Mackerel fish Pickle a Kerala Recipe

Ingredients needed for the Mackerels Pickle
 3 Mackerel fishes
1/2 inch Ginger, chopped
8 garlic flakes , chopped
4 Green Chillies, chopped
2 tsps Chilly powder
Coconut Oil - enough for frying,
4 tbsp White Vinegar

Marinade for the fish
 3 tsp chilli powder
 3 tsps ginger and garlic paste
3/4 tsp fennel seed powder
 1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

How to prepare Mackerel fish pickle?
Clean and wash the fish nicely. Cut the mackerels in to small sized pieces.
Prepare the marinade by mixing the ingredients with a little vinegar, Apply the masala on to the fish pieces and keep in the refrigerator  for an hour.
After an hour in the refrigerator shallow fry the fish pieces in coconut oil and keep aside.
In the remaining oil, add the chopped garlic, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.  Fry toll they are golden.
Add the white vinegar andthe 2 tsps chilli powder and let the mix boil for a minute or two.
Add the fried fish pieces  and mix well.
Remove from the flame and kepp covered till it gets cool. Then store in the refrigerator as and when needed.

Fish cutlets, an hyderabadi style recipe

Ingredients needed for Fish cutlets:
4 fillets of white fish
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 bread slice, soaked in water and squeezed dry
1 tbsp cornflour
1 egg beaten
½ tsp garam masala powder
1 cup bread crumbs
1-2 green chillies, chopped
1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped
salt to taste
oil for frying
2 pinches of turmeric powder

How to prepare Fish Cutlets
Rub fish with salt and turmeric powder. After 5 minutes wash the fish pieces and keep aside.
Steam fish over a pan of hot water and remove all the bones.
Mash the fish pieces with your fingers. Add ginger- garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, cornflour, coriander leaves, green chillies and the bread slice.
Mix all these ingredients together to form a dough. Take small balls out of the dough and shape cutlets in the way you like, long, oval or round.
Dip each cutlet in beaten egg and then roll in a plate of bread crumbs.
Heat oil. See that the oil is not very hot as the cutlets will crumble.
Fry till they are golden brown and serve with tomato sauce / ketchup.

Recipe for the Punjabi Style Fish Curry

Fish is always easy to cook, only that cleaning is a bit tedious. If you can get some one to clean and cut the fish for you, you can easily prepare the recipe. 
To learn how to clean the fish 

Ingredients needed for the Punjabi Style Fish Curry 
1/2 kilo fish, cleaned and cut into small pieces
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp shahjeera
1 tsp saunf / fennel seeds
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
5 green chillies
1 cup chopped small onions
1 tsp turmeric powder
3-4 tomatoes
salt to taste
2 tsps chilli powder
2 tsps fish curry powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh cream

How to prepare Punjabi Style Fish curry?
First clean the fish and cut in to small pieces or according to your taste.
Mix turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder and lime juice to a paste and apply on the fish peieces .
Keep aside for half an hour. Fry the fish pieces till they are just done and remove.
Heat oil in a fry pan, splutter mustard seeds, jeera and saunf / fennel seeds.
As it splutters add chillies, curry leaves, onions and saute till they are soft.
Now add ginger garic paste, chilli powder, fish curry powder in to the fry pan and mix well.
Add chopped tomato pieces  and saute till the tomatoes turn soft and forms a thick gravy.
When the gravy is boiling add simmer the flame and add the fried fish pieces.
Add the fresh cream, mix well.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Garnish with the chopped corinder leaves and  serve with plain rice.

This is a recipe for the learners  and those who want to finish the cooking very fast and get on with it. So please try this out.

A tasty and a simple recipe for Squid fry.

Ingredients needed for Squid Fry
1 kilo squid
2 cups onions chopped
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
2 tsps chilli powder
1 tsp Ginger paste
1 tsp Garlic paste
Handful Curry Leaves
oil as needed
Salt to taste

How to prepare Squid Fry?
Clean, wash  and drain squid well  and keep aside.
Mince  onions, tomatoes and keep  aside.
Heat oil in a non stick kadai (wok), fry the onions till they become transparent.
Add  ginger and garlic pastes and continue to fry on low heat for 2-3 mins, adding turmeric powder, and chilli powder as required. Mix well.
Now add jeera powder and continue to fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add tomatoes  and  fry till the tomatoes are soft and pulpy and the gravy is thicker.
You can add the squid now and there is no need to add the water as the squid will get cooked in its own juices.
As it starts to boil, cover with a lid and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
Serve hot with anything you fancy, like rice, chappathies, naans, pulaos or whatever. It will taste just as nice.

