Meen Peera (Fish with Grated Coconut)

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Meen Peera (Fish with Grated Coconut)

Meen Peera (Fish with Grated Coconut) is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic curry of small fish in a lightly-spiced coconut and tamarind based gravy. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Fish with Grated Coconut (Meen Peera).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

15 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Curry Spice Recipes Indian Recipes

Meen peera, a very traditional way of cooking fish with coconut, tamarind and just a little spice. Very small fish like anchovies or sprats (also called netholi or kozhuva) are traditionally used in this recipe. If you don’t have small fish (sprats or whitebait are available frozen) you can use any firm fish, just slice the flesh to resemble small fish. This is a very popular Keralan stir-fry dish.

Ingredients:

For the Coconut Mixture:
45g (1/2 cup) fresh coconut, grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 cm (1/2 in) fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (turmeric powder)
1 tsp red chilli powder

For the Fish Coconut Stir Fry:
500g (1 lb) small fish, cleaned and heads removed- anchovies (netholi or kozhuva), whitebait or very small sardines
85g (1/2 cup) shallots, finely chopped
3 slices coccum (kokam) soaked in 60ml (1/4 cup) warm water
1 large green chilli, chopped
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (turmeric powder)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
60ml (1/4 cup) water
2 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

For the coconut mixture: Combine the coconut, ginger, garlic, ground turmeric and red chilli powder in a food processor. Process to a coarse paste, scrape into a bowl and aside.

Combine the fish, shallots, coconut mixture, coccum, green chillies, curry leaves, ground turmeric, red chilli powder and ground black pepper in a large, lidded, frying pan (or traditionally a clay pot); a tagine will also work. Season the ingredients with salt and stir to combine. Set over low heat and cook, covered, for 10-12 minutes or until fish is cooked through and the mixture is dry.

Turn into a bowl, drizzle with coconut oil and serve.