PUTTU & KANNUR MEEN CURRY /STEAMED RICE FLOUR CAKES WITH FISH CURRY

Icannot tell you how much I love Kannur Style Meen Curry/Fish Curry.It is such a simple recipe that even a child can make with adult supervision.I have to say, this is my first attempt at making this curry because Janu Chechy was an expert at it and it was her speciality. When I was growing up, I used to eat this at my childhood friend, Babitha's house. Asha aunty is an excellent cook! This curry was there, always at their house. So when I was cooking this curry, I couldn't help but think of all the fun we had as kids at Babitha's house.

We were a gang of 3 girls. Rechana, Babitha and myself. Rechana was elder to the two of us by 6 years or so but that didn't matter. We still enjoyed pretend play as any other kids would do. I used to be the cook flipping out dosas from my pan with a small 'chattugam'/flat steel spoon.Once in a while we used to fight and since we were 3, one of us were 'outside' the group during the fight as 2 of us paired against the other.

I clearly remember we 3 were enrolled for Indian Classical Dance classes which was held at a school very close by to our house in Talap. Finally we got our uniforms for the class which was a 'salwar kameez'. The kameez was off white and the salwar and dupatta were baby pink. We were super excited to have the uniform but myself and Babitha didn't go for the class after that...just being lazy, you know! :-D

So, one day, we had a fight...this time it was me and Babitha against Rechana. We were so angry with her (and I don't even remember why!) and we decided to pour water at her over my boundary wall when she went for the dance class. But it never happened as she was smarter than us :D

When I look back at it, we were just being stupid and silly! I have such good memories with my childhood friends and the best part is we are still connected. Rechana got married 2 days before our wedding and Babitha was one of my bridesmaid. We live continents away but we are still in each other's thoughts!

Do you have such memories of how stupid and silly you were, when you were young? I have plenty of them. I was a single child till I was 8 years old, so I never liked sharing anything , mostly with my cousins (no idea why!). When my cousins used to visit us and if there were chocolates in the fridge, I used to run and hug the fridge so they they wouldn't open it, also thinking that they wouldn't know they were chocolates in it! Imagine how stupid I was!! :-D

That reminds me...I haven't told you how we 3 became friends right? It's funny, atleast how Babitha and I became friends. That's for another post...I hope I haven't bored you . Now let's move to the recipe :-)

PUTTU with KANNUR STYLE MEEN CURRY
My own recipe 

Ingredients:
For Puttu:
Roasted Rice Flour* or Store bought Puttu Podi (Taste Buds, Avis,Nirapara, Double Horse are good brands)
Salt to taste
Water as needed
Freshly grated coconut as need

For the Meen Curry:
1 lbs/ 0.5 kg King fish (can use sardines, mackerel, shrimp etc)
1c freshly grated coconut
1 tsp turmeric powder
6 green chillies
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 lime sized ball of tamarind
1/2 c warm water
Salt to taste
3 tbsp coconut oil

Method:
For Puttu:
In a large bowl, mix together the salt and rice flour. Sprinle water to it and mix well.Start with half the qty of flour that you are taking.
When you press a ball of flour, it should hold it's shape and not crumble down. If you have reached that consistency, stop adding water. Pass this mixture through a sieve to remove the lumps.Leave it aside for 15 mins.
Take your puttu maker *, add some grated coconut followed by the rice flour mixture. Never ever press the puttu podi into the puttu maker, it just needs to be spooned in.
Bring to boil some water in a pressure cooker. When the steam comes, insert the puttu maker into the nozzle where the steam comes out. Let it steam till you can see steam passing through the puttu maker which will happen in less than 2 mins.
De-mould it and serve hot with Fish Curry.

Fish Curry:
Grind the coconut and turmeric powder. Add water to aid it in grinding.
Add the warm water to the tamarind and set it aside for 5 mins. Squeeze out the pulp and strain.
Add the red chilli powder, green chillies and salt to the tamarind pulp and mix.
Heat oil, add the ground masala and the tamarind pulp.
Once it comes to a boil, add the fish and let it cook.
If you think you need to add more water,add it and give it a boil.
Check for salt .

Notes:
*The rice flour used for Puttu is not super fine, it has to be coarse. The super fine variety is used for Idiappam/String Hoppers. So make sure you have the right one.If you are in doubt, go for the store bought powder made specially for Puttu.
* Puttu maker usually comes in a cylindrical form but Amma always made it in 'Cheratta'/Coconut shells and her shells are as old as I am :) I wanted to get one here but in the last minute hurry all I could manage was this commercially made 'Aluminium' Cheratta. If you are using any other kind of puttu maker, please follow the manufacturers instructions.

