Go Back

Chettinad Fish Curry

Akum Raj Jamir
Chettinad meen kuzhambu is an authentic and flavorful fish curry from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. Chettinad fish curry is prepared with freshly ground whole spices, which gives the curry an amazing aroma and rich taste. The flavor of this curry is so robust that it taste even better the next day. This fish curry is perfect to have with piping hot steamed rice, idli, string hoppers or any Indian flatbreads.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Frying pan
  • Mixer grinder
  • Ladle

Ingredients
  

For curry:

  • 500-600 Grams Fish
  • 2 Tablespoon Mustard oil
  • 2 Medium Onion chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
  • 1 Large Tomato chopped
  • 1 Teaspoon Tamarind
  • 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
  • 2 Teaspoon Red
  • 2 Medium Green chilli slit
  • 1 Sprig Curry
  • ¼ Cup Coriander leaves chopped

For Marination

  • ½ Teaspoon Turmeric
  • ½ Teaspoon Red
  • 1 Teaspoon Lemon
  • 3-4 Curry
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt

For Roasting And Grinding:

  • 3-4 Piece Kashmiri
  • 2 Teaspoon Black
  • 1 Teaspoon Fennel
  • ½ Teaspoon Cumin
  • 2 Teaspoon Coriander
  • 1 Small Cinnamon stick
  • 2 Green Cardamom
  • 4 Pieces Cloves
  • 1 Small piece Star anise
  • 2-3 Pieces Stone flower (Kal Pasi/dagad phool) optional
  • 3-4 Curry
  • ¼ Cup Grated coconut (4-5 tablespoon

Instructions
 

Marination:

  • Take the cleaned fish in a bowl. Add in the ingredients mentioned in the marination list. Mix well and keep aside while you make the other ingredients ready. 

Roasting And Grinding:

  • In a pan dry roast all the ingredients mentioned in the roasting and grinding list till a nice aroma comes out of it.
  • Let it cool down and blend it into a fine powder. Your Kuzhambu masala is ready. Keep aside.

Making The Meen Kuzhambu:

  • Heat oil in a pan. Add in the onions and saute for a minute. 
  • Add in ginger garlic paste and saute until onion turns soft.
  • Add in tomatoes and saute until it turns soft and mushy.
  • Add in turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt as per taste and saute for few seconds.
  • Add in the tamarind paste and ground spice masala. Mix well and saute for a minute.
  • Add in water as required and bring to boil for about 5 minutes.
  • Add in the marinated fish pieces and cook on medium heat for 6-8 minutes.
  • Adjust the gravy consistency as per your requirements. Add in the curry leaves, chopped coriander leaves, slit green chillies, give a quick stir and take off the heat.
  • Allow the curry to rest for sometime and serve.

Notes

  1. You can use any variety of fish which is available to you. 
  2. Sambar onion (small onions) gives the best taste for this recipe. Hence I recommend using sambar onions instead of big ones if available to you. 
  3. Fish takes less time time to get cooked. Hence, allow the curry to boil well before the fish is added, which gives a nice taste to the curry.
  4. Once the curry is cooked, resting time is very important for the fish to take in the flavors well. So let it rest for sometime before serving.
  5. Refrigerate the leftovers and heat it for a while just before serving. 
Keyword chettinad, fish curry, meen kulambu, south Indian fish curry