You mean Meen?

Recently, while holidaying in Pondicherry, I was determined to try out as much seafood as possible because, at times, we get such rotten fish here in Bangalore. So, for lunch and dinner, I skipped the lamb and fowl and dived straight into the seafood platter, shrimp salad, fried fish and seafood creole (high on my to-cook list). I also tasted this very yummy Meen Kollumbu, a Tamil fish curry. Right then, right there I decided I had to recreate that seafood classic. Yesterday, after much searching, I found this recipe, and I followed it almost to the T.

Meen Kollumbu

Meen Kollumbu

Ingredients: 
Kingfish – 750 gm
Shallots – 1 cup (or 1 large red onion)
Coconut – ½ a coconut
Tamarind – extract of about a lemon-sized ball
Tomato – 1
Coriander powder – 4 tbsp
Chili powder – 2 tsp (I substituted it with Kashmiri chili powder)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt
Fenugreek seeds – a few
Curry leaves – a few
Coconut oil – as required

Method:

1. Clean and pat dry the fish and rub some turmeric powder and salt on it.
2. Keep aside 6 shallots and chop the remaining. If using an onion, reserve a quarter.
3. Grind the coconut, tomato and the reserved shallots/onion to a fine paste. Add the powders and grind again. Add the tamarind extract to the ground paste.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a manchatti (clay pot).  In Tamil Nadu, they use sesame oil for its distinct flavour.
5. Put a few fenugreek seeds in the hot oil. Once the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and chopped shallots. Sauté till the shallots change colour.
6. Add the ground paste along with some water and mix well. Allow this mixture to bubble for at least 20 minutes. Add water if the curry is thick and add salt to taste.
7. Slowly slide in the fish and boil the curry till the fish is cooked, about 10 minutes for big fishes and 5 for small ones.
8. Once done, take the pot off the heat, drizzle some oil over the curry and close it with a lid. Serve warm with rice.

As with most puli-based fish curries, this curry tastes better when you rest it for a few hours; it tastes best the next day.

Tip: If you plan on making this curry often, you can grind a bigger batch of the coconut-masala paste and freeze it for later use.

Even my daughter
relished the curry with some fish fry.

No clock is more regular than the belly. ~ Francois Rabelais