Just to share with you……
My native is Madathukulam. Amaravathi Dam,Kutharayar Dam and Thirumoorthi Dam are some of the dams nearby. We used to get Fish from these dams. I never had Vanjaram fish before my marriage. I heard and saw this fish when I got married and we were in Chennai. We were in WestMambalam that time. Our house owner aunty’s first daughter got married and few days after marriage aunty invited her daughter and her in-laws for virunthu(feast). She bought Vanjaram/King fish and marinated with puli water and other ingredients for fry and after that she told her relatives to cook lunch and she went to her daughters house to bring them to her place. When her relatives tried frying it didn’t come well and all the slices got broken into pieces. This is when I saw king fish for the first time in my life. She came to our house and asked what to do. My mom was with me at that time we both went and no body knows how to fix that. The guests were on their way. Suddenly I told them to mash the fish and took out all the bones. We fine chopped the onion,green chilles and fried these in pan and then we added the fish and did like the way we make egg poriyal or egg buji.It tasted so good with onion ,chillies and the marination aunty. That time I don’t know about sura puttu. Now I can relate that proriyal to puttu with little pulippu taste. The guests had. The hit item on that day was that fish poriyal. When ever I see Vanjaram fish /King fish this incident will come to my mind immediately. Today I made kulambu with Vanjaran which I am going to explain you below.
Fish Kulumbu
Ingredients
1. Oil – 4 tsps
2. Sombu - 1/2 tsp
3. Venthaym/Fenugreek/Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp
4. Poondu/Garlic – 5 cloves
5. Curry leaves
6. Onion – 1 mediaum size
7. Tomato -3 medium size
8. Thick tamarind extrct – 1/2 cup
9. Corriander powder – 3 tsp
10. Chilli powder – 2 tsp
11. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
12. Any fish – 1/2 kg
13. Salt as needed
Preparation
1. Heat oil in wide mouth kadai. Splutter sombu,venthayam ,garlic and curry leaves by adding one by one.
2. Add finely chopped onion and fry well .
3. Add finely chopped tomoto and fry well. Add salt at this stage so that it gets fried well.
4. Add tuemeric powder,corriander powder and chilli powder and fry well.
5. Cook this mixture very will until it comes to thokku consistency. Based on this stage only your gravey gets color and taste.
6. Now add Tamarind extract . Add water along with it to desired consistency and bring it to boil (atleast 10 mins) until the oil seperates out.
7. At this stage add fish and cook in slow flame for 5 mins. Garnish it with corriander leaves.
Just to share with you…..
I am from Madathukulam (coimbatore) in Tamilnadu. As for as I know Thanjavur is famous for its filter coffee as Mayiladuthurai is famous for its masal vadai,Kumbakonam is known for its ‘kothsu’, chetti Nadu [Which consists of Karaikudi,pudhukkottai,sivakangai] is famous for its paniyarams,appams,chicken specials etc, Thirunelveli is famous for its ‘sothi kuzambu’ and Madurai is famous for its briyanis. I really wish to bring out the specials of tamilnadu in this site so that each and every visitor could be benefitied from it.
Viruthombal is TamilNadu’s speciality.Treating people with White rice, Mutton curry and payasam at home is a tradition. Most of our current food habits are not very healthy. But if you follow our traditional food, it contains excellent medical qualities to keep our body really fit. The ginger, garlic and numerous ingredients of our food continuously helps to maintain good health.
Fish is one of the most favourite food of costal districts where all forms of fish are prepared with special flavour to treat the tongue. But people which are not in coastal are like me can get only Dam fishes. They way ot taste aother varieties of fish is in its dried form only that is what we call as “Karuvadu” (dreied fish).Karuvattu (Dry fish) kulambu is the most special item which I am posting here.
When I was in my school days we have one neighbour (our family friend). . Her name is Agnes Mary and her huby is Adaikkalam. Their native is Trichy. Whenever she goes there she used to buy lots of Karuvadu (Dried fish stuffs like neimeen, nethili meen). Also she used to cook each karuvadu in a different way. They are one who brought karuvadu recipe into my family.
