TARIDAAR COPRAY CHI MUCHEE

Guess what? I am posting another recipe for a simple fish curry! Ian enjoys fish as much he enjoys his veggies,poultry and meat.So I enjoy frying fish and making curries with it for him. He calls is 'Mee Mee' fry and waits for me to finish mixing rice, yogurt and fish for him to start eating. Every time he sees me draining freshly cooked rice, he would ask me for 'Mee Mee' fry :-) It melts my heart...every single time!

Ian has grown so much after he turned two. He talks a lot and loves to sing. If you ever come home and need something from the kitchen, you know whom to ask. He know where everything is kept and helps me put away things when we get back home after grocery shopping. I love to see the look on his face when I ask him to do things...he really feels important then!The other day, he saw me put away some story books and asked me to give him one. When I did, he said 'Thank you, Amma!'. I was shocked and couldn't breathe for a second or two. He also blesses us every time we sneeze.His version is,'Bless La Amma!'.Yesterday, we were at the mall for Toddler Tuesdays, and met a reader's cousin for lunch. Someone at the restaurant we were eating sneezed, and I heard a small voice saying, Bless La ! next to me. I wonder how they learn how to connect things!

Getting back to this delicious simple curry. This is another favourite from Mr. Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries. It is super easy to make and very very tasty! The recipe calls for Kokum and I  have substituted it equally with Gambooge / Kudampuli. Also, this curry uses raw rice as an ingredient! I've never heard of it before and that's one reason why I tried this dish.I've made slight changes to certain ingredients and I have given the measurements accordingly.

TARIDAAR COPRAY CHI MUCHEE
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds skinless catfish filets, cut up
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut
2 tablespoon long- grain white rice
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 dried Thai or cayenne chilies, stems removed
5 pieces dried black kokums/gambooge, each roughly 2 inches long and 1 inch wide
1/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup finely choppped red onion
3 fresh green Serrano chili,chopped fine

Method:
Sprinkle salt over the fish,spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and let them chill in the fridge,covered,for 30 minutes.Meanwhile pour 1/2 cup water into a blender jar and add the coconut,rice, coriander seeds,peppercorns, turmeric and dried chilies. Puree, scraping as needed,to make a thick paste.
Combine kokum with the boiling water and let it steep for 10-15 mins. Squeeze the fruit to extract the pulp and discard the fruit.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat .Add onions and chilies and stir fry until the onion is light brown around the edges and the chilies smell pungent,2-3 minutes. Ad the ground coconut paste and stir-fry until the spices and coconut form a thin yellow film on the bottom,1-2 minutes. Pour 1 1/2 cup water into the blender jar and swish it around to wash it out. Pour this to the skillet and scrape the bottom to deglaze it. Submerge the fish filets,in a single layer,in the sun-yellow sauce and cover the skillet. Poach gently, turning the fish halfway through cooking once,12-15 minutes.Add the kokum water,swirl the pan gently to get it mixed in.Adjust salt,simmer for a minute or two and serve hot!

This curry pairs well with Kerala Matta Rice,Basmati Rice or even Sona Masoori rice. We like to eat fish curries with Kerala Matta Rice mostly because how the mouth feel is. The grains are bigger, chubbier and starchy. It is truly a delectable fish curry with a twist from my usual ones. Jobin thinks this curry is delicious and I agree to it 100%!

CREAMY TOMATO & COCONUT FISH CURRY

Ijust realised that I don't experiment a lot with fish. It usually is served in the form of a Fish Fry, a Meen Vevichathu or a Kannur Style Meen Curry. I never went beyond that because I never felt the need to.I was very happy with the same old curry or maybe an occassional Malabar Fish Masala & a Fish Moilee. A few days ago, I was browsing through Monica's cookbook and realised that she had many recipes for seafood and her signature Fish Curry caught my attention.

It's simplicity is beyond words.The texture is super creamy and the curry tastes very mild even though there's a kick from the serrano and the bite from the cayenne.I was tempeted to add more cayenne than what she had suggested but later realised that it would have been a bit too much. Or,it could be the brand of chilli powder that I am using.The heat varies from brand to brand.So add accordingly.And the beautiful red mini cocotte that the curry is served was gifted to us by Honey Sarah Naveen,when we met her back in June.

After Ian was born, I know my day (s)can be unpredictable.I cannot predict what I will have to run after, as soon as I put my hand in to the tray of raw fish/meat/poultry.It could be him climbing on our sofa, on our ottoman or even our LazyBoy!Luckily, he is very sensible for his age.He is careful about what he does. Even though I am running behind him clearing up whatever he pulls out or drops, I am constantly thinking of what to cook/bake next!

Many of you ask me how I manage my day/daily chores with a baby on my hips! The thing is, to be honest, I really don't care! I just do what I have to without thinking much. I've noticed that I've been cooking a lot more than what I used to,before he came into our lives. I think it's because I need something else to concetrate other than just the baby.Cooking is such a pleasure for me. Whenever I cook, I give it my full concentration. I've even noticed that I enjoy peeling garlic and ginger so much more than before,just so that I can get busy in my head,in my own world. I have always been 'from the scratch' kinda cook but now, I am obsessed.I even bake our daily bread! Baby magic? Well, I like to think so :-) That keeps me going!

CREAMY TOMATO & COCONUT FISH CURRY

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
3 big cloves of garlic, crushed
1 inch ginger,grated
2 serrano chilies, chopped
10 curry leaves
1 large tomato,chopped
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, to start with
1 pound fish, cut into bite sized pieces
Scant 1 cup thick coconut milk

Method: Heat oil in a large pan. Add the mustard seeds and when it pops, add crushed garlic,grated ginger, chopped serrano chilies & curry leaves and saute for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomato and cook it for 10-12 minutes or until you get to see the oil released. If it is sticking, add a little bit of water to aid the process.Add the powders and saute for minute. Now, add in the fish,stir and let it cook for 5 minutes. Then, add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.Reduce the heat and let the curry simmer until the fish is cooked.Serve hot with steamed rice.

Getting back to the curry. It was absolutely marvelous and we loved it. I mopped it up with some homemade Milk Bread (the one you just saw in a photograph above).There's something magical about simplicity in recipes and if you want to be a believer,I insist you to give this recipe a try.
Ian loves his toy fish. So when I was feeding him, I told him that he was having rice with fish(chorum-mee mee-um).As he gobbled it up, I could see his little eyes wandering around to locate his favourite toy! I couldn't help but smile and the same time felt sad thinking what must have gone through that little innocent mind of his :-)