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Tamilnadu · Lunch

Meen Kuzhambu (மீன் குழம்பு)

Traditional 16. Meen Kuzhambu recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• 500 g firm white fish (vanjaram/seer fish, snapper, or tilapia), cut into 3 cm pieces
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice — for cleaning/marinating
• Tamarind — large lemon-sized ball (50 g), soaked in 2 cups hot water
• 3 tbsp sesame oil (gingelly oil)
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 dried red chilies, broken
• 10 shallots, peeled and halved
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 2.5 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 1.5 tsp salt
• ¼ cup fresh coconut, grated
• Grind with 3 tbsp water to smooth paste
• Cook fish last and gently — fish needs only 10–12 minutes; over-cooked fish falls apart completely

👩‍🍳 How to make Meen Kuzhambu

1. Clean fish pieces.
2. Mix with turmeric, red chili powder, salt, and lemon juice.
3. Set aside for 15 minutes minimum.
4. Soak tamarind in 2 cups hot water.
5. Extract thick tamarind liquid.
6. Set aside.
7. Heat 3 tbsp sesame oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot (traditionally an earthen pot — man chatti — for the best flavor) over high heat.
8. Add mustard seeds — crackle 20 seconds.
9. Add fenugreek seeds — fry 15 seconds until golden (not dark brown — darkened fenugreek becomes bitter).
10. Add broken red chilies — fry 10 seconds.
11. Add curry leaves — sizzle.
12. Add shallots and minced garlic.
13. Fry on medium-high heat for 4 minutes until shallots are golden-brown and garlic is fragrant.
14. The fenugreek's slightly bitter aroma should be noticeable.
15. Add chopped tomatoes.
16. Cook for 4–5 minutes until disintegrated.
17. Add turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, and salt.
18. Fry 1 minute to bloom spices in the oil.
19. Add tamarind water and coconut paste.
20. Stir well.
21. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes.
22. The curry should be visibly reducing and thickening, color deepening from bright red-orange to a richer, deeper red.
23. Add marinated fish pieces carefully — slide gently into the simmering curry (do NOT stir aggressively or fish will break).
24. Shake the pot gently to submerge fish.
25. Add jaggery.
26. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10–12 minutes.
27. Do NOT stir — gently shake the pot once or twice.
28. Fish is done when it is cooked through and the flesh flakes easily.
29. Garnish with coriander.
30. Serve with rice.
31. The curry should be thick, deeply red, with oil floating on the surface — the traditional sign of a properly cooked Tamil Nadu fish curry.

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