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    Whisk Affair » Recipes » Dal & Curries » Chicken Curries » Kerala Fish Curry

    Published: May 14, 2019 | Last Updated On: May 18, 2020 by Neha Mathur | This post may contain affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Kerala Fish Curry

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    Kerala Fish Curry is a traditional Malabari dish and is a tad spicy curry. But, most importantly, it has a signature taste of kudampuli (Dried Malabar tamarind) and curry leaves. Make this authentic recipe at home with and without coconut. Here is how to make it.

    Kerala Fish Curry served in a serving bowl.

    On weekends I usually like to make rice with dal or some curry.

    Hence, I use fish pieces to make Alleppey Fish Curry,  Tomato Fish Curry, Methi Machli, often. But, nothing beats the kottayam style Kerala fish curry with Malabar tamarind. Right?

    After all who doesn’t like fish pieces cooked golden brown with a fiercely spicy gravy?

    Traditional food from Kerala is very delish and wholesome. This fish curry is one of those.

    It is also popularly known as Nadan Meen Curry. We add kudumpulli to it.

    Now, kudumpulli is also known as the fish tamarind or Malabar tamarind.

    And, that gives this fish curry a very appealing taste and a slight tang and a smoky flavor.

    Apart from that, because of shallots and curry leaves, this dish tastes very authentic and refined.

    What is Kudampuli?

    Kudampuli is an Indian spice that is used to impart sour taste to the dishes. It is a small round shaped fruit and is used in it’s dried form.

    “Garcinia gummi-gutta is a tropical species of Garcinia native to Indonesia.

    Common names include Garcinia cambogia (a former scientific name), as well as brindleberry, Malabar tamarind and kudam puli (pot tamarind).

    The fruit looks like a small pumpkin and is green to pale yellow in color”. – Source

    You can find it in Kerala stores in your city or Indian stores in the US. You can also order it online from Amazon.

    Pro Tips by Neha

    This curry tastes best when made in earthen pot or manchatti. I didn’t have it so I made it in a regular kadai.

    Serve this curry at least 3-4 hours after making it. The flavors will mature with time and it will even get more delicious the next day.

    If you do not have access to kudampuli, do try the recipe with tamarind and I am sure you will not be disappointed. Kokum can also be added for a Kadampuli like taste.

    You may use any fish for making this smoky, pungent curry. I have used Seer fish.

    This curry is piping hot red in color because we add loads of Kashmiri red chilli powder to it.

    So, it doesn’t get too spicy but still gets the color.

    You can always choose to reduce the amount of chilli used as per your liking. I love spicy food and this quantity of chilli suits my taste perfectly.

    I have used coconut oil to make this dish as it contributes awesomely to the flavors. However, you may use any other oil that you deem fit.

    Plus, mustard seeds, ginger garlic, and fenugreek seeds makes this dish flavourful. Hence, do add them without fail, ladies.

    Adding a sprinkling of Kerala Garam Masala at the end makes it even more delicious.

    Lastly, serve this fantastic fish curry with a plateful of rice and trust me, you would eat the happiest meal ever of your life.

    And, it is all season accompaniment. Therefore, you can make it throughout the year.

    Do follow my simple recipe to make it then?

    Which fish can be used to make this curry?

    I used Seer fish to make this recipe but you can use any fish like pomfret, sardine (Mathi), Mahi Mahi, etc. 

    This curry will taste great with seafood like prawns as well.

    How to make it with coconut milk?

    To make Kerala Fish Curry with coconut milk, instead of adding water in the below-mentioned steps, add 2 cups of thin coconut milk and cook the fish in it.

    Serving Suggestions

    This curry tastes best with steamed rice. However, you can also serve it with appams or parotta.

    Mashed Kappa or Tapioca also tastes great with it. Check out the recipe to make Kappa here.

    You might also like

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    Step By Step Recipe

    Heat coconut oil in a pan. Make sure to make this curry in coconut oil only as it gives a very distinct flavor to the curry.

    Coconut oil heating in a pan.

    Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.

    Mustard seeds and curry leaves added in the pan.

    Add shallots (You can use sliced onion if shallots are not available), ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry until they turn golden brown. 

    Shallots, ginger, garlic and green chillies added in the pan.

    Mix coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder and fenugreek powder in a bowl.

    Dry spices added in a bowl.

    Add a few drops of water and make a thick paste. Do not add too much water while making the paste otherwise, it will not brown properly.

    Water added in the bowl to make a paste.

    Add this paste in the pan.

    Paste added in the pan.

    Fry until it turns brown. It will take 3-4 minutes to fry the paste.

    Paste fried till brown.

    Now add 2 cups of water and kudampuli and bring it to a boil. If using coconut milk, replace water with thin coconut milk.

    water and kadampuli added in the pan.

    Simmer the heat. Add fish and salt to taste and cook for 8-10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and let the curry rest for 2-3 hours for the flavors to mature. Heat once more before serving. Serve hot with rice.

    Fish Added in the pan.

    Recipe Card

    Loved this recipe?Click here to leave a review and give us a five star rating ★★★★★
    Kerala Fish Curry is a traditional Malabari dish and is a tad spicy curry.

