Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Fish Moly/Fish in Coconut milk gravy

 
  Posted by Picasa
















Why would have somebody named it as Fish moly,this Fish curry in rich creamy coconut milk?...I have no idea! Could it be that some 'Moly' cooked it for the first time!! Be it by Moly or by Boban, this is quite a popular Fish curry in Kerala, especially in the South Kerala. Most of the Kerala fish curries are lightly spiced...It looks as though Keralites were more keen to have the fish dominate the flavour rather than the spices.Whereas a fish curry in Andhra or Karnataka is more spiced than an ordinary Kerala fish curry where often the base remained more or less the same and the fish that you added,be it pomfret,shark,prawns,king fish, made the difference.
It is indeed a very easy fish recipe.

Ingredients:

Fish-250g(any firm fleshed fish-I used steak fish)-cleaned & cut
Ginger-20g(julienned)
Garlic-20g(pounded)
Green Chillies-4(pounded)
Black Peppercorns-10(pounded)
Turmeric powder-1 pinch
lemonjuice-2tsp(ptional)
Tomato-2-medium-sliced
Onion-1 large-sliced
Coconut milk-thin-1 cup
Coconut milk-thick-1 cup
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Water-3/4cup
Salt-as required
Oil-as required

Method:

Marinate fish with a pinch of turmeric,salt and lemon juice and keep it aside for 10 minutes.Heat oil in a large mouthed vessel.Add curry leaves and then onions;saute till they become transluscent.Add ginger,garlic,pepper corns.Saute them for a couple of minutes.Add the fish pieces.Saute for a couple of minutes. Now add the tomato pieces and the thinner coconut milk and water as required.Close the vessel with a lid and allow the fish pieces to cook in this gravy till the pieces are well cooked.Now add the thicker coconut milk and cook further for 2-3 minutes under a simmering flame.Fish moly is ready to be served with steamed rice.

Tip:You could even fry the fish lightly after marinating in chillipowder,turmeric powder and salt, and then drop into the gravy and leave it to simmer...

10 comments:

Sumitha said...

Yes Shynee I believe you are right,our curries are less spicier and allows the flavour of the main ingredient to stand out,I think that is a very nice way of cooking.Also i think because since ours is a coastal region we have acess to fresh fish than some other regions so there is no need for a lot of spice!

Anonymous said...

I too have wondered about it Shynee and I think I saw a spanish dish named Moilee which uses milk and fish....I think we made it Molee and substitued coconut milk,
since in Ayurveda fish and milk are bad combinations.

starry said...

looks delicious. thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I had been a no-cook till few months back and now I am a bad cook.. but thats an improvement..

The other day I was looking to see how to make this and came to your site.. thanks from my side that made it so wonderful..

Keep going..
Onashamsakal..

indianadoc said...

>Yes Sumi,it is a wonderful style of cooking where we just allow each fish to take over the flavour of the curry.
>Yes LG,I'v heard that fish and milk are 'varjjyam' in Ayurveda but is it the same for coconut milk as well?
>thanx sn for dropping in...
>Joe,thanx for dropping in...we all have had these stages...so dont worry...u'll soon be a master chef!Onaashamsakal to u too!!

Anonymous said...

fish moly is also good!!!
fishmoly cheyumbol fish aadiyam mulakupodi,manjalpodi,upp ittu oil il adikam moriyathe poricheduthal kurachode tasty aayi kittum.

Anonymous said...

the curry is gud, but there is two things which i believe should be there in a fish curry...which i thik the author have not added...first thing, coconut milk when cooked will get a oily taste and wont give out the real taste..as in a stew, it is always better to close down the fire and then add coconut milk..it gives the real taste of coconut milk...second thing is that a fish gets a real gud taste when there is a hint of tamarind..nothing else gives a fish curry a better taste..so instead of the water used, if its a base of tamarind which is not that soar, then its the best thing possible...last but not least..a fish moly gets its life when a paste of cashewnut is added when the garlic , ginger and ancellaries are added...otherwise , it wont have that thickish touch when you have the curry and a hint of its sweetnes adds to the flavour.....

indianadoc said...

>thanx anonymous for the tip, but i hope u have noted that I had already added it in that extra note.
>thanx suji for dropping in and for all those suggestions...regarding the coconut milk being added fresh, I hope u might have noted that I mentioned a simmering flame...and regarding adding tamarind base, cashewnut, ginger and garlic, I do agree that they add taste to the curry, but we dont call it Fish Moly. It becomes another Fish curry...my intention here is to maintain the subtlety of the authentic Fish moly as close as possible...:)

om said...

shynee, made fish molee today. came out well. instead of frying fish i grilled the fish pieces slightly to reduce the consumption of oil. two days back tried thalassery fish curry .thats also nice. thanku.

Anonymous said...

g'day Shynee
I believe the dish is called 'Meen Molee'... it is a very popular dish in Darwin Australia. The local Indian community use a native fish called 'Barramundi'.

below is the aussie version of the receipe:
(serves 4)

500g Barramundi

Marinade
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon pepper
salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
juice of 1 lemon or lime

1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 stick cassia
2 green cardamon pods
2 large sprigs curry leaves
1 & 1/2 onions, chopped finely into small dice
2.5 cm piece ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, chopped
5 green chillies, cut in half
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 lemon or lime, juiced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tbls Chilli powder
3 tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
100ml tamarind water
500ml coconut milk (thin)
250ml thick coconut cream (from top of unshaken can)
Salt to taste
Method

Cut the fish into 4cm cubes. Make a paste of 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon chilli powder, 1 tablespoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon pepper, salt and juice of 1 lemon or lime. Marinate fish for at least an hour.

Fry the fish pieces and set aside.
In the same pan, lift the fish sediment with a little tamarind water, add the whole spices and curry leaves, cook till the mustard seeds start to pop. Add the onion and fry until golden brown. Add the grated ginger, garlic and split chillies. Add the tomato and fry till dry. Add the remaining chilli powder, coriander powder, tumeric and garam masala and 2 tablespoons tamarind water. Fry till the masala is fried (be careful not to burn it). Add the two cups of thin coconut milk and the rest of the tamarind extract and cook covered.
When it starts to boil, reduce the flame then add salt and the fried fish pieces. Stir carefully so that the fish pieces do not break.
Cook covered for 5 minutes on low . Turn off heat. Add the thick coconut milk and stir slowly. Check seasoning and acidity.

Serve with rice, chapati and breads.

NB: You can cook the fish in the curry sauce rather then frying. It will take about 10mins. Be careful not to over stir as you don’t want the fish to break apart.