Fish Curry Meen Gassi Mangalore Style Food

MANGALOREAN FISH CURRY / MANGALORE STYLE MEEN GASSI

Steps:

• Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the minced ginger, and curry leaves. Saute for a minute. Add in the finely chopped onions, green chillies and saute till the onions are soft. Once the onions are soft, add in the chopped tomatoes and saute for a couple of minutes.
• Soak a gooseberry size tamarind in a cup of water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind well to extract the pulp. Discard the seeds and the fibre. Add in the tamarind pulp and the salt. Add in half a cup of water more. Add in 2 teaspoon of saaru podi. I have used homemade saaru podi. Here is the recipe. Saaru Podi is Karnata style masala powder used in a lot of curries. Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add in the fish pieces. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for five minutes.
• Add in the coconut milk and simmer for a couple of minutes more.
• Remove from heat and serve hot!

MANGALOREAN FISH CURRY (MEEN GASSI)

Steps:

• In a bowl, soak jaargey in water for 6-8 hours or leave it overnight. After the stipulated time remove the soaked jaargey pieces from the water and discard it. Pass the water through a sieve to remove any remnant bits of jaargey. Set the jaargey water aside.
• Heat oil in a kadhai or a wok over medium heat. Once hot, add mustard seeds to it. As they start spluttering, add kadipatta to the oil. Let it fry for around 20 seconds and then add onions and fry them till they are translucent. Add ground ajwain and methi seeds and mix well. Reduce heat to low.
• Grind garlic, onions, coconut, salt, turmeric, chili powder, Kundapur masala powder and jaargey water to make it into a fine paste. (Note - to save time, you can also grind this gassi masala as the onions are frying). Also, if you are using tamarind paste, make sure to add approximately 1/4th - 1/2 cup water or as needed while grinding the masala.
• Add the ground paste to the onions and add 1 cup of water or enough water to make it into a curry like consistency. Increase heat to medium-high.
• When the gravy starts to boil, add the cut fish, green chilies, and grated ginger and cook until done.
• Serve hot with steamed rice.

FISH CURRY | MEEN GASSI - MANGALORE STYLE

Steps:

• Heat 2 Tbsp of coconut oil in a heavy bottom pan.
• Add ginger , green chili and finely chopped onion . Fry till raw smell goes off.
• Now add in chopped tomatoes , pinch of salt and cook till tomatoes look pulp.
• Whilst prepare masala paste by blending coconut , chili powder , coriander powder , tamarind, garlic , peppercorns , methi seeds and ajwain into a fine paste. Add little water while blending to make fine paste.
• Add this ground masala into above cooked tomatoes.
• Saute and cook masala paste for 5 minutes, till rawness of masala paste goes off.
• Add 1/2 cup of mixer rinsed water and cook masala till specks of oil is seen on top.
• Now add 3 cups of water and salt to taste , bring it to boil .
• Keep flame on medium heat and now add fish pieces .
• Close lid and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
• When it comes to boil , open lid and keep curry on simmer.
• Meanwhile , heat oil in a Tadka / season pan , add curry leaves and chopped onions fry till onions turns brown.
• Pour seasoning / tadka over fish curry and turn off the stove.
• Serve Fish curry with plain rice or boiled rice.

MEEN GASSI (FISH CURRY)

Steps:

• Mix together the salt and turmeric, then rub the mixture all over the fish and set aside.
• In a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon ghee over medium. Add the coriander seeds and toast until lightly brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Tip into a large mortar and pestle with red chiles and grind to small pieces. Add the coconut a little at a time and smash until no large pieces of chile or coconut are visible and a smooth paste forms. (This texture is worth the effort, as it gives the tangy, hot sauce its richness.) Add the tamarind last and mash to integrate it into the paste.
• Choose a large, heavy skillet that will fit all the fish in a single layer. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon ghee and melt over medium-low heat. Add the onion, ginger and green finger chile, and sauté gently until the onion is cooked through and just starting to color, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the prepared coconut paste and 2 cups water, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the fish to the skillet skin-side up, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently until the fish is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes depending on thickness, flipping fish halfway through. Spoon the coconut oil on top, and sprinkle with cilantro, if using.