves)
• 1/2 cup of pearl onions sliced into quarters
• 1 stalk of curry leaves
  

• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 3 tsp red-chilly powder ( I prefer to use Kashmiri red-chilly powder)
• 1/8 tsp fenugreek powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

• 5 slivers of kudam-puli (leave soaked in water for about 5 min before using)
• 2 cups of water
• Salt to taste
• 15-20 pieces of fish ( I used 2 fillets of tilapia )

Cookware : A medium pan ; I prefer to use the man-chatti mentioned above.

Procedure:

• Set the pan in medium heat and add the oil.
  
• Once the oil is smoking hot add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop.
• Add the ginger, garlic , curry leaves & onions and saute till they start turning brown.

• Lower the heat.Add turmeric, red-chilly,coriander & fenugreek powders and saute well ; till they turn really dark in color, almost the darkest brown.
• Add the water. Once it starts simmering, add the salt & kudam-puli.
• Let simmer and then add the fish pieces. Cook for for about 10 min. (Cooking time for the fish will vary depending on what variety you use. Adjust accordingly)

Suggested Accompaniments : Rice, Kappa Puzhukku( Mashed Tapioca with Seasonings)
Lifesavers : To get the distinctive flavors of the authentic recipe it is advisable to use traditional ingredients . For eg. substituting the pearl-onions with big onions , would make the gravy a lot milder in taste , because the big onion is sweeter.
* Kudam-puli ( Gambooge) is a fruit indigenous to the South-Western cost of India. The fruit is well known for it's culinary and medicinal uses. The seeds are removed and the rind is sun-dried before it is stored for later use (Available at most Indian stores in the US). It is also well praised for its medicinal value as a digestive aide.
**Mulaku : Chilli