Konkani Curry

Story: I am a Maharashtrian.. so I often end up surfing on a number of Marathi websites.. One of the websites I used to be active on is manogat.com. A while ago I found really great recipes on Manogat especially for typical Maharashtrian/Marathi items.

This one is by far the best catch!

Me, my hubby and my FIL simply LOVE eating fish.. baked, grilled, deep fried, soaked in a really spicy Konkani curry, raw or pickled in a sushi.. In my family - if it's fish it's good!

This particular recipe is soo good for a desi audience that I am ready to give money back gurantee on it! ;-)

For my veggie friends - I would highly recommend half fried potatoe or cauliflower pieces intead of the fish. That's how I serve this gravy to my MIL and my veggie friends..

Source: Posted by Prabhakar Pethkar on manogat.com in 2005 This post is a slighlty modified translation of the recipe.
Time: 3 hrs
Ingredients:

• 1.5 katori shredded fresh coconut (from the frozen pack)
  
• 6-8 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 10-12 dry red chillies (Kashmiri would be best)
• 1 medium size onion, finely cut
  
• 1 medium size tomatoe, finely cut
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
  
• 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• Handful coriander leaves - finely chopped
• 10-12 Sichuan peppercorns or Tirfale : It has a strong flavor so I use only 4-5. The flavor is great - but don't sweat it if you don't have it.
• 4 tbsp Oil
• Fish - I don't know how to clean a Baangda/Mackerel. So I use pre-cleaned Tilapia or Sole or any soft fish - a couple of fillets
  

Recipe:

Rub salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice and turmeric powder on the fish fillet and keep it aside.

Grind the following ingredients into a paste. Add as little water as possible:
Dry red chillies, coconut, ginger, garlic, onion, tomatoe, kasoori methi, tamarind pulp, Garam masala powder, coriander leaves.

The paste should be very smooth in texture


Heat Oil in a large Kadhaaii. Add curry leaves and sichuan peppercorns to the oil. the curry leaves splutter and you can smell the aroma all over the kitchen.. At this point - add the masala paste to the oil.


Here's the time-consuming part - you have to stir this paste on slow-medium heat for a long-long time - something like 30-40 minutes. But - 'Intazaar ka Fal Badaa Tasty Hota Hai!'.
Resist the temptation of increasing the heat.. Trust me - it is all worth it!

As you start heating/stirfrying the paste - it soaks the oil at first..

After a few minutes (10-15) it will start to shine a little..
Towards the end (after 30 ish minutes of shallow frying) the paste is cooked and oil starts separating from it.

Add water to make a semi-thick gravy. Turn up the heat, cover the kadhaii and bring to a boil.

Cut the fish fillets into 1.5 inch squares.

When the curry is boiling, turn the heat medium. Add fish or potatoe or cauliflower..
Cover for about 3-4 minutes to cook the fish.

The fish curry is ready!!

Goes well with white rice and fish fry: