Traditional Kerala Recipe for Meen Vevichathu or Red Fish Curry

Made from using the goodness of Cambodia or kudampuli, this dish is very popular in the southern state of Kerala in India. This traditional dish also bears the names’meen vevichathu ‘ and even ‘kudampuli itta meen curry‘and takes less than half an hour to cook to perfection. You can use any type of Indian fish, but for this recipe I used Indian salmon fish (rawas). The dish is delicious with steamed rice, kappa (tapioca), chapatti (wheat flatbreads), puttu (steamed rice cakes), pathiri (rice cakes) … everything that you like !

So here’s how you can prepare it …

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Step 1: Wash and clean the pieces of fish thoroughly. Once you’ve drained the water, keep it aside.

Step 2: Then wash and rinse the cambodia (kudampuli) well and then soak it in half a cup of water for 10 minutes. While waiting for the cambodia to be soaked, cut the ginger into small pieces, chop the garlic cloves and slice the shallots lengthwise. Keep them aside, in separate bowls.

Step 3: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan (preferably terracotta or manchatti to get the authentic taste), pour two and a half teaspoons of coconut oil. Rotate the pot so that the oil is evenly coated all over the manchatti or earthen pot.

Step 4: Add the fenugreek in the oil and stir. After a few seconds, add the mustard seeds and let it crackle.

Step 5: Lower the heat and add the chopped shallots. Stir for another 30 seconds. Then add the garlic cloves and the chopped ginger and stir again for a few seconds.

Step 6: Add the ginger and garlic paste and sauté until the raw flavor of the mixture is gone.

Step 7: Lower the flame further, then add the chilli powder and turmeric powder. Sauté for a few more seconds. Make sure your mixture isn’t overly fried or burnt.

Step 8: Add water and the soaked cambodia in the mixture. Adjust the salt to taste and also add a pinch of asafoetida (hing).

Step 9: Finally, add the pieces of fish and then place three curry leaves on top of the mixture. Let it boil over medium to high heat. Once it begins to boil, close the clay pot with a lid.

Step 10: Cook for about 10 minutes. You can also swirl the pot once or twice to evenly distribute the flavor.

Step 11: Lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes without a lid. You will see the oil settle on the sauce in a thin layer.

Step 12: Extinguish the flame. Let the curry sit for another 30 minutes before serving it with hot tapioca or steamed rice.