This recipe is for Meen Vattichathu, a South Indian fish curry. It involves marinating fish fillets in lemon juice, salt, and turmeric, then cooking the fish in a coconut oil-based sauce. The sauce is made by sautéing mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, green chili, and shallots in coconut oil. Chili powder, Kashmiri chili powder, tamarind paste, and salt are then added to the sauce. Finally, the marinated fish is gently added to the sauce and simmered until cooked through. The finished curry is garnished with fried curry leaves.

1. Chef Ashokkumar
Meen Vattichathu
Ingredients
1kg Mackeral or Red Snapper
3 gms Mustard Seeds
3 gms Fenugreek Seeds
Few Sprigs of Curry Leaves
30 ml Coconut Oil
100 gms Shallots, Peeled and Sliced
15 gms Fresh Ginger Chopped
15 gms Garlic Chopped
20 gms Fresh Green Chili Slit lengthwise
25 gms Kudam Puli (Tamarind),
Salt To taste
15 gms Red Chili Powder
10 gms Kashmiri Chili Powder
5 gm Turmeric Powder
20 gms Lemon Juice or Vinegar
Procedure

2. Chef Ashokkumar
Clean the fish and cut as desired and marinate with lemon juice salt
and turmeric.
Heat Coconut oil in a heavy bottom pan add mustard seeds, fenugreek
seeds add curry leaves.
Add the Chopped Ginger, Garlic , Green Chili and Shallots to this and
sauté.
Add Chili Powder, Kashmiri Chili Powder to it. Moisten it with some
water and stir until no lumps.
Simmer until the oil separates from the curry.
Add the kudam puli and salt to taste and bring to a boil again.
Add the marinated fish carefully. Do not stir this.
Simmer until done.
Garnish with fried curry leaves.
Serve with rice, tapioca, dosa or appam!