Meen Kulambhu

"Meen Kulambhu" is a spicy dish from South Indian kitchen that goes good with Rice, Idly and Dosa.

I have prepared this curry with a fish variety called Thengaparai.

We do require the english names if we are out of India. As we have hundreds and hundreds of fish varieties, at times we get confused with the names. It is known as "Yellowtail Scad" in english. Not sure guys, check it out!!

Here is the recipe for you..

Ingredients
Fish pieces - 5
Shallots or Small Onions - 10 (cut into 4 pieces lengthwise)
Tomato - 1/2 (chopped)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Sambhar Powder - 1 tbsp (homemade Chilli Powder + Dhaniya Powder)
Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp (adjust according to the thickness)
Water - as required
Salt - to taste

To Grind
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - less than 1/4 tsp
Pepper Corns - 3 or 4
Tomato - 1/2
Shallots or Small Onion - 2 or 3
Red Chilli Powder(store bought) - 1/4 tsp
Salt - little

To Season
Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds - less than 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - a sprig
Garlic Pods - 10 (whole or cut into 2 pieces, lengthwise)

Preparation
(1) Pour Oil in a pan and reduce the flame to medium when it gets hot
(2) Add the items given in "To Season" one-by-one
(3) Now add the Shallots and saute for 2 minutes
(4) Add the chopped tomatoes and saute it for a while
(5) Add turmeric powder, home made sambhar powder and salt
(6) Reduce the flame to low and saute till the raw smell is off
(7) Now add the tamarind paste and required amount of water to it
(8) Grind the items given in "To Grind" as a fine paste
(9) Allow the curry to cook in a medium flame
(10)Stir the curry once in a while
(11)When you find bubbles in the curry, add the grinded paste
(12)Allow it to cook for few minutes
(13)Add the Fish pieces and allow it to cook for few minutes

It wouldn't take much time for the Fish pieces to get cooked. At the max, it would take 10 minutes or even less than that. You might find the curry little watery in the snaps that I had posted (My dad wanted a thin curry). You can thicken the curry (add very little water and increase the amount of coconut in the To Grind's list) which would taste great than the thin one.