This was inspired by this Bangude Gravy udupi style recipe. I’m a huge fan of fish curry, with monkfish and basa being my usual go to fish for curry. I’ve been looking to branch out a bit and find fish which are strong in taste but don’t disintegrate when slow cooked in a sauce.
I’m near a town where fresh mackerel is plentiful so decided to give it a go, prepared but still on the bone. My first attempts with a coconut base weren’t really too great as the very fishy flavour overtakes the sauces I had tried, so I decided to change things a bit and go for a chilli, ginger and taramind sauce, I’m very happy indeed with the result. It’s got a lovely warm heat to it without being too much, and the taramind and spices are perfectly balanced against the fish.
Serves 2 – 3 people.
Ingredients
- 4tbsp walnut or groundnut oil
- 2 prepared mackerels
- 6 whole red chillies
- 24 birds eye chillies
- 1 small onion
- 2in piece of ginger
- 9 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tube garlic puree (38g)
- 1 tube chilli puree (75g)
- 200ml taramind water
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/3 tsp tumeric
- 1/3 tsp ground coriander
- Salt
Method
- Finely chop the onion, garlic and red chillies.
- Grate the ginger.
- Slit each of the birds eye chillies on one side.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, and add the onion, garlic, red chillies and ginger.
- Stir often for 5 – 10 minutes on a medium heat.
- Add all the spices, whole and powdered, and stir in continuously for another 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and chilli puree, stir for 1 minute.
- Measure out 200ml of taramind water in a measuring jug, then add salt to taste.
- Transfer everything from the pan into the jug.
- Use a hand held food processor to blend the contents of the jug until smooth.
- Transfer the sauce back into the pan.
- Cut each of the mackerels into three pieces, then add them to the sauce and stir carefully to cover the pieces.
- Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.
You should end up with a vivid orange sauce with tender mackerel pieces that easily come off the bone.
Enjoy!