Thenga aracha meen curry

Today I am sharing the recipe of Kerala meen curry with ground coconut / Kerala thenga aracha meen curry. This is my all time favorite fish curry. My mother used to make Aiyla curry(Mackerel curry) and Killi meen  curry (Threadfin bream curry) in this way. This is not very spicy, so children will  also love it .I still remember when I was around 5-6 years old, I used to call this as Orange fish curry and whenever we buy some fish at home I mostly ask my mother to make "Orange fish curry".Here I have used Tilapia for preparing this fish curry.

Ingredients

Fish ~  1/2 kg

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Green chillies ~ 5 Nos ( Split length-wise )

Garlic ~ 3-4 cloves
Ginger ~ a small piece - peeled and chopped

Shallots (Kochu ulli) ~ 4-5 Nos

Kashmiri Chilly powder / Charadan mulaku podi ~ 3 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder ~ 1 tsp

Turmeric powder ~ 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek powder ~ 3 pinch

Curry leaves ~ 1 stem

Oil ~ 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds (Kaduku) ~ 1/2 tsp

Kudampuli / Gambooge / Fish tamarind ~ 2-3 Nos

Salt to taste.

Method

• First wash the kudampuli nicely and then split it to small pieces and then soak it in 1/2 cup of warm water for about 10-15 minutes. Next clean the fish and cut it to small to medium sized pieces.

• Then grind grated coconut, turmeric powder, kashmiri chilly powder, coriander powder, fenugreek powder, shallots, ginger and garlic to a fine paste by adding around 1/2 cup of water.

• Then heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds crackles add the ground coconut paste along with 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water, soaked kudampuli, green chillies and curry leaves.  Then on a high flame bring it to a boil and when it starts boiling reduce the flame and add fish pieces and cook covered for about 10-15 minutes.

• Then cook uncovered for another 5-8 minutes or till the gravy reaches your desired consistency and then remove from the flame.

Enjoy with rice or kappa/tapioca.

Notes : 

• After cooking the fish for about 10-15 minutes, check for salt and sourness and if you feel the sourness is not enough , then you can add the water in which the kudampuli was soaked to adjust the sourness and continue cooking without the lid.
• Here I have used 3 1/2 tsp of kashmiri chilly powder, which gives a nice color to the curry without making it very spicy, but if you are using regular chilly powder, then you can reduce the amount to 2 1/2 tsp - 3 tsp or use it according to your spice preference. 

Cheers!!

Jisha