* If you do not own a puttu maker, you can still make it by steaming it in a plate . Simple! But this time, you will keep it inside the cooker/steamer and not over it as I did :)

Verdict: It goes without saying how much I love this curry rather the combo! Try it and you will know why I like it :)

I am sending  the deliciousness to The Kerala Kitchen.

MEEN VEVICHATHU / KERALA STYLE RED FISH CURRY

Kerala style fish curry could be made in millions of ways because each household has a recipe of their own! How diverse can we get ? :) This recipe is the way Amma makes Fish Curry at home so it has the Alleppy- Kottayam- Changanaserry style in it and it is DEELICIOUS! I cannot emphasize enough on that because I haven't had many fish curry's which tastes as good as hers.

Now that was the red colour fish curry made with Kokum/Kudampuli. The place I grew up,Kannur, has another take over fish curry. It's yellow in colour and is made with Sambar puli/Tamarind and also has ground coconut in it. Trust me, I can drink that curry and I have done so! It is so tasty but I have never tried my hand at it which I will, very soon! Janu chechy, our maid at home for the last almost 30 years makes the best Kannur Meen Curry/Fish Curry. She is really old and I don't think she can see clearly anymore but when she makes the fish curry, it is just WOW! I also love her 'Pacchadi' and had written it down in my diary as Janu chechy's Pacchadi :-)

This particular red colour fish curry, which I will refer to as Meen Curry now on is not that easy to master. I think the main problem comes in balancing the 'puli'/tanginess with salt. My first attempt at it was in 10th standard and I produced a decent curry. I don't even remeber how it tasted because along with that curry I had made 33 others too. It was for a competition at the District level from school that I had participated in. We had to cook as many dishes as possible in 3 hours using a Kerosene stove and nutritious ingredients. There was no way that we could use a pressure cooker to speed up the process.It had to be a balanced meal and we had to cook breakfast items, lunch items, 4'o clock tea snacks and dinner items, in 3 hours! I managed to make the most number of dishes (34) which included varitey of Puttu,Fish curries,Sambar,Banana Fritters etc. I don't even remember the list as it was 10 years ago!

My recent attempt at it for the first time after wedding was a half flop, according to me. I really didn't like the colour of the curry, it was orangish and not the maroon red I wished for. Jobin and his mom said the curry tasted fine but I just couldn't accept that I couldn't cook a basic Meen curry properly! The second time, I paid more attention to it plus Amma's tip of 'sauteeing the masala more' helped tons! I got the beautiful colour and taste since then! So I thought it's time for me to share the recipe and confidence with you all, especially for you guys who are struggling to make a decent Meen curry :-) I know that struggle because I just got over it :-)

MEEN VEVICHATHU
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:
1.5kg fish (I used King Fish/Neimeen/Aikoora. You can use any fish of your choice)
1 small onion, chopped (If you have access to 'chumannulli'/Shallots use that, maybe 4-5 nos.)
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds/Uluva
2 sprigs of curry leaves
11/2 tbsp red chili powder (I use a mix of Kashmiri and Hot chili powder,Kashmiri gives colour to the curry)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp fenugreek powder
4 pieces of Kokum soaked in 1 c warm water (for 10 mins)
1/4 c Coconut Oil (you can substitute it with vegetable/canola oil)
1 c water (optional) for the gravy

Method:
Clean the fish thoroughly using salt and vingear and let it drain.
Heat oil and when it is hot add the fenugreek seeds . Let it change colour lightly.
Add the onions, ground paste ,curry leaves and saute till you get a nice aroma (1-2 mins)
Add in the powders and mix well and saute for 5-6 mins till the colour changes to a nice maroon.
Add in the 1 cup water and kokum +water and let it come to a boil.
Add the fish and swirl the pan lightly so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Let it cook till the fish is done. Taste test it.
If you feel it's tangy (a little) , it's okay. Once the fish absorbs it in, it will be perfect.
If you feel it's a lot tangy, remove the kokum pieces from the curry . You can discard them.
This curry tastes better the next day .
Don't refrigerate the curry. Before you go to sleep, re-heat it and leave it to cool.
Next day morning, re-heat the curry again. This way, the gravy might reduce and will end up sticking to the fish pieces, which is heavenly! But if you want gravy, add some water when you boil the curry.

