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Meen Mulakittathu (Kerala Red Fish Curry)

Meen Mulakittathu (Kerala Red Fish Curry) is a traditional Indian recipe (from Kerala) for a deep red curry of cubed fish in a lightly-spiced gravy with kokum. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Kerala Red Fish Curry (Meen Mulakittathu).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

35 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurrySpice RecipesIndian Recipes

This is a deep red fish curry from Kerala that includes kokum amongst the Ingredients. Kokum, Garcinia indica is a plant in the mangosteen family. The name kokum is also applied to the outer cover of the fruit that is dried and used in cooking as an astringent that yields a deep red colour and is often used instead of tamarind in South Indian cookery. For this dish you need fillets of firm fish that you can cut into large cubes. Good examples would be king fish, barramundi, tilapia, black bream, mackerel (horse mackerel), angelfish, hake, barracuda and snapper. Salmon works well too.

Ingredients:

3 large kokum
2 tbsp oil (coconut oil for authenticity)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
7 shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced
3cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, sliced
2 green chillies, slit
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (turmeric powder)
3 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander (coriander powder), (optional)
1 and 1/2 cups water
500g (1 lb) fish, cleaned and cut into 5cm (2 in) cubes (I used salmon)
2 sprigs of curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

Rinse the kokum then place in a bowl, pour over 60ml (¼ cup) warm water and set aside to infuse.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds and fry until they crackle and splutter. At this pint add one sprig of curry leaves and fry for few seconds. Add shallots, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Fry, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until browned.

Now, add garlic, ginger and green chillies. Fry, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes or until fragrant. At this point reduce the heat to low and add the ground turmeric, ground coriander (if using), and red chilli powder. Fry, stirring frequently, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

Add 360ml (1 1/2 cups) water and season to taste with salt. Stir the ingredients to combine and bring to boil. Add fish pieces the soaked kokum (with its water water) and a sprig of curry leaves. Stir gently to combine.

Cook the mixture, covered, for about 6-7 minutes or until fish is cooked through. If you need to stir, be very gentle as the cooked fish pieces are delicate.

Turn the curry into a warmed serving bowl and serve accompanied by rice or flatbreads.