Malabar mathi curry

Malabar mathi curry also known as fish curry, is an Indian dish with Chinese roots. It consists of sardines semi-stewed in a Kerala-style curry with assorted vegetables, such as okra or onions. It is usually served with rice, naan, bread, or tapioca. The dish is most popular in Kerala, Bangladesh, and West Bengal, where rice and fish are staple foods. Other variations may include adding tamarind juice or coconut milk. Malabar mathi curry is a dish of relative popularity amongst Malaysians, Singaporeans, and their tourists, although it is generally not categorized as hawker fare.

The origins of the modern dish can be traced back to Kerala. The dish started as an attempt to extend Indian cuisine to include a wider clientele, notably Chinese customers, who considered curry prepared with fish heads a specialty. Today, most restaurants of Indian, Malay, Chinese, or Peranakan cuisines serve a variation of this dish.

Malabar mathi curry

Ingredients

• 250 g Shell fish or any other fish
• 3/4 coconuts
• 1 big onion
• 4 green chilies
• 2 cm ginger piece
• 1/2 garlic pod
• 1 small onion chopped

Seasoning

• 2 tsp chili powder
• Small ball of tamarind
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 bunch coriander leaves
• 1 tsp aniseed
• 1 curry leaf
• 1 big tomato
• 2 tbsp oil

Method

• Clean and cut the fish into big slices. Peel garlic and scrape ginger. Cut tomato into 4 pieces. Soak tamarind in water. Extract milk from 1/2 coconut and keep aside.
• Roast rest of the coconut gratings with aniseed, chopped onions and curry leaves in 1 tbsp oil till gratings are brown. Grind this mixture to form a smooth paste.
• Grind garlic and ginger to a paste. Fry this paste also in oil.
• To ginger-garlic paste add water, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Boil for a minute.
• Cook fish till it is almost done. To this, mix coconut paste along with coconut milk. Finally add curry leaves and coriander leaves. Boil and remove from fire.