Meen Kuzhambu: Tangy and Spicy Village-Style Fish Curry

Author:: Lakshmi

My name is Lakshmi, and I am a homemaker. I love cooking and experimenting with different recipes, especially those from my native India.

Indian Seafood Curry

Meen kuzhambu is a mouthwatering curry dish that you can make just a few very simple ingredients. In villages, they used to make this curry in a mud pot, which elevates the taste of this curry a thousand times.

Cooking Notes:

If you can't find kuzhambu milagai thool in your local market, you may substitute chilly powder and coriander powder as per your taste.
The type of fish I used in this curry is red snapper (sankara meen), but you can use any variety of saltwater fish that is available in your region.

Cook Time


Prep time	Cook time	Ready in	Yields
10 min	20 min	30 min	4 to 5 people

Ingredients

4 tablespoons sesame oil (or any cooking oil)
1 teaspoon mustard
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
Handful of curry leaves
1 lemon-sized tamarind
5 tablespoons kuzhambu milagai thool/kulambu chilly masala
500 grams saltwater fish, cleaned and cut into pieces
Salt, to taste

Red snapper

Kuzhambu Milagai thool

Instructions

Soak the tamarind in water for 30 minutes and extract the juice. Add kuzhambu chilly masala, salt, some onions, and tomatoes. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the remaining onions and curry leaves. Saute until the onions become glossy; then add the tomatoes and saute again until they turn mushy.
Add the tamarind mix into the pan and cover with a lid. Allow it to boil over medium heat until the raw smell of tamarind dissipates (around 15 minutes).
Add the fish pieces and let it cook for another 3 minutes. If it boils beyond 3 minutes, the fish will crumble.
Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes. After that, serve the curry with some hot rice and enjoy your meal.