Indian fish curry with coconut milk - Amaze your family with your culinary skills when you serve them this tangy and flavorful fish curry Mangalorean Fish curry or as it’s locally called, 'Meen Gassi'.
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.
Notes
If you have forgotten to soak jaargey in water, you can always put in hot water for 20-30 minutes to get the same effect.
To make Kundapur masala powder for this recipe, you need - 10 byadgi chilies, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/4 teaspoon methi seeds, 7-8 black pepper seeds. Follow the directions below to get a fine powder -
Heat oil in a medium-sized pan and over medium heat.
Add chilies to it and roast them till an aroma emanates from it. Remove the chilies and keep it aside.
Roast remaining ingredients (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, pepper seeds, and fenugreek seeds) for a minute or till it turns aromatic. Set it aside to cool it down (for approximately 10 minutes)
Transfer them to a blender along with the chilies and grind them to a fine powder. Store it in an airtight container for future use.