Catfish gravy (Keluthi meen kuzhambu)

     Presenting you all the most flavorful Catfish gravy (Keluthi meen kuzhambu) accompanied with Catfish fry and Shrimp fry. Fish gravy is an authentic South Indian dish, which is made with a blend of different flavors. Different Indian cuisines use different methods to prepare this gravy. But, I usually follow my grandma's recipe when it comes to fish gravy. And believe me guys, it's the most yummiest recipe I have ever tasted. Am sure you guys will fall in love with this recipe. While the recipe is very simple, it does needs a little patience to prepare this gravy. But it's all worth at the end. When you eat it with the hot rice, am damn sure you will have happy tears. And the recipe is here.

INGREDIENTS:

*Fish- 1 lb (any fish of your choice) 

*Onion-  one medium sized

*Tomato- one medium sized

*Garlic- 2 whole garlic peeled

*Tamarind- one medium lemon sized

*Curry leaves- 2 handfull

 

*Pepper corns-1 tbsp

*Jeera-1tbsp

* Kuzhambu milagai podi- 6 to 7 tbsps or as per your taste (I prefer home made powder or else you can even use store bought ones)

(Will be posting the recipe for Kuzhambu milagai podi soon)

*Jaggery -1/2 tbsp

*Salt - as per your taste

*Gingelly oil- 5 to 6 tbsps

*Vadagam(for tempering)- 2 tbsps

(This ingredient is optional, you can even use mustard seeds, jeera and fenugreek/methi seeds)

PROCEDURE:

STEP 1:(Marinating the fish)

* Clean the fish pieces and marinate it with salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon chilli powder and 2 tbsps Kuzhambu milagai podi.

STEP 2: (Making a paste for the gravy)

*Take a mixer jar and add half of the onion, half of the tomato, one full garlic peeled, one handfull of curry leaves, pepper and jeera.

*Blend them into a fine paste.

STEP 3:(Making tamarind extract for the gravy)

*Soak the tamarind in hot water and squeeze out all the juices. Add little more water to the tamarind extract to adjust the consistency. Exactly you might need around three cups of tamarind juice totally, after adjusting the consistency.

*Now add Kuzhambu milagai podi to the tamarind juice.

*Squeeze the left out tomato to the tamarind juice.

*Add salt as needed for the gravy and mix them all together.

STEP 4:(Making the fish gravy)

* Add oil to the pan and temper it with either vadagam or usual ingredients. I tempered the oil with vadagam and fenugreek/methi seeds. 

* Add garlic and curry leaves. Fry them until the garlic turns brown.

*Now add the paste that we made earlier and saute them until the oil oozes out. Approximately it takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

* Once the oil oozes out add the tamarind juice that we made earlier and stir well .

* Add jaggery to the gravy and give it a stir.

*Let the gravy boil on medium flame for 20 to 30 minutes. Give it a stir occasionally.

* Check for salt. If needed, you can add at any point.

* Once the gravy is nice and thick, add the marinated fish pieces to the gravy.

* Give it a nice stir without breaking the fish and let the gravy boil for another 5 minutes. Do not over cook the fish, as it will break down into pieces.

*The fish gravy is now ready for you to enjoy.

*Goes well with hot rice, idly and dosa.