Points to Note:

If the squid is very tender and small,  it should get cooked earlier.  so adjust your time accordingly.

Do not cook it for a long time, remove the kadai from the fire as the squid gets tender otherwise it will get chewy .

Recipe for Kanava / Squid Thoran in Kerala Style

Ingredients needed for Kanava / Squid Thoran in Kerala Style 
2 cups Squid / Kanava - cut into very small pieces)
 1 cup chopped onions
 1 tsp chopped Green chillies
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp Fenugreek powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 red chillies
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
handful Curry leaves
1 cup fresh Grated coconut
 3 tbsp Oil

How to prepare Kanava / Squid Thoran in Kerala Style 
Add 1/2 cup of water to the cleaned and chopped squid / kanava, onion and green chillies, with salt to taste,  in a pan.
Let it cook for a few minutes or till the squid gets tender.
Grind together coconut, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric and fenugreek powder in to a coarse mix. Just crushing them oe  or twice in the mixer should be enough.
Add the ground  mixture to the cooked kanava. Mix well.
Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds. Add broken red chillies and curry leaves.
Add the cooked Kanava and the coconut mixture to the pan and mix well.
Garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with rice / pulaos as a side dish.

Recipe for Squid masala Kerala style

1 cup Squid, cleaned and cut into 1 cm thick rounds 
1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 th tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsps coriander powder
1/4 tsp Garam masala powder
 1 cup Onion, chopped
1/2 cup Tomato, chopped
 2 tbsps Oil
Salt  to taste

How to prepare Squid Masala in the Kerala style
Apply salt, a little chilli powder and a little turmeric powder. Keep aside for about 10 minutes.
To this add 1/2 cup of water and cook till the squid gets tender, that should be less than 10 minutes.
Now  heat oil in a non stick fry pan. Add onions  and cook till they turn a little transparent and soft.
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry  till the masala turns golden.
Add tomato, remaining chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt to taste.
Cook till the tomato gets soft  and the masala blends well.
Add the cooked squid  and mix well.
Keep it on the fire till the gravy thickens.
Serve hot with Rotis naans, rice and pulaos etc.

Grilled Garlic Pepper Prawns

Ingredients needed for Grilled Garlic Pepper Prawns
250 grams big size prawns
10 flakes of garlic
7-8 peppercorns crushed
2 tsps olive oil
3 tbsps butter
Salt to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbp Rum

How to prepare grilled garlic pepper prawns
Heat olive oil in a non stick fry pan.
Add butter, garlic and half of the crushed pepper , saute for about 2 minutes .
Now add prawns, salt to taste, remaining crushed pepper and lemon juice. Saute well.
Be careful while cooking prawns. Since the prawns cook very fast, check that they do not get overcooked.
Transfer in to a serving dish.
Heat a litle rum in a deep spoon till it catches fire. Pour over the prawns immediately. Serve hot.

Mathi with Puliyila Chammandhi

Ingredients needed Mathi with Puliyila Chammandhi
2 cup puliyila
1 cup grated coconut
6 green chillies
8 onions
salt to taste

How to prepare Mathi with Puliyila Chammandhi
Remove stem from the leaves. Grind to a smooth paste with all the ingredients .
Mix the chammandhi with  2 tbsps of coconut oil. Keep aside.
Clean mathi fish and draw slashes throughout.
Apply the chammandhi  over the fish. Keep aside for 15 -20 minutes.
Take a plantain leaf, keep the fish with the masala .
Roll it up and fry in oil or keep with the plantain leaf on the dosa tava and cook till both sides are done.

Points to Note:
This puliyila chammandhi will not go bad  for a week or so. If you store in the refrigerator it will stay more than a fortnight.

