Kottayam-Style Fish Curry- Meen Vevichathu

Meen Vevichathu is essentially a lip-smacking Kottayam style fish curry. Seve this fish curry over the weekend for satisfying meal or serve it at your next family gathering.

Meen Vevichathu

Prep in: 10 minutes

Cooks in: 30 minutes

Total in: 40 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

For the marinade

• 2 Seer fish, slices
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi)
• Salt, to taste
• 2 teaspoons Aachi Fish Masala

For the freshly ground masala

• 1/3 cup Fresh coconut
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 1 inch Ginger
• 2 sprig Coriander (Dhania) Leaves, washed and finely chopped
• 1 Tomato, finely chopped
• 1 inch Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini)
• 2 Cloves (Laung)
• 1 Kokum (Malabar Tamarind)

Other ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 3 sprig Curry leaves
• 8 Pearl onions (Sambar Onions), sliced
• 2 tablespoons Sambar Powder

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How to make

• To begin making the Meen Vevichathu, wash and clean the fish well and drain off the excess water.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the salt, turmeric powder, and fish masala, mix this well. To this mixing bowl, add the seer fish slices and massage the masala gently into the fish and set aside.
• To make the masala
• In a mixer-jar combine the coconut, coriander leaves, garlic, ginger, tomato, cinnamon, cloves, and kokum.
• Grind this into a smooth paste, using some water. Transfer into a bowl aside.
• Soak the kokum pieces in warm water for 10 minutes. Mash the kokum well into the water, strain and set the kokum water aside.
• Getting ahead with the Meen Vevichathu recipe
• Heat a meen chatti and pour the coconut oil into it. Once the oil is hot, add the curry leaves and allow them to crackle.
• Next, into the meen chetti, add the sliced shallots and fry until it turns transparent.
• To this add the freshly ground masala, salt and cook until the raw smell goes away, this will take a good 4-6 minutes.
• Once the masala is well cooked, add in the sambar masala.
• Then add the prepared kokum water and the required amount of water to adjust the thickness of the Meen Vevichathu
• Increase the flame and bring the Meen Vevichathu to a rolling boil and then reduce the flame to medium.
• At this stage, add the marinated seer fish slices along with the marinade and cover and cook.
• Reduce the flame to medium-low and cook until the fish is done. This will take about 12-15 minutes.
• Turn off the flame and check if the fish is cooked through, if not cook for a few minutes to ensure it’s well done.
• Serve Meen Vevichathu along with some hot rice for lunch