Fish Curry from Kochi

The first thing that caught my attention during my drive from Cochin to Peermedu was the number of stores selling fresh fish. While our car waited at traffic signal, I saw great variety of fresh fish, carefully displayed. In Mumbai, this sight is rare, we get fish only in fish market or in cold storage store.

So, I gathered that fish is the favorite meal in Cochin. We drove four hours away from Cochin to high altitude of Peermedu, surrounded by lush green tea gardens. We  stayed in a private bunglow and we were lucky to have three cooks on call. Kitchen was the interesting place to be, it always is, for me. It was well stocked with fresh organic vegetables from nearby farm and ofcourse fish. During our five days stay at tea gardens, we had fish almost everyday. My vegetarian friends wondered how we could eat fish everyday. They know not that taste differs from different fishes.

Moreover. Fish is good for health

Fish is a high-protein, low-fat food that provides a range of health benefits. White-fleshed fish, in particular, is lower in fat than any other source of animal protein, and oily fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, or the "good" fats. Since the human body can’t make significant amounts of these essential nutrients, fish are an important part of the diet. Also, fish are low in the "bad" fats commonly found in red meat, called omega-6 fatty acids.

Source: http://seafood.edf.org/benefits-eating-fish

One afternoon I decided to watch the cook prepare the typical fish curry. I am always interested in learning new traditional ways of cooking. Each region in India have their own style of cooking. This one was really tasty, luckily I had clicked pictures so now I will be able to reproduce the dish whenever I wish.

The helpers were most willing to teach us.

All the ingredients were kept ready for the demo. 

The fish cleaned and chopped in square pieces, 

coconut, turmeric powder and onions ground to a thick paste. 

Garlic, ginger and chilies chopped and 

chopped tomatoes ready for use.

Cooking becomes easy if all the ingredients are kept ready for use and within easy reach.

Step by step for making fish curry

Heat oil

Add musturd seeds

Add garlic ginger small onions and green chillies

Add tomatoes

Add turmeric, coconut and red chillie paste

Add kokum

Add fish

Add Salt

Add Curry leaves

Cover n let it cook

Add roasted, ground fenugreek seeds for garnishing

It tasted great with steamed rice and tomato chili chutney (cooked specially for me).