Recipe for Kerala dish Mathi peera pattichathu:

Ingredients needed for mathi peera pattichathu
500 grams Mathi
1- 1/2 cups coconut
6 green chillies slit
1 piece ginger chopped
6 small onions
curry leaves
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
4 pieces kudumpuli
3-4 gr chillies
salt
oil

How to prepare Mathi peera pattichathu:
Crush coconut, small onions and green chillies together to make a coarse paste.
Clean the fish nicely. Mix sliced onions, slit green chillies, curry leaves, chilli powder, turmeric pd, kudam puli, salt to taste  and 1/2 cup water.
In a manchatti or a saucepan, mix all the ingredients with the cleaned fish. Cook on simmer flame  till the fish gets cooked.
When the fish is done add the crushed ingredients to the fish. Mix well and dry the excess water.
Pour the coconut oil on top of the fish and serve with the rice.

Kerala Fish Curry w/o Coconut

Ingredients needed for the Kerala Fish Curry w/o coconut
 1/2 kilo fish pieces
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp small onions sliced fine
1 tspginger julienned
1/2 tsp garlic sliced
Salt to taste
2 - 3 pieces of Kudam puli
2 tsps coconut oil

For tempering the Fish curry w/o coconut
2 tsps oil
1/2 tsps mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp small onions sliced
handful curry leaves

How to prepare the Kerala Fish Curry w/o coconut 
Cut the fish in to small pieces
Soak the Kudum puli in half a cup of water, keep aside.
 Heat oil in a deep fry pan / a manchatti, fry the small onions till transparent, add ginger and garlic . Stir well till they are soft.
Mix Chilli powder and turmeric powder with a little water to a smooth paste.
Add the paste to the pan and saute till the oil starts coming out on the sides.
Add salt to taste and the Kudumpuli pieces plus the water in which they were soaked.
Add one more cup of water to the pan and bring it to boil.
Add the fish pieces and simmer till the fih gets cooked.
Remove from fire.
If you think the gravy is watery just keep in high flame for sometime  to thicken it.

Fish Curry Kerala Style

Ingredients needed for the Fish Curry Kerala Style 
1 kilo sea fish like Pomfret, Bekti, Seer , Salmon etc
1 tbsp lime juice
2 onions,
3 green chillies,
2 dry red chilli,
1 whole pod of garlic,
1" piece ginger
1 tea spoon ginger garlic paste,
salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 cup grated coconut
1 glass full of water
2 tbsp coconut oil

How to make fish curry in Kerala Style
Clean   and wash the fish pieces nicely with clean water at least twice before preparing the fish.
Then  apply the lime juice all over the fish pieces  and then rinse it well.
 Now if you have a Manchatti with you, you can use that or use a wide pan.
If it is the manchatti then put it on the fire for about half a minute or so to heat it up.
As soon as the pot / manchatti gets hot add 2 table spoon coconut oil to the vessel.
Chop  onions,  green chillies, dry red chilli, garlic, ginger into small pieces.
Add them in to the hot oil and stir well. Fry till golden.
Then add  ginger garlic paste, salt to taste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder to the pan / vessel. Add curry leaves also to this mixture.
Grind the grated coconut to a smooth paste  and add to boiling gravy in the vessel.
Mix till the mixture turns a little brownish, that is about 3-4 minutes.
Pour a glass of water to the vessel. Bring it to boil, add the cleaned and washed fish into the boiling gravy.
Simmer for about 15 minutes.
As the Fish curry gets ready, you will get a nice aroma of the Kerala style fish curry , just check if the fish is tender and cooked.

Points to Note:
While cooking the fish curry always remember not to stir it with a spatula or a spoon. The fish pieces will get broken and ghet mashed up. So just hold on to the pan by the sides and just swirl it around, so that all the flavours mix well.
You can use any other oil for cooking this curry dish, but Coconut oil will get you the best taste.