I never refrigerate the curry, I just re-heat it twice everyday till it is over :-)

Verdict: I am person who can live on Meen curry and rice alone and when I asked Jobin if he liked it the same way, he said 'No'! Infact he really doesn't like fish curry at all! I was devastated (exaggerated, I know!)

But remember that half-flop Meen curry I was talking about? He said he liked that curry and I was like,' This one? I made a real sad curry and you like that??'. Now things have changed and he is a convert,if I may say so :-) He likes Meen Curry now maybe not as much as Dal and Ladiesfinger fry!

Rice, Fish Fry & Thoran -A simple lunch at home :)

This post is all about a quick simple lunch we have at home... my idea of comfort food! :) Almost 90% of Kerala homes has this kind of lunch. A fish fry,thoran/mezhukkuvaratti,rice,papad/pappadaum,curd/moru/sambar & a fruit which is usually our good old 'Poovan' pazham (a variety of plantain available in Kerala). We live on a coastal area...beach is just a 2 minute walk from my house...so fresh sea food is never a problem! Guess that applies to the whole of Kerala :)

So today the show is all about Fish fry,Cabbage thoran,Rice & Papad/Pappadam :)

Kerala Fish Fry:

Ingredients:

Fish (anykind like sardines, mackerel etc) - 4-5 cleaned & slitted

Chilli powder- 1-1 1/2 tbsp ( depending on your spice tolerance level & also the type of chilli powder used. We mix Kashmiri chilli powder + normal red chilli powder so that it has a beautiful colour and is not too spicy)

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Water- enough to make a thick paste with with the above masala

Salt to taste

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Oil- 4-5 tbsp for frying ( We use coconut oil and we absolutely LOVE it! That brings out the 'Kerala/nadan' taste ! :D )

Method:

• Make a paste using the powders,salt and water. It should be slightly thick.
• Apply it onto the cleaned fish.Rub it slightly.
• Leave it aside for 10-15 mins.
• Heat oil in a shallow pan, add the curry leaves

I can live on Fish Fry, Rice and Curd :)

It's a simple n easy veggie preparation where in you can sub cabbage for any other veggie :) How about making it simple and nutritious?? Try cabbage & carrot thoran...it's very colourful too! :)

Cabbage Thoran:

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 250 g finely sliced

Onions-1 medium ,finely chopped

Green chillies-2,slitted

Coconut- 1/2 cup grated

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Salt-to taste

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Oil-2-3 tbsp ( we use coconut oil)

Water- 4-5 tbsp

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients except mustard seeds,oil and water well in a bowl.
• Heat oil, add the mustard seeds, let it splutter.
• Add the vegetables. Mix well. Let it cook uncovered for 2-3 mins.
• Sprinkle the water over it. Stir well.
• Cover with a lic and cook on low flame till done stiring in between.
• Check for salt ..
• Serve hot!

The 'thoran' I love the most is Cabbage thoran! I can eat just that...no need of rice :)

This is the speciality of Kerala! No where else will you find people using this fat rice :) But trust me... if you want to get the exact Kerala taste this is a must! And I just cannot have 'kanji' (gruel) with anyother rice! Ah! LOVE YA boiled rice! :*

Rice:

Ingredients:

Boiled rice

Water

Salt

Method :

• We usually boil rice in plenty of water and drain out the excess so that the starch is removed completely.

Here comes a highly addictive accompaniment to rice! For me I can munch on it anytime!! :P For those who don't know about this crunchy beauty...it's something like a deep fried wafer :D

Pappadum:

Pappadums (store bought/homemade)

Oil

• Heat the oil and deep fry them.
• Drain them on paper towels and store them in airtight containers.

Plantains have many varieties like 'Poovan' 'Palayamkodan' etc... I love 'poovan'variety the most!! This is widely eaten after lunch as a dessert...especially by elders!

And have you ever tried having Pazham(plantains) pappadam & neyy( ghee/clarified butter) with a spoonful of sugar?? If not...you are missing a lot in life!!!

• Just take a few plantains, mash it well.
• Add a spoonful or two of sugar.
• Drizzle some hot ghee on it.
• Crush some crisp pappadum on it and eat it! It's yummmm! :)

I can see many weird expressions now!! LOL!

So how was the lunch? I know there weren't any curries... but how about this , this & this ?? :)
Have a great weekend!! :)