    Kerala Fish Curry Recipe

    Kerala Fish Curry is a traditional Malabari dish and is a tad spicy curry. 
    4.20 from 40 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 326kcal
    Author: Neha Mathur

    Ingredients 

    • 3 tablespoon Coconut Oil
    • ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
    • 10-12 Curry Leaves
    • 15-20 Shallots (Sliced)
    • 2 teaspoon Ginger (Grated)
    • 2 tablespoon Garlic (Chopped)
    • 1-2 Green Chilli (Slit into half)
    • 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
    • 2 tablespoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon Fenugreek Powder
    • 2-3 pieces Kudampuli
    • Salt to taste
    • 600 g Fish
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    Instructions

    • Heat coconut oil in a pan.
    • Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
    • Add shallots, ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry until they turn golden brown.
    • Mix coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder and fenugreek powder in a bowl.
    • Add a few drops of water and make a thick paste.
    • Add this paste in the pan and fry util it turns brown.
    • Now add 2 cups of water and kudampuli and bring it to a boil.
    • Simmer the heat.
    • Add fish and salt to taste and cook for 8-10 minutes.
    • Remove the pan from heat and let the curry rest for 2-3 hours for the flavours to mature.
    • Heat once more before serving.
    • Serve hot with rice.

    Notes

    This curry tastes best when made in earthen pot or manchatti. I didn't had it so made it in a regular kadai.
    Serve this curry at least 3-4 hours after making it. The flavours will mature with time and it will even get more delicious the next day.
    If you do not have access to kudampuli, do try the recipe with tamarind and I am sure you will not be disappointed. Kokum can also be added for a Kadampuli like taste.
    You may use any fish for making this smoky, pungent curry. I have used Seer fish.
    This curry is piping hot red in colour because we add loads of Kashmiri red chilli powder to it. So, it doesn't get too spicy but still gets the colour.
    You can always choose to reduce the amount of chilli used as per your liking. I love spicy food and this quantity of chilli suits my taste perfectly.
    I have used coconut oil to make this dish as it contributes awesomely to the flavours. However, you may use any other oil that you deem fit.
    Plus, mustard seeds, ginger garlic and fenugreek seeds makes this dish flavourful. Hence, do add them without fail, ladies.
    Adding a sprinkling of Kerala Garam Masala at end makes it even more delicious.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 194mg | Potassium: 880mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1305IU | Vitamin C: 62.6mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 3mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating





    1. Sera

      May 14, 2018 at 4:46 pm

      5 stars
      Very authentic and real tasty..I love Kerala dishes

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        May 15, 2018 at 1:35 am

        Thnx a lot 🙂

        Reply
        • Sumi Bhaskar

          June 01, 2020 at 8:00 am

          Extremely delicious..

          Reply
          • Neha Mathur

            June 01, 2020 at 1:43 pm

            Thanks 🙂

            Reply
    2. preet

      May 21, 2018 at 1:04 am

      what is kudumpuli? I googled it but I am still unclear.

      Reply
    3. Natasha

      March 14, 2019 at 9:46 am

      5 stars
      This was delicious. Earned me praises from my mother in law 🙂

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        March 15, 2019 at 5:38 am

        I am so glad 🙂

        Reply
    4. Soniya

      April 14, 2019 at 9:00 am

      5 stars
      Simple and tasty !! Tried it today and relished every bit… Thanks a ton for the yummy recipe !

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        April 15, 2019 at 3:01 am

        Thnx a lot for trying.I am glad you liked it.

        Reply
    5. Karen

      June 24, 2019 at 11:15 pm

      4 stars
      I have been craving meen curry for a while now!!! It came out perfectly even tho I adjusted the chilli powder with paprika for my kids. Finger-licking good!!!

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        June 25, 2019 at 3:49 am

        Thanks a lot for trying 🙂

        Reply
      • Amrita

        July 29, 2020 at 12:26 pm

        5 stars
        How do you reduce the taste of kudampulli?

        Reply
        • Neha Mathur

          August 07, 2020 at 7:49 am

          You can add some coconut milk.

          Reply
    6. Carl Silverlock-Eriksen

      November 03, 2019 at 5:58 pm

      Making this now. Having to use tamarind instead of kodampuli because i ran out of that long ago. The keralan guy who gave me some instructed me to soak the kodampuli for half an hour and use the water?
      Made some of the garam masala to pop in at the end. Can’t wait it smells fantastic.
      Thanks for the recipe

      Carl (uk)

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        November 04, 2019 at 4:08 am

        Enjoy Carl 🙂

        Reply
    7. Cheryl DSouza

      January 18, 2020 at 9:35 am

      5 stars
      Love this recipe!

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        January 20, 2020 at 2:39 pm

        Thanks 🙂

        Reply
    8. Hazanath Ashraf

      April 22, 2020 at 12:10 pm

      Neha, I absolutely loved it, came out well with coconut milk.This is going to be my go to recipe for fish curry..Thanks alot

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        April 23, 2020 at 4:31 am

        Thanks for trying 🙂

        Reply
    9. Shivi

      June 21, 2020 at 1:42 am

      5 stars
      I started making this recipe with turmeric frequently now. It tastes awesome

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        June 21, 2020 at 4:00 am

        Nice 🙂

        Reply
    10. Justin

      July 23, 2020 at 6:40 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks Neha ji for this recipe …Worked wonders

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        July 24, 2020 at 2:29 am

        Happy to hear 🙂

        Reply
    11. Sridhar Krishna

      July 24, 2020 at 9:50 am

      4 stars
      Concise and easy to follow – very happy with the results. Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        July 26, 2020 at 3:28 am

        Thanks

        Reply
    12. Valonka

      August 01, 2020 at 8:02 am

      5 stars
      Hi Neha! Thank you for your yummylicious recipe. Just made this for dinner a bit later today and can’t wait for the glowing reviews! (Of course, that’s what I’m hoping for!)😅 If I don’t get them, it would only be because I didn’t do a good job following your recipe!!

      Reply
      • Neha Mathur

        August 02, 2020 at 1:11 pm

        I hope your family liked the dish.

        Reply
    13. Stella

      December 22, 2022 at 2:32 pm

      5 stars
      I made this dish for my fiance, he was so impressed! He said it tasted as good as his mother’s.

      Reply

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