Fish Moily with Halibut

I have been scouring the internet for the past couple of hours trying to find the origin of this curry. Any mention on the history was available just in this blog and it has the recipe as well. Though fish Moily is very famous in Keralite Christian cuisine, the combination of ginger-garlic with coconut in a fish preparation somehow made me think that it could have been from another cuisine. My reference says that it is a Goan recipe.. please do correct me if am wrong.

Fish Moily is not a very common preparation amongst the cooks in my family. And the couple of times I have had it was with friends while visiting. This is my first attempt at making Fish Moily, and the guidelines are from my friend,Minnu. In Kerala, it is traditionally prepared with Karimeen (Pearl Spot) or Aavoli ( Pomfret) , the marinated fish is fried first ( to avoid the flesh from breaking up when cooking in the gravy) and the cooked in the coconut milk gravy. Here I have used Halibut and because Halibut's flesh is more firm, I have omitted the frying-part and cooked it straight in the gravy . So you see there are some definite deviations from the traditional recipe , needless to say..this is my easy-version. Well, it didn't matter that I cheated a little because in the end it all worked out :)

Prep time :15 min
Cook time:10 min
Ready In :25 min

Makes : 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb halibut ( cut to small pieces )
• 2-3 tbs of cooking oil
• 15-20 pepper corns
• 5 cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 1 small piece of cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
  
• 1 big onion thinly sliced
  
• 3 big cloves of garlic
  
• 1 medium piece of ginger ( should yield about the same quantity as the garlic)
• 2-3 green chillies ( use less for less heat) slit length-wise
  
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 8 oz of thick Coconut Milk ,divided into 2 portions (I used the Chaokoh brand)
  
• 2 cups of water ( use less if you want a thicker gravy)
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 1 tsp of white vinegar
• 1 tomato cut into rings , for garnish (optional)
  

Procedure

• Grind the Ginger and Garlic to a fine paste.
  
• Set a large pan in high heat and once it is hot , add the oil.
• Add the whole spices (pepper, cardamom,cloves, cinnamon and fennel), and reduce the heat to medium.
• When the spices are fragrant, add the sliced onion and green chillies turning them with a spatula every now and then.
• When the onions turn translucent, add the ginger-garlic paste and salt. Keep turning till everything turns golden brown.
  
• Thin down 4oz of the coconut milk with 2 cups of water and add to the fried onions. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Add the fish pieces and let cook for about 10 min ( The flesh turns from pink to white by the time the fish is cooked )
• Once the fish pieces are cooked turn off the stove and add the remaining 4oz of thick coconut milk.

Garnish : Slice tomatoes in rings and fry slightly in oil. Serve the fish with the sauce/gravy , garnished with the fried tomato-rings.

Chemmeen Varuthathu

Fried Shrimp/ Prawns



Here is something for seafood lovers. It is a basic recipe for shrimp-fry that would serve well as an appetizer or with any rice dish.

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time : 20 min
Ready in :30 min

Ingredients

• 1 lb Medium shrimp , cleaned and de-veined
• 1 cup pearl onions , crushed
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp fennel powder ( perum jeerakam)
• salt to taste
• 1 stalk of curry leaves
• Oil to fry ( about 2-3 tbs)
  

Procedure

• Set the shrimp in a medium pan/ Skillet in medium heat
• Add the onions, coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, fennel powder , salt and curry leaves
• Cook till the shrimp is cooked and the water-content dries up ( the shrimp would now have a nice coating of the spices and powders by now)
  
• Add the oil and saute for about 8-10 min ( till the coating on the shrimp gets a little crispy)

Happy Cooking !

PS: This one is on-demand from my friend,Veena .

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