Related Topics
Prawn Mushroom Stew
Prawn Mango Curry
Meen Peera Vattichathu 

Fish Biryani Recipe

The Post Fish Biryani    has been shifted to Lathas Corner at the Google sites 

Meen Pathiri Recipe

Ingredients needed for Meen Pathiri Recipe
2 cups boiled rice ( Puzhungalari )
2 cups grated coconut
4 small onions
2 tsp jeeragam
salt to taste
500 grams Meen ( Neymeen / Chenmeen )

Ingredients needed for the masala
2 onions chopped
4 cups grated coconut
2 tsp Dhaniya Pd
1 1/2 tsp chilli pd
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
5 flakes garlic
5 green chillies
1 piece ginger
salt to taste

How to prepare the filling for  Meen Pathiri:
Clean the fish and apply a mix of chillipowder, turmeric and salt. Keep aside for 10 minutes  and the fry the pieces.
Soak the rice for 2 hours grind to a batter with coconut, small onions and jeera.
Grind the ingredients for the masala to a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a fry pan, saue onions and add the masala paste, stir till the gravy thickens.
Add fried fish to the fry pan and mix well.

How to prepare Meen Pathiri
Shape  small lime sized balls and roll them into puris.
Keep the filling on one puri and close it with another puri. Seal the ends so as the filling does not come out.
Steam the stuffed pathiris till they are done.
Serve with chicken or mutton curry .

Other Pathiri Recipes
Mutta Pathiri

Mathi / Sardines Bhajji a snack recipe

Ingredients needed for the Mathi / Sardines Bhajji
10 numbers Sardines ( Mathi)
1 cup Besan
2 tbsp rice flour
1 onion
1 small piece ginger
3 green chillies
1-2 stalks curry leaves
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1/4 tysp turmeric powder
Salt to Taste
Oil for frying

How to prepare the fish for Bhajjis;
Clean, wash and slash mathi meen with a sharp knife across in two or thre places  and keep aside
Mix into a paste, 2 tsps of chilli powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste with a little water. Apply this paste all over the fish and keepaside for 10 minutes.
Then fry the fish slightly, do not allow the fish to get crispy.

How to prepare the batter for the fish bhajji 
Mince / finely chop onion, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves  and coriander leaves nicely. Mix besan flour and riceflour together with chilli powder and turmeric powder well.
Add the minced onion, green chillies,ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves witha little salt and water to the consistency of the Bhajji Batter / Idli batter.

How to prepare fish Bhajjis
Dip the fried fish in this mix ad deep fry in oil till they are golden brown.
Serve with tomato ketch up or sauce.

Points to note:
You are not supposed to fry the fish crispy when you first shallow fry in oil.
Just before you dip the fish in the batter remove the extra bones or just trim them clean.
Serve them as an appetizer / starter or as a side dish for a party / cocktails
If you like you can cut into small pieces and then fry so as to be able to eat with a tooth pick.

Prawns Mushroom Stew

Ingredients needed for Prawns Mushrooms Stew
1 kilo cleaned prawns / Chemmeen
500 grams mushrooms / Croon
2 onions big sized
8 green chillies
1/2" piece ginger
curry leaves
1/2 tsp pepper powder
4 g cardamom
2 piece cinnamon
3 cloves
1 coconut big
1/2 cup ghee
1 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp cornflour
3 glasses water
50 grams cashewnuts and  kismis

How to prepare Prawns Mushroom Stew
Take a sauce pan, add a little of onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and salt to it. Add the prawns as well in to the pan and cook till tender.
Heat ghee in vessel and fry the cashewnuts and kismis to a golden colour.
Heat the oil in a fry pan,  add the remaining onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies, saute for  while. Then add mushrooms, stir for a minute.
Use second and third extract of the coconut milk to the pan. Cook till the mushrooms get tender.
Add prawns to the pan and add pepper powder, whole garam masala.
As it starts boiling add the first milk.
Mix cornflour in a little cold milk and pour into the boiling gravy. Add the fried cashews and kismis.
As the gravy thickens remove from fire, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves.

Points to Note:

If you do not want to extract coconut milk for this recipe, you can use the ready made coconut milk available over the counter in the market. 

Instead of the second and third extract mixture you can add one cup of water and one cup of coconut milk.

For the first extract of coconut milk you can add straight from the packet according to your taste.

