Meen Pattichadhu

I made this meen curry yesterday which i thought was grand even by my standards!!!

I like to eat fish a lot if someone were to prepare it. but when it comes to preparing it by self it is ohhhhhhhhh sooooooooo boring especially if you are back from work and feel like eating fish curry.

It was one of those days when you are irritated about work and home that the husband buys some fish in the evening on his way home from work ( all because i had emailed him to buy fish; we are sooo sooo technically forward that we put the maximum use of modern technology ....

Thankfully the fish was well skinned and cleaned and cubed. So all that remained was to wash well and curry the fish.

I like the traditional Kerala recipe of the Madhya Thiruvithankoore Christians

The fish is washed with salt warer first and then with vineager ( this is courstey a friend of mine who discovered that washing with vineager removes the fishy smell to a large extent.) and then with water several times and kept aside

For a Kg of Fish you would require about
5-6 tablespoons of chilly powder. ( i use a mix of Kashmiri Chill powder and regular chilly powder) though traditionally they use only the regular chilly powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
one 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
4-5 cloves of Garlic
5-6 large pieces of Kodum Puli (Cocum/Mangostein) washed well and soaked in water


I grind the powders along with ginger and garlic in a mixie to a smooth paste. ( though this is not a necessity) You can soak the powders in water, slice the ginger and garlic to small pieces

If you have the traditional mud pot ( munn chatti) you can use that. (When I feel very traditional I use it…..I have a couple of those preserved at home for my “ Feeling traditional day….:-)

Heat a munn chatti if you have one (if not use an aluminum tawa ) Add about 4-5 table spoons of coconut oil. Add the teaspoon of mustard and ¼ teaspoon of fenugreek. When the seeds cracked add, thinly sliced small onions (5 no.s), 3-4 sliced green chilies and about 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves. Stir the mixture till the sliced onions turn brown, when this has happened add the paste (of chilly, coriander powder, garlic and ginger) and stir well till the oil separates and the mixture takes on a brownish red colour.

When the oil separates is when you add water into the mixture and stir till you get a uniform solution with out lumps Bring it to a boil add salt and (if you are using an aluminum tawa, transfer the solution into a stainless steel bowl). Add the Kodum puli along with the water it is soaked in and then add the fish pieces. Bring it to a boil and then cook on sim for about 30 minutes.

I like to eat it the very instant it is done…….. Old timers say the meen gets better with age.

This is a good combination with rice, chappathi’s kappa , appam’s even idly and Dosa …… but I guess you need to acquire the taste to eat it with Idly and Dosa….