My husband used to like nethli karuvattu kolumbu only. Since in US we are not getting Nethli I am using Anchovy and saddrines.
Ingredients
1. Small dry fish(karuvadu) - (5-10 ), cleaned and washed
2. Tamarind – big lemon size, soaked
3. sesame oil or any oil – 3 tsp
4. CurryleavesCorriander powder -3 tsp
5. Chilli powder – 1 tsp (or more)
6. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
7. Salt
Vegetable
1. Bringal /indian egg plant -2 (chop lengthwise)
2. Mochaikottai/mochakottai – 1 cup pressure cooked
3. Drumstick – 4 or 5 small pieces
(All the three used will give you more taste and flavour is you don’t have something then you leave that and add the others)
For Grinding
1. Medium size Onion(chopped ) – 1 (3/4 th for grinding and 1/4 th for tempering)
2. Garlic cloves – 2
3. Medium size Tomatoes - 1( chopped )
4. Sombu/ big zeera – 1/2 tsp
Preparation:
1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan . Fry all the items listed in for Grinding. Then grind it well into smooth paste.
2. Heat 2tsp of oil in pan . Add mustard seeds and splutter. Then add curry leaves,1/4th onion,and all the vegetables and also the dried fish. Fry them all well.
3. Add chilli powder,corriander powder and turmeric powder. Add little water and salt. Let it cook.
4. Extract thick juice from the tamarind and add that .
5. Cook in medium heat atleast for 15 -20 mins. Slow cook for more time add the taste.
Tips:
If you are going to use dried mochakottai then soak it fo 8 hrs and then pressure cook. If you using fresh mochai no need for pressure cooking
If you are using the karuvadu brought in US then you have to add in the begining because it is taking more time to get cooked. If you are going to use Karuvadu form India then those you can add that just 10 mins before switching off.
Just to share with you …
This is simple and mouth watering Fish /Meen kolumbu . The Same method can be followed for any type of fish. Meen Kolumbu is very famous dish. We have lots of tamil songs which depicts the taste of meen kolumbu (say nathu vachha meen kolumbu yenna illukkuthu etc). Yep always the old meen kolumbu tastes more since the fish pieces are soaked in puli . Usually my grandma will make in huge quanties and keep the kolumbu for 2 to 3 days. The flavor of the meen kolumbu will remail in whole samayal arai which tell others that u made meen kolumbu which is its speciality.
Meen Kolumbu
Ingredients
1. Fish – 1 kg
2. Onion – 1/2 chopped
3. Green chillies -2 slitted
4. Curry and coriander leaves
5. Sesame Oil (is best if you don’t have u can use any ) as need for saurting
6. Tamarind – small ball size
7. Red chilli powder -2 tsp
8. coriander powder – 5 tsp
9. Little turmeric powder
For Tampering
little fenugreek seeds, whole pepper corns and sombu
For grinding
1. Onion -1 (if you have small onions/red shallots/chinna venkayam then take that equivalent to big onion/periya venkayam/ballari venkayam)
2. Corriander seeds -3 tsp
3. Jeera – 1/2 tsp
4. Red chillies -2 and green chilli -1
5. Tomato small size -1
6. Grated coconut -2 tsp
7. Sombu- 1/4 tsp
8. Garlic cloves -8-10
8. Whole pepper corns – ½ tsp
9. Oil as needed for frying above ingredients
Preparation
1. Fry well all the ingredients For Grinding and grind that well.
2. Pour oil in Kadai. Add the items under tempering and then add curry leaves.
3. Add chopped onions , green chillies (optional) .
4. Then add the grinded masala and let it fry for some time.
5. In the mean time soak the tamarind in water and get the thick extract. Add Red chilli powder, coriander powder ,turmeric powder and salt. This itself will look like kolumbu.
