There is a beautiful Tamil song in praise of Meen Kuzhambu, which is an evergreen hit. And of course down south all are fond of this meen kolambu or Fish curry. At home Meen Kolambu is a must for Wednesday dinner. This is one those favorite dishes made by Amma, that I have never tasted, even during the time I used to eat non-veg. But from the great fans this dish has at home, for sure vouches for its great taste.

During the early years of marriage, hubby dear never liked eating this, but Fish curry is mostly acquired taste so as years passed by, he has come to love it. This is always prepared by Amma. Though on many occasions I have got the recipe, I have never got down preparing it. So I would like to share this recipe as made by my mother.

Serves : 4 - 5
Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Cuisine : Tamil Nadu

Ingredients Needed

For gravy

King Fish or Sheela - 500 gms
Sambar Onions - 150 gms
Regular Onions - 50 gms
Tomatoes - 150 gms
Tamarind - lemon sized (20 gms)
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

For seasoning:

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 150 gms
Garlic pods - 6-7
Salt to taste
Green chillie - 2
Curry leaves handful
Coriander leaves few

Method to prepare:

Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp. Clean and cut the fish to desired size.

Chop onions, garlic and tomatoes finely. Heat Oil in a Kadai. Add mustard, Cumin, Fenugreek, once it splutters, add chopped onions & garlic. Sauté well, fry till its golden in colour.

Add tomatoes, Chilli powder, Coriander powder, Turmeric and salt. Cook on high for few mins. Then add tamarind pulp and required water. Cook on high for 5 mins. Simmer it and let it cook till the gravy becomes thick

Fish can be added once the gravy thickens and oil has come out. Cook on high flame for 5 mins after adding fish. Then simmer it for 5 mins. Add chopped green chillis and finely chopped coriander leaves at this stage. Once done, remove it from flame.

10 mins is enough to cook fish, else it will get shredded. Also the taste of the gravy changes based on the type of fish used. Folks at home vouch for King fish first followed by Sheela, but any type of fish can be used to prepare this gravy.

Meen Kollambu tastes best when it is prepared and served after 4 to 5 hrs or by next day. Amma normally prepares it during afternoon for dinner.

Enjoy!

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Meen Kollambu ~ Fish Curry

Cuisine Tamil Nadu

Dish Type Seafood Dishes

Author Srivalli

Tried this recipe?Mention @cooking4all or tag #cooking4all!

Comments

ushaprashanth says

July 06, 2007 at 5:49 pm

Hi!
Meen kuzhanmbu is great!

Saju says

July 06, 2007 at 12:31 pm

Great Recipe! I love fish, and will be trying this recipe

Revathi says

July 06, 2007 at 6:14 pm

Is that the nethu vacha meen kozhambu from mullum malarum ??

You are damn right..we love our meenkozhambuuuuuuu yumm yumm yummm

Gini says

July 06, 2007 at 1:36 pm

Yes, fish curries taste better the next day.

Prajusha says

July 06, 2007 at 2:13 pm

hi srivalli,
woh..mouth watering meen kolambhu.Nice pic.
thanks for visiting my blog.

Prema Sundar says

July 06, 2007 at 8:41 pm

got a good colour srivalli.. I love fish curries prepared previous day..

Cynthia says

July 07, 2007 at 2:04 am

Thanks for sharing your mom's recipe. My favourite curry is fish curry. I particularly love fish-head curry.

Bharathy says

July 07, 2007 at 7:23 am

You are tempting me sooo much ,valli,with that meen kulambu ,chicken pulusu and that prawn,dragon fries..:(...I miss all these home made goodies here...as my hubby and kids and veggies!!!...Sigh..:(!!
First time in your place..very nice collection of recipes,Sri..:)

Srivalli says

July 07, 2007 at 8:41 am

Thanks Saju ..do try and let me know how it turns out

Thanks for dropping by Gini

Thanks...Prajusha..

many share your feeling usha

You are correct Revathi..like your sentiments...:)

Thanks Prema

Great Cynthia you have good taste...

Welcome to my blog Bharathy. Thanks for your appreciation, do visit again

Anonymous says

September 29, 2007 at 4:53 pm

500 kg of fish a little much I think 🙂

Srivalli says

September 30, 2007 at 10:25 am

Anon...thanks for pointing out the mistake..500kg was way too much..:)..

Anonymous says

September 02, 2008 at 10:24 am

hi srivalli madam,

We tried your meen kulambu.It came out very tasty and had a nice lunch.My friends praised me for making such a tasty meen kulambu.Convey my thanks to your mom for giving such a tasty recipe.My friends too conveyed their thanks.

sam

Meen Kollambu ~ Fish Curry

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