I once had this fish curry in fort, Mumbai India years ago and still can’t forget the yummy flavour of that fish curry years later. Now I normally like north Indian food rather than south Indian, but this curry flavour just about beats any fish curry – in my books anyway. This is a popular recipe from the south of India.

The one ingredient that I distinctly remember in that fish curry was the green mango flavour, that lent the curry that tangy yet distinct flavour, that made it taste so good. I had to try making it myself, even though it was years later.

You can substitute raw mangoes with Kodampuli to get a similar good flavour, however I prefer raw mango flavour.  Kodampuli is a very special kind of tamarind that is available in Kerala in India.

To get the authentic taste I would suggest using fresh ingredients specially for the coconut, raw mango and onion shallots.

Ingredients

4-servings

· Fish – 500 Gms

· Coconut Oil – 3 or 4 tbsp

· Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

· Fenugreek Seeds – 1/4 tsp

· Turmeric powder 1 tbsp

· Chilli powder 1 tsp

· Coriander powder 2 tbsp

· Shallots – 5/6 finely chopped Or one onion diced

· Tomato Ripe 1 diced

· Green Chillies – 2 to 3

· Garlic – 2 to 3 Cloves

· Ginger – 1″ Piece diced

· Curry Leaves – 2 Sprigs

· Fenugreek seeds (10/12 seeds)

· Raw Mango – 1 (medium size)

· Thick Coconut Milk – 1 Cup or 165/250 ml

· Water 1 cup

· Salt – To Taste

Instructions

Preparation:

Chop and dice onion/shallots, chilli, ginger, garlic, raw mango and tomato. Raw mango can be diced or put in curry as thin slices.

Fish pieces or even fillets of fish cut into smaller pieces will do.

1. Heat the coconut oil in a dish and let it become hot. Put in mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds let it splutter and then add the sprig of curry leaves (this should take about 10 seconds). Then add the chopped ginger, garlic and chilli and mix for a minute and then add the chopped shallots or onion.

2. Keep mixing the onions mix until it is translucent. Add the spices (chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder) and keep mixing for 5 minutes then add the diced tomato. (Traditionally the spice powders are mixed together in a small bowl with some water and made into a paste and then added to the curry.). After 5 minutes add the sliced mango pieces and keep stirring the mix to let it boil for another 7 to 10 mins

3. Add the Coconut milk to the mix and let it boil for another 10 minutes until you can see the gravy is cooked (you will see bits of oil forming on top- color change). Add salt to taste (1 tbsp).

4. Now add the fish pieces to the curry and let it cook for 5 minutes

5. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before serving

Notes for Authentic taste:

If you want a more authentic Kerala taste to the curry

· Use an earthen pot if available (like then do traditionally in kerala)

· Don’t use coconut milk from tin, but try get the fresh taste by getting a fresh coconut and crushing the coconut whites in a mixer or grating fresh coconut, or then get frozen coconut whites and crush in mixer.

· Use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.

· Use shallots instead of onion for a more traditional flavor.

· Don’t forget to use raw mangoes to get that tangy taste in curry (or kodampuli)

Enjoy your Meen Manga Curry as they say in Kerala.

Any Australian fish like salmon, barramundi, snapper, Spanish mackerel, perch can be used in this curry. The fish is added in the last 5 minutes to get the infusion of the curry flavour.

You can check out other related seafood recipes like the  Goan fish curry recipe and mums fried mackerel  recipe  on our blog .

Kerala Food Glossary:

Meen=Fish

Manga=Mango

Kodaumpuli= Black tamarind (also known as gambodge, Malabar tamarind, fish tamarind, or garcinia cambogia (the magic fat reducing drug) and mistakenly as kokum)

Vendhayam = fenugreek seeds

Some more

Patta/Karugapatta – Cinnamon.

Elakka – Cardamom.

Grambu – Cloves.

Jathikka – Nutmeg.

JathiPoo – Mace.

Takkolam – Star Anise.

Kus Kus – Poppy seeds.

Jeerakam – Cumin.

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