6. Now pour this in kadai. Cover it with lid and let it be in fire for minimum of half an hour in medium fire. Then open the lid and check the color and consistency and also the oil should float on the top. If not then keep it for some more time.
7. Finally add fish pieces and let it bil for 5 mins and switch off. Fish kolumbu is ready.
TIP
After putting the fish pieces don’t keep in stove for more mins .If so the pieces will get mashed and you won’t be able to take out pieces from gravy
Prepare Kolumbu a day ahead to feel the real taste.
Heads and tails you can use for kolumbu and the remaining pieces for frying.
Just to share with you…..
Fish fry is the simplest dish even bachelors can make with out any risk. I didn’t mean all bachelors. Some of them are really good cooks.Fish can be flavored and cooked in many ways and the use of Indian spices makes them even more tasty.
One of my pleasant memories
When ever I make fish fry I always remeber the days before my marriage. In our custom if the marriage got fixed both families should not take nonveg. If it got fixed before 5 -6 months also we have to follow it. There was 4 more days for my marriage and my brother Shiva came from US for my marriage. He want to eat Fish fry . One of my brother Krish anna is very great cook and my brother wants to eat his cooking so they started cooking outside . Some of my brothers friends also came along with him from chennai for my marriage. Since my brother asked and he has come after two years my dad bought fish for them and told them to cook outside the house and eat in the seperate room we have outside. I can only smell it. For fish fry fish is coated nice and beautifully too with a marinade prepared by him. Things were going cool theirt side. Muruga (my hubby) gave a surprise that time. My parents were surprised.He was on his way of inviting his friends. One of his friend is in Pollachi which is 40 mins travel from my place. So he visited us on his way . He wants to meet my brother (ofcourse me too- I can see you smiling ) he wants to give us a surprise so he stepped in. From that time onways he used to tease my brother that he will do the same during his (my brothers) marriage and my brother used to tease him by saying waw !!! how tasty is this? and things like that. Still now everyone remember that inident. I was a pleasant memory for all of us.
Fish Fry
INGREDIENTS
-
Fish pieces
- Red chilli powder
- Turmeric powder
- Little red food color
- drops of lemon juice
- Salt
-
Oil
PREPARATION
- Except Fish pieces mix all the ingredients and make as a paste by adding frops of water.
- Coat the fish pieces with this masala and keep it outside for long hours. Minimum of half an hour
- Fry the pieces in oil
TIPS
Other Variations
While preparing the marinade along with a ingredients mentioned if you want you an add a little ginger-garlic paste and little corriander powder . Also some people used to substitute puli/Tamarind water for lime juice. I don’t prefer this because my hubby don’t like the smell if i add all this to the above mentioned ingredient. You may like it. Many people (especially in chennai) are following the variation method.
Just to Share with you…..
Fish puttu is different kind of dish and is usually made out of Shark . It is called sura in Tamil. This fish we get from Sea. So those who are not able to get this fish can try with other type of fishes too but the thing fish should be boneless or we should be able to remove it completely.
Sura Puttu
INGREDIENTS:
- shark fish – 1/2 kg
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
- Salt – as required
- Chilly powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Coriander powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Big Onions – 2 finely chopped
- Green chillies – 3 finely chopped so that it can be eaten together
- Garlic – 8 pods, medium size, finely sliced
- Oil – 2 teaspoons
- Curry and coriander leaves
PREPARATION:
- Put the washed fish pieces in a vessel covering completely with water. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder to it and boil over moderate heat till tender.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. Peel off the thick skins and remove the bones and thorns of the fishes.
- Mash the flesh of fishes into tiny flakes.
- Heat a frying pan and pour in the oil. Add onions ,green chillies and curry leaves and fry well.
- Add garlic and fry well until the raw smell of onion and garlic goes away. Then add chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt into it.
- Finally add the mashed fish flakes and keep stirring/ turning over very frequently and over low heat for 10-15 minutes or till an attractive aroma is given out.
- Delicious fish puttu is ready.
TIPS
You have to mix in such a way that all things will blend together.
