This is Part 2 of Flavours of India, our series on India's regional cuisines. Missed Part 1? Read about Chettinad chicken curry.
Kerala's food is shaped by its geography: a long coastline, backwaters full of fish, and endless coconut palms. For centuries, the Malabar Coast was the centre of the world's spice trade, bringing Arab, Syrian Christian, Jewish, Portuguese and Dutch influences into its kitchens. The result is one of India's most diverse cuisines.
What makes Kerala cuisine special
- Coconut in every form: grated, as milk, roasted, and coconut oil for cooking.
- Curry leaves and mustard seeds: the classic tempering.
- Kudampuli (Malabar tamarind / gamboge): a smoky, sour dried fruit that gives fish curries their tang and helps preserve them.
- Black pepper and cardamom: grown in the hills of Idukki and Wayanad.
- Red matta rice and rice-based breads: appam, puttu and idiyappam.
Kerala's communities each have their own specialities: the vegetarian sadya served on a banana leaf at Onam; Syrian Christian appam with stew and duck roast; and the Moplah (Muslim) cuisine of Malabar, famous for Thalassery biryani and pathiri.
Kerala fish curry recipe (red meen curry)
This is the classic Central Travancore-style red fish curry, sometimes called meen mulakittathu. It is fiery, tangy and best made in a clay pot.
Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 500 g firm fish (seer fish/king fish, mackerel, sardine or pomfret), cleaned and cut
- 3-4 pieces kudampuli, rinsed and soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for 15 minutes
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
- 10-12 shallots (or 1 small onion), thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 6-8 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 green chillies, slit
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (for colour)
- 1 tsp regular chilli powder (for heat, adjust to taste)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup water and salt to taste
Method
- Heat coconut oil in a clay pot (manchatti) or heavy pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter, then add fenugreek seeds and fry until just golden. Don't let them burn, or the curry turns bitter.
- Add shallots, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. Sauté until the shallots are soft and light golden.
- Lower the heat. Make a paste of the chilli powders and turmeric with 2-3 tbsp water and add it to the pot. Cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes until the oil separates and the raw smell goes.
- Add the kudampuli with its soaking water, 1 cup water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Gently slide in the fish pieces. Do not stir with a spoon; instead swirl the pot so the fish doesn't break.
- Cover and cook on low-medium heat for 10-12 minutes until the fish is cooked and the gravy thickens.
- Finish with a drizzle of raw coconut oil and a few fresh curry leaves. Cover and turn off the heat.
Tips
- Rest it: Kerala fish curry tastes best after a few hours, or the next day, once the kudampuli has worked its magic.
- No kudampuli? Use a small ball of tamarind soaked in water, though the flavour will be different.
- Clay pot: a manchatti holds heat evenly and adds an earthy flavour; season a new pot before use.
- For a milder version, try meen moilee, a yellow fish curry cooked in coconut milk.
How to serve
Serve with steamed matta rice, tapioca (kappa), appam or puttu. A side of thoran (stir-fried vegetables with coconut) completes the meal.
Other Kerala dishes to try
- Appam with vegetable or chicken stew
- Avial: mixed vegetables in coconut and curd
- Kerala beef fry (ularthiyathu)
- Thalassery biryani: made with short-grain kaima rice
- Palada payasam: a creamy rice-flake dessert
Planning a trip? Taste the real thing on a houseboat with our Kerala backwaters travel guide.
Next in Flavours of India: Bengal's mustard-laced shorshe ilish.
