Fish Kodampuli Curry

Ingredients:

• Fish - 500gm
• Small onions - 1 cup
• Kodampuli - 3
• Ginger paste - 2 tsp
• Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek powder - a pinch
• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Coconut oil - 12 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 3 strings
• Salt to taste

Method:

In two cups of hot water drop the kodampuli and keep aside for 20 min atleast.
Clean the fish.
Peal the onions and crush them coarsely.
Heat oil in a kadai add the mustard and curry leaves, when the mustard sputters add the coarsely crushed onion, ginger paste and fry it well. Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and fenugreek powder and fry till the raw smell goes and oil seperates.
Pour in the kodampuli water along with the puli pieces.
Add salt and bring it to a boil.
Now drop in the fish and simmer for few minutes for the fish to cook.
Garnish with fresh curry leaves and serve with rice and pappadam.

Note: the sourness of the tamarind will initially be less and improves as it soaks in the gravy. So soak it for a long time and if they are good size just 2 pieces will be enough. The gravy is not so thick, if needed a thick gravy then boil it a little longer untill it reaches the needed consistency and then deop in the fish. Fish needs just few minutes to cook.
Fenugreek powder when added more gives a bitter taste, so add just a pinch.

Shark Red Curry

Ingredients:

• Shark - 250gm
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Lemon - 1
• Oil - 2 tb sp
• Salt - to taste
• Coriander leaves to Garnish

For the Red curry

• Kashmiri red chilli - 10
• Garlic - 5 to 8 flakes
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Pepper - 1 tsp
• Cumin - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Tamarind - a small marble sized ball

Method:

Skin the shark, wash, marinate with salt and lime juice and leave it aside.
Grind all the ingredients for the red curry to a fine paste.
Chop the onion and tomato.
Heat oil in a kadai, fry the onion when slightly browned add the tomatoes and cook well.
Add the red curry and cook till the oil comes out.
Add little water and the shark pieces, close the lid and cook well.
Garnish with chopped coriander.

Note:
Any fish usually gets cooked faster. cooking for a long time will harden the fish, especially in sharks get harden much. so just cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

Meen Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Fish - 1/2 kg
• Small onions - 1/4 cup
• Garlic - 6 to 8 pod
• Tomato - 1
• Chilli powder - 4 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
• Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized
• Rock salt - 1 to 2 tsp
• Oil - 4 tb sp
• Ginglee oil - 2 tbsp

For Seasoning

• Fenugreek seed - 1/2 tsp
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Split urudh dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli - 3
• Asafoetida - 2 pinch
• Curry leaves 2 string

Method:

Clean the fish. Peal the onion and garlic. Soak the tamarind and salt in 1 cup water.
Heat oil in a kadai. season it with the ingredients given under for seasoning. add the onions and garlic sauté well initially in high flame and then simmer the flame. make solution of the tamarind squeeze and take the tamarind out. mash a tomato in the tamarind juice.
Pour this content into the kadai. Add more water. Add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and let it boil. check for salt and spices.
Now add the fish pieces into this gravy and let it boil. add the ginglee oil also and simmer it. let it boil till the oil comes out.
serve with Rice and appalam.

Note: you can also add thing slices of coconut just before adding the fish. the coconut soaked in this kuzhambu will be of a different taste. Give a nice tip for the chilli powder as the kozhambu will taste good only when it is a bit spicy. Also this is a good combination for Hot Idly or Dosa. Usually Meen Kuzhambu tastes like heaven the next day.