Fish curry also called Meen Kulambu is a seafood curry made of fresh sea or dam fish with different Indian spices. The combination of the spices and rightly cooked fresh fish gives a great flavor and taste to this fish curry and it is mainly served with rice and similar main dishes. This fish curry was prepared with fresh catfish, Indian spices, tamarind sauce, and herbs and best served with white rice and basmati rice for lunch and dinner.
About this Fish Curry
The Fish curry shared here is an authentic dish to south India particularly Tamilnadu in which fresh catfish pieces are simmered in tangy tamarind sauce along with fresh spices seasoned with sesame oil.
This finger-licking Meen Kulambu is a definite treat for one who craves spicy home food. This dish can be enjoyed with different main dishes from breakfast to dinner. This curry stays fresh for two days without refrigeration. And the best part is that the taste of the curry gets even tastier when it gets old.
Serving Suggetions
This spicy and aromatic curry can be served as a side dish with white rice, and basmati rice for lunch and dinner. This curry can be also paired up with breakfast dishes like appam, idly, and dosa.
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If you are looking for more seafood recipes from fish to prawn and from side dishes to main dishes, you can take a look at this collection of Indian Seafood Recipes from this blog in one place. Take a peek!
Fish Curry recipe video
I have also shared detailed video instructions for this fish curry / Meen Kulambu below. And I believe these quick and easy steps will help you to make/prepare the dish at home. For a quick reference, you could find this recipe in story format.
Fish Curry
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2.5 lb Fish, cut and cleaned
- 1 cup Shallots, finely chopped
- 3 Tomato, medium size, chopped
- ¼ cup Garlic, slit
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 3 tsp Coriander powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- ¼ cup Tamarind, lemon size, juice extract
- 1 tsp Pepper powder
- 1 tsp Salt, adjust as needed
- 1 tsp Mustard seed
- ½ tsp Fenugreek seed
- ½ cup Sesame oil
- 2 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 cup Coriander Leaves, to garnish
- 2½ cup Water
For Marination
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
To Marinate
- Marinate the cleaned fish pieces with the ingredients in the marination list mentioned above and set them aside for 15 minutes
To Prepare Fish Curry
- In a pan add oil and let it heat in a medium flame
- Add mustard, fenugreek seeds, and curry leaves, let it splutter
- Add dry red chili, onions, garlic and saute until it turns translucent
- Now add chopped tomatoes and saute until it becomes mushy and then add chili, coriander, turmeric powder, salt and combine them nicely
- Pour the diluted tamarind water into the above mixture and mix everything well
- Now pour water and combine everything well well
- Close the pan and allow it to boil for about 10 minutes
- Open the lid and add the marinated fish pieces and allow it to boil for 5 minutes
- Add pepper powder, coriander leaves, curry leaves and give it a good mix
- Simmer the stove to low medium heat and allow the gravy to turn reddish-brown in color. Switch off the stove
To Serve
- Serve the village-style fish curry warm with rice, dosa, idli, idiyappam, puttu or the dishes alike
Video
Notes
- The Fish used here for the curry is cat fish which has good fatty content that delivers exotic flavor to the curry but it can also replaced with Tilapia, Red snapper, Sardines, Indian mackerel, Striped bass which gives similar results
- We have used sesame oil for the recipe which gives authentic unique taste to the curry but you can also replace it with coconut, mustard, vegetable, canola and corn oil
- The best part of this curry is adding diluted tamarind extract which results in tangy taste and adding it makes the curry to stay fresh even for two days
- Cooking the fish curry in low medium heat allows the fish to absorbs all the spices and seasonings
- This fish curry is best served with rice, idly, dosa and idiyappam
Nutrition
FAQ
Tilapia, striped bass, red snapper, catfish are some of the fishes that make the best tasty curry.
Yes, similar cooking oil can be used instead of sesame oil.
Enjoy the recipe and let us know how it turned out for you!
If you have any other questions, please feel free to post them in the comment section below and we will try to answer them as soon as possible.
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