‘Varutharacha Meen Curry’ is a medium spicy delicious dish and is made with fried coconut paste. Kerala style fish curry is famous for its spicy nature. But this dish can be prepared with medium spicy so that your kids also can enjoy it well. If you really want to explode your taste buds, there is another recipe called ‘Meen Mulakilittathu (Spicy Red Fish Curry) which we will be learning soon. Now, let us learn how to make ‘Varutharacha Meen Curry’ – (Fried Coconut Fish Curry).
Ingredients for ‘Varutharacha Meen Curry’:
Any fleshy fish (King fish,Pomfret,Tilapia etc.) – 1/2 kg
Grated coconut – 3/4 cup
Pearl onions (Cheriya Ulli) sliced – 4 nos
Red Chilly powder – 3 tbsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
Mustard Seeds – A pinch
Curry leaves – 1 stem
Kokum (Kudampuli / Malabar Tamarind) – A lemon sized ball
Salt – As required
Coconut Oil – 3 tbsp
Preparation of ‘Varutharacha Meen Curry’:
Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan or a kadai. Add 3/4 cup of grated coconut, chilly powder, coriander powder, small onions and fenugreek seeds. Fry on a medium heat for a few minutes till it become brown color.
Cool the mixture and grind it well in a mixer grinder. You don’t need to add any extra water as the oil extracted from the coconut will do the job. Pour tamarind pulp water and grind again until you get a very smooth paste.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Put the Mustard Seeds when they start spluttering, add curry leaves and the paste and stir it well. Add turmeric powder and salt. When the paste boils and aroma comes, add fish pieces.
Add enough water so that the fish pieces are well immersed in the mix. Allow it to boil in a medium flame and let the gravy thicken.
Tip: For the real taste, prepare the dish a day before itself.