Neimeen Porichathu - Spiced Masala Fish Fry

To boost your immune system in present day circumstances, with swine flu around. It's good to eat healthy and remain healthy. Including fish in your diet is a good way to help build immunity, as fish is a rich source of glutamine.
Now to the recipe to make a delicious fish fry with, Neimeen /Seer fish. A ground spicy masala is used to marinate the fish, then coated with rawa /semolina and deep fried along with a lot of curry leaves fried in the oil. I noticed when i fried curry leaves in the oil before placing the fish, the fish didn't stick to the pan ( when usually fish sticks to the pan ). So curry leaves imparts flavor and also gives a non-stick effect.

Ingredients

5 to 6 - Neimeen /Seer fish slices

To marinate

4 to 5 - Green chili
1'' piece - Ginger
2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Black pepper corns
2 sprigs - Curry leaves
Salt to taste

To Coat

1/2 cup - Idli rawa /Semolina

For frying

Coconut oil
6 to 8 sprigs - Curry leaves, washed & dried

Method

1 ) Make a smooth paste of the ingredients listed for marinating with little water. Apply and coat well on the fish slices. Marinate for 30 minutes.

2 ) On to a plate spread rawa. Take one fish slice at a time and coat rawa on both sides by turning the fish over on both sides. Do likewise to rest of the slices.

3 ) Heat coconut oil in a kadai /wok, add half of the curry leaves to the oil and let it become crisp. Place one or two fish slices on the bed of curry leaves in the oil and fry the fish on low flame. Fry the fish to a golden brown color on both sides. Drain off the oil and transfer to a serving plate. Add more curry leaves and oil to fry the next batch of fish slices.



Serve hot as a starter or as a side dish with rice dishes or rotis.

Fried Ayala / Mackerel Curry

Ayala / Indian Mackerel is a very common fish found in coastal regions of kerala.My mom's neighbour is from kuttanad and this is how she prepares ayala curry. Now this curry has become a favorite in our household for its taste.

Ingredients

To fry fish

6 - Medium size Indian Mackerel, cleaned & cut to pieces
2 tsp - Chili powder
2 tsp - Kashmiri chili powder
1/2 tsp -Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Coconut oil to fry

For curry

3 cups - Coconut milk, freshly extracted
2 '' piece - Ginger, grated
4 - Green chili, slit in center
10 big - Shallots, chopped
3 sprigs - Curry leaves
5 pieces - Kudampuli /Gambooge

Method

1 ) First, mix chili powder, turmeric and salt with little water to make a paste. Apply the paste on fish pieces and marinate for 15 to 30 minutes. Wash Kudampuli well and soak in water for half an hour.

2 ) Heat a big pan or a manchatti with oil. Add fish pieces, 2 or 3 at a time and quick fry the fish pieces on both sides for few seconds. Take off the oil and transfer to a plate. Do not brown the pieces. Fry all the pieces in the same way.

3 ) Add ginger, green chili, shallots, curry leaves, kudampuli and 1 cup water to the pan. Also add the remaining marinade of chilly paste applied on fish. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cook for 5 minutes to let the kudampuli release the tamarind flavors.

4 ) Add fried fish pieces and coconut milk to the pan.Don't leave out the oil that has come out of the fish and on to the plate.Pour that in too. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Taste the curry for salt. Add more salt as required. Take off the stove and serve hot.

Serve hot with rice and pappadam.

Note - Instead of coconut milk, you can grind half shell of a coconut to a smooth paste and add instead of coconut milk for this curry.

I have given more kashmiri chili powder than regular chili powder for the recipe, so that the curry does not turn out too spicy. Please adjust chili powder as per your requirement. Use regular chili powder if you like your curry spicy and kashmiri if you do not.

A Surreal Effect On A Sunday Morning !

A surreal effect on the skylines of mumbai on a sunday morning. A beautiful rainbow formed with dark clouds forming in the background and rain showers slowly sweeping in from a far distance, hitting the effects and slowly erasing away the rainbow that became so very prominent when the clouds darkened. This lasted for less that 5 minutes. Showers took away the rainbow and the clouds cleared out..making it sunny all the way again.

I am not sure if i was able to capture, the real effects the sky had with my camera....but still just to share with my reader something i captured from my 7 th floor balcony in a hurry before the effects faded away. Was not able to capture the whole rainbow in one frame....but then could see the start and end of it...and maybe i should go looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow :)

Have a great weekend !

Neichoru / Ghee Rice

Neichoru, which means rice flavoured with ghee and spices that gives a special aroma to this simple rice preparation. Mostly prepared for special occasions to accompany with rich gravy curries like fish mollee, chicken or mutton stew or any meat gravy preparations.

Ingredients

2 cups - Basmati rice
4 cups - Water
1 - Onion, thinly sliced
4 - cloves
2 inch long - Cinnamon
4 tbsp - Ghee
Salt to taste

Garnishing

2 - Onions, thinly sliced
Few golden raisins
Few cashew nuts

Method

1 ) Wash rice and drain very well.

2 ) In a deep heavy bottom utensil, heat ghee, add cinnamon and cloves. Fry for a few seconds, then add onion and fry till onion is translucent. Now add the drained rice and on simmer, fry the rice well in ghee, till you can hear ' tick tick ' sound.

3 ) Meanwhile in another utensil, place 4 cups water on stove and bring to a boil and switch off the stove. Now carefully, with stove on simmer, pour water into the rice utensil. Add salt to taste and stir once. Close with a tight lid and cook on simmer for 5 minutes. Once the rice has absorbed all the water and is cooked, switch off the stove. Do not open the lid now. Keep it closed for 10 to 15 minutes. Then open the lid and gently stir the rice.

4 ) To garnish - Heat 3 to 4 tbsp ghee, simmer then add raisins and fry till raisins plump up. Drain off from the ghee and set aside. Now add cashew nuts and fry, till cashews turns lightly brown. Drain and set aside along with raisins. Now add onion, sprinkle little sugar on top, to speed up onion caramelising. Fry till onion turns golden brown. Drain and set aside.

5 ) Mix little of the fried onion, cashew and raisin with the rice and set aside some to garnish finally on top of the rice, when serving. Serve rice on a platter, then on top of the rice, garnish with fried onion, cashew and raisins.

Serve hot with any meat gravy preparation. I served ghee rice with fish mollee, pappadam and raita.