Related Topics
Meen Peera vattichathu

Chutney Fish Recipe

Ingredients needed for the recipe chutney fish
1 pomfret fish weighing a little more than 1 kilo
salt to taste
handful curry leaves
2-3 green chillies
oil for frying the fish

For the chutney
1/2 cup coriander leaves
3 flakes garlic
2-3 green chillies
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup fresh grated coconut
salt to taste

How to prepare the fish
Clean the fish and keep it whole. dry the fish with a kitchen towel.
Slash the fish nicely till the knife reaches the bone but be careful that you do not cut through the fish.
Grind curry leaves, green chillies and salt to taste to a smooth paste. apply on the fish, keep aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, just enough to fry the fish till it is half done on both the sides.
Grind the chutney ingredients to a smooth paste, keep aside.
As soon as the fish is half done, remove from the fish from the fry pan.
Take a plantain leaf and keep the fish on top of that. Apply the ground chutney paste on both sides, filling the gashes you have made on the fish.
Tie up the plantain leaf after folding it nicely with a thick thread or plantain fibre.
Steam in a cooker for about 20 to 30 minutes according to the size and weight of the fish.
Remove when done abd serve hot, as side dish to pulaos, biryanis or rotis.

Tongue Tickler - Fish Pickle Recipe

Ingredients Needed for the Fish Pickle:
500 grams fleshy fish ( like Salmon, Seer, Pomfret )
3 tbsps mustrad seeds ( 2 tbsps should be roasted)
2 tbsps cumin seeds roasted
2-4 cinnamon and cloves
12 flakes garlic
2" piece ginger
1 tbsp coriander powder roasted
2 tbsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
20 ml oil
Vinegar as needed
1 tsp turmeric powder

How to prepare the Fish for the Pickle Recipe
Clean the fish and remove the bones.
Make small pieces of the fish, wash, drain and mix with turmeric powder, salt and keep aside for
10 - 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, shallow fry the fish, drain and keep aside.

How to get the Fish Pickle Ready:
In the same oil, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seeds, add chilli powder. Mix the fish pieces with it. Keep aside
Grind all the roasted ingredients in to a fine paste adding vinegar instead of water.
Add to the fish and adjust salt to taste. Bring the mix to a boil. Remove and let cool.
Store the pickle in a clean and dried container with an airtight lid.

Points to Note:
If stored in the refrigerator it will stay for a longer time.
Always try to get fleshy fish like Seer, Salmon, Pomfret,  which can be cut into fleshy and boneless pieces.

Other Fish Recipes
Stuffed Fish Rolls in Tomato Sauce
Fish Biryani

Batter Fried Fish Recipe

Ingredients needed for Batter Fried Fish:
10 Fish Fillets (boneless)
1 cup maida
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger paste
salt to taste
1 egg
1 tsp ghee
oil to fry
juice of half lime

How to prepare the batter:
Sift maida, baking powder and salt to taste. Add ginger paste and the beaten egg to this and add enough water to make it a batter.
Add lime juice and mix well. The batter should be of a smooth consistency. Just before using it add the melted ghee and mix well.

How to fry the fish slices in batter
Heat oil in a fry pan.
Dip the fish pieces in the batter and deep fry in oil.
Drain and kepp the fried pieces on a kitchen towel to remove the excess oil.
Serve with tomato ketch up or sauce.

Points to note:
Do remove the small bones if there are any. Since the fry is with batter it will be difficult to remove the bones while eating and that too with a fork.

Other Fish Recipes
Fish Biryani
Fish Pickle
Stuffed Fish Rolls In Tomato Sauce

Prawn Mango Curry Recipe

Ingredients needed for the Prawn Mango Curry Recipe
250 grams prawns
3/4 cup onions chopped
1/2 cup green mango chopped
3 tbsp coconut oil
salt to taste

To grind to a fine paste, with a little water:
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp garlic chopped
1/2 tbsp ginger chopped
1 tbsp small onions chopped

How to prepare the Prawn Mango Curry
Clean, wash and devein the prawns . Grind the masala to a fine paste and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions. Saute till they are transparent.
Add the ground masala paste and fry till the oil starts oozing out.
Add the prawns and fry for a minute. Add salt to taste , chopped mango pieces and a cup of water. Cook till the mango pieces and prawns are tender.
Adjust the water content as per the consistency and your taste.
Serve hot with rice and vegetables as a side dish.

Variations you can try with this recipe
Ground coconut paste or coconut milk can be added to make the gravy richer.
When you add coconut paste or milk to a dish add it in the end and let it not boil. As it froths in the sides remove from fire.

Karimeen Thakkali Kuruma

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