Kerala Meen (Fish) Curry

Kerala Meen Curry is a traditional tangy and spicy fish curry from Kerala Cuisine. Fresh fish is cooked with basic ground spices, kudampuli, curry leaves and coconut milk, to get a really rich and smoky dish. This one-pot classic is simple to make and uses minimal spices but will surprise you with tons of flavors. Kerala Fish Curry is usually served with plain rice, matta rice, appam, idiyappam, puttu or parottas. But it goes well even with dosas, idli or any kind of flatbreads like roti & chapati.

About Kerala Fish Curry

Every home in Kerala has a generational recipe to make Meen Curry but surprisingly most of them use nearly the same basic ingredients like shallots, ginger, garlic and kudam puli. The main difference lies in the usage of coconut.

While a few don’t use coconut, a lot of people use either fresh grated coconut or coconut milk and this is what determines the taste, richness and consistency of the meen curry. My recipe uses coconut milk and you may use canned unsweetened milk or make homemade milk from raw grated coconut, following my instructions below.

Kudampuli also known as gambooge, malabar tamarind or black tamarind is the star ingredient of this dish. It’s a sour fruit that looks like a tiny light green/yellow pumpkin. These fruits are harvested, dried and smoked, so they can be preserved for years. Kudampuli imparts a deep smoky flavor and also acts as a preservative keeping the cooked food fresh for longer time.

It is easily available on amazon or in any Indian grocery stores. There is no substitute for this fruit but in a pinch you can use regular sour Indian tamarind or kokum. Though you will miss out the smoky flavors of the malabar tamarind, your dish will still be great because the substitutes like tamarind and kokum will impart some tang to the curry.

All other ingredients used in this recipe are staples of Indian cuisine and you don’t need garam masala or any strong spices here. For a traditional Kerala Fish Curry, let the flavor of kudampuli shine through & avoid adding too many different spices because that will alter the flavors. Using too much canned coconut milk will tone down the required flavors.

If you can’t have coconut milk, omit it but cut down the chili, salt & kudampuli to half the amounts. In this case you will need more water. Meen curry without coconut milk will still taste good but a little runny and that’s how a lot of people make it. I’ve a expert tips section below, please take a look before you make the dish.

Photo Guide

How to make Kerala Meen Curry (Stepwise photos)

Preparation

1. Rinse 3 to 4 kudampuli under running water to get rid of any smoked debris on the surface. Soak them in ¼ cup hot water. Prep-up the following ingredients

• 2 sprigs curry leaves (rinse & pat dry)
• 1 inch peeled ginger (15 grams) 
• 4 large garlic cloves (15 grams)
• 2 green chilies / serrano peppers slit
• ¾ to 1 cup shallots or small red onions (110 grams, I use 2 parts yellow onion and 1 part red onion as a substitute for Indian shallots)
• ½ cup tomato (1 medium sized, not pictured)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 to 2½ tablespoons Kashmiri red chili powder (or use any other mild chili powder, adjust to spice tolerance, I use the higher amounts)
• 1½ tablespoon coriander powder
• ½ tsp methi/ fenugreek seeds powder (omit if you don’t have, I use roasted seed powder)

2. Fine shop or crush or process onions, ginger and garlic to a coarse mixture in a food processor or chopper. (Do not puree).

3. Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, 1 sprig curry leaves, green chilies, crushed ginger, garlic, and shallots/ onions to a wide pot/ braiser.

4. Saute until the onions soften for 6 to 7 mins. While you saute these, add diced tomato to the same chopper/processer, crush or process it. (I prefer to deseed the tomato first)

5. Add the crushed tomatoes & saute until they breakdown and lose the raw smell. Takes another 4 to 5 mins.

6. Stir in the chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric and salt. I used 1½ teaspoon sea salt. You may start with lower amount – 1 tsp and adjust.

7. Add the soaked kudampuli along with the soaking water & deglaze the pan.

8. Immediately pour coconut milk.

• If using canned, use a 9 oz / 270 ml can. Pour ¾ cup canned coconut milk + ¾ cup water. (180 ml each). Reserve the rest to add at the end.
• If using homemade coconut milk – pour 1½ cups thin milk (360 ml). To make the homemade milk– grind 1¼ cup grated raw coconut with ½ cup water. Strain to get half cup thick coconut milk. Reserve this for later. Add 1 cup water & the pulp back to blender. Grind & strain to get thin coconut milk. You need 1½ cups thin milk. Add more water if required to make the thin amount.

9. Bring to a boil and cook covered for 3 to 4 mins.

Make the Curry

10. Gently slide in ½ to ¾ kg fish pieces (1½ lbs), cut to 1 inch thick steaks. In the pics, I used 6 weighing about 660 grams. You can add more or less but don’t overcrowd the pan else the fish can disintegrate.

11. Swirl the pan gently to coat the fish with the liquid or gently push them into the liquid.

12. Cover and cook for 10 mins.

13. Add the remaining ⅓ cup (80 ml) canned coconut milk (or ⅓ to ½ cup thick homemade milk).

14. Continue to simmer uncovered, until fully cooked through, 5 mins. Taste test to adjust salt. It will still be slightly runny but will thicken after cooling down a bit.

15. This was the consistency after 7 to 8 mins of cooling down. This curry tastes best after resting for a few hours or the next day. Refrigerate and reheat when you are ready to serve.

Tempering

Make the tempering only when you are ready to serve.

16. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil in a small pan and optionally add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds (I don’t use). When they splutter, add 3 tablespoons of sliced shallots/ red onions, 1 sprig curry leaves and 2 broken dried red chilies. Fry until the onions turn deep golden & caramelized but not burnt. Pour this over the finished Kerala fish curry.

Serve Kerala Meen Curry with appam, idiyappam, puttu, dosa, plain rice, brown rice/ matta rice or your prefered grain. It also goes well with any flatbreads.

Expert Tips

• Canned coconut milk: I use a 270 ml / 9 oz can. Using a lot will dilute the flavors and the heat level. Sometimes I also make homemade coconut milk using frozen grated raw coconut from India. I’ve shared the process in the instructions. Don’t use steamed grated coconut or coconut flakes.
• Shallots/Onions: Traditionally red shallots/ Indian shallots/ sambar onions are used. For me, it’s an extra trip to the Indian store so I end up using 2 parts yellow onion and 1 part medium sized red onion (75 grams + 35 grams). This gives me the same flavor as the red shallots. Avoid using large purple/red onions but you may use only medium sized red onions if you want.
• Fish: Any fresh firm fish is alright to use here. I use spanish mackerel, also known as neymeen, king fish, vanjaram, seer fish or surmai. Other suitable fishes are mahi mahi, snapper, cod & salmon. Steak cuts are best rather than fillets as they don’t fall part when cooked and stored longer.
• Tempering adds another layer of flavors. But if you want to omit, add the mustard seeds, and red chilies right at the beginning with onions & curry leaves. Pour the coconut oil before turning off the stove. This adds a distinct coconut flavor.
• Methi seeds: Fenugreek seeds or powder add a great unique aroma to this dish. You may use 1/4 tsp seeds right at the beginning. Fry them in oil for a minute and then add the onions. My family don’t like to bite into the seeds, so I prefer using roasted methi powder.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card